Fragments (Partials Sequence # 2) by Dan Wells

Name: Fragments (Partials Sequence # 2)
Author: Dan Wells
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Release Date: February 26th, 2013
Format: E-book
Buy the book on Amazon
576 pages

Summary:

Kira Walker has found the cure for RM, but the battle for the survival of humans and Partials is just beginning. Kira has left East Meadow in a desperate search for clues to who she is. That the Partials themselves hold the cure for RM in their blood cannot be a coincidence--it must be part of a larger plan, a plan that involves Kira, a plan that could save both races. Her companions are Afa Demoux, an unhinged drifter and former employee of ParaGen, and Samm and Heron, the Partials who betrayed her and saved her life, the only ones who know her secret. But can she trust them?

Meanwhile, back on Long Island, what's left of humanity is gearing up for war with the Partials, and Marcus knows his only hope is to delay them until Kira returns. But Kira's journey will take her deep into the overgrown wasteland of postapocalyptic America, and Kira and Marcus both will discover that their greatest enemy may be one they didn't even know existed.

The second installment in the pulse-pounding Partials saga is the story of the eleventh hour of humanity's time on Earth, a journey deep into places unknown to discover the means--and even more important, a reason--for our survival.

Goodreads

My Review:

Wells's first book in this series, Partials, intrigued me and definitely caught my interest, but Fragments captivated me immensely early on, and I love this one even more than the first.  With an even richer story plot and plenty of twists along the way, I fell in love with Kira, Samm, Marcus, and the rest of the gang throughout this novel!

This book has a split point of view, between Kira who is travelling throughout the world with the Partials Samm and Heron, along with Marcus, who is mostly back home at the settlement, but also doing some travelling on his own.  One of the best things about this book was how unpredictable it was: although there were some little things that I was able to guess, I never felt like I knew the major events that would occur next and I was always surprised by the few big revelations.  Not only were the plot twists intriguing, but I was also hooked by the action scenes!  Wells was able to excellently capture both the intensity and the descriptions necessary to make a great action scene, which was wonderful because there were many of them throughout the book!

I also loved the improved character definition in this book, especially with regards to the secondary characters.  With many chapters in his point of view, Marcus developed immensely, growing from the boy that was too worried and scared to travel with Kira in the beginning of Partials, to the man who not only learned to travel and discover secrets on his own, but also showed that there was more to his character besides a thin layer of charm and humor.  I also loved that Wells included a few chapters from Samm's point of view: it was wonderful to be able to see him (both from his point of view and from Kira's) struggle to express his feelings into appropriate words and actions.  He truly is so different from a regular human, but that made him especially exciting to learn about, and made me love him all the more!

Similarly to Partials, the romance in this book also takes a backseat (except for the very end, that is).  However, instead of finding myself looking for places where Wells could have played up the romance, I found myself searching for the underlying currents of romance hidden beneath every word.  This search that Wells so brilliantly created made the romance even more powerful than that of a regular book, and I fell in love with the characters even more for that!  Fragments exceeded my expectations and I cannot wait until the final book in this trilogy, Ruins, is released!

My Rating: