I know a lot of people LOVE these books, but, much like with the first book, I was just plain bored. I can love an emotional, character-driven book even if there’s little plot. I can love an action-packed, plot-driven book even if there’s little character development. But this book just didn’t do it for me on either front.

I will say, however, that it was at least a little more interesting than the first in character development. I found Tobias to be interesting as a character, with his erratic behavior and the darkness that started showing through. I have a penchant for broken characters, especially the ones who teeter on the edge of darkness, capable of being good but dangerously close to choosing the wrong path. I also found the relationship problems between Tris and Tobias to be realistic (given the premise) and drama-filled enough to hook me. (I wanted to use emotional or painful instead of drama-filled, but I think that was more me putting myself in Tris’s shoes and injecting emotion into the situation since Tris didn’t seem to have much emotion one way or another.)

Overall, I guess I just thought there would be less sitting around waiting for things to happen and more action. It wasn’t a terrible read, I can understand why some people liked it, but it wasn’t for me.