Underground | Book Review

Greetings! Yes, I realize how late this post is. xD But never late than never, right?

I just finished reading Underground by Ashley Bogner, the sequel to Reintegration. Check out my review of that one here. Disclaimer: this review will contain spoilers for book one.

Underground  picked up right where Reintegration left off, the day after Katherine and Matthew arrived at the Underground. Katherine learns what life is like at the Underground and spends some quality time with Matthew’s family. But of course, you can’t have a proper book without some tension and high-stakes. 😉 Councillor Amelia Haynes is fighting to enact Project Endgame. If nobody stops her, the Underground could be wiped out for good.

Katherine is the Underground’s best chance of surviving. She knows the Federation better than anyone else. Her mission is to sneak into the Underground and steal the files containing the plan for Project Endgame. Will she be able to get the information in time to save the Intolerants?

I really liked the characters in this book. Evan Locke was a complex and intriguing new addition. Katherine was a fleshed out character, just like in book one. She had faults and strengths, and she didn’t always make the right decisions the first time around. But she definitely grew as a character throughout the story. I was also really happy to see Chelsea more. Matthew is sweet, but I wished he had a more present character flaw. Overall, I can’t wait to see where book three takes all of them!

The plot was very interesting. The stakes were high. New characters came into play, and Katherine had to choose who to trust. She dealt with difficult questions: Would she sacrifice her life to potentially save the Underground? Could she place her trust in anyone in the Federation? The first half of the book was a bit slow, but it really picked up in the second half. I was on the edge of my seat.

The only con I have besides the slow first part is Councillor Amelia Haynes. I don’t know why… she just didn’t really scare me? I know she’s evil and makes a lot of threats.  But I didn’t really see what made her so much “worse” than the other Councillors, besides that she created Project Endgame. She wasn’t LIKABLE, by any means. She just wasn’t terrifying. But maybe that was a personal thing. *shrugs*

Thank you to Ashley Bogner for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review! Underground was a great book. If you’ve read Reintegration, go read this now!

Have a lovely day!

~M Y A