Review: Reached (Matched, #3) by Ally Condie

Spoiler warning! This is the third and final book in the Matched trilogy and contains spoilers from the first two books. Do not read this review if you haven't read Matched or Crossed - instead you can read my review of Matched here and Crossed here. You have been warned!

 Reached by Ally Condie

[Goodreads page]

Author: Ally Condie. Website|Twitter.

Published: 30 November 2012 (Penguin)
Format: Paperback
Pages: 512
Amazon: Paperback|Kindle
Waterstone's: Paperback|e-book
Book Depository: Paperback

Source: Borrowed from library

Plot Summary (from Goodreads):
After leaving Society and desperately searching for the Rising—and each other—Cassia and Ky have found what they were looking for, but at the cost of losing each other yet again: Cassia has been assigned to work for the Rising from within Society, while Ky has been stationed outside its borders. But nothing is as predicted, and all too soon the veil lifts and things shift once again. 

My Review:
I was so excited and nervous to start this book. I absolutely loved Matched and Crossed, and I was anxious to find out how everything turns out. Would it live up to the other books? Who was Cassia going to end up with? What will happen to the Society? The book picks up with Ky, Cassia and Xander all working for the Rising as the rebellion starts to pick up pace.

What I loved was that this book was written from the perspectives of all three main characters, Cassia, Ky and Xander. It was made even more interesting by the fact that the three of them were in different places at the start of the story. Ky is working as a pilot, Xander a physic and Cassia a sorter, all in different parts of the country. It meant each of the characters got their chance to shine and kept the plot moving along as we see what is happening in different places and how everything fits together. There's an introduction at the beginning of the book from Ally Condie which describes how the three lines in the letter E on the cover represent the three characters in the book and how they each have a role to play, and that completely comes across throughout the story.

I thought Matched and Crossed felt quite different to each other because of where they were set, and Reached feels like the perfect combination of the two, with scenes both in the Society and on the outskirts. It made for a really good balance and meant you got to see every side to the story.

I'm reluctant to say too much about the plot in case I spoil it for someone, because I know many people like me will have been eagerly anticipating the final installment. What I will say is that we get to see what happens when the Society is tested, and there are more details about the Pilot. Things aren't perfect and the characters have to work hard to solve a lot of problems - one in particular which dominates the story - and it felt like they were tested a lot. There are plenty of questions from the first two books that are answered, and each character got a resolution of some kind, including who ends up with who. I was more than happy with the ending and what happened. I thought it was wrapped up perfectly!

The pacing of the book feels gentle as everything is unravelled quite slowly, but I liked that. The book may be the longest yet but I still managed to polish it off in a couple of days. I couldn't put it down! Not once did I want to stop reading.

I'm sad to finish this trilogy because it has been an absolute pleasure to immerse myself in. I can't wait to read more by Ally Condie because her writing is an absolute joy to read! This was the perfect way to round off a stunning trilogy.

Rating: 5*
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