Still uncertain how angry this book made me. Review to come. 
 Edit 6/20: 
 This review is also posted at The Bawdy Book Blog. 
 Let me preface this review by saying that Rise could easily have been a 3-star book for me, as I could have overlooked at lot of the items below I'm going to point out. Except for the last thing. I can't overlook that. 
 ___ 
 Such an anticipatory book, I'd been waiting for Rise to release for what felt like decades (but okay, it was only one year, let me have my moment!), when I went on vacation and my friend brought it with her. I took my opportunity to read the most disappointing series finale ever. 
 That's a harsh statement to make about a book and I 100% own it. But I have my reasons and they start with books one and two. I was slightly intrigued and yet indifferent with Eve, the first book in the series, but I saw the great potential this trilogy had and eagerly awaited for book two. Eve grew so much in book two, Once, that I just ended up loving the series, especially with the mega cliff-hanger ending of Once, where we find out she is not only a School refugee, but also the King's daughter - and then they marry her off to Charles! I had had a feeling she was royal, but it didn't make me love the plot set up for book three, Rise, any less. So I wanted to find out what happened next! 
 Rise had great potential, but I do think it fell flat, mostly with the ending, which I will try super-hard not to spoil for you, but discuss at the same time. You can beat me if I ruin it for you. I give you permission. 
 Rise is all about the rebellion, like any good dystopian should be. Rise up and stand for what is right and you believe in! But Eve spent more of her time worrying about her own self than she did about the others around her. (K, I'm probably being a little unfair here... she cared pretty hard about the girls in the Schools, so I'll give her a pass - sort of.) Jebus, Eve, what kind of heroine are you?! You are a fail, you selfish twat. 
 Charles 
 He really could have had more page time. He does a lot for Eve, and I really REALLY liked his character, but Charles gets almost no face time in the book. Especially when he does the thing where the thing happens and she's grateful and realizes he may not be all that bad. Like, DUH GIRL. He likes you! 
 (view spoiler)[ 
 The Pregnancy 
 I thought this could have been explored exponentially more than it was. As it was, you find out she is pregnant, the king makes vague threats, nothing is really explained, and Charles is protective. What? Dude... What? And then other than mentioning she's pregnant - and priceless now - that's pretty much it. Oh plus waxing poetic about how she's carrying Caleb's kid and that's all she has left of him. I did sympathize there. (hide spoiler)] 
 Where Are the Regular Adults Having Babies?! 
 No seriously, where are all the other people in the City of Sand? Carey doesn't give any explanation throughout the entire series about the people that actually LIVE in the City of Sand and I didn't realize this until book three. This really bothers me. We know that girls are kept in Schools and then moved to hospitals for breeding. Boys are sent to labor camps, a lot of them working to restore the City of Sand (Vegas). But...but where are the older kids and adults that used to be kids? The plague was sixteen years ago, so some of those kids are alive right? This isn't the Wither series where they die off at twenty years old and therefore need to procreate quickly. So...WHERE ARE THE ADULTS THAT ARE CAPABLE OF HAVING CHILDREN? This might be my biggest gripe with the book. Wait, no... 
 The Ending 
 WHAT. THE. @#$%. 
 What kind of ending was that? I actually thought there were pages missing out of my friend's library book, but alas, nope, it was pretty much brand new and in impeccable condition. The ending just stops, and I've complained about this in books before, but never have I seen it so abrupt as it is in Rise. The ending could have been a fine ending to a chapter, or followed with a epilogue, something, anything that gives me more detail and insight into what happens after or what's going on in Eve's mind. But nope, this story was like riding in a jolty jalopy where the transmission falls out and you haven't quite reached your destination. Story = ruined. 
 Redeemable Qualities 
 Let me get back to you on that. It did have some, but I'm still too emotional and pissed off to comprehend the disappointment of the conclusion to this series. 
 I've had some time to reflect and I still like Anna Carey's writing style. It's very pretty and fluid and it's easy to get lost in her words (generally). 
 I also felt that Clara was a kick-ass character and very strong to a lot of Eve's weakness. And Eve had tendencies to be very weak. I'm not giving her flak for that, not really, because no one is perfect, I guess I just would have liked to have seen things executed a little better. 
 Overall 
 Not the book I thought it was going to be. Rise is getting pretty great reviews. You may like it even though I didn't. YMMV, so read it, love it or hate it, but definitely let us know how you felt.