A surprising, satisfying conclusion to an excellent trilogy. Evolution kept me on my toes. It was gripping, thrilling and a perfect page-turner. This trilogy is filled with secrets, science and plot twists - it's a must read!

Evolution is the finale to this amazing trilogy. It opens with things still very strained between Shay and Kai; Kai is struggling to accept what Shay has become and she is still obsessed with her new power and unconsciously pushing him away. This made my heart hurt and my brain want to bang their heads together. I love these two together. Shay is struggling with the revelation that Xander is her father (fair) and finds herself in a settlement filled with survivors, learning to manage and explore their powers. Shay finds herself looking deeper in to the DNA changes and what causes some to survive and others to perish. I found her investigations fascinating, and the science was easily accessible. I loved finding out more about what happened to Callie. I also loved the intrigue and hint of darkness around the whole settlement, although when Xander put Shay in a particularly difficult position it made me sick to my stomach. When Shay gets to the bottom of the mystery, she resolves to change things and this brings the series to a dramatic and thrilling conclusion. I've loved every bit of this trilogy, and highly recommend it for any dystopia fans.

Morally complex, thrilling and very clever.

I've enjoyed the whole of this trilogy and Evolution didn't disappoint as it brought the whole thing to an end.
The science has been quite grounded through the first two books, considering the subject matter. I felt like Evolution took it a little further 'out there' at times, but I think it worked within the story and worked as an explanation for the sickness that's been affecting people in different ways.

The POV characters took quite a surprising turn. I definitely missed one of my favourite voices from the earlier two novels, but it played out really effectively. Each POV character got a fair amount of attention, and it never felt like I was being directed away from what I wanted to see.

One of my favourite elements of Teri Terry's writing is the moral complexity and ambiguity, and this was better than ever in Evolution. It was so hard to tell who was right and who was wrong, or even if there was a right or a wrong. Yet despite this complexity, there was a clear bad guy, and a clear heroine. I just wasn't sure how much I agreed or disagreed with their motivations and actions. This grey area makes this trilogy a fascinating one.

I've not been as excited for these books as much as I have for other Teri Terry books, but I honestly don't know why. The books are just as good as the other Teri Terry books I've loved and they pull you in just as much as the others. It's just that when I'm not in the middle of reading them that I've not got that same buzz I normally feel from the books.

I love these books though! That's the craziest part. I love the characters and all the mysteries surrounding Callie and the origin of the epidemic. I love the conspiracies and Xander's involvement. I love Shay and Kai and the concept. The writing is good, the plot is unpredictable and engrossing. There is absolutely no reason for it to fall flat. It makes me sad that I'm not looking back at these books with the same feeling as the other books.

But it was a really satisfying conclusion. Everything came together nicely and it was a good conclusion.

This series was really good and I did really enjoy reading it. It may be that I don't remember it as fondly as the other Teri Terry books, but it was a really great series all the same. I hope you don't let my lack of excitement about it put you off.

Thank you Netgalley for my review copy of this book for an impartial review.

This final book in the trilogy held its own but it just didn't have the addictive factor of the first two. It was great to have a plausible ending for the characters and the plot but it took its time getting there. Again, the physics of the virus etc threw me off and the sci fi element at the end left me rolling my eyes. But not bad considering most young adult series' let me down in the main with the final book.

Often, when reading books as part of a series, one of the criteria by which I judge that book is how easy it is to pick it up after having read the others. In this case, I think this is most certainly a series that has to be read one after the other without too much of a break. I read the first two books back in January and almost nine months on I pretty much couldn't remember anything of what had happened. I don't write this as a criticism of the book itself, rather as something worth noting if you're a reader like me who doesn't like to go back and re-read too often (who has the time?). 

What I will say is that, even with the knowledge that I was going in after a bit of a break, the start of this book is quite confusing. I found myself mixing up characters, not knowing who was with who and where everyone is. Yes, this is a confusing situation for the characters themselves to be in, but it hindered my ability to get back into the story as I had to read extra slowly to regain any sense of clarity. I think the latter half of the book, once the plot has found its feet again, it gets a lot better, so if you can then try to persevere through the opening chapters. 

This story is quite convoluted, if you were to read the first book and then skip straight to book three I think you'd be pretty damn confused as the changes in the story are pretty profound. I have to say I thought the first book was by far the strongest. I just found that I didn't care too much about these characters, partly because everything had been turned upside down so many times that I no longer knew what any of the characters wanted  - one of the most important things for getting me to get along with any story. 

I think that if I sat down and read all three books as though they were one very long book I would have enjoyed this story, as it is I don't know that many people actually read in that way and this is too complex of a story to just pick up and put down. Hence I was left feeling a little put-down. I can see the appeal of this story and there are some amazing ideas and moments within it, but overall there isn't enough cohesion for me to properly enjoy the reading experience.

My rating: 2/5 stars

I received a digital advanced review copy of this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley, Teri Terry and Hatchette Children's Group for my arc of Evolution.

Teri Terry is such a great author I loved her Slated Series as well as the others which followed, but the Dark Matter series is definitely up there as one of my favourites.

This review is spoiler free but may contain spoilers for the first two books Contagion and Deception where necessary for the purpose of this review.
Evolution sees everything come to a head. At the end of Deception Shay disappeared with Alex Cross, now known as Xander to the secret survivor base he has created, called Multiverse. Kai meanwhile is left behind with Freja and not understanding how Shay could have left him again when they were only just reconciled.

There was a lot to wrap up and I was unsure how this would be possible in a single book, but Teri did it! Finally, we start to get some answers about why people are immune or survivors when others die. And there's some shocks along the way!

I really felt like I got to know the characters better than ever in this one. Some I liked more and some I went from liking to all out hating! There was a lot more science stuff in this one but it was explained in a way which was easy to understand and also interesting.

I do like when a book comes to a satisfactory close and reveals all. I'll definitely be reading whatever Teri comes up with next!

Here we are at last at the concluding part of Teri Terry's YA sci fi/conspiracy theory thriller trilogy, and there's been a lot of change and upheaval since Shay and Kai started looking for his missing sister Callie, back in book one, Contagion. In fact, normal life for most of the country has ceased as a flu-style epidemic spread rapidly causing unknown numbers of deaths. Very few survive, those who do are changed forever, and hunted down by the remaining authorities as a threat. The search for Callie has become part of the search to discover more about this dreadful disease, where it came from, and if there's any possibility of a cure, or at least for something to stop the virus's spread.
Shay and Kai have meanwhile become separated again; although sharing the same goals, they each believe their way is the best to proceed. In a normal world this would probably be little more than a lovers' tiff, but the world isn't normal any more, and the decisions they make could mean life or death.

These three books have definitely been a roller coaster of a read, with the tension constantly cranked high, and just when you think the story's moving towards a happy ending there are some nasty shocks to come. It's been absolutely brilliant though. The plotting is ingenious and devious. Conspiracy is hidden behind conspiracy. Whisk away a layer of secrets and lies, and there'll be more beneath, like peeling an onion, or opening a Russian doll. On those rare occasions when Shay, Kai and the reader thought they'd found the heart of the web of secrets, events would take an unexpected turn, and you'd realise nothing had been half as simple as you thought.
The author doesn't pull punches, or hold back on violence. The evil mastermind is unscrupulous, not held back by any normal human 'weaknesses' like fair play or sympathy for others, and, unsurprisingly perhaps, behaves as ruthlessly and single-mindedly as you would expect evil villains to.
An excellent series - but be prepared for your favourite characters to suffer.

I should never have doubted Teri. I couldn't see how everything could possibly be tied up nicely by the end of the book, but she got it all done without rushing anything or dragging anywhere. Everyone gets an ending; most of them even get the end they deserve. Some fairly heavy science stuff comes out of nowhere at the end, but it's easy enough to follow.

I would absolutely adore another book set a few years down the line, to see what's happening in England (and other countries mentioned during this one) but this is a great place to leave it if nothing else is coming. Fantastic trilogy, well worth your time, and I'll be watching for more from Teri Terry in the future.

Receiving an ARC did not alter my opinion in any way.

A fantastic read, and a brilliant end to the trilogy. I couldn't put it down.

I was fully expecting (spoiler character) to die after it appeared they were safe. I'm very glad they didn't. It would have been a sad note in what's a mostly happy ending. I couldn't have guessed most of the twists and turns this book took, and I'm really pleased I got to read it. I'll be recommending it to everyone.


I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I think this was the wrap up this trilogy needed and deserved. To be honest it’s not my favourite of the author’s work but I still found the trilogy compelling. The best part was the mystery surrounding the epidemic. I was a little worried we wouldn’t get any closure on that in the final book but all the threads were brought together in a satisfying manner that made me glad I’d kept reading. I wasn’t really fussed about the romance but I’m sure that says more about me than the book – I can take or leave romantic subplots a lot of the time. I did enjoy the physics and the world building, the examination of a society in a state of panic and hysteria, and the powers the MCs develop too. A good solid dystopian trilogy. Recommended.