Enjoyed the second even more than the first-good backstory for Forever, and the side plot with the family headed to the Lift was really compelling. ( )

better than vol 1

I'm still not quite convinced that this series is much of anything, but at least they've started to introduce characters besides those from the Carlyle Family. The newly serf-leveled doctor and his girlfriend are likely my new favourite characters, only because they have a bit more drive than the power-hungry (and ultimately predictable) Carlyles. Is it bad that I'm already hoping that the conclusion to the series is Eve/Forever killing her not-actually-father and teaming up with the other created children to fix the problems that they're clearly sympathetic to among the "waste" and "serf" populations? ( )

I purchased Volume One on the recommendation of some Bookstagram friends. I read one page, ran to Amazon, and purchased Volume Two and Three. Then I read all three in one sitting, then went out and bought Volume Four and Five.
With a intriguing mixture of power, strength, and vulnerability, Forever Carlyle defends her family with a single-minded devotion. But she can’t ignore the mystery of her origins, or the tangled struggle for power both inside her family and between her family and the others that rule the world.

Gritty art, realistic color, and deft design bring to life a grim world, with complex characters and rules. We follow not just Forever, but her siblings, her serfs, her rivals, her lover, and the Waste as they struggle to survive. People die. People suffer. People are cruel and mean and they lie. And they love. Forever, for all her strength, is still young of mind, almost naive. The plot concerns her exploration of the world and her place (coming of age) as she faces dangers both inside and outside her family. The writers don’t shy away from dark topics and this gives the story a riveting tension.
If you enjoy stories with strong female characters, twisting plots, dark and dynamic art, gritty world-building, and blood, then this is the story for you. ( )

More about the post-apocalyptic world, where money (and goods) control the world. Forever is doing her job, but hints of unease are appearing.
More in this collection about the Waste - those who don't benefit the Family Carlyle directly, thus get very little/nuthin' from them. An opportunity to move up in the world-as-they-know- it, a Lift, is bringing in another intriguing story line.
Couldn't put it down. ( )