Review 154. Alex Flinn – Towering.

Title: Towering.
Author: Alex Flinn.
Pages: 304.
Published: May 14th 2013 by HarperTeen.
Sort: Part 3 of ‘Kendra Chronicles.’
Part 1: Beastly.
Part 2: Bewitching.
Source: Edelweiss & Publisher.

Rachel is trapped in a tower, held hostage by a woman she’s always called Mama. Her golden hair is growing rapidly, and to pass the time, she watches the snow fall and sings songs from her childhood, hoping someone, anyone, will hear her. Wyatt needs time to reflect or, better yet, forget about what happened to his best friend, Tyler. That’s why he’s been shipped off to the Adirondacks in the dead of winter to live with the oldest lady in town. Either that, or no one he knows ever wants to see him again. Dani disappeared seventeen years ago without a trace, but she left behind a journal that’s never been read, not even by her overbearing mother…until now.

Rating: 

The first thing I need to say is: why is this part of the Kendra chronicles? I really don’t get it. Kendra has nothing to do with this book and it doesn’t have any connection with Beastly and Bewitching. Strange.. And it was good, but was it as good as I expected? Not really.

EDIT: Alex Flinn posted this comment on my review on Goodreads:
Thanks for the review. I apologize for any confusion about Kendra. This book is a standalone book and was never meant to be part of any "series." In truth, even Bewitching is a standalone book in that you don't have to read Beastly to read it (The Kendra Chronicles was meant to be a SUBTITLE, not a series title). Apparently, someone not associated with my publisher posted on Goodreads that Towering was about Kendra. If you look at the book or the e-book, you can see that it's not. Perils of the information age. Sorry.


The story is told from two POV’s; a boy and a girl. Rachel is  locked away in a tower somewhere in the woods. Her ‘new’ mother is protecting her after the murder on her biological mother. She feels trapped and she longs for company. That is where Wyatt comes in the picture. After a horrible happening, he is ready to start again. His mother sends him to an old family friend, Mrs Greenwood. The old woman has been alone after the disappearance of her daughter Danielle. Wyatt starts to hear a voice and when he follows his instincts, he stumbles on Rachel’s tower. The two fall in love together from the moment they see each other. Wyatt discovers that Rachel and the strange disappearances of teenagers are somehow linked and he is determined to find out what is going on.

The things I liked:
The dual POV. Rachel and Wyatt were both solid characters. Wyatt is plagued by guilt and Rachel is innocent and lonely. I can see why they were attracted to each other. I didn’t feel connected to them, but they were enjoyable enough to follow. Rachel has some kick ass moments and I appreciated her bravery.
The mystery. This was fun! I liked to fit the pieces together together with Wyatt. Some things were predictable, some things managed to surprise me. The aspects of the modern setting were subtle, because they never spoiled the fairytale feeling. The somewhat dark conclusion was well-done and I liked the ending.

The thing I didn’t liked:
The romance. Oh boy! Flinn screwed this up. There was enough time to develop their feelings, but there had to be a worse case instant-love.. From the moment they see each other, they feel connected: like there whole purpose on this planet is to be together. I didn’t buy is, even when Flinn tried to explain it by throwing in a lame reason. It all started so good, with Rachel saving Wyatt’s life, but it went downhill and it became incredibly cheesy. The “I love you’s” and “meant to be together” are frequently used.


A fun twist on a popular story, but it could have been better. I did enjoy myself and it was fun to figure out the mystery!