This is a return to the gilded world of the Thousandth Floor, where rich kids live at the top of the tower block and the poorer below.

We meet again Avery, Atlas, Cord, Brice, Leda, Watt and co, as the fallout from the previous book affects their lives. This can be read as a stand-alone, there is enough information about what previously happened to understand the story.

As in the first book, it starts with a death, so this isn’t a spoiler, but, in my opinion, the wrong person died.
Some new characters are introduced, a beautiful (of course) con artist, called Calliope, and a film maker, called Xiayne (pronounced Shayne), and the locations move away from New York to California, and Dubai (by private jet, of course).

This book is an easy read, and I enjoyed it, and look forward to seeing what happens next!

Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, Childrens for the opportunity to read this book.

I enjoyed 'The Thousandth Floor' and was happy that the story progresses in the same manner. These books are pure escapism for me, in the same way as books like 'Pretty Little Liars' and 'Gossip Girl'. I love getting swept away by the romance, and the mystery aspects are compelling enough to keep me reading. The only thing I'm less keen on with this series is that although the superficial, decadent aspects of the world aren't always presented in a favourable light, sometimes it felt the lifestyle was something to aspire to and I couldn't relate to that.

These are really fun, compelling books and I'll look forward to the next title in the series.

This book imagines what the world will be like in 100 years from now. New technology. A tiered class system in society. 1000 storey skyscrapers. Death, intense drama, con artists, forbidden love and young people living secret lives are just some of the themes explored here

This YA near-future thriller bristles with intrigue, including an intended con, a guilt-ridden girl desperate to cover her tracks and prepared to go to any lengths to do so and a young couple who have it all – except each other. Most of these characters are materially pampered, living as they do in the lap of luxury with all sorts of extra add-ons gifted by near-future technology that we don’t yet possess. I really like these futuristic nifty touches McGee includes throughout the story without impeding the pace in any way.

I also enjoyed the fact that McGee isn’t content to merely present us with an ensemble of privileged youngsters, who inevitably are saddled with entitled attitudes – she takes us into their lives to the extent that even if we don’t like them, we do understand what drives them. As it happens, there was no one among the cast who I didn’t like. While initially, it took me a little while to recall who was doing what to whom, once I rebonded with all the protagonists, I found myself caring about all of them. After that, the pages turned themselves as the storyline advances through the alternating viewpoints of each one of the characters trying to make their way in a glittering world where they are the object of a lot of jealous scrutiny.

There is a nice moral lurking within this story that McGee keeps downplayed, making it all the more effective. Happiness doesn’t equal the next designer dress, beautiful piece of jewellery or wonderful party – instead it is about friendship, trust and love, both within and outside families.

Any grizzles? Hm. There is a dramatic incident near the end of the story that radically shifts the dynamic and the person responsible apparently comes out of nowhere. Of course, if you have read the first book, you will instantly recognise the name and understand what is powering her actions. I did feel that it wouldn’t have unduly lengthened the book to have a couple of chapters featuring this particular character, giving us more of her backstory. Having said that, it certainly isn’t a dealbreaker and is more of an observation as someone who habitually picks up book series halfway through.

Once more, the story ends with a dramatic climax, so that I shall be eagerly looking out for the next slice of this adventure. Recommended for those who like their YA with plenty of tension in a very cool futuristic setting. While I obtained the arc of The Dazzling Heights from the publisher via NetGalley, this has in no way influenced my unbiased review.
8/10

An amazing sequel to the thousandth floor. I really like how each book starts of with the person who die's but doesn't actually tell you who. Your left through out the whole book guessing who. The ending of this book was so unsuspected. I can't wait for the third book.

The Dazzling Heights is the sequel to last year’s The Thousandth Floor. Set in 2118, the premise is that basically the whole of Manhattan is now a giant, two-mile-high skyscraper that is so well equipped with living space, jobs, schools, parks and so on that no one really steps foot outside. Within the tower, a few teens find their lives intertwining despite the differences in their backgrounds until a final tragic night when a girl dies.

I really, really enjoyed The Thousandth Floor. It read like an excellent drama / soap opera - high-emotion, pure escapism. And I was hoping for more of the same from The Dazzling Heights.

For the most part, I got it. Actually, that’s unfair. There was still the high-emotion, high-drama aspect and I still really liked the concept and the characters. None of the rich kids have figured out how to be happy yet, despite their billions of dollars and cushy lifestyles and are utterly caught up in things that totally wouldn’t register in the lives of people with real problems (BTW - this isn’t a criticism).

Maybe the reason the sequel didn’t score quite so highly for me was the wow-factor originality of the concept of the first book wasn’t there. Obviously. Because I’ve already read the first book, I can’t be surprised by the concept twice. It’s not the author’s fault, and I guess it’s a pitfall of writing a series.

And actually the author makes a really good job with this sequel. She introduces a couple of new characters to keep things rolling. The old characters are trying to adjust to the tragic death at the end of the first book, and they’re all doing it in really, really dysfunctional ways, which makes for an awesome read. People are still attracted to people they shouldn’t be attracted to and hate people they secretly have tonnes in common with. All good.

This series is shaping up to be a really good read. Pure, indulgent escapism. Really recommended.

After the events of The Thousandth Floor, it was always going to be hard to move on. Our characters are in a kind of limbo, with lots of them hiding things that don't show them in a good light.
We pick up not long after the death of Eris, with each of the main characters involved affected in their own way.
Events of this book focus on new character, Calliope, who offers an outside perspective on the group though she has her own secrets. Her story was interesting, and it made us look on some of the others slightly differently.
Ultimately there was a sense of shifting players into place for their positions for the final play. This didn't make it a bad book, but it wasn't as gripping as the first and - I feel - was really setting up what comes next.

What is it with this series that keeps drawing me in???

It's several things really - I love the mashup of genres this has. It has elements of a mystery/thriller, combined with that classic teen drama, filled with those archetypal characters you'd see on shows such as Gossip Girl. On the surface, it probably sounds a bit of a mess - but somehow it all comes together in a combination that works? Not to sound like a broken record, but yes, like beloved show Gossip Girl.

The Dazzling Heights is a fantastic sequel. It continues on the story of the Thousandth Floor not to long after it left, and we're thrown back into the mess of things. We are dumped in the middle of the drama and the characters - some new - and how they're coping and using what happened at the end of the first novel in living their lives.

The characters develop - like Leda - and you get to see a more humane side of them. You see others being given opportunities they've never had before and it's interesting in seeing them cope. Others cross dangerous boundaries and it's so dramatic waiting for them to be caught.

This novel started off with a very strong sense of direction and plot that then unfortunately died out after that first chapter. It's hinted at about three more times all the way through, before it's dramatic climax at about 87% into the book. This was disappointing and I feel like we should have had more of this throughout the whole novel, and not just towards the end. It was too quick to end when it had only just started and that was disappointing. And although this quick ending will no doubt have consequences in the third novel, I feel like it was wasted and this books sense of purpose was ultimately lost.

Having said that - this book did deal with the aftermath of events in book one. While, like I said, the overarching plot wasn't well-developed and ended before it even began, each character had their own subplot. This was good - it was nice seeing how everyone dealt and the actions of each character, and seeing how they now interacted after everything had passed. It made it tense - with all these deep dark secrets between them - and who would snap first. But some relationships took a turn for the unexpected.

I wish other characters - such as Cord - had larger parts in this book and were developed more. Cord, even though he's not a main character, is my favourite. I love him and Avery's relationship, and I liked having more of that. Others like Leda and Watt . . . so much dodgy history between them, but seeing their relationship come to develop was interesting.

So yes, I did really enjoy this one - it was a good sequel. I think it's up to par with the first one, which in a way, disappoints me because I was hoping for this one to blow me away. But still - with the quality matching the first, which was very good, I can't complain too much because at least it's consistent.

My only other problem with this is adding in another point of view character whose only objective, for the subplot of another character, was to come between them. I didn't care for this new character. They were just there to stir the pot, and while, with how this book ended I have no doubt they'll be stirring up trouble in the third book this still didn't make me care about this person. Their point of view should've been given to a character already established. Also - while the first had problematic elements of characters being drugged and taking advantage of, this one dealt with a student/teacher thing. While it wasn't as bad as it could've been, I was still unhappy with the way it was ultimately dealt with. I'm just happy all the characters weren't happy with this relationship and that it was condemned - just not enough.

So while there was a lot explored in this - there is still a lot more to come out and be explored that I can only hope will happen in the third. For example, all the drama between Brice, Rylin and Cord to come to light. But overall, this was very pleasing second novel, and if anything it seems to have paved the way for a really exciting third, and what I can only hope will be the novel that will ultimately blow me away with the shock / wow / drama factor.

Three very good stars

I really enjoyed this book. It had lots of thrills and interesting twists. It was mostly about murder , love and friendship which made it interesting. The way the stories start of separately and then merge together is very clever and makes the story much better so you can see all the characters perspectives.

Not sure why but I could not get into this one. The other one was a quick read. This one just did nothing for me at all. Will try to read this again the future.

Last year I saw the cover for 'The Thousandth Floor' and fell in love.  Thankfully the book was just as gorgeous on the inside.  I couldn't believe though that I'd have to wait a whole year for the sequel.  Amazingly the year has passed and as soon as I saw the equally gorgeous cover of 'Dazzling Heights' on Netgalley I requested and started reading. 

Very much like the first book, 'Dazzling Heights' opens with the death of a female character.  We don't know who she is, we don't know how she died.  I really like this trait of McGee's and it not only had me hooked from the first page, but I found myself on tenterhooks at several points wondering if a character was about to die. 

The sequel has the glamour, technology and scandal of the first novel.  The interwoven stories of the characters we've already been introduced to are picked up weeks after the last novel and are developed further.  I enjoyed watching Lena and Watt's relationship develop and had my fingers crossed for a reconciliation between Rylin and Cord.  Whilst I find Avery an engaging character, I struggle to connect with Atlas.  It was however, interesting to have a third wheel thrown into their relationship; Calliope was incredibly easy to dislike, and whilst I felt McGee was at times trying to show her redeeming features, I enjoyed hating her! 

The chapters are told from the perspective of various characters and are relatively short.  Combine that with an enthralling, vivid plot and you have a fantastic YA novel that you are sure to tear through.  I can't wait for the third book.  I just can't believe I have to wait another year!

There's no denying this series is my guilty pleasure. It's not high brow, or the most imaginative, but it's definitely addictive.

The story continues pretty much straight where it was left after the events of 'The Thousandth Floor'. All our main characters are still coming to terms with what happened on that night on the roof, and we see how each of them is struggling to cope. Of all the characters this time round, Leda was the most believable and complex. I loved her development and story line and thought it was a big improvement from the previous book. I loved the tension between her and Watt. However, I did find that a lot of Leda's issues were skimmed over or trivialised. She just suddenly stops her addiction and moves on without any problems, and the issue with Eris being her sister is never really addressed.

We find Avery still continuing to struggle with her relationship with Atlas. I found her storyline the least appealing, as a lot of it was the same as in the previous novel but without a lot of the tension. However, I did like her interactions with Cord as it tried to add another dimension to her, as she's basically just a beautiful doll with not much of a personality. I was disappointed this was explored further, and ended with Avery mainly mooning over Atlas all the time.

Rylin had the most far fetched storyline. She's somehow picked on a scholarship to join the highliers at their school, where a Hollywood director with a ridiculous name makes her his film assistant. And it seems she's also naturally gifted at producing films (or 'holograms'). All the stuff with her ex from the previous book is conveniently forgotten. I thought the story may have picked up slightly when she goes to LA, but the peak of her storyline was a big let down as nothing really happens except her pining for Cord.

I liked the introduction of Calliope and her mother. It brought a fresh story and different characters to the tower. Calliope is an interesting character, I liked that she basically had the same opinion about Avery as I did (ie dull but beautiful) but somehow I couldn't really connect with her. I think this was mainly because for most of the story she's a bit of an enigma with no backstory other than the con artist shtick which has been done before.

Eris is spoken about, but it feels almost as if it's a different person with a completely different personality to the Eris we saw in the last novel. I didn't think she came across as 'different' or 'a magpie for anything sparkly', and it was weird to see her friends describe her like this. The scene at the graveyard is also a little strange, and cringy and felt out of place within the rest of the book. Girlfriend Mariel, who has such a predominant role previously, is also glossed over with her only having two chapters - the first and last.

As with the previous novel, there still wasn't much world building, and what there wasn't didn't make much sense. LA for some reason is in a giant bubble that displays adverts. There are weird candles that release endorphins as it melts. I would love to have seen more of an effort given to explain exactly what on earth has happened to the world and why. The climax of the novel also doesn't really feel climactic, with no proper conclusion to many of the issues raised in the novel.

So, this book is completely ridiculous, predictable, unbelievable and yet it knows it is. That's what makes it so fun. It's main purpose is to entertain, and it does exactly what it sets out to do. It's so much like a soap opera and if anything I could have done with more scandals, and more secrets. I'm looking forward to the next one.

This review appears on Goodreads, but has spoiler tags in place. Since I don't think those work here, if anyone is reading this who hasn't read the book, you should probably stop now, because I'm mad about the ending and thus my review largely revolves around it.

Okay, I found this book incredibly frustrating, in the worst way. I had some issues with the first book: I found most of the characters shallow, there was too much focus on unconvincing romance, and the ending is blatant example of the Bury Your Gays trope in which one of the only queer characters is killed off for no real reason except shock value, when it could have been literally any of the other characters. However, I did like the worldbuilding, and since I was auto-approved for this on NetGalley, I decided to give it a go in case the series redeemed itself.

It did not.

This book has a continuation of book one's cool worldbuilding: there is a lot of cool tech with imaginative uses, and we get to see more of it at work here. I enjoyed getting a glimpse of the various uses to which futuristic technology was put, whether for communication or fashion or utility. Moreover, the characters were largely more interesting and less insufferable than in the first book, because due to what happened at the end, they had actual issues and trauma and weren't just thinking about parties and love triangles all the time. That said, it was difficult to get attached to any of them when there were a gazillion different points of view and the narrative didn't stick with anyone for more than a few pages. But on the whole, some good stuff. Intrigue. Double-crossing. Blackmail.

And then. Then there are the issues, and basically all my issues are with the LGBTQ representation. First up, after randomly killing off one of, like, two entire queer characters in book one, the remaining one is given a POV chapter at the very beginning of the book and then basically disappears from it until right near the end. She doesn't even overlap with the other characters; she's just not in it. We see her grieving her girlfriend and suddenly she's not relevant for the vast majority of the narrative. Great. Way to remind us that we, as queer people, only exist in the background of your life.

But that's not all! You see, book one took a 'Bury Your Gays' approach and decided to make it the only queer character among the main group of highliers who died, despite the fact it could've been any of them without making a major narrative difference. BUT THEN book two did THE. EXACT. SAME. THING and killed her girlfriend, the only queer character in the book. Well, there are a couple of passing references to a guy and his boyfriend, but that hardly counts as an actual developed character when there are a ton of straight people going about their lives, experiencing character development and not getting killed off. Because burying your gays once wasn't enough for this author!! She had to do it twice!!

And you know, it wouldn't be THAT hard to add in some other well-developed queer characters. Like, if you're that dead set on having some dead LGBTQ people, then at least add in some other LGBTQ people who get to survive the book, you know? It would make it less insulting. And less hurtful. But instead there's ONE, and she's the one who gets killed off. I mean, it's fairly certain she's dead; there's a little bit of ambiguity, but given the prologue at the beginning, I'm not expecting a surprise resurrection in the sequel. Which I don't intend to read, to be honest.

I'm not suggesting that being LGBTQ should make a character immortal (although, plot twist...), but when it's your ONLY queer character in an ensemble cast and they are not only the least developed but also the one who dies -- not just once but TWICE in consecutive books... well, it's a lazy, hurtful, and bloody annoying trope, and I'm sick of it. I stayed up late to finish this book, and that's how it rewarded me. By reminding me that people like me are meant to be background characters who get killed off. Not that I want to be in a boring love triangle with an adopted sibling, mind you, which is what the straight people get, but...

I very much doubt I'll be picking up the sequel to this. The author had two chances to make an interesting narrative decision, and instead on both occasions made the same unpleasant and unoriginal choice, one that hurts LGBTQ teenagers who want to see themselves represented in fiction. So why should I expect any better from a third book?

I have a Goodreads shelf called "Unbury Your Queers". The only requirement for a book to be shelved on this is for the queer characters to still be alive at the end. I'd begun to think that was too low a bar to be set, but apparently not. So if anyone needs a palate cleanser... https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/14328970-miriam-joy?shelf=unbury-your-queers