Actual rating 3.5/5 stars. This is the third and final instalment in The Thousandth Floor trilogy.

Set in the futuristic thousand-floor skyscraper that dominates the Manhattan skyline, this follows all of the drama that comes with the territory of being one of the building's wealthy 'highliers'. The multiple perspectives means an array of stories are continually revolving around the central plot-line and they all converge in a drama-filled and explosive fashion!

Just like the former series instalments, I found this to be such a fun and enjoyable read, which provided an almost voyeuristic insight into the life of the rich, young and fabulous. I did, however, find this to be the most romantically-inclined and angst-heavy of the three and found myself yearning for the seeming simplicity of the others.

The sci-fi setting has always been light on details, which I did not mind, but I found this to have the most contemporary feel of them all, which was perhaps fuelled by the ending. Some characters seemed to have their stories too neatly concluded and it felt a little inauthentic: many relationships were created or re-converged in the final quarter, meaning almost every character was coupled off. Others had little details provided, and these were my favourites, were I could envisage their lives continuing on after I had turned the final page.

In all, this still maintains the fun, escapist vibe the series previously had and, although not my favourite of the three, concluded a series I would love to see stretched and a world I would love to re-immerse myself in, in the future.

This has been a bit hit and miss for me as a trilogy. On the whole I come down on the side of really liking it and I suspect the parts that I was less taken with have more to do with me falling outside the target audience somewhat. I thought this was a fitting and satisfying conclusion to the series. It was enjoyable and occasionally bizarre, but I recommend it for actual YA readers.

"Wasn't this city full of people from nowhere, people who remade themselves the moment they arrived?"

* * * 
3 / 5

The Towering Sky, like the rest of the Thousandth Floor trilogy, was definitely a guilty pleasure sort of read. It was gossipy, it was dramatic, it had forbidden (and disturbing love), and was generally full of love, lust, and lies. And I loved it for it. However, The Towering Sky felt pretty much the same as The Dazzling Heights - it almost felt like I was reading the same book. 

"Leda had learned the hard way what happened when you went digging for secrets you were never meant to learn"

One of the things I love the most about this series is how complicated it is, yet how easy it is to slip back into. These characters are crazy. You need a little diagram to keep track of all the relationships between them, how they all know each other, what their secrets are and who knows them. Yet it was so simple to pick up The Towering Sky and fall back into the story, the author gently reminding you of all the previous book's events as you go. 

The book opens with the suspicious death of Mariel, Eris' girlfriend, who drowned in a river. Avery, Watt, Leda, and Rylin are drawn back together by a police investigation that is slowly putting together the pieces that connect Mariel's death to Eris' and with it the nasty secrets of these four young people. I think the plot is why this book feels so much like the last one: Watt is after Leda but is worried that people will find out about Nadia; Rylin is after Cord but is concerned about her drug-dealing past; Leda is suffering with addiction and her actions in The Thousandth Floor; and Avery is trying to get over her one true incestuous love for Atlas. It's all so very familiar.

"Rylin was getting pretty sick of the boys in her life making decisions without bothering to consult her"

Like in The Dazzling Heights, I think my favourite character was still Calliope: she of the changing lives and the con artist lifestyle. Calliope and her mother have decided to stay in New York and actually go through with this marriage, but Calliope's new sister-in-law has it out for her and she's finding it terribly difficult to adhere to the image of a straight-laced bohemian do-gooder. What I also liked was the ending. The culmination of all the secrets, all the lies, coming to a boiling point and the outburst of drama. McGee knows how to write a good ending. 

The Towering Sky is perhaps the weakest book in the trilogy. But that doesn't stop it being an enjoyable, drama-filled page-turner. 

My thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of The Towering Sky.

The story follows on from where The Dazzling Heights left off, with our characters dealing with the aftermath of what happened.

I love Katharine McGee's writing style it is so easy to follow, especially when the chapters cover different points of view. Reading this was like coming back to old friends, these characters are just so well written and you just can't, not love them. McGee shows these characters warts and all and does not sugarcoat them.

With these characters it is so hard to choose a favourite, I love Leda and Watt I think they work so well together. Leda is able to be herself with Watt and doesn't have to hide who she really is from him.

I loved this story so much but I was so sad to say goodbye to these characters, I found myself devouring this in two days as it was just that good and just flew by so quickly.

With all these books the first chapter just knocks you in the gut and you need to carry on to find out how the character got to that point. We also follow the mystery surrounding Mariel's death and who committed this (I was quite surprised by this as I honestly never saw that one coming).

I found that I loved the ending and felt the character deserved what she had in the epilogue, and I just hope they manage to find each other.

Overall a great ending to the trilogy, and I am sad to see this end as I will always want more of these characters. If you haven't read the trilogy start, you won't be disappointed.

I read the first book in this series a couple of years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it however never got around to reading the next book until i saw this one on Netgalley.
Thank goodness i did because i was instantly swept up by this unique (yet somehow relatable) world all over again.
This book is the third in the series and wrapped it all up really nicely, i cant wait to see what the author does next.