Hey, guys! Today, I'm glad to share the cover for Pieces of Olivia by Melissa West, author of one of my favorite YA sci-fi series The Taking. Without further ado, here is the pretty!
Showing posts with label Author: Melissa West. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Author: Melissa West. Show all posts
Aug 13, 2013
Book Review: Hover - Melissa West
Title: Hover (The Taking #2)
Author: Melissa West
Release Date: August 13th 2013
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Age Group: Young Adult
Source: ecopy from publisher
On Earth, seventeen-year-old Ari Alexander was taught to never peek, but if she hopes to survive life on her new planet, Loge, her eyes must never shut. Because Zeus will do anything to save the Ancients from their dying planet, and he has a plan.
Thousands of humans crossed over to Loge after a poisonous neurotoxin released into Earth's atmosphere, nearly killing them. They sought refuge in hopes of finding a new life, but what they became were slaves, built to wage war against their home planet. That is, unless Ari and Jackson can stop them. But on Loge, nothing is as it seems...and no one can be trusted.Hover picks up a few weeks after the events in Gravity. Ari is in Loge, home planet of the Ancients, and the only person she knows, Jackson, she can't trust. She is held a little better than a prisoner and kept in the dark as to what's happening on Earth. To sum it up, this girl is not pleased at all.
I'd planned to re-read Gravity before picking up this book but, due to time constraints, I was unable to do that, so I was nervous that I wouldn't understand what's happening. Thankfully, West did a good job of jogging up her readers' memories. No time was wasted, throwing us straight back into action, and I was never bored.
Ari was still her no-nonsense, badass self, and I still loved her. She knew how to read between the lines and how to prioritize, so there was no facepalm moment for this heroine. Being in another planet, she was curious of everything and wary of everyone—as she should be because like in Gravity, enemies hid everywhere, especially amongst friends.
The romance between Ari and Jackson was subdued, and I know I'm not the only sad shipper here, but that was inevitable due to the nature of their hostile situation. It actually worked really well for the story—I'd have hated to find them kissing while guns were pointed to their heads. And we love anticipation, yes?
As in Gravity, the world-building was impeccable. It wasn't at all hard to envision Loge, its light purple sky (yep, that one on the cover), its two moons, and how the planet was slowly shriveling to death. Also, I'd forgotten just how scientifically-probable this series is. I'm an alien-believer so that's not a far stretch, but even the technology is something I can easily imagine having in the future.
Incredibly fast-paced and action-packed, Hover certainly outdid its predecessor. It's a book that's hard to put down, what with all the conspiracies and secret missions. The ending was a cliffhanger, but one that I loved, and I'm just desperate for Collide!
MY FAVORITE PART is, uh, shall I call it the shower scene? The moment that shower was mentioned, I knew shenanigans would ensue in it.
RATING:
Dec 3, 2012
Cover Reveal + Giveaway: Hover - Melissa West
Title: Hover (The Taking #2)
Author: Melissa West
Release Date: August 6th, 2013
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Pre-order from:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Chapters | The Book Depository
About the author:
Giveaway time! US only.
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Chapters | The Book Depository
Such a pretty cover! I like it even better than Gravity's. And I'm assuming that's the Ancients' planet? August 6, please come faster! Speaking of which, an exclusive excerpt and the official blurb will be out some time near the release date. You know I'm excited.
About the author:
Melissa lives in a tiny suburb of Atlanta, GA with her husband
and daughter. She pretends to like yoga, actually likes shoes, and could not
live without coffee. Her writing heroes include greats like Jane Austen and
Madeleine L'Engle.
She holds a B.A. in Communication Studies and an M.S. in
Graphic Communication, both from Clemson University. Yeah, her blood runs
orange.
Giveaway time! US only.
Nov 12, 2012
Book Review: Gravity - Melissa West
Title: Gravity (The Taking #1)
Author: Melissa West
Release Date: October 30th 2012
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Pages: 400 (Kindle edition)
Source: Won from @Liz_Pelletier
In the future, only one rule will matter:
Don’t. Ever. Peek.
Seventeen-year-old Ari Alexander just broke that rule and saw the last person she expected hovering above her bed — arrogant Jackson Locke, the most popular boy in her school. She expects instant execution or some kind of freak alien punishment, but instead, Jackson issues a challenge: help him, or everyone on Earth will die.
Ari knows she should report him, but everything about Jackson makes her question what she’s been taught about his kind. And against her instincts, she’s falling for him. But Ari isn’t just any girl, and Jackson wants more than her attention. She’s a military legacy who’s been trained by her father and exposed to war strategies and societal information no one can know — especially an alien spy, like Jackson.
Giving Jackson the information he needs will betray her father and her country, but keeping silent will start a war.
I don't know if I mentioned this before, but I've only read a few dystopian/post-apocalyptic books - considering it's been the current trend - and Gravity certainly makes a nice addition to my list.
In Ari Alexander's world, humans owed their lives to Ancients - aliens who, apparently, had been on Earth for a long time. After the damage that had been brought by World War IV, these Ancients formed a treaty with the humans, and under it, the Ancients would help sustain life on Earth in exchange of a future coexistence because they were having problems with their own planet. However, the Ancients couldn't survive on Earth without the Taking, a process where they get antibodies from humans.
Ari was the daughter of the Commander - practically the second most powerful man in Sydia - and since position was hereditary for the higher-ups in their society, her life had already been planned out for her the moment she'd been born. She was to train physically and mentally, learn the responsibilities she would one day have, and even marry the President's son who was one of her best friends. She didn't love that last bit, but she knew she had to do it. She became what everyone had expected her of being, until she discovered something: Jackson Locke, her biggest rival in Operative training, was the Ancient assigned to her for the Taking.
I love it when females kick ass, so of course I loved Ari. She was like Tris Prior from Divergent, only better at fighting. She was also intelligent and kind-hearted, and it was really fun to see her breaking the rules that she'd been following her whole life. And, like Ari, the whole time, I was also confused as to whose side I should take: the overconfident humans' or the vicious aliens'. Jackson, on the other hand, was mysterious all throughout the story. His identity, plans, and motives were always questionable, and so he was always interesting; quite swoon-worthy, too.
Their romance blossomed faster than I would have expected, though. I mean, sure, Ari found out that Jackson's the Ancient assigned to her and she began working with him in his mission, but to like him in a few days when she'd disliked him for years?
But I did love the world-building. Melissa West wrote a very believable future world: technologically-advanced yet suffering because of humanity's actions. And the aliens! I already believe in aliens, and add to that a Discovery Channel documentary I watched last year about aliens that have been on Earth since prehistoric times, and even the aliens in this book were creepily believable.
And the pace was amazing. I was immediately thrown into action when I started reading this, and I forced myself to put it down on the first "calm" part I got to. Also, the writing was solid and straight-to-the-point.
I love plots that revolve around high stakes - and I can't think of anything higher than planet domination and racial safety - but the ending was a letdown for me. I felt like it ended around twenty pages before it should have. West could've answered the most immediate questions and made me anxious for the sequel, but now I only feel like something's missing.
MY FAVORITE PARTS were the very entertaining Law/Jackson scenes.
RATING:
Gravity is now available in e-book from Amazon and Barnes & Noble!
(photo and summary from Goodreads.com)
Oct 4, 2012
Luminosity and Gravity Double Trailer Reveal & Giveaway!
Title: Luminosity (Raven Chronicles #1) - Stephanie Thomas
Release Date: November 6th 2012
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Pages: 400 (paperback)
ISBN: 1620611279
My name is Beatrice. When I was born, I was blessed with the Sight. I was immediately removed from my parents and enrolled in the Institution. At the age of twelve, I had my first true vision, earning my raven’s wings. And when I turned seventeen, one of my visions came true. Things haven’t been the same since.
The Institution depends on me to keep the City safe from our enemy, the Dreamcatchers, but I’m finding it harder to do while keeping a secret from everyone, including my best friend Gabe. It is a secret that could put us all in danger. A secret that could kill me and everyone close to me.
But the enemy has been coming to me in my dreams, and I think I’m falling in love with him. He says they’re coming. He says they’re angry. And I think I’ve already helped them win.
About Stephanie:
Stephanie Thomas has been writing ever since she could put
letters together to form words. When she was a small child, she would present
her mother and father with self-made newspapers filled up with make believe
stories and pictures. Her love for writing followed her all throughout her
schooling, where she entered and won writing contests of all sorts. Stephanie decided to become an English teacher and completed her B.A. at The Pennsylvania
State University. While teaching, she later went on to get her Master’s in
writing from The Johns Hopkins University. She completed her very first
manuscript during her graduate studies, and by the end of the program, she had
completed two more. Stephanie is quick to tell anyone that she’s a born and
raised Philadelphian, and her heart will always belong there. She moved to
Baltimore with her husband, and they’ve been living there for the last five
years with their doggie, Sailor, and their rabbit, Buns (aka "T
Sizzle").
Where you can find Stephanie:
Title: Gravity (The Taking #1) - Melissa West
Release Date: October 30th 2012
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Pages: 400 (paperback)
ISBN: 1620610914
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository
In the future, only one rule will matter:
Don’t. Ever. Peek.
Seventeen-year-old Ari Alexander just broke that rule and saw the last person she expected hovering above her bed — arrogant Jackson Locke, the most popular boy in her school. She expects instant execution or some kind of freak alien punishment, but instead, Jackson issues a challenge: help him, or everyone on Earth will die.
Ari knows she should report him, but everything about Jackson makes her question what she’s been taught about his kind. And against her instincts, she’s falling for him. But Ari isn’t just any girl, and Jackson wants more than her attention. She’s a military legacy who’s been trained by her father and exposed to war strategies and societal information no one can know — especially an alien spy, like Jackson. Giving Jackson the information he needs will betray her father and her country, but keeping silent will start a war.
About Melissa:
Melissa lives in a tiny suburb of Atlanta, GA with her husband
and daughter. She pretends to like yoga, actually likes shoes, and could not
live without coffee. Her writing heroes include greats like Jane Austen and
Madeleine L'Engle.
She holds a B.A. in Communication Studies and an M.S. in
Graphic Communication, both from Clemson University. Yeah, her blood runs
orange.
GRAVITY is her first book.
Where you can find Melissa:
And time for the giveaway!
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