ARC Review: Hover by Melissa West

Hover

The Taking #2

Author: Melissa West

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Publication Date: August 13, 2013

Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy

~Synopsis~

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.

~Review~

When I read Gravity earlier this year, I was hooked and couldn’t put the book down. I am normally not much of a fantasy reader but this series is absolutely breath taking. Melissa West has created an incredible fantasy story between Earth and Loge, Humans and Ancients and Ari and Jackson are stuck right in the middle. Hover was just as exciting and intriguing as Gravity was.

Hover picks up where Gravity left off with Ari stuck on Loge and healing from her near death experience with the toxins released into Earth’s air. Things are tense between her and Jackson due to the revelations he revealed about his true identity. She really struggles to trust him now and I totally get that because he kept some very important information from her. However, I never doubted Jackson’s character or his feelings for her and I was really glad to see Ari slowly come around and realize this too.

We learn a lot of interesting things about Jackson and his upbringing that sheds a lot of light on him and why he feels the way he does. Jackson always seems so strong but we get to see his vulnerable side and I was glad he shared this with Ari. It helped her heal from his betrayal and she was able to understand him better. I was so happy when she realized that nothing else mattered but how she felt about Jackson and then she did something about it. That is one of my favorite things about Ari; she’s a woman of action. She is a born leader and she truly cares about everyone, humans and ancients. She will do anything to protect the innocent and she proves that.

While Gravity was set on Earth, Hover takes place on Loge as Ari fights to protect the human race as well as the innocent ancients. The leaders of Earth and Loge are locked in a battle and the innocent humans and ancients are stuck in the middle. Zeus is truly an evil guy and a lot is revealed about him in this book. We don’t get to see much of Law, Gretchen or Ari's parents but a new leader on Earth is revealed and it is clear that things are changing. In the end, Jackson and Ari are separated and the final scene leaves on quite a cliffhanger. I found my heart beating when I finished and so many questions running through my mind. Number 1; when is book 3 released? I expressed this on Twitter and Melissa informed me that it is tentatively scheduled for Fall 2014. I’m not sure how I’m going to survive that long no knowing what happened.

Overall, I absolutely enjoyed Hover. It was filled with action, romance and intrigue. We get to meet some new characters on Loge that Ari really comes to depend on and it further proves that no matter what race you are, human or ancient, there are good people and bad people everywhere. I can’t wait to see how this will end and who will end up being good and evil. Right now, I don’t know who to trust and I think Ari and Jackson feel the same way.

PURCHASE LINKS:

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE

*An eARC was provided to me by the publisher through NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed are my own and unbiased.*