Reading Until Dawn: Hover by Melissa West

Reading Level: Ages 12 and up
Hardcover: 352 Pages
Release Date: August 13, 2013
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Narration: First Person: Ari
Genre: Paranormal/Dystopian
Challenge: Paranormal/Dystopian
Source: Netgalley

The Taking Series:
Book One: Gravity
Book Two: Hover
Book Three: Collide (2014)

Order On Amazon: Paperback
Kindle
Order On Barnes and Noble:
Paperback and Nook

Author's
Goodreads Website Twitter

Goodreads 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.

My Review:

I guess my expectations were just a little too high for this one. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't anywhere near hating it, but I definitely was no where close to loving it either. To me, this was just another unfortunate case to suffer from second book syndrome. I can't even put my finger on what I disliked about this novel, it just felt off in some way. It didn't have my pulse running or have me anxiously pressing the next page button on my Kindle. It was just a "meh" read that was lacking a lot of "oomph".

Hover starts off pretty much exactly where Gravity left off. If felt as if it was simply a continuation of the first novel, and that no time had passed at all, despite the year gap we actually did spend waiting for it. Usually, I have no problem with that, because authors generally take it into their interests to subtly recap the important events in the previous novel, but as you can already guess, that didn't happen here. If I had read both of these books together, I would've obviously remembered all of the names and the plot from the previous novel. However, since that wasn't the case, I was left floundering around, wondering what the hell was going on.

Throughout most of the book, Ari questioned herself as a leader and whether or not she was capable enough of leading a full-blown rebellion. Which to me, was understandable. I mean, if I was in her place, I'd be rocking back and forth in a corner, hardly able to function properly from the stress of being responsible for the lives of not one, but two freaking planets. Although she was a strong, unbendable character at times, there were also numerous times when I wanted to smack some sense into her thick brain. She's so smart, yet so unbelievably stupid and naive. Use your brain, girl!

There wasn't as much fighting as I was hoping for, however, there was just enough to satisfy my bloodthirst. xD But despite the fact that there was always something happening, I never felt emotionally involved or connected with the storyline. I was reading it and comprehending the sentences, but at the same time, it was just going through one ear and out the other. There was no substance to hold onto.

The part I was looking forward to the most, was surprisingly the romance, a topic I usually don't make a lot of fuss about. But something about the camaraderie and connection these two had in the first novel had me practically drooling for more. They were so perfect for each other! However, what I actually got in Hover didn't even come near to meeting my expectations. They were constantly switching back and forth between hating then loving each other. Enough to actually give me a headache and put down the novel a few times. I really hope Melissa is able to bring the relationship back to what it was in Gravity. Ari and Jackson have so much potential!

Overall, I'm just....disappointed. It was alright if you graded it independently, but compared to it's predecessor, Hover was depressingly lacking in every department. Will I still be reading the last book in the series? Of course. But I'll be more guarded for disappointment this time.

*An ARC was provided by Netgalley in exchange for a honest and thoughtful review.