Hover (Taking Trilogy, #2)

by Melissa West

Book two in the heart-stopping new series by Melissa West. The follow-up to the acclaimed Gravity, Hover is another thrilling dystopian romance and is perfect for fans of Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games, Veronica Roth's Divergent, and Marie Lu's Legend.

• ISBN10: 1622660099
• ISBN13: 9781622660094
• Publish Date: 13 August 2013
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Entangled Publishing
• Format: eBook
• Language: English

Reviews

[reveriesociety_]

We’ve come a long way since E.T. in entertainment featuring aliens. *cough* Opposition *cough*, and this series is another example of it. I read Gravity, the first book, a while ago, which I’m guessing, may be the fact to blame why this book didn’t had me fangirling like I was expecting it to.

I liked this take on aliens, because people here, know about aliens. In Gravity, things were tense, everyone was on edge, and then, hell broke loose. In Hover, the setting is the alien planet of Lodge, where Ari finds herself when she wakes up. Jackson is with her, but here’s where she discovers who is Jackson truly, which is definetely not the carefree boy we met in the previous books. Danger is a very real, tangible thing and Ari gets frustrated because these things are out of her control. She makes plans but they don’t unfold the way she wants.

There is a lot of character development going in this book.



See the full review and more at: A Writer's Tales

[chemicalscream]

OMG WTF?!!!$%!!!???!!

[Angie]

I received an ARC through NetGalley.

Picking up approximately a month later, Hover starts out with Ari finishing up her healing after a near death experience. She is now on Loge, where she and many other humans were promised sanctuary from the impending war. Of course, this isn't entirely true. What follows is an action packed adventure as Ari tries to take out the Ancient's leader, Zeus, while also saving innocent lives. I do think I enjoyed this one more than the first book, but not by much. I liked that there was much more world-building, and the romance was more interesting as we got to know Jackson more as well. Unfortunately, the overall plot doesn't move forward very much and the ending is a huge cliffhanger that seemed to come out of nowhere.

I was very excited to get off of Earth and onto Loge in Hover. While there are many differences between the two planets, they're sadly very similar. I really wanted to see more of what makes Loge, Loge, but we only get a very small glimpse of the dying planet. Sure the sky and water are different colors and quite pretty from the descriptions, but that's really all that we get. Triad--the city where this book takes place--is closed off by a wall, so that explains the isolated view, but I still expected more. There are some interesting facts about the Ancient's everyday life and how their society is structured, but there are no real details. Ari at one point makes a comment about not being able to tell which of her clothes are for everyday and which are for sleep, but we never get any descriptions of the fashion beyond that. I think the author had an amazing opportunity to immerse us into Logean culture but failed to do so.

Like I said before, the plot is action packed but doesn't really go anywhere, but where Hover does shine is with its characters. Obviously we get to know Ari better, and get to see her grow and adapt to this new world. However, where most of my interest lied was with the Ancients. Jackson is harboring some dark secrets and I loved seeing his strong facade crack. It made him feel more real, and less like this perfect love interest. We also meet his grandmother, Mami, whom he loves something fierce! There's also Emmy, Ari's healer, who plays a pivotal role in Ari's growth and in the development of her abilities. Emmy is certainly a special character and I enjoyed her immensely. We also get to meet Jackson's housemate, Vill, who is a super genius, but I didn't feel like we got to know him as well as we could have. Then of course, we have Zeus: evil mastermind, dictator, and Jackson's grandfather. He is a horrible person! He is manipulative and arrogant to the core! He did feel like a bit of a bad guy stereotype at times, but over all I think he makes a great villain.

The romance takes a backseat to the rebellion and planned assassination, but it is still there. Ari hasn't forgotten that Jackson has lied to her and kept secrets, but she does struggle with her feelings toward him. They can't just disappear overnight, but she's not willing to pursue things until she feels they can fully trust each other. I liked that she stood her ground on this issue, while at the same time I wanted to her hurry up and forgive him! It's clear he cares, but he has personal issues that he needs to deal with and doesn't want to drag her into. These two do have some sweet scenes together, so not all is lost! Don't expect an epic reunion with lots of kissing, because you will be disappointed. But as much as I love me some kissing books, I liked how the romance played out in Hover.

In the end, I quite enjoyed Hover. It's still missing something for me, and did succumb to a mild case of Middle of a Trilogy Syndrome. I do wish that the aliens were more alien-y and that Loge was more distinct, but I think the author had some great ideas even if they weren't fully explored. I was engaged from the very first chapter up until the very last page, but that ending did throw me off a bit. It's definitely the kind of ending that will make you want to read the next book though!

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[bookishzelda]

So I was so excited to read this...also so nervous. Gravity was an awesomely amazing book and the ending, well let’s just say whoa. I’ve been waiting for Hover for a while and yes it made me nervous to pick it up but I’m happy to say I was not disappointed. The book absolutely played puppeteer with my heart strings but that’s because I am so heavily invested in the characters. This is one of those series that I think doesn’t get enough love. Everyone should read it! I don’t think you have to be a sci-fi lover either.

Jackson, oh Jackson. I had a feeling about who he was from the beginning so I could never be mad at him. Plus despite everything you can tell how sweet Jackson really is. Plus I love the way he is with Ari, even if she is mad at him and trying to push him away. He is always standing beside her and being support. He has a lot of things that are revealed about him in this book. He has always been a guy that keeps his cards close to his chest but we see some cracks. Things he doesn’t want Ari to know to protect her. Some of it is horrid and some of it just makes you love him even more. Seriously can you tell I love to drool over Jackson. Total book boyfriend.

Ari is such a tough cookie but is not always perfect. She still had a tendency to act before thinking but we really start to see her realize this and try to be more reserved. She knows her weaknesses and is always trying to improve them. I really like her as the main character and find her easy to connect to. Although I do get frustrated with her where Jackson is concerned but you know, she feels a little betrayed. She is pretty amazing in this book I have to say.

Zeus is one scary dude. Which is probably why he is named Zeus. I love how much detail is put into his villainy ways. Down to the way he treats and manipulates people. When Jackson describes how he will talk towards the window so you can’t see his face, I thought it was such a great detail.. I mean Melissa really points out to us not only his villainous but his intelligence. That this isn’t some guy you just walk in and throw him out the window and say, hooray the world is saved! It’s a lot more complex than that. Zeus is more complex than that, there might have once been a person there but he has long been corroded by power.

We get a whole new squad of characters as the book takes place on Loge. Vil is one of my absolute favorite additions. He’s got this terrific intelligent mind that never stops turning. So he uses outs like creating sculptures and doing awesome techie things. He also has wisdom beyond his years. I also like Mami, Emmy and Madison a lot too. Emmy at first kind of comes off as someone I wasn’t going to like but I finally embraced her. We also see appearances from some characters from the other books. Like Law and Ari’s dad...seriously though what is up with Law? I’m not going to say more.

The plot kept me intrigued the entire time, since we on a new planet it was almost like having a first book in a second book. It’s a whole different place to learn about, which it’s easy to see the two are going to collide in book 3. I thought that is well thought out and planned. Of course this book was a little more stressful. We are talking about a buildup to war here. Wow and let me tell you about the ending....well I can’t but wow. Melissa has me once again on the edge of my seat demanding that book 3 be in my mailbox tomorrow.
This series continues to be one of my favorites and I really hope you pick it up if you haven’t already.