$20 GIVEAWAY and REVIEW: Collide by Melissa West

February 10, 2015 Julie Blog Tour, Giveaways, Reviews 10 ★★★★½

Collide

Published on 02/09/15

Military legacy Ari Alexander has survived alien spies, WWIV, and a changing world order. But when the new leader of Earth uses Jackson—the only boy she's ever let herself care about—to get to her, Ari has no choice but to surrender.

To free Jackson, she agrees to travel to the national bases to train others to fight. What she discovers is a land riddled with dying people. Ari has the power to heal by turning the fighters into aliens—half-breeds like her. If she succeeds, together, they have a chance at overthrowing the alien leader, Zeus. But if she fails, everyone she holds dear will be wiped away forever.

Once again, everything Ari’s come to believe is thrown into question. In a world of uncertainty, loyalties are tested, lies are uncovered, and no one can be trusted. If Ari and Jackson have any hope at survival and at preserving a life for the future, they must fight the final war with their eyes wide open.

Gravity (Book One)

Hover (Book Two)

REVIEW
After three books The taking finally has a conclusion! Ari and Jackson started out enemies in Gravity. Jackson had an almost unconscionable secret power over her and that was what drew me into this story in the first place. In Gravity Ari was very strong. Her father is the commander and she is his legacy in every way. Taught to fight since she was small, she is confident and powerful. Jackson is equally powerful… only we find out that he’s not what he seems.

I admit, I rather enjoyed the personal connection these two had before they got together a little more than the after. I liked the idea of the Taking. It put normally strong Ari in a completely powerless situation. But once they got together much of that was sidelined for the plot. I loved how in book two, Hover, Ari was off her game and Jackson’s real power came into play. In Collide, they are both powerful.

I’ve have been wondering about the post-America world in which this book takes place since Gravity, so it was cool to finally get a better picture of that in Collide. In Gravity everything was localized. In Hover, everything was alien. So the world building in Collide was a treat.

Collide had a pretty epic ending and a few surprises I didn’t see coming. Some sad, some shocking, some romantic… and the epilogue was very sweet. It was great to see Ari and Jackson working together – both powerful, both resilient, and both born leaders. I’d definitely recommend this to teen girls who love to read a mixture of action and romance.

4.5 stars

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About Melissa West

Melissa West writes young adult and new adult novels for Entangled Teen and Embrace and Penguin/InterMix. She lives outside of Atlanta, GA with her husband and two daughters and spends most of her time writing, reading, or fueling her coffee addiction.

She holds a B.A. in Communication Studies and a M.S. in Graphic Communication, both from Clemson University. Yeah, her blood runs orange.

Website • Twitter • Facebook • Goodreads

Maria Malaveci

February 10th, 2015

Thank you for the giveaway!

Amy Pollard Woolard

This book is going to be so good!!! I cannot wait to read it!! Thank you for the giveaway as well!!

Kristy Petree

This series sounds great, right down my alley. Love sci-fi, aliens, dystopians with a touch of romance! Thanks for the chance.

Marcy Meyer

Great giveaway!

Deb P

Thanks for the review, sounds interesting.

Jules

Thanks for the giveaway! Looks like an interesting series.

Jennifer T

February 11th, 2015

Your series sounds awesome! I loved Roswell when it was on and am sad that it ended after only three seasons. Reading about a post America world is definitely intriguing. Thanks for the chance