Altered by Gennifer Albin

Altered by Gennifer Albin
Release Date – October 29, 2013
Publisher Website – MacMillan/Raincoast Books
Publisher Social Media - Twitter
Pages - 400 pages
My Rating- 4/5
**received from publisher for review via BEA**

**SPOILERS FOR CREWEL**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

Life. Possibility. Choice.

All taken from Adelice by the Guild—until she took them back.

But amid the splendid ruins of Earth, Adelice discovers how dangerous freedom can be. Hunted by soulless Remnants sent by Cormac Patton and the Guild, Adelice finds a world that’s far from deserted. Although allies are easy to find on Earth, knowing who to trust isn’t. Because everyone has secrets, especially those Adelice loves most. Secrets they would kill to protect. Secrets that will redefine each of them. Torn between two brothers and two worlds, Adelice must choose what to fight for.

In this thrilling sequel to Crewel, Adelice is about to learn how tangled up her past and future really are. Her parents ran to protect her, but nothing can save her from her destiny, and once she uncovers the truth, it will change everything.

Crewel was a surprise for me last year. A novel that I didn't have strong feelings for either way and ended up enjoying quite a bit. It was thrilling, different, and unique. After the shocking ending of Cewel, Altered was high on my list of books to get my hands on. Altered has taken the world we know in Crewel and expanded and changed it. Everything we learn in Altered impacts and changes the story in some way taking it into an unexpected direction.

Altered is going to be a hard book to review. So much of Altered is information based and therefore talking about anything will spoil the book. It's a fast paced, plot twisting ride that left me wishing I had the third book to read immediately. 

Adelice is now on Earth, and the story picks up right where Crewel left off. The time frame of these novels and when they take place was not apparent in Crewel. Altered clears that up and it's one of the many reveals in store. Prepare to have your mind messed with because things you thought were true may not be, and things you didn't expect all of a sudden come into play. I am not sure if Gennifer plotted this series in full before writing Crewel, but everything meshes together rather well in either case. 

There is a lot of scientific information is given in this novel. It does get a little heavy with the details, and at times it's given in a manner that is more telling than showing. Some of these reveals left me with an insane amount of questions, and others left tantalizing possibilities for plot points to come. I will admit that my head spun at some points as the pacing is rather quick in some parts and the amount of information can be overwhelming. This put me in Adelice's shoes as she is just as overwhelmed, and processing the information at the same time as the reader. It's a perfect case of the character being as informed as the reader.

New characters are plentiful in this installment. There are surprising connections that are revealed, and everything Adelice thought about herself gets turned upside down. I enjoy Adelice's determination, her unwillingness to stand back, and her honesty. She knows her limitations, and is equally aware of her strengths. She is someone who wants to help if her skills allow it and it is admirable. With all these new characters being introduced Adelice, Erik and Jost are forced to navigate the unfamiliar. The fact that nobody can be trusted is never far from their minds, and it's something Gennifer Albin makes sure that readers don't forget either. Crosses, double crosses, and lies are plentiful and knowing this doesn't make them any easier.

The romance, surprisingly, takes a backseat in this. I tend to not like triangles that involve brothers, but this one some how works for me. There are cute moments and that aspect of the story progresses, but Adelice has a lot going on besides Erik and Jost. I do believe that there is a decision of sorts made in terms of who holds Adelice's heart. Is it a permanent one? I hope so, but realistically there is one more book so it could always change. If Adelice's affections have be claimed I would applaud this development because it ties up that storyline before the finale, something no series has done yet (to my knowledge anyways). It would be welcome, and based on the events of this book, Adelice is going to have bigger things to worry about. 

I predict many people may be split on this one. There is a lot of new information, and crazy plot twists which will either thrill or put people off. It did the latter for me, and I devoured this. The plot is unexpected, and surprising. I appreciated the payoff from things set up in the first book, and delight in what has been set up for the finale. 

A surprising sequel that stays away from the second book syndrome of having nothing happen that progresses the plot. Altered is filled with many shocks, thrills, and a story that is interwoven to unravel at just the right time. The third installment can not come fast enough as Adelice's story is far from it's conclusion.

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Altered by Jennifer Rush

Altered by Jennifer Rush
Release Date – January 1, 2013
Publisher Website - Little Brown and Company
Publisher Social Media -  Twitter
Pages -  336 pages
My Rating- 3.5/5
**Received from publisher for review via BEA**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

When you can’t trust yourself, who can you believe? 

Everything about Anna’s life is a secret. Her father works for the Branch at the helm of its latest project: monitoring and administering treatments to the four genetically altered boys in the lab below their farmhouse. There’s Nick, Cas, Trev . . . and Sam, who’s stolen Anna’s heart. When the Branch decides it’s time to take the boys, Sam stages an escape, killing the agents sent to retrieve them.  

Anna is torn between following Sam or staying behind in the safety of her everyday life. But her father pushes her to flee, making Sam promise to keep her away from the Branch, at all costs. There’s just one problem. Sam and the boys don’t remember anything before living in the lab—not even their true identities. 

Now on the run, Anna soon discovers that she and Sam are connected in more ways than either of them expected. And if they’re both going to survive, they must piece together the clues of their past before the Branch catches up to them and steals it all away.

When I originally read this was like Dollhouse meets Prison Break I knew I had to read it. Hot guys? Secret agencies? Genetic modification? Secrets? All the elements needed to make me very eager to get my hands on this. This story delivers what the synopsis promises, but the potential for it to be much deeper left me feeling like something was missing.

Nick, Cas, Trev Sam are the young men being held as experiments for a secret project. They’ve been genetically altered, and as a result don’t remember anything of their time prior to being part of this experiment. I enjoyed each of the boys. Cas with his positive outlook, and ability to make everyone smile. Nick with his attitude, and sarcasm. Trav with his love of quotes, and friendship. Sam, the leader, and most reserved of the guys. You easily love their camaraderie, and  see what the draw is for Anna.  Each of these boys is interesting in their own right, and I feel that more of the story should have been devoted to their back stories. I can only hope that the questions I have about them will be answered in subsequent novels. The biggest being what made each of these boys sign up for this experiment in the first place.

Anna is an interesting character herself. I loved that she wasn’t a damsel in distress or clueless about anything. She is fully capable when things start happening and is not a bystander while the boys always save the day. Her story is the one that is followed the most closely, and we learn the most about her, so it was nice to be invested in her story outside of the boys as well.

I found myself wanting more from the plot, more from the characters, and just more in general. At times I felt like the characters did things that were opposite of what I would expect of them, especially towards the end. Sam is a guy that is presented as a leader, and someone who goes in with a plan. I don’t see him, at a crucial moment, deciding to do something major without planning out the attack first.

I found myself continuously surprised by the plot. Certain things I predicted to happen actually ended up going in a different direction all together. It’s almost like the author took normal formulaic story points and deliberately teases them only to have them veer off into something else.

This novel is a quick paced, action packed read that left me turning the pages. While I was left wishing the story had delved a little deeper, I do have hopes that this series will end up being a great one. The build up of the plot, especially the ending, and the author’s ability to surprise leave me hopeful that the sequel will deliver.