Thursday, April 17, 2014

Variant Series Week: Book Review: Resistance (The Variant Series #2) by Jena Leigh


Author: Jena Leigh

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Synopsis: Alexandra Parker might be the most powerful Variant the world has ever seen—but even that won’t get her out of finishing her junior year of high school. 

The challenge of keeping her abilities under wraps during class is daunting enough, but throw one surly, sandy-haired Jumper into the mix, and things can get downright complicated. 

Declan’s new job? Watch over Alex while she’s at school and do everything in his power to keep her from losing control. But as sparks of every kind begin flying between Alex and her new bodyguard, she's left feeling more unstable than ever. 

When avoiding her abilities results in a surprise visit from her parents’ killer, Alex’s worlds collide with a bang that nearly levels Bay View High. 

With her freedom now squarely in the Agency’s crosshairs, Alex will be faced with the fight of her life… and a decision that could forever alter the course of her destiny


Brought to you by TeamNerd Reviewer Bridget Strahin

Review: Okay, so let me just start by saying that I originally picked up REVIVAL because its cover had me hook, line, and sinker. And I am excited to say that that is the case with RESISTANCE too. When Jena had first emailed TeamNerd the cover a few months back I was like: "I love this so HARD!" To Annabell I said: "I'm gonna read the crap out of this book." And I did. Despite how much I wanted to savor it, it took me all of six hours to finish because I HAD to know what was going to happen. With a cover like this one, I just knew that something amazing was going down in this book. I was not disappointed.

How much will Alex have to sacrifice for her freedom? When does the cost of freedom become too high?

The story picks up just a few days after REVIVAL's ending and with our fave characters trying to adjust to their current situation. Swoony, delicious, impossible-to-get-along-with Declan has taken on the daunting task of being Alex's bodyguard, which means he has to enroll in Alex's high school; something he is not overly excited about but steps up and follows through when Alex needs him most. Alex on the other hand, is not happy with her new life and instead of embracing her new abilities she goes out of her way to keep a safe distance from anyone with a Variant ability. Which of course brings its own set of complications. Kenzie and Casey are back as well, playing their supporting roles and capturing our hearts. Nate's part in this installment was a bit of a mystery to me until the very end when I had my biggest "ah ha!" moment of the entire book and almost cried real tears because I ran out of pages.

A quite a bit of information and new players in Masterson's game are revealed. There aren't too many twists and turns, but there is a lot of background and history that you should pay attention to so that the ending and Alex's decisions make sense to you. There are also quite a few different points of views (I counted 11) and the majority of them have several nicknames that can make reading this book as a standalone a little confusing. (Confession: I actually had to re-read REVIVAL to remember who was who because my silly brain kept getting people and names confused.)

Leigh's writing style has definitely improved with this novel and the proof is there on the very first page. Her words and descriptions have a certain fluidity to them, capturing the reader and holding them captive through the crazy Variant roller coaster ride-also known as Alex's life. A few months back I had seen something from Ms. Leigh about writing and re-writing and then re-writing her re-writes to make RESISTANCE the very best that she could, and I can honestly say that she has succeeded in that mission. The year I had to wait for this book was deff worth it.

I'm not one to give away spoilers but I will tell you all that there is a particular moment between our favorite shippers that will have you sa-wooning with happy feels… and oh, yes, it's good. 

A war is brewing with the lines between good and evil so blurry their almost non-existent. The innocent will suffer and the guilty will prevail. Everything ends with one hell of a cliffhanger that sets up book three and will no doubt have your proverbial gears a turning. (Let the theories begin.)

Overall, I'd say that RESISTANCE is definitely going on my Top 10 of 2014 and I think it's fair to say that it's the second (maybe third) sequel that I've actually walked away from feeling happy that I read it.

About the Author!

Jena Leigh is the author of the Variant Series novels REVIVAL and RESISTANCE. Born and raised in Tampa, Florida, she spent ten years in the mountains of North Carolina before returning home to the lightning capital of North America. A shameless geek, she loves coffee, loud music, bad sci-fi movies, Skittles, and shenanigan-filled road trips to faraway concerts.

Check out Jena Leigh on her website and twitter!


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