'Losing Lila' Lila #2 by Sarah Alderson

Received from the Publisher

From the BLURB:

Alex and Lila are on the run, desperately trying to stay one step ahead of the Unit, which somehow is managing to track their every move. Whilst Alex is determined to keep Lila safe and her ability secret at any cost, Lila’s only thought is of finding a way back to California so that she can rescue her brother and mother from the military base where they’re being held.

Struggling to control both her growing power and her deepening feelings for Alex, Lila decides the time has finally come to stop running and start fighting. Together with Alex, Demos, and the people she’s come to think of as family, Lila plans not just to save her brother and mother, but to completely destroy the Unit and everything it stands for.

But the plan requires Lila to return alone to California, make friends with the enemy, and to risk losing everything - Alex, her family, and even her life.

 *** Contains spoilers of first book ‘Hunting Lila’ ***

They took her mother.

They shot her brother.

Now they want Lila

But she’s not going down without a fight.

‘Losing Lila’ is the second book in Sarah Alderson’s X-Men meets Heroes ‘Lila’ YA urban fantasy series.

Last year I found a new favourite book in ‘Hunting Lila’ – a book that packed a punch and introduced readers to Lila, who can move objects with her mind.

After a near-miss with her powers in London, Lila fled to sunny California and her brother, Jack, not to mention her brother’s best friend (and Lila’s childhood crush) Alex. Jack left home shortly after their mother was murdered, and joined The Unit – a government organization Lila wasn’t entirely cluey about … until she became their target.

The Unit hunts down those with supernatural abilities, and performs experiments of them – whether for a cure or military gains, no one is sure. But after being kidnapped by a supernatural group, led by Demos, Lila’s eyes were opened to the Unit’s evil ways. And as if she needed even more convincing, Demos confessed to being her deceased mother’s ex-boyfriend, and knowing that she was still alive and being held in a Unit containment facility, being used as a human supernatural specimen.

A show-down with Jack and Alex’s ex Unit Squad led to her brother being shot, Demos’s group scattering and Lila going on the run with Alex.

Alderson picks up the action of ‘Losing’ where ‘Hunting’ left off. Alex and Lila are holed up in Mexico, high on the adrenaline of evading the Unit, and their newfound love for one another. But in the back of her mind Lila knows that an end of days is fast approaching, when she and Alex will have to reconvene with Demos and her other supernatural ‘supe’ friends to save Jack and her mother, and, if they can, put an end to the Unit for good.

If I’m perfectly honest, I didn’t know if Sarah Alderson could re-capture the high-octane thrill-ride antics that made ‘Hunting Lila’ so spectacular. That book had everything – from a sweet, unfolding romance between Lila and Alex, to a kidnapping plot and revelation after jaw-dropping revelation … I ended that book with sweaty palms and racing heart. I didn’t know if ‘Losing Lila’ would have the same effect … but it did. Oh boy, did it ever!

Alderson hits the ground running. Literally from chapter one onwards we, as readers, are right there with Alex and Lila as they race against the clock to save Jack and hunt for Lila’s kidnapped mother. An itchy feeling of eyes on you pervades the page, as Alex and Lila use every tactic in his Unit-trained arsenal to evade capture and plot a plan to save those closest to both of them.

In this second novel, Demos’s supes team get a little more time in the spotlight to bounce off Lila. I especially enjoyed the telepathic Suki – a bubbly straight-talker who enjoys getting a sneaky glimpse into Lila and Alex’s romantic life, for her own amusement. I also felt like Demos became a very intriguing character in this second novel – we are given a little glimpse into his old relationship with Lila and Jack’s mother, and a hint at how he may still feel about her. I loved it – all the angst and a few revelations about him had me really sitting up and paying attention to Demos, and had me kinda hoping for a prequel (or an adult spin-off series?).

Alderson also really delves into Lila and Alex’s new relationship in this second book. It felt like the hurdle for them in ‘Hunting’ was just admitting their feelings for one another – but in ‘Losing’ they have so many roadblocks placed before them . . . circumstances aside, Lila is contending with Alex’s old Unit-ingrained feelings about supernaturals and his worry over Jack’s reaction to him dating his sister. These two are so great together, but I especially liked that Alderson didn’t make things easy for them, that even with their inherent chemistry they still had friction between them for other reasons.

I adored Alex in this book, because Alderson really illustrates how hard it is for him to leave behind his Unit-training (and his squad) and choose his new-found romance with Lila over everything else he has ever been taught about supes;

‘Have you even considered the consequences?’
‘Oh please, don’t get all righteous on me. Wars will happen regardless. Man has always found a way to inflict harm. This way we get to at least choose the winning side. We get to make the world safer, Alex.’ Her eyes were burning brightly, lit by some kind of scary evangelical fervour.
‘Safer according to who?’ Alex snapped back. ‘According to whichever madman pays you the most?’
Rachel considered him for a moment. ‘Hmmmm. You know your problem, Alex?’ she said after a while. ‘You always get bogged down by morality. You could do with losing a few scruples. You’d sleep easier.’

By the end of the book Alderson had elicited that same heart-pumping, sweaty-handed reaction from me as she did in ‘Hunting Lila’, with a do-or-die finale that had me holding the book in a death-grip. The only thing I will say is I hope, hope, hope the ‘Lila’ series isn’t over. It could go either way with that heart-palpitating finale – but I think there’s still a lot to be explored in this world, and future books don’t even have to focus solely on Lila (I really am crossing my fingers for a Demos prequel or spin-off!). I think it could even work if Lila’s brother, Jack, became the star of a new book! I just loved Alderson’s ‘Lila’ universe so much, I’m not ready to leave it just yet; ‘Losing Lila’ was just fanning the flames for me - I think this series could burn on for much, much longer!

5/5

TwitterRead

Authors chirp their creative process on Twitter

Back in March, author Bret Easton Ellis sent many bibliophiles into a tizzy when he started crazily tweeting about ideas for ‘American Psycho 2’. Among the tantalizing tweets about what Patrick Bateman has been getting up to was a pronouncement that he “wants to bang all the Kardashian sisters” and is “hanging out with Scott Disick and Rob Kardashian.” 

Whether or not Ellis’s Twitter marathon was legit or not remains a mystery . . .  regardless, the fandom fury surrounding his juicy tweeted tid-bits was very interesting to map. But Ellis isn’t the only author who has been whipping fans into frenzy via TwitterFeed.

Diana Gabaldon has been tweeting #dailylines of the upcoming eighth book in her popular ‘Outlander’ series. Gabaldon is one author who has long waiting periods between her book instalments – it takes her approximately 4-5 years to release a new book (partly because she researches as she writes her epic historical sagas) and fans have been known to get restless in the interim. Well, impatience has been somewhat assuaged thanks to Gabaldon tweeting small, tantalizing paragraphs from her 2013 novel, ‘Written in my Own Heart’s Blood’. Gabaldon has always been one to share her writing progress with fans; since her first ‘Outlander’ novel was published in 1991, she has posted snippets on CompuServe (an US online service which was big in the 90’s), and used the online network as a sort of reader’s group. But Gabaldon has more reach with her fans on the far more popular Twitter, where her (sometimes spoiler-ridden) snippets are favourited and retweeted in abundance – and a constant assurance to fans that Gabaldon’s series has not ended with seventh book ‘Echo in the Bone’. Some very kind and dedicated fan has even been keeping track of the many Book 8 excerpts Diana has been posting.

Other writers have been using Twitter to whet fan’s appetites. Marie Lu, author of the highly-successful ‘Legend’ series, has been dropping enticing tweets as she writes the second instalment, ‘Patriot’. Fans have been excitedly tracking all of Lu’s writing inspiration breadcrumbs, and counting down to the book’s release. 

Some authors use Twitter as a touchstone for their readers. When Melina Marchetta tweeted that the first draft of ‘Quintana of Charyn’ was completed and submitted, fans were practically salivating with the knowledge that they were just that little bit closer to getting the much-anticipated third Lumatere Chronicles book in their hot little hands.

It’s also interesting when authors tweet about the behind-the-scenes of the editorial process, to let fans appreciate just how much work and time goes into releasing their favourite books. There are revisions and structural-edits, copy-edits and line-edits. Readers are given a privileged glimpse into the ‘making-of’ these anticipated books, and a chance to share in the excitement with authors as they gleefully tackle their editing process and get that little bit closer to release-day.

Twitter has proven to be a great conduit between authors and readers. The little blue bird has been a fantastic messenger for upcoming releases, book deals, writing inspirations and behind-the-scenes details. The close connection fans now have with their authors (and publishers) has sometimes backfired, but for the most part Twitter has proved to be a wonderful source of giddying book news and author/reader connections.

Do you know of other authors who are prolifically chirping about their book-in-process on Twitter? 

Let me know in the comments, or drop me a Tweet! (@danielle_binks)

'Fated' by Sarah Alderson

Received from the Publisher

From the BLURB:

What happens when you discover you aren't who you thought you were? When the person you love is the person who must betray you. If fate is already determined - can you fight it?
Lucas Gray is half Shadow Warrior, half human, and a member of the Brotherhood - a group of assassins tasked with killing the last purebred Hunter on Earth before she can fulfil a dangerous prophecy. The Hunter's name is Evie Tremain.

Evie Tremain is seventeen-years-old, a waitress and has just discovered she is the last in a long line of demon slayers - and an unwilling participant in a war between Hunters and unhumans that has raged for the last thousand years.

Evie Tremain is not having an easy time of it lately. She is still reeling from her best friend, Anna’s, recent death in a car accident. But even worse than that was learning that Anna and Evie's boyfriend, Tom, were seeing each other behind Evie’s back. Not to mention the fact that Tom was driving the night Anna died.

Evie’s pain is ten-fold, considering her father died two years ago and she was still succumbing to the loss when Anna died and her betrayal was revealed. So the last thing Evie needs is a late-night robbery at the diner where she works…

Except these aren’t your run-of-the-mill thugs. There’s a boy with red eyes and a whipping tail, a green-tinged girl and a young man with yellow fangs. Evie can’t believe her eyes when she’s attacked by this motley crew of freaks late one night. Even more amazing is when the new stranger to town, Victor, comes to her rescue brandishing a gun.

But Evie had better start believing, because as Victor explains to her, Evie is a hunter linked to the White Light prophecy. He explains about veiled worlds where demons lurk – poison skinned Mixen and vampires called Thirsters. And these creatures want to take earth for their own. All that stands between us and them is the Hunters. Evie’s biological parents were killed by one of these ‘unhuman’ creatures, a Shadow Warrior. And now it’s up to Evie to seek revenge for their murder.

While Evie learns about her heritage and the dangerous fate that awaits her, Lucas looks on. He is an unhuman – half Shadow Warrior – and he has been tasked with watching and monitoring Evie’s training progress. But the more Lucas watches from the shadows, the more he wants to get to know Evie…

‘Fated’ is the first book in a new young adult paranormal series by Sarah Alderson.

Alderson blew me away last year with her gripping supernatural novel, ‘Hunting Lila’. So of course I jumped at the chance to read more by this talented new author.

‘Fated’ is more of the same action-packed helter-skelter supernatural thrill riding that Alderson excelled at in ‘Hunting Lila’. Except this time the cast of supernatural characters is a little more traditionally monster-ish. Alderson’s ‘monsters’ are a mixture of traditional and imaginative. The poison-skinned Mixen girl is a wonderful creation – flouncing around in a tight, pink mini which clashes with her deadly green skin. Some of Alderson’s characters are new twists on old legends, like the ‘Thirster’, or as we know them; vampire (an unhuman species who have very good PR lending them their ‘romantic’ persona in pop culture!).

“Are you trying to tell me that was Edward Cullen outside? Because you know, I thought he was supposed to be hotter than that. And a whole lot more romantic.”

But the real draw-card of this series is the star-crossed forbidden love of Evie and Lucas. Evie, who has only just discovered the unhuman realm and her destiny defeating it, and Lucas, a Shadow Warrior tasked with watching over Evie … until the time comes that he must kill her. As a Shadow Warrior, Lucas can disappear at will and so he watches Evie from the shadows, slowly falling in love with her while observing quietly intimate moments that have him questioning all he knows about the 'evil' Hunters ...

She was staring right at him but then she frowned before screwing her eyes shut again. He melted backwards and when she opened her eyes again he saw the confusion as she stared at the empty space around her.
And then in a move he couldn’t have foreseen she hurled the circular blade right at him. It grazed the air a millimetre to his left. Damn it. She was aware of him. She was feeling him.

I did like Lucas and Evie, even if their romance felt a little rushed. Lucas is posing as a renter at Evie’s house, where she lives with her mother. Their romance is also sped-up by the side-story about Evie’s cheating ex, who rouses Lucas’s instinctually possessive feelings towards Evie. I know the plot conveniently threw Evie and Lucas into close-quarters, and had them sharing intimate details (when Evie explains about her break-up with Tom) but I was still feeling a little whip-lashed by their romance. However, the great ending did give me high-hopes that the Evie and Lucas romantic saga will get exponentially more interesting and heated in upcoming books. I can’t wait!

Overall I really enjoyed ‘Fated’. Sarah Alderson is definitely cementing her paranormal place with this second action-packed blockbuster of a book. I look forward to reading more!

4/5

'Hunting Lila' by Sarah Alderson

Received from the Publisher

From the BLURB:

17-year-old Lila has two secrets she's prepared to take to the grave. The first is that she can move things just by looking at them. The second is that she's been in love with her brother's best friend, Alex, since forever. After a mugging exposes her unique ability, Lila decides to run to the only people she can trust - her brother and Alex. They live in Southern California where they work for a secret organisation called The Unit, and Lila discovers that the two of them are hunting down the men who murdered her mother five years before. And that they've found them. In a world where nothing and no one is quite as they seem, Lila quickly realises that she is not alone - there are others out there just like her - people with special powers -and her mother's killer is one of them…

If you really want to know, it all started with murder. . .

Years ago, Lila’s mother was stabbed to death; her killer never found. Her mother’s death wrenched the family – with Lila and her father moving to London, while Lila’s older brother, Jack, remained in the States to live with his best friend’s family.

From that moment on, nothing was ever the same again. Lila’s life became filled with everything that wasn’t said, and by the people who were no longer around. Her mother dead. Her father working abroad and never home. And Jack, a million miles away. . .

But the worst part was losing Alex. Alex, Jack’s best friend and the boy who has held Lila’s heart since she was ten years old. Losing her father and Jack to grief and separation was one thing, but losing Alex too? That’s just unbearable.

And then the change started. When Lila was cut adrift from her family, she started to notice things about herself . . . the movement of a pencil, scissors embedded in the wall and a jam roly-poly becoming a flying missile. Lila could move things with her mind.

The more Lila’s powers grow the more she fears losing control. When a mugging incident in South London leaves her shaken and guilt-ridden, Lila hops onto a plane to sunny California – wanting her big brother’s comfort and Alex’s soothing presence.

But her brother and beloved are tangled up in their own lives and careers, and have little time for Lila’s runaway routine. Alex and Jack are black ops marines working for the mysterious ‘Unit’, and they hardly have time to be babysitting little sis. But when Lila discovers that their mother’s murder is a part of Jack’s secret mission, there will be no getting rid of her.

‘Hunting Lila’ is the debut novel and first in a new supernatural-thriller series from Sarah Alderson.

I have to admit that when I saw the cover of ‘Hunting Lila’ I was underwhelmed and slightly confused. It didn’t scream ‘YA’ to me, and I initially had it pegged as an adult romance, because of the retro Donna Reed dress and red pumps? But the name was quite jarring and didn’t fit this ‘romance’ assumption; ‘Hunting Lila’ isn’t exactly an easy-breezy, lovey-dovey title. I was confused, and stacked it to the bottom of my TBR pile. . . But then the tectonic plates of the blogosphere started shifting and causing an almighty rumble. Whispers spread, five-star-ratings cropped up and recommendations were made. I begrudgingly took heed of these urgings and retrieved ‘Hunting Lila’ from the pile and started reading . . . and then you couldn’t have pried the book out of my hands with crow-bar and baby oil.

‘Hunting Lila’ is superb; it’s adrenaline-fuelled and packing paranormal punch with a brilliant family drama and romantic saga at its centre. The book is ‘X-Men’ meets ‘Heroes’ and ludicrously unputdownable.

Lila is a young woman with a secret – she can move things with her mind. When a dangerous near-miss leaves her shaken and distrusting of herself, she hot-foots it to California and the big brother who has always been reliable in a crisis. Jack is a Lieutenant in the marines, definitely the guy you turn to when in need. And of course there’s also Alex – Lila’s first and last love since she was ten years old – he’s also a lieutenant working alongside Jack in the marine black ops unit. But Lila is greeted with begrudging open arms; Jack and Alex are working a mission and they fear that Lila’s familial ties could put her in danger and a hostage situation.

Lila, feeling rejected and dejected, has no intensions of being babysat and resolves to leave for London . . . until she finds out the details of Jack and Alex’s mission;

“Have you told the police? Shouldn’t you be telling someone? The FBI, maybe? So they can do something?” I wasn’t leaning on the boulder anymore, I was standing looking up at him, shouting. “If you know who killed her and you know why – why aren’t you involving them? Why aren’t you leaving it to the professionals?”

Alex was looking at me and his half-smile returned again. I didn’t get it.

“Lila, what do you think we are?”

I was confused.

“Jack and I are professionals. We’re more highly trained than the police and the feds. We have better equipment and more intelligence than any other government body. We’re using all that to help us find your mum’s killers.”

Alderson’s book is beautifully balanced. Between the action-packed thrills of Lila’s ‘psy’ abilities and the ‘whodunit’ surrounding her mother’s murder, there’s also an emotional family drama and romantic entanglement playing out below the surface. ‘Hunting Lila’ is a prism of plot – it’s multi-layered and churning to keep readers biting their nails and utterly invested from the word ‘go’.

Lila is a wonderful protagonist, and part of the reason I loved her so much was her grace under fire. Throughout ‘Hunting’, Lila has a plethora of emotions raging through her mind. She feels alone in the world, between her freakish new abilities, brother’s abandonment and father’s withdrawal, not to mention her unrequited love; Lila has a lot going on in her life. She pushes her emotions down and buries them deep – scared to rock the boat, she seems reluctant to confront Jack about his cold relationship with their father and is horrified by the thought of revealing her true feelings to Alex, for fear of being laughed away. Lila is an interesting and complex character – she definitely has her issues, particularly where her father and Jack are concerned, and her fear of upsetting the status-quo and being abandoned again. But when push came to shove and Lila’s Psychokinesis abilities have her running scared, she steps up and becomes a formidable character. She revealed a wealth of bravery to be bubbling below the surface and I loved that duality of emotional fragility and awaiting strength.

The other big draw-card of ‘Hunting Lila’ is the romance. Alex is a young, hulking black ops marine who stole Lila’s heart when she was ten years old and he helped rescue her from a tobogganing accident. He’s sweet and macho, compassionate and deadly. There’s a lot to love in Alex, and he’s definitely swoon-worthy. The ‘childhood crush’ romance is tried and true in YA, as is the ‘crushing on brother’s best friend’ angle. But Alderson heats things up and boils the blood by tightly weaving the romance with action.

‘Hunting Lila’ deserves the whispers and rumblings – it is a phenomenal debut novel and a superb supernatural story. Sarah Alderson is a welcome new superstar in the paranormal YA genre; and she’s now an automatic-buy author for me. ‘Hunting Lila’ ends on a BANG! By book’s end Alderson leaves readers looking over the edge of a giant cliff-hanger, and I find myself more than willing to leap off the edge into the sequel!

5/5