Hover by Melissa West
Series: The Taking #2
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Source: Netgalley
ISBN: 9781622660087
Release Date: July 30, 2013
Pages: 240
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On Earth, seventeen-year-old Ari Alexander was taught to never peek, but if she hopes to survive life on her new planet, Loge, her eyes must never shut. Because in this world, pleasure is everything, held up by a ruling body that keeps their people in check by giving them what they want and closing their eyes to what's really happening around them. The only hope Loge has is to move its people to Earth, and they have a plan.
Thousands of humans crossed over to Loge after a poisonous neurotoxin released into Earth’s atmosphere, nearly killing them. They sought refuge in hopes of finding a new life, but what they became were slaves, built to wage war against their home planet. That is, unless Ari and Jackson can stop them. But on Loge, nothing is as it seems…and no one can be trusted.
After I finished Gravity I was so excited to start Hover, but I just didn't connect with it. Hover just didn't enthrall me the way Gravity did. I’m not sure what exactly was different or what was missing from this one because it still had a lot of the same elements, but something changed for me compared to the first book.
Don’t get me wrong. I liked Hover, but not as much as the first book. There was more espionage in it than the first novel. Ari is training to be a RES (Republic Employed Spy), and the idea of the humans now having to fight against their own kind and salute to Zeus was a brilliant move. Zeus was so villainous and maniacal. He tortures his grandson for his own entertainment, beats and terrorizes his wife, and even his people are only loyal to him out of fear. Everything Zeus did was from a psychotic view. He had no fear, which made him even scarier. And to have humans now turn their backs against their friends and family and require them to bow down to Zeus was amazing.
I liked all the new characters that were added from Vill to Emmy to Mami. Each provides Ari the support she needed to become a leader. Vill was just an all-around nice guy. He was smart and kind. Even before the events of Hover he developed all this crazy scifi stuff in order to communicate with Earth without Zeus knowing. I can only hope we will see more of him in the next book. He also genuinely cared about Ari even after meeting her for the first time. He didn't just seem like that extra character thrown in to round out the previous characters.
You are a leader, Ari. You were born a leader and you will die a leader. It is who you are. Everyone who meets you knows it. And you know it, even if you question it.
Ari had a lot of doubt in herself. She didn't believe she was brave or a leader even if everyone else around her did. Everyone saw it in her. Ari is fearless even if she didn’t know who she was anymore.It is the reason why she was the one thing that Zeus was terrified of. He knew she would be the one to destroy him and he did everything in his power to break her. Everyone believed in her. Emmy, Mami, Vill, and Jackson all saw her potential before she realized it in herself.
Ari and Jackson’s relationship is further developed in Hover. Ari doesn’t know if she can trust Jackson after she feels he betrayed her in the last novel. She wants to believe him, but can she? Jackson is still keeping secrets, but you can tell her is trying to do what he thinks is best to protect her. He knows what Zeus is capable of and doesn't want to put Ari in harm’s way.
Finally, the ending! Ugh! I have very mixed feelings about it. I finished the book while on my way to work and I was so engrossed in it and then it just ended. I felt cheated. I looked up and was so confused. On one hand whoa what an ending, but on the other hand I hated it. I was so upset. The ending felt rushed and I just felt like it was cheaply done. It could have still ended in a cliffhanger, but not so abruptly. It was like someone just came up to me, shoved me, and then ran off.
