Review : Hover by Melissa West
Title : Hover (The Taking #2)
Author : Melissa West
Publication Date : August 13th 2013
Publisher : Entangled Teen
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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 Zeus will do anything to save the Ancients from their dying planet, and he has 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.
Personal Thoughts
Hover, the sequel to Gravity, was a fulfilling second book in the series although I did have a few qualms with it. Despite the few issues I had, the growth of the characters and the better understanding of the world building made this book a successful one for me.
Ari was a kick-ass character that I fell in love in the first book. In this book, she grew even further. She was bold, strong and wasn't afraid to fight for her loved ones. In Hover, she still possessed those qualities, but she was also more mature, the events of the previous book having propelled her to become a harder character who wasn't ready to trust anyone easily. Ari became an even more likeable character according to me and the level-headed way she handled the obstacles that she faced in the book made her an even more amazing character to me. Her love interest, Jackson, was a character that I was slightly iffy about. I felt like I didn't know him enough, but in this second book, I got to know him on a more emotional level. Jackson's harsh childhood came to light in Hover and it helped understand his character much better. His situation was incredibly heartbreaking, but at the same time, you get to realize what a brave character he was for having handled all of it so calmly all for the sake of his grandmother. There's nothing more I find attractive than a guy who looks after his grandparents, so Jackson's love for his Mami was touching.
Hover also provided more insight into the twisted mind of Zeus. We get to see what a crazy evil guy he is and the way he treated everyone around him ignited hatred in me for him very easily. Zeus was the kind of villain who didn't care about anything else except for himself. He was the villain that I love to hate. There were also some interesting secondary characters, Emmi and Vill, who were introduced to Hover. Their personalities were intriguing and they played a crucial role in the development of Ari's character and to the moving of the plot. Vill, with his perceptive and philosophical mind, had me fascinated by his character.
The previous book in the series was set on Earth, while Hover was based in Loge, an alien planet. So, I got to know a lot more about what the lifestyle on Loge was like and how the Logeans behaved. I liked getting to know what life on the alien planet was like and the author made sure that you knew what was going on. The plot, for the most part, dealt with Ari attempting to assassinate Zeus. I personally thought this was where the shortcoming of Hover came in. The plot progressed slowly and I missed that action-packed, fast nature of the first book. It wasn't boring by any means, but I thought it went a little too slowly until the the last couple of chapters. This is a personal preference, but the book also ended in a killer cliffhanger, and I generally don't like those because they leave me frustrated and pining for more.
I had a few issues with the romance in the first book, mainly attributing to the fact that it developed a little too fast, but in Hover, the romantic relationship developed at a nice slow pace with the characters gaining a better understanding of each other. For the most part, the relationship between Ari and Jackson was tense, due to Ari's lack of trust in Jackson. However, we slowly start to watch the two of them overcome the hurdles in their relationship and by the end I was very much pleased with its development. Melissa West has a promising writing style that captivated me in the first book and it continued to do so in this installment as well. All I know is that I'm dying for book 3 already!
While not without its flaws, Hover was a great addition to the Taking series. It had well fleshed-out characters, an intense romance and brilliant world-building, all of which made this book a great read for me.
Rating
Cover : 4/5
Plot : 3/5
Characters : 4/5
Writing : 4/5
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