Futuristic
Celene Jur wants to catch the man who disabled her space ship and led to her being put on the auction block as a slave before she was rescued. Chain Reaction by Zoe Archer begins with the intel coming through that a machine exists that can take out the controls of the fighter ships, Celene is determined to be the person who brings that machine in. Celene’s commanding officer is willing to let her go after the machine but only if she agrees to take a person from Nerdworks, the tech support side of the group. Celene doesn’t want to let an untrained non-warrior watch her back as they go after the machine.
Nils Calder realizes that the warriors view the techie works like himself as a fairly useless but Nils is determined to bring down the inventor of the machine and he realizes his special skills are needed to bring them down. In addition, Nils has found himself attracted to Celene in the past but warriors don’t mingle with Nerdworks.
I enjoyed Chain Reaction so much I immediately went out and bought Collision Course so I could get more details about Celene’s capture and rescue. The emotional complexity of the characters was well done and I loved how both main characters were strong individuals but how achieving your goals can also bring about problems. I have been on a space opera kick lately and Zoe Archer’s 8th Wing series is a great world. If you are a fan of either Star Wars or Farscape then you would enjoy Chain Reaction.
You can read an excerpt here.
8th Wing Reading Order:
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Title: Chain Reaction
Author: Zoe Archer
Format: eBook
AISN: B006BVTC5G
Publisher: Carina Press
Release Date: January 9, 2011
Available for purchase: Amazon, eHarlequin
Reviewer: Jessica
**I received a copy of this book from NetGalley but was not required to provide a review and it did not impact my review in any way.
Torrie Masters has had to work hard to convince her family to let her captain one of the freighters in their space transport company but she could lose that right when space pirates capture her ship on her very first run. Unmasked by C.J. Barry begins with Torrie about to go down with the ship after having sent her crew off in a escape pod, but then the computer malfunction corrects itself and she finds herself being boarded by space pirates. Torrie isn’t about to let some space pirate ruin her flight, she is determined to track it and deliver it no matter who gets in her way.
Qaade has never left a captain alive from one of his pirate raids but something about Torrie makes him decide to let her live. He never suspects that Torrie will track him down and almost cost him everything he holds dear. Qaade decides to teach Torrie a lesson but as they spend time together they both are forced to reevaluate their preconceived notions. As they are drawn together, will these differences keep them apart?!
Unmasked is the fourth book in the Unforgettable series. After three books in the series, I was a little nervous that Unmasked would be a bit too formulaic but this was not the case. I was excited that Torrie got her own story after her initial appearance in Unleashed. Torrie is a strong female lead, which she has to be with so many older brothers, but she has a soft gooey center that makes her so loveable. Qaade is the strong hero who takes on the sins of the world onto his own shoulders, never giving himself a break and seeing the small picture instead of the big picture that could help relieve him of some of the responsibility resting on his shoulders. The interplay between the two characters was great and in a small way tied into Unleashed but not enough that if you haven’t read the book you would be lost.
You can read an excerpt here.
Unforgettable Series:
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Title: Unmasked
Author: C.J. Barry
Format: eBook
AISN: B005JSK21U
Publisher: Carina Press
Release Date: October 2011
Available for purchase: Amazon, eHarlequin
Reviewer: Jessica
**I received a copy of this book from NetGalley but was not required to provide a review and it did not impact my review in any way.
Tru Van Dye lives in the prestige think tank planet but in order to stay she must prove that her theory is correct but the only way to do that is to leave the planet and hire a pilot to take her to the dangerous planet where her theory focuses. Unraveled by C.J. Barry, Tru hires Rayce Coburn but after running several scenarios in her alternate-world, she is very concerned about how the rogue pilot will react to her request.
Rayce has been working and spending all his money to fund his dream, a five-star, first-class space station but he is running out of money and time so he must take any job that comes his way that will get him money. But Rayce has never met anyone like Tru and despite his best efforts he finds himself drawn to her.
I loved Unraveled! Rayce reminded me of Han Solo (yes, I am a huge Star Wars fan) which is part of the reason I loved it. He is a smart aleck who is focused on his own dreams and fights against anything that might get in that way. Unraveled is a true space adventure with visits to numerous exotic planets, chases on those planets and fighting leads. Out of all four Unforgettable books, Unraveled was my favorite, which is saying something because I enjoyed the entire series.
You can read an excerpt here.
Unforgettable Series:
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Title: Unraveled
Author: C.J. Barry
Format: eBook
AISN: B005JSJY0A
Publisher: Carina Press
Release Date: October 2011
Available for purchase: Amazon, eHarlequin
Reviewer: Jessica
**I received a copy of this book from NetGalley but was not required to provide a review and it did not impact my review in any way.
With the beginning of the year, Novel Reaction is excited to resume the Books-to-Movie Challenge. For January we are going to be reading and watching I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore. The novel was originally released in August 2010 and is the first book in the Lorian Legacies series. The reading order is, I Am Number Four, The Power of Six, and The Rise of Nine (scheduled to be released in August 2012). You can read an excerpt here.
The publisher’s website describes I Am Number Four as follows:
Nine of us came here. We look like you. We talk like you. We live among you. But we are not you. We can do things you dream of doing. We have powers you dream of having. We are stronger and faster than anything you have ever seen. We are the superheroes you worship in movies and comic books—but we are real.
Our plan was to grow, and train, and become strong, and become one, and fight them. But they found us and started hunting us first. Now all of us are running. Spending our lives in shadows, in places where no one would look, blending in. we have lived among you without you knowing.
But they know.
They caught Number One in Malaysia.
Number Two in England.
And Number Three in Kenya.
They killed them all.I am Number Four.
I am next.
The film was released in theaters February 2011 and stars Alex Pettyfer as John Smith (he also starred in Beastly, one of my new favorite movies) and Timothy Olyphant (who was fabulous in Live Free or Die Hard). I have posted both the book trailer and the movie trailer for you viewing pleasure.
I have to admit I feel a little behind the times since I haven’t read the novel nor read the book but I am excited to do both. Some things to keep in mind while reading:
-I have already heard that the endings of the two are very different, which do you like better?
-What do you think about the actors/actresses they got to play the characters?
I am excited to be starting up the challenges again, so pull up a book, a bucket of popcorn and let the fun begin!
