Anomaly by Tonya Kuper
What is This Book About?
Reality is only an illusion.
Except for those who can control it… Worst. Birthday. Ever.
My first boyfriend dumped me—happy birthday, Josie!—my dad is who knows where, I have some weird virus that makes me want to hurl, and now my ex is licking another girl’s tonsils. Oh, and I’m officially the same age as my brother was when he died. Yeah, today is about as fun-filled as the swamps of Dagobah. But then weird things start happening…
Like I make something materialize just by thinking about it.
When hottily-hot badass Reid Wentworth shows up on a motorcycle, everything changes. Like, everything. Who I am. My family. What really happened to my brother. Existence. I am Oculi, and I have the ability to change reality with my thoughts. Now Reid, in all his hotness, is charged with guiding and protecting me as I begin learning how to bend reality. And he’s the only thing standing between me and the secret organization that wants me dead…
Original Review for Anomaly
This book is fast paced and a easy read. One of the first thing I liked about this book was, that although there seems to be a lot said in the summary, a lot of that happens quickly meaning that we have a lot of the story which we are left to guess at. I also liked that although we get the trope of a teen girl finding that the world around her wasn't as she thought, this wasn't the only revelation that she gets during the book. The book starts with quite a bit of mystery surrounding Reid and Josie's older brother, but through the book Josie slowly gets answers mean after initial bombshell there are aftershocks as well. I like the banter between Josie, Reid and Santos and also the interaction between Josie and her younger brother. I really don't understand Josie's parents at all in this book hey just don't seem to care! The ending of this book was predictable in some ways but there were also a few unpredictable moments that I enjoyed. We are left with the promise of another book, which I can't wait for to find out more about the wider conflicts happening around Josie. (see my original post from 2015 here).
Re-read Review (3.75 stars)
It has been almost two years since I first read this book, and to be honest I didn't really remember that much about it, so it was almost like reading it for the first time again only my reading tastes have slowly changed (as it does over time).
Look back at my review from the first read, I think this time around I enjoyed Reid's sarcastic humour in the chapters from him point of view more. I still like the interactions and batter between Reid, Santos and Josie and am still non the wiser on Josie's parents and their lack of care. This time I was more aware of the flatness of the minor characters, for example Josie has a small group of friends at school and although we only get a few pages with them they just have no personalities. However, this books final twist still came as a surprise, had completely forgotten about that!
Favourite Quotes
“Nerds don't know they're nerds. I know I'm a... well, I prefer to be called a dork, thank you.”
***
"'Well,' he whispered, drawing me towards his side, 'some things, some people, are worth making sacrifices for.'"
Enigma by Tonya Kuper
What is This Book About?
Worst. Road Trip. Ever.
Escaping with Reid Wentworth should have been fun, but how can I enjoy it when I just (accidentally) killed someone, my mom and brother are in danger, and the Consortium is trying to enslave humanity? (Yeah, they aren’t fooling around.) So feeling something for Reid Wentworth was not part of the plan. Trying to help unite the Resistance against the Consortium means I can’t be distracted by hot boys.
The Resistance secret hideout isn’t exactly the rebel base of my dreams. A traitor there wants me dead, but we have no idea who it is. And with both the Resistance and the Consortium trying to control me, the only one I can trust is Reid. If we’re going to have any chance of protecting my family, controlling my unstable powers, and surviving the clash between the Oculi factions, I’m going to have to catch this traitor. By using myself as bait.
My Thoughts*
I really wanted to love this book, I loved the first book
when I first read it a couple of years ago, and have been waiting patiently
since for this sequel. I re-read the first book just before reading Enigma, and I have to admit it
wasn’t as great as I remembered it, but I held out hope that with a few extra
years the author would have developed and grown as a writer and as such the
sequel would be better than the first. Sadly that wasn’t the case for me.
Enigma picks up Josie and Reid’s story just a few days after
we leave them in a hotel at the end of Anomaly. As the blurb explains the two
of them decide to join Josie’s mum and brother at the Hub, and hope to root out
the traitor they believe is feeding information back to the Consortium. With
the Oculi’s ability to cSohange their ability to change their appearance the
traitor could look like anyone! Mean that Josie has to constantly suspect
everyone and it also leads to the consistent need to check that someone was in
fact that person, it reminded a bit of Marvels Jessica Jones and also Vampire
Diaries (season 4). I like this aspect of the plot as it keep you on the
lookout for hints of the traitor in everyone’s actions. Another thing I loved about this book was the
pop culture references, it reminds you of Josie’s ‘roots’ and inherent
geekiness.
However, the second part of this book just felt a bit rushed
and lack any kind of world building, maybe this was because of the decision to
make this a duology instead of a trilogy. If felt as though one moment Josie
and Reid were searching for the mole, the next it was over. I couldn’t connect
with any of the newly introduced secondary characters they didn’t really have
strong personalities, and I felt as though the short lived attempt at a love
triangle was a bit unnecessary.
So a bit of a mixed opinion of this book, although there
were some good aspects which I enjoyed, however I couldn’t connect with other
parts and the second part of the book just felt too rushed for me.
*based on eARC received via Netgalley
