{Short Story Sunday} Forged by Jennifer Rush

Short stories are awesome.  They give us in-depth insight into characters, providing anecdotal proof of why some characters are they way they are.  They entertain by creating a certain mood or focusing on a singular effect...some instance in a previous body of work (or one to follow) that might have been glossed over or ignored completely in a longer novel. 

And so I would like to highlight some short stories and novellas set in worlds I've already come to love and learn a little more about some of the secondary characters in my favorite novels.   In addition to offering up a mini review of these short works of fiction,  I'll be underscoring some of my favorite aspects.

This week I'm featuring a prequel story from Jennifer Rush's Altered series:

Title: Forged
Author: Jennifer Rush
Series: Altered, book #0.5
Publisher: Little, Brown BFYR
Publication Date: December 3, 2013
Source: purchased
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Before Anna and Sam, there was Dani and Sam.

There's one rule that all Branch operatives must live by: No attachments. When Dani O'Brien entered the Branch, she planned to trade her freedom so that her family could have a better life. But joining up with the mysterious organization is more than she bargained for. Branch head Connor watches over her closely--too closely. The training is brutal, the experiments are secret, and the missions promise to be anything but ordinary. The only thing getting Dani through each day is the hope that she'll run into Sam--a young man, about her age, who wears the world on his shoulders.

Find out how it all began in this short-story prequel to Jennifer Rush's thrilling and suspenseful Altered series.

This novella was not at all what I was expecting, though that's probably a good thing because honestly, I didn't really want to see how Dani and Sam's relationship developed.  I didn't love Anna's character in either of the full-length books, but I much prefer her to the morally ambiguous Dani.

Except in Forged, Dani is just a girl.  She's only just entered the program and she hasn't let it change her...yet.  And if you're looking for the Sam you've come to know and, well, tolerate, in the other books, you won't find him here.  When he entered the picture, I actually thought to myself, Wow, Sam is much more verbose than we find him in later years.  That should have been a dead giveaway.  Oh, well.  C'est la vie.

I never fully bought that Connor was completely evil in the other books.  But I also know that I tend to favor the pretty villains, so my judgement may be skewed.  However, I really honestly don't think that Connor is pure evil.  If this story had been ten or twenty pages longer, I think I might have my proof, but at 49 pages, you don't have a whole lot more to go on.

It was nice seeing the program in its early days, seeing some of the actual training and testing that participants had to undergo before being released into the field.  As with the other books, there were a couple of twists that I felt were easy to predict, but also like the previous books, it didn't prove detrimental to the story or my enjoyment of it.  In fact, it aided in my anticipation of what Dani was about to face.  And I might actually like her a little now because of her reactions.

Check out my reviews for the other two books in the series:  Altered & Erased.

Personally, I think the series looks better like this:

About the author:

Jennifer Rush lives in a little town on the shoreline of Lake Michigan with her husband and two children. She grew up wanting to be an Egyptologist, but realized she hated the desert and declared herself a writer instead. She won her first writing award in the fourth grade (a Mickey Mouse pencil was the prize) and has been crafting stories ever since. In her free time, she likes to read, Photoshop, and consume large amounts of caffeine.

Her debut YA, ALTERED, released January 2, 2013, from Little, Brown.

Her debut middle-grade, BOT WARS, released March 21, 2013, from Dial Books for Young Readers. It's written under the pen name J. V. Kade and can be found HERE.

Find Jennifer:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest | Tumblr | Instagram

Read More

Labels: altered, favorites, hachette, jennifer rush, novellas, psychological thriller, reviews, sci-fi, short story sunday

Review: Erased by Jennifer Rush

Title: Erased
Author: Jennifer Rush
Series: Altered, book #2
Publisher: Little, Brown BFYR
Publication Date: January 7, 2014
Source: Around the World ARC Tours
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

They thought they had escaped. They were wrong.

After fleeing the Branch with Sam, Cas, and Nick, Anna is trying to make sense of the memories resurfacing from her old life. At the same time, she's learning how to survive in hiding, following Sam's rules: Don't draw attention to yourself. Always carry a weapon. Know your surroundings. Watch your back.

Then a figure from Anna's childhood reappears. Is it a Branch setup, or could it be the reunion Anna has hoped for? Uncertain of where her loyalties lie, Anna must fight to learn the truth -- before she is betrayed again. Ultimately, the answers hinge on one question: What was the real reason her memories were erased?

Jennifer Rush delivers a thrilling sequel to Altered in a novel packed with mysteries, lies, and surprises that are sure to keep readers guessing until the last age is turned.

**There may will probably be minor spoilers for the first book.**

So, I liked Altered when I read it earlier this year...A LOT. Like, even more than I thought I was going to. So I pretty much already knew that the sequel was a must-read and that it was probably going to be just as intense.  And, boy, was it!

I know I just said this, but Erased is intense. I couldn't put the book down. And when I absolutely had to stop reading, I rushed back to it with super-human quickness.  Simply put, I was utterly compelled to continue reading, as Anna, Sam, Nick, and Cas searched for the answers to their past and discovered more than they ever bargained for when it came to their futures.

Erased finds the characters two months after the events of Altered, on the run and hiding out.  They're all kind of on auto-pilot, doing what they need to do to survive and not much else.  The flashbacks are getting worse, and it's difficult for any of them to discern what's real and what's not anymore.  But they're sticking it out, staying together to evade the Branch as long as they possibly can.

Except, it soon becomes clear that their "safety in numbers" theory isn't going to cut it anymore, and Anna is forced to head out with only the ill-tempered Nick by her side.  These two have never been the best of friends, the animosity between them crackling like lightning.  I liked this little interlude, and not just because we get to see Nick and Anna as badasses, working together in tandem to take down some Branch agents that are on their trail.  No, I enjoyed this turn of events much more because it shows a softer side of Nick and through a series of flashbacks, we learn more of each of these characters' history.  At one time, they might not have hated each other.


Stop looking at me like that.  There's no love triangle...not really, anyway.  It's only my ardent wish that Nick was a viable suitor for Anna.  Sam's great and all, but he just seems like a shell of a person at times. But these kids have been through an awful lot, so I'll chalk his behavior up to that.  Especially since he is unfailingly faithful to dear Anna.

I love the team dynamic, with Sam as the leader.  Except, because of some weird bonding experiment done as part of the Altered program, Anna's actually the head of the group.  They are her boys, and she is theirs to protect.  It makes for some interesting situations and some rather funny tests on their part as they try to determine just how far that bond goes.

Exhilarating and fast-paced doesn't begin to describe this novel, but that's a good jumping off point.  As with the first book, I found bits of the plot to be on the predictable side, but again, it didn't keep me from enjoying the story as quickly as I could, especially with some of the awesome twists thrown into the mix.  And though there's more story to tell, and their pasts are anything but clear, this second installment leaves the reader with at least some semblance of closure.  And yet, this reader can't wait to get her hands on the next book.  =)

**possible spoilers below**

A little side-note. I read Altered before I'd ever even heard of the Elementals series by Brigid Kemmerer, and though the premises are very different, the group dynamic is very similar and just as entertaining:

Elementals	Altered
has twin brothers named Nick and Gabriel	has altered boy named Nick who has previously used Gabriel as an alias
oldest brother Michael is the no-nonsense head of the family	Sam, the boy who's been in the Altered program the longest, is also a no-nonsense kind of leader
both series include an outsider who gains acceptance, only to betray the group
Becca discovers she's also an Elemental	Anna was also in the Altered program with the boys

So many similarities from two totally different stories! So, if you've been debating one series or the other, well...just read them both! They are both awesome and I can't recommend them enough.  Both are completely addictive and insanely readable.

Whew!  All those hot, shirtless boys on the covers...*fans self*  I definitely prefer the old covers with the sideways font and clear view of the, um, half-naked guys.  :)

About the author:

Jennifer Rush lives in a little town on the shoreline of Lake Michigan with her husband and two children. She grew up wanting to be an Egyptologist, but realized she hated the desert and declared herself a writer instead. She won her first writing award in the fourth grade (a Mickey Mouse pencil was the prize) and has been crafting stories ever since. In her free time, she likes to read, Photoshop, and consume large amounts of caffeine.

Her debut YA, ALTERED, will release January 2, 2013, from Little, Brown.

Her debut middle-grade, BOT WARS, released March 21, 2013, from Dial Books for Young Readers. It's written under the pen name J. V. Kade and can be found HERE.

Find Jennifer:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest | Tumblr | Instagram

Read More

Labels: altered, favorites, hachette, jennifer rush, must-read, psychological thriller, reviews, sci-fi

Teaser Tuesday #66: Erased by Jennifer Rush

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Here are the books we're teasing this week:

Title: Erased
Author: Jennifer Rush
Series: Altered, book #2
Publisher: Little, Brown BFYR
Publication Date: January 7, 2014
Source: Around the World ARC Tours
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

They thought they had escaped. They were wrong.

After fleeing the Branch with Sam, Cas, and Nick, Anna is trying to make sense of the memories resurfacing from her old life. At the same time, she's learning how to survive in hiding, following Sam's rules: Don't draw attention to yourself. Always carry a weapon. Know your surroundings. Watch your back.

Then a figure from Anna's childhood reappears. Is it a Branch setup, or could it be the reunion Anna has hoped for? Uncertain of where her loyalties lie, Anna must fight to learn the truth -- before she is betrayed again. Ultimately, the answers hinge on one question: What was the real reason her memories were erased?

Jennifer Rush delivers a thrilling sequel to Altered in a novel packed with mysteries, lies, and surprises that are sure to keep readers guessing until the last age is turned.

     "I closed my eyes. I was so tired. I was tired of arguing. Tired of being treated like I was somehow more fragile than the boys. I might have been a girl, but that didn't mean I needed to be coddled. I contemplated confessing that we'd encountered agents, that we'd seen Riley, that we'd had to fight for our lives and won. But he was already annoyed, and telling him all that would only make it worse."

-- p. 90

Agreed!  I hated how they treated Anna like she might break in Altered, especially after all that they've learned about each other.  But it seems like Anna's tougher and more willing to stand up for herself this time around.  However, there are also times when it's best not to poke an angry dog with a stick, so to speak.  :P

What are you teasing this week?  Share it in the comments or leave a link so we can visit!

Read More

Labels: altered, hachette, jennifer rush, psychological thriller, sci-fi, teaser tuesday

Review: Altered by Jennifer Rush

Title: Altered
Author: Jennifer Rush
Series: Altered, book #1
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: January 1, 2013
Source: DAC ARC Tours
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

When you can’t trust yourself, who can you believe?

Everything about Anna’s life is a secret. Her father works for the Branch at the helm of its latest project: monitoring and administering treatments to the four genetically altered boys in the lab below their farmhouse. There’s Nick, Cas, Trev . . . and Sam, who’s stolen Anna’s heart. When the Branch decides it’s time to take the boys, Sam stages an escape, killing the agents sent to retrieve them.

Anna is torn between following Sam or staying behind in the safety of her everyday life. But her father pushes her to flee, making Sam promise to keep her away from the Branch, at all costs. There’s just one problem. Sam and the boys don’t remember anything before living in the lab—not even their true identities.

Now on the run, Anna soon discovers that she and Sam are connected in more ways than either of them expected. And if they’re both going to survive, they must piece together the clues of their past before the Branch catches up to them and steals it all away.

Smokin' hot cover ALERT!  Okay, soooo...yeah, maybe that's what got my attention -- props to the pub -- but the premise also intrigued me.  Four boys who don't remember a thing before waking up in an underground lab where they are continually tested and experimented on, without their consent?  Now they've escaped and they're taking Anna with them?  Yeah, count me in for that ride.

What a remarkable debut from Jennifer Rush!  I mean, I expected to like it, what with the action, the chase, and the promise of romance, but I'm kind of blown away with how MUCH I liked it.  Like stayed-up-until-the- wee-hours-of-the-morning-reading-it liked it.  Hot boys are hot boys are hot boys, but when you consider the genetic alterations and the personalities of each boy and then throw in an innocent girl who's been their friend for the duration of their captivity, you get an awesome cast of characters and a group dynamic that almost becomes a character itself.

All of the boys are around 18, though they've all looked 18 since Anna met them five years ago, and they are all beautiful.  Nick is, as one character describes him, "all brass and balls."  He assumes that whatever came before the lab isn't worth remembering, so he doesn't even want to try.  And he is very distrustful of Anna, with seemingly no reason to be.  Cas is the joker of the group, the one who can make light of any situation, and nothing seems to be able to hold his attention for very long...except Anna's cookies.  Trev is Anna's best friend  -- remember, she's very sheltered because of the Branch operations, so these boys are all she knows -- and he has a finesse for remembering things, especially famous quotations.

Sam is the leader of the group.  He is stoic and mild-mannered, but he's caught the attention of Anna.  Anna, who is under the assumption that these boys are being trained as the ultimate soldiers for our country.  Although the boys can't remember anything of their past lives, they seem to know that this is not true.  Without alerting Anna or her father to the plan, the boys formulate a means of escape.  You could feel the urge to leave emanating off of them through the pages, especially Sam, but it caught Anna unawares.

The resulting cat and mouse game between the boys and Anna and the Branch agents is exciting and exhilarating as the boys and Anna race to unlock the secrets of their past before they are apprehended.  But just as they find one answer, more questions are brought to the surface.  As the situation becomes more dire, it becomes evident that they can't trust anyone, maybe not even each other.

This fast-paced thriller kept me glued to the pages, turning them faster and faster as more clues were uncovered.  Some aspects were a tad predictable but for the most part, I found myself surprised time and again as I read.  And although this is the first book in a planned series, it read as a stand-alone and ended on a note that only hinted at future goings-on.  So, you don't have to commit to reading past this first book, but I don't know why you wouldn't want to.  =)

Rating:   1/2

Favorite Quotes:

"An unremarkable green, like river water, his eyes were nothing to look at, but they were something else to be watched with."

"Hope is a waking dream. I let the words echo in my head. The quote reminded me of that feeling you get when you start to wake from a dream you don't want to leave. That crushing sensation in the center of your chest, like you are losing an important piece of yourself you won't ever get back."

"You're the only person I trust. That's not something to waste."

Read More

Labels: altered, arc tour reviews, dac 2013, hachette, jennifer rush, psychological thriller, reviews, sci-fi