Apolonia

I really do admire when authors step out of their comfort zones. When they take a leap of faith into a territory they are strangers in. I applaud McGuire once again for writing a book that stands out from her typical contemporary romance genre. Last year McGuire did this similar move with the book Red Hill, which I loved immensely. No romance, just survival and hope against the zombies. Well McGuire did it again with Apolonia. Now this time, she did incorporate some romance but it was not the forefront of the story. Apolonia takes you on a roller coaster that's out of this world.Before chatting about the story, I want to take a few moments to gush over the book cover. Isn't it fantastic? I knew as soon as I saw it, I had to read it. The colors and graphics just draw you in. So kudos to the mastermind(s) behind the creation of the cover.Now on to the story inside the pages of Apolonia. This story follows the recent life of Rory, college student that survived something so horrible and tragic, that its hard to believe. Her parents and sister did not survived this same attack and were brutally murder. And when I say Rory survived, don't think it was your typical survival story either. Rory died but did come back and now believes she can't die. So Rory is left with huge trust issues and resentment towards everyone. How she works around her issues is that she is dedicated to her studies and one professor in particular Dr. Z. Rory helps Dr. Z alongside another student on a special top secret project that only Rory and Cy know what exactly they are doing.Rory you can say has one friend (sort of), remember those trust issues, yea they are in full affect all the time. So friend might be exaggerating a bit but its the closet person she has left. This boy that follows Rory around like a sad puppy is called, Benji. He is madly infatuated with Rory, and tells her he will wait for her to be able to be more with him. When all these feelings and doubts begin to take shape with Rory, Cy the quiet mysterious guy she has been working with, finally decides to start speaking to Rory. This clouds Rory even more that what she has been. Does she go with the safe choice which is Benji or does she venture towards the unknown which is Cy. Regardless they are both mouth watering (FYI).Now if you think the romance and angst is the focal point here, no not even close. Believe me when I say the romance is a part of the main picture. Secrets and mysteries begin to unravel and Rory, Cy and Benji are all involved in this circle. The world Rory thought she lived in, will open a new window to something else. And this will put Rory in the center of something supernatural-out-of-this-world that is happening around her. Who will Rory trust after everything is revealed, you have to read to find out.Highly recommend for the Sci-Fi junkie and of course any fan of McGuire will approve. - Yara

This and more reviews at The Book Bar.coI love McGuire's SciFi, Red Hill, and was excited to read Apolonia. The pace was fast and intriguing. The main character is mysterious, but her standoffish demeanor only begs for more attention. You forget that it's categorized as science fiction/paranormal until it smacks you in the face.Aliens, Xena, fringe departments of the CIA I could handle, but nothing was worse than wet clothes.McGuire, Jamie (2014-10-06). Apolonia (Kindle Locations 2251-2252). Jamie McGuire LLC. Kindle Edition.I was immediately sucked in to Rory's life. I wanted to know why she was such a [female dog] to everyone and why she kept referring to herself as being killed and living a new life. I questioned whether she was human and why her family was killed, but she was still alive to mourn their loss every day. She finds solace in the day to day school ritual and working for her professor.I turned my head and stared into his beautiful golden eyes. He always had a calming effect on me, even when I hated him. He was dirty, covered in grease, soot, and blood, but he was still beautiful. Like my mother just before she died.McGuire, Jamie (2014-10-06). Apolonia (Kindle Locations 2570-2572). Jamie McGuire LLC. Kindle Edition.Then the men in her life take her out of her norm and she starts questioning herself and their motives. She was tough as nails, but these guys make her more lovable. You start falling for the romance and want Rory happy with someone.“It’s okay, you know, if you like him. You don’t have to worry about me.”My eyes met Benji’s. He looked wounded. “I never asked you to like me.”He shook his head. “No , I know. I just… I will always be your friend. It doesn’t matter if you reciprocate those feelings or not. I don’t need you to love me to love you.”McGuire, Jamie (2014-10-06). Apolonia (Kindle Locations 816-819). Jamie McGuire LLC. Kindle Edition.You start to feel like you're reading a mysterious love triangle when the sci-fi spins you around and takes you for a crazy ride. Let go of your typical romance read, this is going to come from outer-space. I feel like this may have lost typical McGuire fans, but it's fun and so creative. Enjoy the change and develop a connection with the unthinkable.“Love is the most overused word in the English language. It’s confusing to everyone. Some people live their whole lives and never get it right.”McGuire, Jamie (2014-10-06). Apolonia (Kindle Locations 2963-2964). Jamie McGuire LLC. Kindle Edition.The writing is still McGuire, even though the genre is different. The words paint beautiful images in your mind and you feel the rush of adrenaline as the characters race to the ending. Take a chance on this paranormal/sci-fi and you may be pleasantly surprised.

The reviews on this are so polarised. I thought back to Red Hill, which I couldn't wait to read but disliked when I did. I felt it didn't flow well, didn't make real sense and was badly edited and made huge assumptions that readers would understand it.This story starts with a time issue. I read the beginning twice to see if I'd missed something and honest thought, here we go- another Red Hill - only it's not.It's really good.Rory is hurt, disillusioned, angry and lonely, she dresses in black and has cut and shaved her hair so she can forget a dreadful thing that happened to her. Benji is handsome, smart, rich and preppy, her opposite. Only he wants her and she can't stand him. Enter Cy into the mix, he's also gorgeous and is very enigmatic, Rory is inexplicably drawn to him.Some reviewers complained about the first half of the book and said it was boring. I thought it set the scene beautifully and it slowly built up the characters and tension for the explosive second half, which, although I loved it, could gave been more detailed for me. I have lots of questions needing answers.Tory isn't a nice heroine but you still root for her. Benji and Cy are both good heroes.I thought it was excellent.

Rory is still recovering after nearly being murdered and the loss of her family and best friend. She meets Benji and Cy whilst studying with Dr Z. I won't go into anymore details because it will spoil the plot, this book has an amazing story line. Sadly, I was just a little bored to begin with, the first half of the book just covers the relationships between the characters and I nearly gave up ! I'm glad I didn't because the 2nd half of the book was brilliant. I have read a lot of books from this author and loved every one of them. I just felt this book took too long to get going.

What has happened to Jamie?! I loved her earlier stuff, but the last few books she has published have been awful - and this unfortunately was no exception. The characters were dreadful, the story/plot were equally bad and the twist was obvious within the first few chapters. Massive disappointment. So much so that I'll be thinking twice about buying anything by Jamie McGuire from now on, and will no longer pre-order any of her stuff. Too many disappointments.

Sorry - really wanted to like this. But poor plotting and weak characters ruined it. Not to ruin the story but you can expect the characters to go to classes and back to classes in the first half. Then huge battles and action in the second. All with fairly incomprehensible characters who are hard to like as they are not very clearly defined. Rory is done better than the other characters but that is pretty much as I can say.

Absolutely fantastic writing really enjoyed the sci fi side of the story. I thought I got the plot at first realised what was going on but I was wrong. Kept me reading till finish to find out what happens at the end it was a good shock. Hope there's gonna be a conclusion to what happened next. X