Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Review: Alien Minds by Christina Bauer




Alien Minds

by Christina Bauer 
Dimension Drift #1
Monster House Books
 April 23rd 2019
YA Science Fiction






DIVERGENT meets OCEAN’S EIGHT in this urban fantasy heist!
On my seventeenth birthday, I wake up in the hospital to find I just survived a sketchy but terrible accident. My parents stand by my bedside—both are beautiful, wealthy, and super-nice. They tell me that once I leave the hospital, I’ll attend the prestigious ECHO Academy, where I’ll churn out equations for the government along with my mega-smart peers.
So, I’m living the perfect life.
Then why does everything feel all wrong?
My parents, my house and even ECHO Academy…none of it fits. Plus, what’s up with Thorne, my brooding yet yummy classmate who keeps telling me I need to remember my true past, which seems to have included a lot of us kissing? That’s one thing I’d really like to remember, except for the fact that I’m pretty sure Thorne is hiding a ton of nasty secrets of his own, including the fact that he may not be from this world. But considering how my own past seems alien to me, it’s not like I can judge. Plus, Thorne has dimples. That’s a problem.
And worst of all, why does it feel so yucky to work on these calculations for the government? It’s all supposed to be part of ECHO, but my heart tells me that I’m helping something truly terrible come to pass. Thorne seems to think that kissing him again will release my real memories.
Maybe it’s time to pucker up. 
“Appealing and engaging. Love the strong female character!” – Arlene’s Book Reviews 
This new series is perfect for: fans of urban fantasy, action & adventure, cool science, evil corporations, forbidden romance and hot new classmates who may or may not be aliens.


MY TIDBITS

This is an easy to read, fun adventure for fans of multiverses, science fiction and a dash of romance.

Meimi wakes up to find herself in a hospital. Her memory is gone, especially of the couple who stares down at her, claiming to be her sponsor parents. But worse, her doctor is the evil government scientist that even her missing memory can't erase from her mind. She has no doubt that something is up, and it no doubt involves her special talents. When she again wakes to find herself in an almost prison-like room, the man finally tells her the secret plans. She is to develop a weapon, which might not even be possible to create, and that in 2 months. Not only that, but the weapon will wipe out several million undesirables, including her own mother. Meimi starts to come up with a plan to stop the madness, but it's almost an impossible task. Especially when there's a hulk of a guard who won't let her out of his sights and he appears to have secrets of his own.

I read the two prequels of this series before hitting this novel, and I highly recommend other readers to do the same, since the backstory is necessary to fully dive in and enjoy this book.

Action sits front and center in these pages, keeping descriptions short and excitement high. Meimi is a wonderful heroine. She has a heart of gold, is willing to do about anything for what she thinks is right, doesn't put herself first, and is a super amazing scientist. It's refreshing to see a kick-butt heroine who can be qualified as such thanks to her mind. And this doesn't kill her spunk or sass by any means. While the scenes are packed full of action and tension, humor flows right along with it. It's easy to notice that the author had fun writing this tale.

The writing isn't deep but allows the story to simply come across in all of its adventure and fun. There is just enough character depth to draw in, but this isn't a book about deep thoughts and emotions. Although...there are definite sparks flying, at times. The romance is there, and while it's a bit of love-at-first-sight, this doesn't quite describe it either. There's enough tension and surprises on this end to keep those pages turning as well. More secrets unravel as the problems increase, and while some things are wrapped up by the end, enough new troubles arise to guarantee that this series won't fall into the trap of becoming a bore. In other words, I can't wait to see where this series goes next.


And here she is...

Christina Bauer thinks that fantasy books are like bacon: they just make life better. All of which is why she writes romance novels that feature demons, dragons, wizards, witches, elves, elementals, and a bunch of random stuff that she brainstorms while riding the Boston T. Oh, and she includes lots of humor and kick-ass chicks, too.
Christina graduated from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School with BA’s in English along with Television, Radio, and Film Production. She lives in Newton, MA with her husband, son, and semi-insane golden retriever, Ruby.
Be the first to know about new releases from Christina by signing up for her newsletter: http://tinyurl.com/CBupdates 


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1 comment:

Giselle said...

Thanks for being on the tour! This sounds like a fun read I'm glad you liked it! :)