Book Review: Collide by Michelle Madow

Collide

By:
Michelle Madow

Release Date:
Jan. 9, 2017

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Goodreads

Source:
eARC from the author in exchange for a honest review

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Amazon

GR's Summary:

**Pre-order now at the special launch price of 99cents! (Ten days after the release it will rise to $3.)**

I should have died when I was shot at the Halloween dance. 

Instead I woke up—one week earlier, in a parallel universe where my mom's fatal car accident six months ago never happened. 

A world with my mom still in it was all I ever wanted. But in this timeline, everything is different—my grades, my friends, and even my boyfriend. I'm a stranger in my own body, and I don’t like who I’ve become. 

But one thing is the same—that shooting will still happen at the end of the week. 

I'm the only one who knows. Which means I'm the only one who can stop it. 

But first I need to convince someone—anyone—that I’m telling the truth... and then get them to help me. 

“A gripping, fast-paced romantic thriller with a unique fantasy twist!"

 

My Thoughts:

I was ecstatic to begin my reading journey with Collide! I was very lucky to read the very beginning of the story as a teaser, and it just made me anticipate Collide even more!  After reading Michelle Madow's, Elementals Series, I have come to love her fun, care-free, adventurous, and fast-paced writing style.

Collide is a titillating and enthralling young adult fantasy.  Anna is at the end of her junior year of high school when her mother dies in a tragic car accident.  The family is devastated, and Anna's life is forever changed.  At the beginning of the following school year, Anna attends the halloween dance with her boyfriend Jake.  During the dance, a gunman shoots and kills Jake, and then Anna.  However, the next morning Anna wakes up in her bed, only to find that she has gone back in time by a week.

Anna's whole life is different.  Her mother is still alive, she is best friends with Claire instead of Marisa, and is dating Zac instead of Jake.  At first Anna (now called Annabelle,) thinks that she must be dreaming, but then quickly realizes that she is in a parallel universe.  She decides to enjoy her time with her mother, and do everything in her power to stop the gunman from killing Jake and anyone else.  She enlists the help of trusted friends.  Will she be able to stop the gunman?  Will Anna eventually wake up in her old reality, or take "Annabelle's" place forever?

I LOVE stories about parallel universes.  Collide was such an amazing reading experience.  I loved trying to figure out who the gunman was.  I guessed fairly quickly, but the author managed to make me start contemplating other possible suspects.  I also loved contemplating the theme of the story.  It really went in to depth about how each action we take in our lives has a ripple effect, and leads us down a certain path.  The idea behind parallel universe's is that there are multiple versions of ourselves that are living out infinite possibilities, when it comes to choices being made and living out different life experiences.  This subject matter is extremely intriguing and fascinating to me.

If you are a huge fan of young fantasy, this one is a great page-turner.  It has romance, mystery, and thrills every step of the way.  The only thing that I wasn't a fan of was the ending.  It left major unanswered questions for me.  I don't know if this was done on purpose, or if the author plans on writing a sequel....      

My Rating:

I give, Collide, by Michelle Madow, 4 "Back in Time," Fast-Paced, Thrilling, Romantic & Entertaining Stars!  I loved it!

About Michelle Madow:

Michelle Madow writes fast-paced YA (young adult) fiction that will leave you turning the pages wanting more! 

She grew up in Baltimore, and now lives in Boca Raton, Florida, where she writes books for young adults. Some of her favorite things are: reading, traveling, pizza, time travel, Broadway musicals, and spending time with friends and family. Michelle went on a cross-country road trip from Florida to California and back to promote her books and to encourage high school students to embrace reading and writing. Someday, she hopes to travel the world for a year on a cruise ship. 

To get new release alerts, special offers, and exclusive content from Michelle, CLICK HERE and subscribe to her newsletter!

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Cover Reveal : Collide (The Taking Series, #3) by Melissa West

Today Melissa West and Entangled Teen are excited to reveal the cover for Collide, the thrilling conclusion to The Taking series releasing in December 2,2014! Check out the gorgeous cover, exclusive excerpt, and enter to win an eARC!

 

Collide (The Taking #3)

by Melissa West 

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Publication date: December 2, 2014

Military legacy Ari Alexander has survived alien spies, WWIV, and a changing world order. But when the new leader of Earth uses Jackson—the only boy she's ever let herself care about—to get to her, Ari has no choice but 

to surrender. To free Jackson, she agrees to travel to the national bases to train others to fight. 

What she discovers is a land riddled with dying people. Ari has the power to heal by turning the fighters into aliens—half-breeds like her. If she succeeds, together, they have a chance at overthrowing the alien leader, Zeus. But if she fails, everyone she holds dear will be wiped away forever.

Once again, everything Ari’s come to believe is thrown into question. In a world of uncertainty, loyalties are tested, lies are uncovered, and no one can be trusted. If Ari and Jackson have any hope at survival and at preserving a life for the future, they must fight the final war with their eyes wide open.

Find Collide Online:

Amazon | Goodreads 

Exclusive Excerpt:

“Wake up!”

I feel as though someone has pinched my mind, shaken my brain around, and asked it to work again. I try to open my eyes, but they’re heavy and clouded and I begin to worry that maybe they are open. I just can’t see.

“Wake up!”

I flinch at the sound, so close to my ear, yet far away. Or maybe it’s my understanding that’s far.

“Ari. We’re out of time. Wake up!”

My mind flashes into focus, but I don’t open my eyes. I can feel, sense, everything around me. The beeping sounds that alternate in succession. The breathing in and out of the person beside me, yet I can’t make out who the person is. Even if it’s a he or she. But what I can sense is danger, danger so intense that the hairs on my arms are at full attention and the xylem in my body has sparked, causing me to instantly want the person beside me dead. If he or she—it—is dead then I am free to escape, even if I have no idea what or who I am escaping from.

“Fine. Just call this payback.”

I have one second to realize that the person is Cybil, before a gut wrenching pain slices through my left arm. My eyes snap open and she’s in front of me, so pale and rattled that she looks like a ghost of herself. I glance down at my arm to see that Cybil ripped out my IV and is now holding it in her hand like a toy.

“I warned you. Look. This likely triggered an alarm. We have to get out of here. Right now.”

I try to nod, but my body is sluggish and I’m not sure that I’ve moved at all. Cybil loops her arm under my back to help me sit up, and instantly the room begins to move in and out of focus. “What happened to me?”

“They happened. Now move.”

I start to climb off the table I’m on, when Cybil’s eyes round out and her body begins to quake. “Cybil? What is it?” I reach out for her, just as her body collapses to the ground and a metal door behind her slides open. Two men dressed in thick white suits rush in, followed by a shorter man. A man I recognize.

“Hello, Ari. Nice to see you awake,” Kelvin says. Kelvin Lancaster. I remember him from the talks with Earth, how he seemed to be in control, how everyone around him acted uneasy in his presence. Like he was more enemy than friend. I start to respond to him, when I feel a sharp pinch in my arm. I look up to see another white-suited person behind me, syringe in hand. I try to push the person away. I try to open my mouth to scream. But suddenly my lips feel tingly, my arms limp. I focus back on Kelvin, on the grin on his face, and then the world around me disappears, and I’m once again alone in the darkness.
 

About Melissa: 

Melissa West writes young adult and new adult novels for Entangled Teen and Embrace and Penguin/Intermix. She lives outside of Atlanta, GA with her husband and two daughters and spends most of her time writing, reading, or fueling her coffee addiction.

She holds a B.A. in Communication Studies and a M.S. in Graphic Communication, both from Clemson University. Yeah, her blood runs orange.

 Connect with Melissa at www.melissawestauthor.com or on Twitter @MB_West.

Find Melissa Online:

Website | Twitter | Facebook 

Giveaway

 Want to win your very own eARC of Collide?  Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway.  Good luck everyone!