Title: Rush
Series: The Game #1
Author: Eve Silver
Published: June 11, 2013 by Katherine Tegen Books
Copy: eBook, ePub format
When Miki Jones is pulled from her life, pulled through time and space into some kind of game—her carefully controlled life spirals into chaos. In the game, she and a team of other teens are sent on missions to eliminate the Drau, terrifying and beautiful alien creatures. There are no practice runs, no training, and no way out. Miki has only the guidance of secretive but maddeningly attractive team leader Jackson Tate, who says the game isn’t really a game, that what Miki and her new teammates do now determines their survival, and the survival of every other person on this planet. She laughs. He doesn’t. And then the game takes a deadly and terrifying turn.
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Uhm, okay. As I've mentioned in my previous post, Rush was pretty interesting. I liked the idea of the "game" and a group of teenagers "being pulled" to fulfill a mission. And though I'm not a gamer, I liked that gaming terms and concepts were used. It was new to me.
Also, I liked how the book focuses not only on its sci-fi aspect but also on Miki's struggles with her grief and for always trying to stay in control. And because I am somewhat a control freak myself, I can relate to her. But I liked how in the end Miki's situation taught me how being in control is not always the answer. That sometimes you just have to go with the flow and obey. :)
And of course, there's Jackson. Our typical gorgeous bad boy. From the start it was clear that it'll be Miki-Jackson but their budding romance was not the main focus of the book. I also felt that his character needed more explanation. Sometimes he's annoying but I liked him. Haha! And I AM VERY MUCH LOOKING FORWARD TO READING MORE OF HIM.
Anyway, though I liked reading Rush, some things did not click for me. First was the pacing of the story. It was slow at first, with all Miki's questions and Jackson's crypticness. Through the middle part, the game and the identity of the characters were being established. The slow pacing would have been okay had it not changed near the end. I felt like the answers were just dumped. Like, "okay you want answers? Here are the answers." And I didn't even find them "deep" enough for Jackson to be so secretive.
Second was how I did not get some characters. Well, okay. Maybe it's just me. But unnecessary interactions or relationships are just really unnecessary. Anyway, if there are reasons for such things then I'm looking forward to knowing them in the next books.
Last was the cliffhanger ending! CLIFFHANGER! I still do not know when I'll have a copy of Push. And it's killing me not knowing what happened. I was not prepared for that ending. Not at all. And my emotions were just messed up (still are) after I read it. Huhu! :(
And yes, because of the ending I want to read the next book. That and also the fact that I still have unanswered questions about the game.
So, will I recommend this book? Uhm, yes!. It was an enjoyable read and again for the nth time, it was pretty interesting. Haha!
That's all folks!