Chasing Before by Lenore Appelhans

Series: The Memory Chronicles (bk. 2)

Genera(s): Sci-fi dystopian/Paranormal

Subjects: afterlife, death, love, supernatural, angels, memory

Setting: Level 3

POV/Tense: 1^st person POV, present tense: Felicia

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 359 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover 

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Summary/ product description: “I’m a ticking time bomb. And one day soon everything is going to explode.”

Felicia and Neil have arrived in Level 3 and are supposed to prepare for their divine vocations.

But during Felicia and Neil's training period, a series of explosions rips through Level 3. Tension is high, and casualties are mounting. A rift forms between the pair, one that grows wider when Felicia receives memories from the Morati. The memories cast doubt on the people she loves the most, but Felicia can't stop her curiosity. She has to know the truth about her life – even if it means putting at risk everything she’s worked for in her death.”

My Review:  Chasing Before is the second book in the Memory Chronicles, and the sequel to Level 2, which was given a new title: The Memory of After. It’s set on Level 3 of the afterlife. Level 2 was like a hive of white with pod and people could view and exchange their memories of their life on Earth. Level 3 is kind of like a collage campus in which people can choose their career path, which includes: Muse, Guardian Angel, Demon Hunter, Spirit Trapper, Healer, Caretaker, and Seraphim Guard.

Felicia and Neil arrived on Level 3 together and Felicia’s former best friend Autumn is there. Felicia and Neil decide to try for Muse because of their music background, but keep their option open. Some other friends and enemies also turn up on Level 3. Who can be trusted? Some terrible destruction is being caused by Morati angels, but who are the angels doing this? Could Julian be the cause?

Felicia discovers that she may have not died when she thought she did. She and Neil have months’ worth of memories taken from them. She’s desperate to find out what happened between them. How did their relationship develop after the accident? Felicia also tries for a more difficult afterlife career path that could help her uncover the hidden Morati.

I enjoyed this sequel. It was very different from the previous book. There were still a lot of flashbacks of Felicia’s life, but there was more action and more information on angels and the afterlife. There were tons of crazy twists and intrigue. I love books about angels, but this went a different way than my usual angel books. I also enjoyed the world building of the different levels of the afterlife and different jobs.I'm really confused on whether this is the final book in a duology, but the ending wraps up nicely. 

I recommend this book to fans of If I Stay, The Immortal Series & Riley Bloom series by Alyson Noel, Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver and other books about the afterlife. Also, dystopia books, including Divergent by Veronica Roth.

Cover Art Review: Felicia is on the cover in a black outfit and the balls are memory orbs. I like the title typeface.

Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans

Series: The Memory Chronicles (bk. 1)

Genera: Sci-fi dystopian/Paranormal

Subjects: afterlife, death, love, supernatural, ghosts, angels, travel

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 281 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Summary/ product description: “Three levels. Two loves. One choice. Debut novelist, Lenore Appelhans has written a thrilling otherworldly young adult novel about a place that exists between our world (Level 1) and what comes after life (Level 2).
I pause to look around the hive - all the podlike chambers are lit up as the drones shoot up on memories ... I've wanted to get out of here before, but now the tight quarters start to choke me. There has to be more to death than this.
Felicia Ward is dead. Trapped in a stark white afterlife limbo, she spends endless days replaying memories, of her family, friends, boyfriend ... and of the guy who broke her heart. The guy who has just broken into Level 2 to find her.
Felicia learns that a rebellion is brewing, and it seems she is the key. Suspended between heaven and earth, she must make a choice. Between two worlds, two lives and two loves.”

My Rating: êêêê

My Review: This book had the most unique sci-fi-ish afterlife as its setting. And some angels, but nothing like the other angel-books I’ve read. This was kind of like the Matrix in some ways. There are these chambers that let you relive your memories or other people’s memories. Memories are currency in a way. There were some weird and confusing things, like I had a really had time picturing the hives and chambers. I just pictured a white, blank, uniform world. Like the weirdest dystopia ever. The story was still pretty good.  We learned a lot about Felicia by her reliving her memories. There’re two guys she’s kissed, Julian and Neil. Julian just so happens to be in the hives too.

Felicia has done a lot of traveling in her life. Her mom’s job with the government, an international relations diplomat (I’m not sure what the actual title was) has brought her to places like Germany, Kenya, and South America. Her dad’s a pianist and likes to travel and find inspiration in other countries. I’ve never been out of the US, so I found this interesting. And she has a friend named Autumn, who wants to be published and is making Felicia help write the book.

So there’s action, romance, a unique setting, lots of travel and 2 hot guys. And some world-building. It’s a pretty good book. I honestly did not know what to expect going in this. And I also don’t know what to expect with the sequel. I’m interested to know where Felicia ends up and more information on the angels and the afterlife. I really thought the materialization stuff was cool. It’s basically manifesting.

I recommend this book to people who enjoyed the Matrix, The Immortal Series & Riley Bloom series by Alyson Noel, Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver, and any YA book about the afterlife, and maybe some dystopias.

Cover Art Review: The cover almost hurts my eye to look at because of the neon red-orange and the whiteness. The girl on the cover isn’t bald like the people in the book. I just don’t like the cover, even if the design is kind of cool.

 

~Haley G

Nobody by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Series: STAND-ALONE

Genera: Paranormal Romance/Sci-fi

Subjects: supernatural, energy, assassins, secret societies, love, government agencies

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 393 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: Egmont

Summary/ product description: “There are people in this world who are Nobody. No one sees them. No one notices them. They live their lives under the radar, forgotten as soon as you turn away.
That’s why they make the perfect assassins.
The Institute finds these people when they’re young and takes them away for training. But an untrained Nobody is a threat to their organization. And threats must be eliminated.
Sixteen-year-old Claire has been invisible her whole life, missed by the Institute’s monitoring. But now they’ve ID’ed her and send seventeen-year-old Nix to remove her. Yet the moment he lays eyes on her, he can’t make the hit. It’s as if Claire and Nix are the only people in the world for each other. And they are—because no one else ever notices them.”

My Rating: êêêê

My Review: I love Jennifer Lynn Barnes’s books! I didn’t know about this book until about a month ago. Glad I found out, and now I read it. I wrote this review right away because I was afraid I would forget that I ever read it if I didn’t. (Just kidding. This book is called Nobody, and if you read it, you’d get my joke.)

Another book I had no idea what to expect from. I was very surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I’m not a fan of 3^rd person perspective, but this book was well written. I love this author’s writing style, even if this is different from her usual 1^st person books. Sure, the book had some issues. Over repetitive mentions of being nobody or nothing. An unrealistic romance. But it was mostly good. It was very unique. I wonder how she came up with this. Did she start with the idea of an invisible assassin, or the idea of being an unnoticeable person? Being just another face in the crowd is very relatable. It’s hard to be noticed when you’re shy. But the author took this to a supernatural/sci-fi level. What if you were born unnoticeable? A Nobody. And then there’s the manipulative psychopaths that they call Nulls. The ones who are easily noticed and get what they want. The Society, which is mostly Sensors who call detect energy, is using Nix, a Nobody, to kill Nulls.

In the beginning, Nix is given a job to kill Claire. He thinks she’s a Null, and it takes a while to figure out that she’s really like him. Another Nobody. And then sometime after that, they kiss. Nix doesn’t like the way Claire makes him feel. It’s a freaky kind of insta-love because them both being Nobodies makes them able to connect. They are the only ones who can love each other, because Normals, Sensors and Nulls can’t notice or love them. Makes me feel really sorry for them.

This book was thrilling, action pact, and a fun mix of sci-fi and supernatural. I loved all the scenes where they fade and fly. I loved when Claire made up “situations” in her head. I love all the unique details and world building that went into this. It reminds me of Paranormalcy. If you like that series, check this out. Also, if you liked False Memory, Altered, Pulse, or any other YA series that has a government or non-government agency that does experiments. Or stuff with conspiracies, I recommend this. THIS BOOK IS NOT DYSTOPIAN!! Also, THIS BOOK IS NOT A SERIES. I wish it was a series. I want more! I feel like the characters could use further development. Nix doesn’t have much life-experience, and Claire actually pretty brave. So, this book has twists and turns and few things I never guessed would happen. Enjoy it!

Cover Art Review: I don’t really like the eye image they used. It’s Nix’s eye, I guess. The target over it makes it more interesting, though. And the girl silhouette in the center. The title is okay.

 

~Haley G