Earthrise by Aprilynne Pike

Publication Date: Sept 1, 2015

Series: Earthbound (bk. 3)

Genera(s): Paranormal Romance

Subjects: mystery, supernatural, abilities, love, mythology, gods and goddesses, past lives, memory

Setting: Phoenix, AZ, and various places around the world

POV/Tense: 1st person POV, present tense: Tavia Michaels

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 356 pgs.

HC/PB: Paperback (On Amazon)/E-Book

List Price: $9.99/$5.99

Publisher: Imaginary Properties LLC (NOT Penguin: Razorbill)

Summary/ product description: “Even with the power to create and destroy at will, Tavia Michaels couldn't save her parents. She couldn't save the boy she's loved for countless lifetimes. She barely managed to save herself from the treachery of supposed friends. So how can she save the world from a deadly plague--and the immortals spreading it? As the events of EARTHBOUND and EARTHQUAKE reach their thrilling conclusion, no one is safe--Tavia least of all!”

My Review:  As the final book of the Earthbound Trilogy, Earthrise is an awesome, romantic finish. I couldn’t have asked for a better ending to this series. Now I’m just sad it’s over. I love Aprilynne Pike’s books, though I’ve only read this series and the Wings series. She write really interesting, compelling characters. She does a great job of creating a world or society within the real world.

To recap, In Earthbound, Tavia suddenly has the ability to create things out of nothing, but they only last temporarily. She is living with an aunt and uncle after her parents died in a plane crash. Tavia was injured in the plane crash too and had to under go brain surgery. Some people are out to kill her and a guy named Benson, who works at the local library, helps her. She’s seeing this blond guy, which turns out to be Quinn, her lover in a past life. At the end of the book she meets Quinn’s current incarnation, Logan. She also finds out she’s a goddess, an earthmaker. In Earthquake Tavia tries to convince Logan of what he is, and then his house explodes and they are both captured by the Rediciates and taken to their facility. Logan later receives his memories when they are taken to the Curatoria facility in the Death Valley area. Their powers resurge, but Tavia still only has memories from her past lives as Rebecca and as Sonya. The Rediciata creates a virus that can not only kill people, but Earthbounds too, permanently.

At the beginning of Earthrise, Tavia’s mission to create and distribute vaccines to the world and involves help from a doctor and her friends. She travels to different country, trying to avoid the Reduciata Earthbounds Daniel and Mariana. Tavia exhausts herself and has to create high-caloric foods just to keep her energized enough to create vaccines. Some Earthbounds are dying and catastrophes are occurring. The Rediciata gets of the their tale and tries to discredit the vaccine. Bad stuff happens, but the ending wrap ups nicely.

Also, Tavia is back with Benson. I love Benson. Logan is okay, but Benson is just a regular guy who’s father is an Earthbound and they got caught up in everything. Benson really cares for Tavia. He’s smart, funny and sweet. Logan seems a bit arrogant in believing that Tavia has to love him. They’ve had so many lives together, many of which Tavia’s unable to remember. I think she and Benson deserve a chance to be together for their life.

I recommend this series to fans of: Fallen by Lauren Kate, The Immortal series by Alyson Noel, Halo by Alexandra Adornetto, Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini, any books with mythology, gods and goddesses, angels, demon, magic or abilities. Paranormal Romance in general. Try this book. Also if you liked any Aprilynne Pike books, such as Wings, Spells, Illusions, Destined, Life After Theft or Sleep No More, read Earthbound.

Cover Art Review: Saundra Mitchell designed this cover? The author of the Vespertine? Really? Why wouldn’t Penguin publish this final book?

Earthquake by Aprilynne Pike

Series: Earthbound (bk. 2)

Genera(s): Paranormal Romance

Subjects: mystery, supernatural, abilities, love, mythology, gods and goddesses, past lives, memory

Setting: In a secret underground facility in a desert

POV/Tense: 1^st person POV, present tense: Tavia Michaels

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 365 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: Penguin: Razorbill

Summary/ product description: “Tavia Michaels has discovered that she’s an Earthbound—a fallen goddess with the power to remake the Earth—and that a rival faction of Earthbounds, the Reduciata, has created a virus that is literally wiping swaths of the planet out of existence.

Tavia is captured and imprisoned before she can act on this information, along with her eternal lover, Logan. Huddled in a claustrophobic cell, they lose track of the days, their attempts to escape proving as ephemeral as Tavia’s newly gestating powers. But then Tavia and Logan are mysteriously rescued. . . .

They’re brought to the underground headquarters of the Curatoria, another group of Earthbounds that Tavia doesn’t fully trust. There, she’s told that she can save the Earth before it disappears. She agrees.

Tavia quickly realizes that she isn’t like other Earthbound, and as her abilities continue to awaken, they begin to threaten her centuries-long relationship with Logan. When Benson—Tavia’s former best friend and romantic interest—appears at Curatoria headquarters, Tavia will again have to make a choice about who to be with even as she tries to stop the virus that is destroying the world and uncover the truth about the two Earthbound organizations that have her tangled up in their webs.”

My Review:  When I read Earthbound, I had no idea what to expect. When I read the sequel Earthquake I got something pleasantly unexpected too. I loved Aprilynne Pike’s Wings series, so now I’ve read 6 books by her, and all of them are pretty awesome. Aprilynn Pike is a talented writer and amazing at narration. Wings was in 3^rd person POV, and Earthbound in 1^st person POV. I like 1^st person better. I like Tavia’s voice. She’s relatable and smart.

To recap, In Earthbound, Tavia suddenly has the ability to create things out of nothing, but they only last temporarily. She is living with an aunt and uncle after her parents died in a plane crash. Tavia was injured in the plane crash too and had to under go brain surgery. Some people are out to kill her and a guy named Benson, who works at the local library, helps her. She’s seeing this blond guy, which turns out to be Quinn, her lover in a past life. At the end of the book she meets Quinn’s current incarnation, Logan. She also finds out she’s a goddess, an earthmaker.

In Earthquake Tavia tries to convince Logan of what he is, and then his house explodes and they are both captured by the Rediciates and taken to their facility. Logan later receives his memories when they are taken to the Curatoria facility in the Death Valley area. Their powers resurge, but Tavia still only has memories from her past lives as Rebecca and as Sonya. Logan can remember everything and he’s kind of disappointed that Tavia’s brain is damaged, but he loves her so deeply.

Tavia’s mad at Benson, having discovered a tattoo of the Reduciate symbol on his back. He does make a come back later and I never for a second believed her could possibly be on any side other than Tavia’s. I root for Benson because Logan/Quinn may be her soul mate, but Benson shows Tavia how much he cares. The romance gets a little pushed back because there’s just too much going on. Tavia got more important matters than her love life.

Most of the book revolved around the virus that’s killing people and earthbounds. The crazy thing about it killing earthbounds was that whatever they created disappeared. I’m not sure what that mean for destoyers, but can you imaging mountains, island, anything large going poof? This book has a dystopia/apocalyptic aspect in it along with the paranormal. The two brotherhood that are supposed to be opposing. The secrets, mysteries and betrayal.  There are times you wonder what the heck it going on. Tavia can’t trust anyone, but maybe Logan.

I recommend this series to fans of:  Fallen by Lauren Kate, The Immortal series by Alyson Noel, Halo by Alexandra Adornetto, Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini, any books with mythology, gods and goddesses, angels, demon, magic or abilities. Paranormal Romance in general. Try this book. Also if you liked any Aprilynne Pike books, such as Wings, Spells, Illusions, Destined, Life After Theft or Sleep No More, read Earthbound.

Cover Art Review: It looks more dystopian than anything. I was guessing the paper will be velvety or metallic, but it’s just gloss. The high-speed shot of a cracked frozen flower is interesting.

Earthbound by Aprilynne Pike

Series: Earthbound (bk. 1)

Genera(s): Paranormal Romance

Subjects: mystery, supernatural, abilities, love, mythology, gods and goddesses

Setting: Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Camden, Maine and other towns between

POV/Tense: 1^st person POV, present tense: Tavia Michaels

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 338 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover and now in Paperback

List Price: $17.99/$9.99

Publisher: Penguin: Razorbill

Summary/ product description: “Tavia Michaels is the sole survivor of the plane crash that killed her parents. When she starts to see strange visions of a boy she’s never spoken with in real life, she begins to suspect that there’s much about her past that she isn’t being told.

Tavia immediately searches for answers, desperate to determine why she feels so drawn to a boy she hardly knows. But when Tavia discovers that the aunt and uncle who took her in after her parents' death may have actually been responsible for the plane crash that killed them--and that she may have been the true intended victim--she flees for the safety of Camden, Maine, where the boy she sees in her visions instructs her to go.

Now, Tavia is on the run with no one to trust. No one, that is, except for her best friend and longtime crush, Benson.

Tavia feels torn between the boy who mysteriously comes to her at night and the boy who has been by her side every step of the way. But what Tavia doesn't know is that the world is literally falling apart and that to save it she will have to unite with the boy in her visions. Only problem? To do so would mean rejecting Benson's love. And that's the one thing Tavia Michaels swore she'd never do.”

My Review:  Going into Earthbound, I had no idea what to expect. I bought the book last year because I loved Aprilynne Pike’s Wings series, and really wanted to read something else by her. I finally just read Earthbound right before the sequel comes out. Earthbound is a paranormal romance with mystery and mythology. It’s not about any specific mythology, but it’s about Earthbound gods. Tavia suddenly has the ability to create things out of nothing, but they only last temporarily. I sound like conjuring, which would be a cool ability to have.

Tavia is living with an aunt and uncle after her parents died in a plane crash. Tavia was injured in the plane crash too and had to under go brain surgery. She’s not disabled, but she does have to go to physical therapy and has a psychiatrist too. While being an orphan may be cliché, it doesn’t ruin the story. I really did enjoy this book. It was similar to other paranormal romance books, but also very different. Part of the story is the mystery behind what Tavia is and what she can do. It reminds me of some angel books I’ve read, but it’s not really about angels. There’s a reincarnation aspect that reminded me of the Fallen series by Lauren Kate.

My favorite character in this book is probably Benson. He’s a great friend and the main love interest in this book. He’s a library nerd and very smart. He calls Tavia nicknames that are pastries or confectionaries. He were glasses. Tavia keeps comparing him to superman, like his glasses are just a disguise. I kept picturing Benson as Alex Garfield from the newer Amazing Spiderman movies, or the guy who played Simon in the Mortal Instruments. I love Benson, and don’t care much for Quinn/Logan, but that could change in the second book. Aprilynne has a way of making you fall in love with both guys. I was Team David in Wings. I’m Team Benson for now in Earthbound.

The book starts out in New Hampshire. I don’t think I’ve read any books set in New Hampshire. Tavia grew up in Michigan, my favorite state to vacation. Tavia and Benson travel to Maine, which I’ve read tons of books set in Maine. Tavia is being chances by some bad people who want her dead or want to use her. Her aunt and uncle may not be who she thinks they are. She can’t trust anyone. Even the one person she trusts the most may not be who she thinks they are. There’s some action, explosions, car stealing and adventure. It’s a great book

If you liked Fallen by Lauren Kate, The Immortal series by Alyson Noel, Halo by Alexandra Adornetto, Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini, any books with mythology, gods and goddesses, angels, demon, magic or abilities. Paranormal Romance in general. Try this book. Also if you liked any Aprilynne Pike books, such as Wings, Spells, Illusions, Destined, Life After Theft or Sleep No More, read Earthbound.

Cover Art Review: I love the violet hue of the cover and the opalline paper it’s printed on. The pyramid on the back is awesome. The title looks awesome. The girl may not look like how a picture Tavia, but why go and change the cover to this ugly flower trapped in ice for the paperback?

And then for the sequel’s cover, it looks more dystopian than anything. I’m guessing the paper will be velvety or metallic. Earthquake came out July 8th: