Saturday, May 19, 2012

SURRENDER by Elana Johnson

Surrender (Possession #2) by Elana Johnson
Published by: Simon Pulse
Release date:  June 5th, 2012
Received from: publisher/author for review
Reviewed by: AmyG (big sis)
Sister's say: Stunning, Surreal and Stupendous



Surrender (Possession, #2)
Forbidden love, intoxicating power, and the terror of control…
Raine has always been a good girl. She lives by the rules in Freedom. After all, they are her father’s rules: He’s the Director. It’s because of him that Raine is willing to use her talent—a power so dangerous, no one else is allowed to know about it. Not even her roommate, Vi.
All of that changes when Raine falls for Gunner. Raine’s got every reason in the world to stay away from Gunn, but she just can’t. Especially when she discovers his connection to Vi’s boyfriend, Zenn. Raine has never known anyone as heavily brainwashed as Vi. Raine’s father expects her to spy on Vi and report back to him. But Raine is beginning to wonder what Vi knows that her father is so anxious to keep hidden, and what might happen if she helps Vi remember it. She’s even starting to suspect Vi’s secrets might involve Freedom’s newest prisoner, the rebel Jag Barque....  
****contains Possession spoilers...proceed at your own risk if you have not read book 1 yet!****

Holy-freaky-tech-spiders batman, Elana has blown my mind again!  Surrender is the 2nd book in the Possession series.  You can read my review of Possession here.  I really liked Possession, but let me tell you Surrender is even better!  This is definitely not a 2nd book slump either.  I have chewed off all my finger nails, and I'm pretty sure my heart needs to be shocked after reading this book.  Even though it comes in at a whopping 469 pages, it felt more like 200.  It has everything and more that I was wanting from book 2!

Possession is told from Violet's point of view, but Surrender is in alternating POVs between Raine and Gunner.  I loved Vi and Jag and had my doubts to how the story would go on without their POV, but considering what happened at the end of Possession, you could imagine what kind of POV you might find had it still been Vi's story.  I tend to shy away from alternating POVs because I end up being drawn to one character more than another or the voices sound too similar.  However, I have to say, that this is one of the best alternating POVs I've read to date!  Both character's had strong, well-characterized voices.  I ran through pages as quickly as I could on both POVs to find out what was going to happen next.  I loved Raine.  She reminds me of my sisters which obviously, you know from this blog, that I couldn't give her a higher a compliment.  And, Gunner is D-R-E-A-M-Y, and you can add him to your crush list right now!  Anyone that is willing to risk death and pain from torment in the name of love, will always be on my fictional boy crush list!  Raine and Gunner are a worthy hero/heroine pair, and I loved every minute that I got to spend in there minds. :D

I know some of you might be worried after the above paragraph about Jag and Violet.  Don't worry, this is still there story too, but just told through the eyes of other resistance members.  There's still instances for melting and awing, but this time it's for 2 couples and not just 1!  Plus, it gives us a different view into the rebellion.  We know what what Vi, Jag, Zenn, and Thane can do, but Elana introduces us to whole slew of other characters.  Characters with powers that will shock you and even at times make your blood run cold.

Now for the ending, oh the ending.  I think Elana is quickly making a name for herself by creating some of the most out of this world, heart-ripping endings.  Yes, they are cliffhangers!  Yes, they are brutal.  And, YES THEY ARE FREAKING AMAZING!!!  So, please don't run far away just because I say cliffhanger, because trust me, you do not want to miss this ending!

I remember saying in Possession that it was the 1st book I had read that combines dystopian with supernatural.  I loved that idea, and there are a lot more out there like it today.  However, I have to say, that not many people can do supernatural/sci-fi like Ms. Johnson.  Super powers that boggle the mind, terrifying villains, and a world you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy flood the pages of this novel.  My heart was beating out of chest at one moment only to silently drop into my stomach the next.  Surrender is a break-neck, paced, thrill ride that will leave you breathless and begging for more!