Alternity by Mari Mancusi-Review

Mari Mancusi
Publisher:
NLA Digital Liaison Platform LLC
Publication Date: October 19th,2012
Page Length: 236
Alternity

Imagine waking up in a post-apocalyptic, nightmare world--and being told your whole life is but a dream. Skye Brown thought she was your typical teen--good grades, hot boyfriend, and an afterschool job that pays her to play videogames. But then she started having the dreams.

In her dreams, there is no Earth. Only Terra, a bleak, underground wasteland where people live in squalor and oppression. In her dreams, there is no Skye--only Mariah, a rebel leader fighting against a vile, dystopian regime. And then there's Dawn, a handsome, but haunted solider who sees her as but an empty shell of the girl he once love--a betrayer he vows to hate forever, despite what she sees deep in his eyes.

Now, ripped between Dark Siders and club kids, the mundane and the mystic, Skye finds herself in a fight against time--to learn who she really is, where she belongs..and why. The shocking truth will have her questioning her own reality...and her heart.




*I downloaded this book off Netgalley to review. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated in any way for providing them.

Review:

The best way I can describe Alternity is Metropolis meets V for Vendetta which meets something else altogether in a back alley somewhere. Unfortunately the book doesn't quite pull off the mashup of this surreal,technological,Dystopian world well. I want to start with the cons first because I feel that they outweighed the positives.

Cons

World Building- The World of Terra seems like it was built with just enough information to satisfy the casual reader but not enough to really envelop the senses of someone familiar with the genre. I felt that the World was lacking richness and depth. It's almost like the Author couldn't make up her mind how she wanted it to be so just gave up trying entirely.

Skye- Where do I start? Skye is just not a likable character she is stubborn, a bit prudish and definitely not the heroine I was expecting her to be. I got angry at Skye insisting she needed to get back to the "real" world but actually never giving any good reason why. I could understand if she was worried her family might be upset with her absence or worrying over her boyfriend but they aren't mentioned as a reason. Hell if she had said she was worried about missing to many classes I'd even be happy. Now not everything about Skye was bad she was enjoyable to read about while interacting with Dawn and her character did come to life at the end but sadly it was to little and late for me to care.

Pacing- I enjoyed the first couple chapters but then the book slowed way down and for no real good reason. It also became way to technical and I definitely feel that was to blame for the pacing problem. It did pick back up at the end and that was this books saving grace so to speak.

Pros

The Plot- I liked the concept of Alternity and the bare bones of the story was certainly unique but the execution could of been much, much better.

The Ending- I really enjoyed the "twists" in the story. While I could tell where things were heading I definitely was left satisfied when all was revealed.

Skye's Narration- I felt that while yes Skye was a pretty dull character I liked seeing the story unfold through her eyes. It was almost like watching a movie.

Overall this book had some hits and a bunch of misses but in the end it was a good read. I have however come to the conclusion that I think this Author isn't for me. This is the second book I've read by Mari Mancusi and the second time I've been left feeling less than satisfied. Many of the main problems in Tomorrow Land I felt transferred over to this book as well. Certainly give this book a shot and judge for yourself. It was at least worth a one time read. In the end I will be giving Alternity by Mari Mancusi ★★★. Worth a read, worth your time but definitely not without some major bumps along the way.

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