ARC Review: The Almost Girl by Amalie Howard

Buy the book at 

Amazon / Barnes & Noble / The Book Depository

Author's 

Website / Facebook / Twitter

Book summary:

Seventeen-year-old Riven is as tough as they come. But coming from a world ravaged by a devastating android war, she has to be. There’s no room for softness, no room for emotion, no room for mistakes. A Legion General, she is the right hand of the young Prince of Neospes, a parallel universe to Earth. In Neospes, she has everything: rank, responsibility and respect. But when Prince Cale sends her away to find his long-lost brother, Caden, who has been spirited back to modern day Earth, Riven finds herself in uncharted territory.

Thrown out of her comfort zone but with the mindset of a soldier, Riven has to learn how to be a girl in a realm that is the opposite of what she knows.  Riven isn’t prepared for the beauty of a world that is unlike her own in so many ways. Nor is she prepared to feel something more than indifference for the very target she seeks. Caden is nothing like Cale, but he makes something in her come alive, igniting a spark deep down that goes against every cell in her body. For the first time in her life, Riven isn’t sure about her purpose, about her calling. Torn between duty and desire, she must decide whether Caden is simply a target or whether he is something more.

Faced with hideous reanimated Vector soldiers from her own world with agendas of their own, as well as an unexpected reunion with a sister who despises her, it is a race against time to bring Caden back to Neospes. But things aren’t always as they seem, and Riven will have to search for truth. Family betrayals and royal coups are only the tip of the iceberg. Will Riven be able to find the strength to defy her very nature? Or will she become the monstrous soldier she was designed to be?

         Recently almost all dystopian novels that I've read had something in common. That is the reality of the story which at the same time thrills me because of all the ideas and scares the hell out of me because of the possibility of these ideas coming true. This one is no exception.

         Parallel universes have been something that's been fairly popular nowadays and the story here is based on that. Parallel with out world is another world called Neospes, but that universe is way ahead of us when it comes to technology. Their is so advanced that androids are part of the human world and after the android war this universe is in troubles. The only way to save it to secure the monarchy and the only way to do it to go into our world and find Caden. That mission is one that Riven's assigned to and as the best fighter in her world she is not familiar with failure. For the first time she is thrown into unknown and she must fight something she is not familiar with.

        The whole idea of a world where technology is so advanced fascinated me so much, the way the technology became a part of people and with everything going on today it's something that doesn't seem that unbelievable. Riven, our main character here is neatly characterized. She is trained fighter and with some other things about her it's so interesting to see how she adopts to our world and most of all to emotions. Not only those towards Caden, but other people as well. Then there is Caden, a boy that's easy to fall for. Basically this has got everything I could ask for.

        Probably the only thing that I wished was more developed was the past of Neospes. I'm still really curious about it. Was it once as ours is now? I hope I'll find my answers in the next book.

Rating: 4.5 stars.

Until the next time,

***NOTE: Copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher, Strange Chemistry. Thank you! 

I'm not paid for writing this review - I do it as a lover of written word. All opinions are personal!