Published by: Strange Chemistry, January 7th 2014
Genre: YA, Science Fiction
Pages: 416
Format: Ebook
Source: Strange Chemistry/Angry Robot via Netgalley (thank you!!!)
Seventeen-year-old Riven is as tough as they come. 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?
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?
The Almost Girl tells the story of Riven, a girl from a parallel, advanced Earth, where her best friend is dying and the monarchy is on the brink of being overruled. Her only hope to save her friend and her city is to travel to our Earth in a desperate hunt for the one person who can change everything.
I liked The Almost Girl. It had a heavy emphasis on science and technology, which I am a sucker for, and I loved all the terminology that immersed me in Riven's world. The plot was original and the book well written, but I just couldn't love this book as much as I wanted to.
Caden was a predictable love interest - sweet, caring, with a hidden (SHOCKER) secret. Meh. I could have done without him, to be honest. The relationship between him and Riven felt rushed and unrealistic, and for me the book would have been better without it.
I wish Howard had spend more time going into Cale's backstory and his motives so I could understand him instead of the long, pointless stretch of book in the underground cave system that could have easily taken place in the secret HQ in the city. I felt like I was pushed into liking Caden with very few reasons to actually like him and given no reasons at all to understand Cale, let alone like him. Yeah there were plenty to hate him, but the reality of who he is clearly messed him up. I'm not going to hate someone who has extremely bad, and possibly mental, issues. Hoping book two goes deeper into Cale's story instead of just writing him off as the villain (as I suspect it will.)
However, despite it's problems, and the fact that the book lagged a lot in the first half, I enjoyed it. I loved Riven (right until the end, when she had no problem hating a friend she'd had for fourteen years, and made no attempt to understand what had changed him) and she made up for a lot of the other stuff. I can't say I liked any other characters, but Riven was a pretty kickass, well-rounded character, and she was easy enough to like.
The more I think about this, the lower I want to rate it, but I'll go with my gut and give it four.
Characters ★★★☆☆
Setting/world building ★★★★☆
Writing Style ★★★☆☆
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