Blog Tour of Gravity by Melissa West - Review & Favorite quote

Hello and welcome to the next stop on Melissa West's Gravity blog tour. Be sure to check out my review below along with my favorite quote of this novel and the giveaway below sponsored by Entangled Publishing! 

In the future, only one rule will matter: Don’t. Ever. Peek. 

Seventeen-year-old Ari Alexander just broke that rule and saw the last person she expected hovering above her bed — arrogant Jackson Locke, the most popular boy in her school. She expects instant execution or some kind of freak alien punishment, but instead, Jackson issues a challenge: help him, or everyone on Earth will die. 

Ari knows she should report him, but everything about Jackson makes her question what she’s been taught about his kind. And against her instincts, she’s falling for him. But Ari isn’t just any girl, and Jackson wants more than her attention. She’s a military legacy who’s been trained by her father and exposed to war strategies and societal information no one can know — especially an alien spy, like Jackson. Giving Jackson the information he needs will betray her father and her country, but keeping silent will start a war.

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So a quote that I really liked in Gravity? It has girl power written all over it and you all know how much of a feminist I am so here it is!

"My head snaps back, my mouth fills with a metallic taste. I lick away the blood from my bottom lip and try to shake away the throbbing pain. Anger bubbles from my chest and I lunge for him, kicking and swinging, unsure of anything but the force of my movements. I want to beat him. I’m going to beat him. I pull away and he stumbles again, shock written across his face. I fight the urge to spit at him and instead push him further backwards.
“Bring it,” I scream, and then narrowing my eyes and lowering my voice, I whisper, “I’m not afraid of you.” "

Gravity, oh gravity I had such high hopes for you. The synopsis was so intriguing, I am not sure there was any dystopian/Sci-Fi fan who wasn't anticipating this novel. I just need to point out first that I read an early edition and I have heard many changes occurred, most of which I had problems with so keep in mind that many of the issues I will mention have probably been rectified.  

In Gravity we've got two species, the humans, and the Ancients. You really don't know much on how the Ancients arrive or their relationship to humans or why they do things called The Taking (even after I finished the book I really didn't get it). However Ari finds out who her Ancient is and is surprised that it is Jackson, the most popular guy in school and her rival for top seed in school and becoming an operative. I felt Ari was a bit naive and very easily manipulated to give any information one needs even if it betrays her father. I also felt like the world building was a bit weak and while the beginning didn't give much, and that helped in keeping the readers on their toes, I hoped by the end I would have answers to many of my earlier questions.  

However I really loved the last couple of chapters for the novel. The direction Melissa West, while not all that unique, was still one that got me excited for the second book. The whole biological warfare and the struggle between wondering whether the Ancients were good or not and what their world was like was what made me enjoy the novel in the end. I won't really mention the romance because I personally tried my best to ignore it. It was too insta love for me but I'm glad it didn't overshadow the main plot. I do hope a love triangle (gasp!) would emerge in the second book, but not a flimsy one where Jackson still ends up with her, no competition, but one where the other guy might just get her in the end! as the saying goes, all's fair in love and war.  

I do recommend this novel, especially the edited and modified edition for the readers who found the synopsis to be intriguing. Give it a try, I am pretty sure if I read the changed version I would have liked it so much more! I recommend this to fans of The Shadow Society by Marie Rutkoski and Sci-Fi/Futuristic genre lovers! 

Melissa lives in a tiny suburb of Atlanta, GA with her husband and daughter. She pretends to like yoga, actually likes shoes, and could not live without coffee. Her writing heroes include greats like Jane Austen and Madeleine L'Engle.

She holds a B.A. in Communication Studies and an M.S. in Graphic Communication, both from Clemson University. Yeah, her blood runs orange.

GRAVITY is her first book.

Find Melissa on: 
Website/Twitter/Facebook/Goodreads

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