Tuesday 12 February 2013

Review: Quicksilver by R.J Anderson

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars



Source: Publisher via Netgalley

Synopsis from Goodreads:
Back home Tori was the girl who had everything a sixteen-year-old could want—popularity, money, beauty. Everything. Including a secret. That secret made her very valuable. 

Now she's left everything from her old life behind, including her real name and Alison, the only person who truly understood her. She can't lose the secret. But if she wants to have anything resembling a normal life, she has to blend in and hide her unique…talents. 

Plans change when the enigmatic Sebastian Faraday reappears in Tori's life and delivers bad news: she hasn't escaped. In fact, she's attracted new interest in the form of an obsessed ex-detective now in the employ of a genetics lab. 

She has only one shot at ditching her past for good and living like the normal human she wishes she could be. Tori must use every ounce of her considerable hacking and engineering skills—and even then, she might need to sacrifice more than she could possibly imagine if she wants to be free. 

The riveting companion to R.J. Anderson's acclaimed Ultraviolet



I had forgotten how much I loved Ultraviolet- the first book in this series, but it all started coming back to me once I started reading Quicksilver. This book is emotional, tense and mysterious and I was gripped all the way through. I so easily got lost in this world, and was right there with these incredible characters.

This companion novel focuses on Tori- a relatively minor character in Ultraviolet, and it's funny that when told from her perspective she is so much more likable! Her experiences have definitely changed her for the better. I didn't like her much at all in Ultraviolet, as she came across as the popular, bitchy high-school cheerleader type.

But all that is stripped away in this book, as she makes a fresh start in a new school away from her old life completely. Tori is a fantastic mix of strong and flawed, and I loved cheering her on. Her passion for engineering and creating things is admirable and she has a determination to leave her past behind, and make a completely fresh start. Tori is a very resourceful, smart, and interesting, crazily unique character and I loved rooting for her.

Quicksilver starts off a few months after the events of Ultraviolet. Although this is listed as a companion novel and not as a sequel, I would recommend reading Ultraviolet first, as Quicksilver dives straight in and references the events of Ultraviolet without much explanation. I think I would've been lost without knowing the background of the past events and the history between the characters.

The story could have easily ended with Ultraviolet as everything was wrapped up, and seemed to be starting a new phase, but I really loved catching up with Alison and Sebastian again, and seeing exactly 'what happened next' for each of them.
There are also new characters introduced- like Milo, who quickly becomes one of Tori's best friends and someone that she feels she can confide in. He is very sweet and I smile whenever I think of him, but he is a very interesting contrast to Sebastian.

This book is very intense, very clever, and bursting with tension and suspense. The tone of this book is slightly different from this book to Ultraviolet but only because of the change in perspective from Alison's experiences in a mental hospital to Tori's snarky world view in her new town. Both books are slightly different but highly enjoyable.

I also love that nothing is ever predictable in these books. There are plenty of unexpected twists and the author doesn't shy away from presenting tragedy and heartbreak, so there is never any guarantee that there will be a happy ending. Tori lives in constant fear of being discovered and that tension rolls off the pages.

This is a boldly different YA series, with such great characters. A sci-fi novel with a streak of realism through it. I raced through it, and I think it's fantastic.

3 comments:

  1. OOh. I've just remembered I still have this book on my Kindle to read! I absolutely LOVED Ultraviolet and found it hugely addictive and surprising, so I'm not sure why I've waited so long to read this book.

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  2. Not predictable..i love it. This series is new to me, and I will add them to my list. So glad you enjoyed them :)

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  3. great review Sally, I LOVED the first too and cant wait to read this one. Glad you enjoyed Quicksilver!

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