My review of Shudder

Shudder (Stitch #2) by Samantha Durante
Release Date: June 15, 2013
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It's only been three days, and already everything is different.

Paragon is behind her, but somehow Alessa's life may actually have gotten worse. In a wrenching twist of fate, she traded the safety and companionship of her sister for that of her true love, losing a vital partner she'd counted on for the ordeal ahead. Her comfortable university life is but a distant memory, as she faces the prospect of surviving a bleak winter on the meager remains of a ravaged world. And if she'd thought she'd tasted fear upon seeing a ghost, she was wrong; now she's discovering new depths of terror while being hunted by a deadly virus and a terrifying pack of superhuman creatures thirsting for blood.

And then there are the visions.


The memory-altering "stitch" unlocked something in Alessa's mind, and now she can't shake the constant flood of alien feelings ransacking her emotions. Haunting memories of an old flame are driving a deep and painful rift into her once-secure relationship. And a series of staggering revelations about the treacherous Engineers - and the bone-chilling deceit shrouding her world's sorry history - will soon leave Alessa reeling...

Shudder is the sequel to the mindbending dystopian novel Stitch. Unlike Stitch, which is harder to categorise because of its mixed genres, Shudder is firmly set in the dystopian world with plenty of mysterious to keep us entertained.

Eventhough Shudder isn't set long after Stitch at all, but I found myself stumbling through the events trying to figure out what happened in the previous book. Fortuneately, Durante does a good job at reminding us of previous events, and I quickly fell back into the world of Paragon with our main characters Isaac and Alessa.

We also meet a few new characters as well as getting to know our old ones a bit better. This book focuses on the rebellion of the people and their plan of action against the system. We find out some much about the secrets the government are hiding, as well as given to opportunity to experience the dark depths of Paragon like never before.

In this book, Alessa is unsure about her feelings for Isaac because her old feelings for Joe are resurfacing. I felt really sad knowing that she was with Isaac but still thought of her ex. Though she does make a decision by the end that will satisfy fans. Also, the moments she spends with Isaac and completely and utterly swoon-worthy! I couldn't get enough of them.

I'm anxious to read Struck, which is the conclusion to the trilogy, and I predict a lot of action as well as more secrets to be uncovered! I can't wait to see what happens to our characters, Isaac and Alessa.

Rating

A review copy was provided by the author