REVIEW TOUR AND GIVEAWAY: Apolonia by Jamie McGuire

Blurb

“They killed me, but I survived.”

Three years after Rory Riordan foiled her own murder, she still trusts no one. Not Dr. Z, the eccentric college professor who has taken her under his wing, not Benji, the endearing, attractive classmate who insists on following her around, and certainly not Cy, the beautifully dark and mysterious boy who sits on the first row in Dr. Z’s Astrobiology class and asks far too many questions.

When Rory witnesses Cy being abducted by soldiers in the middle of the night, she finds herself submersed in a world that holds even more secrets than she could imagine–even darker secrets than her own.

From #1 New York Times Bestseller Jamie McGuire, experience the perfect combination of her bestselling books Providence & Beautiful Disaster. This New Adult Sci-Fi Romance is an action-packed, whiplash-inducing roller coaster ride. Page after page, this unpredictable, dark and sexy nail biter will keep readers guessing until the very end!

Review

I love a good science fiction read; one that lures readers in with the idea of other worldly realms and what that could mean for humans and the world they live in, and I feel like Jamie McGuire delivered that in the second half of Apolonia, but until about the 50% mark, it’s difficult to see the sci fi aspect of the story because it remains hidden behind what appears to be a typical new adult romance story – one with a love triangle between the heroine, Rory, and two mysterious college students, Benji, Rory’s friend who has wanted more with her ever since they met nearly two years ago, and Cyrus, Rory’s fellow student assistant.

Things, though, are definitely not what they seem both in terms of the story itself and the characters who portray themselves to be one thing when there is so much more to each one of them. But once readers get further into the text and start to unravel the small clues McGuire leaves along the way concerning the true nature of the story, it’s clear that there’s a lot more at stake than just who Rory will end up with, and this is where the book will have readers on the edge of their seat until all the mysteries are solved and the world realigns itself however that may be.

I loved Rory. Jamie McGuire definitely captures the pain and scars that Rory carries over the events of her past. She’s a tortured soul who remains an elusive student on campus because she refuses to get close to anyone for fear of losing someone else. Rory’s strength definitely stands out when she’s faced with precarious situations; she’s been on her own for some time now and she’s taken the steps to ensure that she can take care of herself, but that doesn’t mean she’s not lonely or that she doesn’t yearn for someone to lean on when things get overwhelming for her – her fears just prevent her from taking that next step – at least it did until she starts spending more time with both Benji and Cy.

Benji and Cy are both interesting characters, but readers don’t get to understand too much about them until further on in the story, which, in a way, makes it difficult to connect to them or even decide which one is the best choice for Rory. Perhaps this is deliberate on McGuire’s part because that’s truly not what the story is about; in fact, there are much bigger things to worry about as the action and dramatics pick up about halfway through the story, and while that definitely makes sense, I wish the true ideas of the story would have been developed earlier on because it would have helped me be able to dig into the storyline a bit quicker, knowing which aspect to grasp onto and follow until everything becomes clear.

When the science fiction aspect of the story finally comes at readers full throttle, it’s an intense, action packed ride – one that on multiple occasions leads readers one way just to turn them in an opposite direction soon after. The concepts and theories brought into the story to heighten the imaginative content was both captivating and entertaining, but sometimes it felt like information overload because so much of the newly acquired knowledge was presented at one time, making it necessary to re-read in order to clearly understand everything that was at stake for both sides.

Overall, I enjoyed reading Apolonia. Despite the text feeling a bit disjointed and needing further elaboration earlier in the plotline, it’s a well written story that has all of the qualities that a text needs to appeal to readers, and it’s definitely worth the read.

A complimentary copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 poison apples