Avenged (Altered #2) by Marnee Blake

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Source: e-galley provided by publisher

Three terrifying months.

That’s how long Kitty Laughton has been at the mercy of the scientist who experimented on her town, killing over a dozen people and giving the rest of them unique powers. But Kitty doesn’t feel powerful, especially when she learns the crazy man plans to test his research on more unsuspecting people. She refuses to let anyone else die, but trapped with no one to help her she’s out of options…that is until sexy and exasperating Nick Degrassi arrives.

Special-ops soldier Nick blames himself for Kitty’s capture, and he’ll do whatever he can to free the quiet beauty, but close quarters and a shared secret bring an attraction that neither of them expected. With the organization that started it all making mercenaries for hire, Nick and Kitty must save themselves and stop a madman…before it’s too late. 


Ever since I finished Altered, I've had this series in the back of my mind wanting to see everyone's fate once they were all scattered by the end of the first book. Avenged picks up three months later with Kitty being held captive by the people who wrought the heinous atrocity upon her hometown. As one of the few survivors, they have a special interest in her and her abilities that resulted from the drug they unleashed upon the civilians. She believes that she's on her own as no one has come to her rescue yet. She's proven wrong when Nick finally shows up unexpectedly and not entirely prepared. They hatch an escape plan and it's pure adrenaline from there.

One of the things I liked about Avenged is that the once the action starts there's almost no respite from it. Kitty and Nick are the main players in this sequel and are constantly on the go once they escape the clutches of their captors. They're in a rush against time to reunite with the others (Blue, Seth and trusted military personnel) to prevent the mad scientist from selling his research and drug on the black market.

I wanted an action-packed read and that's what I got. Things are by no means settled once you get to the end of Avenged - yep, another cliffhanger! Everyone is left in a quandary and with the stakes at an ultra high level, I am on edge to see how this ragtag group of unlikely friends manage to save themselves and the unsuspecting innocent lives out there.

~ Bel

Slide (Slide #1) by Jill Hathaway

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Vee Bell is certain of one irrefutable truth--her sister's friend Sophie didn't kill herself. She was murdered.

Vee knows this because she was there. Everyone believes Vee is narcoleptic, but she doesn't actually fall asleep during these episodes: When she passes out, she slides into somebody else's mind and experiences the world through that person's eyes. She's slid into her sister as she cheated on a math test, into a teacher sneaking a drink before class. She learned the worst about a supposed "friend" when she slid into her during a school dance. But nothing could have prepared Vee for what happens one October night when she slides into the mind of someone holding a bloody knife, standing over Sophie's slashed body.

Vee desperately wishes she could share her secret, but who would believe her? It sounds so crazy that she can't bring herself to tell her best friend, Rollins, let alone the police. Even if she could confide in Rollins, he has been acting distant lately, especially now that she's been spending more time with Zane.

Enmeshed in a terrifying web of secrets, lies, and danger and with no one to turn to, Vee must find a way to unmask the killer before he or she strikes again.

Vee suffers from a condition that sends her “sliding” into other people’s minds where she glimpses snippets of their lives before returning to her own body. It could happen once a day or several times a day. Either way she’s always caught unawares. This inconvenience has dramatically altered her life and relationships. She keeps few friends and keeps her secret well-guarded. Everything changes when her younger sister’s friend is found dead and Vee suspects foul play. Now instead of remaining victim to the sliding, she wants to use it to solve the mysterious death without giving herself away. In the meantime, she has to manage school, a strained relationship with her father, her best friend acting weird and a possible first love entering the picture. All that while not passing out at any given moment.

I was in between books and this evenly-paced suspense with the intriguing premise fit the bill. The sliding element may remind some of David Levithan's Every Day but the two couldn't be more different. Slide is murder mystery and a quick read with the author throwing in a few tricks to sway suspicions. I do have some unanswered questions which I guess seem like plot holes right now, however, I was happy to find out that there’s a sequel, Imposter. Just reading the blurb for it has me fascinated and wondering how many of the events in Slide factor into the next book. 

~ Bel