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Sunday 30 November 2008

THE HOST


Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away.

Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy. Humans become hosts for these invaders, their minds taken over while their bodies remain intact and continue their lives apparently unchanged. Most of humanity has succumbed.

When Melanie, one of the few remaining "wild" humans is captured, she is certain it is her end. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, was warned about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the glut of senses, the too vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

Wanderer probes Melanie's thoughts, hoping to discover the whereabouts of the remaining human resistance. Instead, Melanie fills Wanderer's mind with visions of the man Melanie loves—Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she has been tasked with exposing. When outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off on a dangerous and uncertain search for the man they both love.

Firstly, I totally agree with this: "The author of the Twilight series delivers her brilliant first novel for adults: a gripping story of love and betrayal in a future with the fate of humanity at stake." I found this quote at Fantastic Fiction, so I'm not sure who said it. Still, it's very true.

Actually, I stayed up until 3am this morning because I had 60 pages to go and was obsessed with getting to the end. After being on Wanda's journey for so many pages, and loving it every step of the way, I just had to know how and where she would end up.

WOW! What a fantastic book, and the ending didn't disappoint.

I found the tension in this book set the mood so well that I was afraid something bad would happen every step of the way. I also found it amazing to like a character - who wasn't even human and had taken someone else's body - so darn much. But Wanderer was a pure soul. A lovely 'person' who in the end found just where she belonged. And never at the expense of Mel's body. The romance angle was heartbreaking. And just as amazing as the rest of the book.

Anyway, I could go on and on about how much I LOVED this book, and why, but I think the post would be way too long if I did. LOL. I'll just end it by saying that this is a BRILLIANT book filled with amazing characters, and I'll be looking out for all of Stephenie Meyer's books. Definitely.

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