Review Detail

Altered by Jennifer Rush
ARC received through trade
Published by: Little Brown BFYR
Release Date: On Shelves Now
Reviewed by: Middle Sis Jenn
The Sisters Say: Action-packed and intriguing

Danger lurking around every corner, conspiracies threatening to push loyalties, and desire pulsing to be released—Altered is perfect! It’s The Bourne Identity for teens, only better—with a plot that puts a high speed chase to shame. Full of mystery and suspense, romance and intrigue, Altered is a MUST READ!!!

Before reading Altered, I was in a reading slump. The books I had read were good, but not great. You know, they weren’t the kind of books that you text your friends and family to read right away. But Jennifer Rush blew my bore streak right out of the water! Altered drew me in from Chapter 1, and the hits just kept coming from there! Page after page, I was drawn deeper into the secrets of her world; and by the end, I wanted to turn right back to page 1 and read it all over again!!!

The best thing about Jennifer’s debut novel was that every character had dimension. I felt like they each had a depth, and even though their secrets went deep and many were not revealed, I still felt like I knew each one. This was a huge feat, too, since there were so many characters that were in the spotlight. You have Anna and the 4 guys that she goes on the run with, and each of these 5 characters is a main character in their own way. I was thrilled that Jennifer was able to bring such life to so many without it taking away from the story or confusing me amongst them.

My favorite character was one that many readers will dislike—Nick. He is angry and brooding, and he makes it no secret that he dislikes Anna. Yet, there is something so vulnerable and truthful about him that I just couldn’t help but open my heart to him. I liked his in your face attitude and his rebel without a cause actions. It was sexy and provided great conflict amongst the five as they were running for their lives.

Anna and Sam are technically your two main characters, even though the other 3 boys take much of the spotlight. I really enjoyed the romantic tension between these two characters, and I found myself rooting for them to get over their secrets and fears and just get together! Anna was intelligent and strong-willed, and she definitely held her own against the four superhero-like guys. On many an occasion, I thought she was going to shove her fist in Nick’s face! I liked her bite-me attitude, and she definitely made me run the gamut of emotions. And Sam…you can just tell he is constantly thinking of everyone else before him. Now, normally a guy that is too sweet just rubs me the wrong way, but Sam had his superhero alter-ego, so that evened him out and made him extremely sexy!!!

Altered fills the gap in the much needed YA genre of romantic suspense. It felt like I was reading some of my favorite adult romance suspense authors (Lori Foster, Maya Banks, etc.), only with teenagers. I loved it! There just aren’t many YA books out there (I would even venture to say there aren’t any!) that are like Jennifer’s novel. Rough and seductive—where around every corner lurks a secret and an assassin. It was perfect! I wouldn’t change a thing!
I HIGHLY recommend this to all fans of YA and even Adult romance. There isn’t any sex or naughty content, either, so it’s safe for all teenagers. Yet, I even think fans of adult romance will enjoy this book!