BOOK REVIEW: 4.5 STARS for HUNTING LILA by SARAH ALDERSON

Title:   HUNTING LILA

Author:  SARAH ALDERSON

Publisher:  SIMON & SCHUSTER
ISBN: 9780857071958

Pages:  317 paperback

Acquired:  Rcvd for review from Simon & Schuster
$16.99 when purchased in Australia

RATING:  4.5 OUT 5 HOT ALEX STARS!!!

Description from Goodreads:

17-year-old Lila has two secrets she's prepared to take to the grave. The first is that she can move things just by looking at them. The second is that she's been in love with her brother's best friend, Alex, since forever. Or thereabouts.After a mugging on the streets of South London goes horribly wrong and exposes her unique ability, Lila decides to run to the only people she can trust - her brother and Alex. They live in Southern California where they work for a secret organisation called The Unit, and Lila discovers that the two of them are hunting down the men who murdered her mother five years before. And that they've found them. Trying to uncover the truth of why her mother was killed, and the real remit of The Unit, Lila becomes a pawn in a dangerous game. Struggling to keep her secrets in a world where nothing and no one is quite as they seem, Lila quickly realises that she is not alone - there are others out there just like her - people with special powers -and her mother's killer is one of them..

REVIEW:

A huge thanks to Simon & Schuster for sending me a copy of this FANTASTIC debut novel to read and review.

Let it be known.....Sarah Alderson has arrived!! YAY!  Hunting Lila is Sarah's debut novel and what a way to debut as an author.

I whipped through Hunting Lila in a night.....not because it was simple and short - far from it......Hunting Lila had me hooked from the start.  A beautiful love story mixed in with action, heroes, secrets and some wicked super powers.  It's been described before as a mix of X-Men and 24 rolled into one love story - it certainly is just that.

Lila has a super power....but she doesn't want it - she doesn't want to be special with something she can barely control.  Just ask the guy whose eye she nearly cut out!!

Life for Lila started on a downward spiral when her mother died and her father packed himself and her off to London to get away and keep her safe.  They left behind Jack, Lila's older brother who went to live with his best mate Alex - who is the hotty love interest for Lila....a candle of love she has held since a little child.

Back to the guy who nearly lost his eye.....this little incident had Lila running (ok she caught a plane!) from London to California to be with Jack (& Alex).  She hated London, missed Jack terribly and just wanted to be back on home soil.

Little did she know of the secretive world her brother was living in - and what impact it would have on her own life. Lila starts out as a tormented teen and evolves into a strong willed individual that begins to embrace her power and tries become the protector to Jack and Alex.

Jack is the typical older brother.  Being older by a few years as well!!  He is very protective of Lila, but at the same time wary of her motives to pay him a visit.  Without giving reason he wants to ship her back to London and needs Lila to just accept it!  That is so not going to happen! For one...she would need to tell him about her telekinesis....two - she hates London.....Three - leaving would mean not seeing Jack or more importantly Alex!

Now we get to Alex.....we get some interesting thoughts of Alex from Lila (fresh from the shower with no shirt!!).  He's Jack's best friend since childhood. They joined special ops together and are on a mission to avenge the murder of Jack and Lila's mother. He's been a constant in all their lives and obviously made the biggest impression on Lila's.  Alex is by all elements the hot male lead - with and without a shirt! I am thankful that Sarah did not write him as so many male leads lately have.....soppy and gooey and lovey dovey!!  Alex is strong, determined and focused.  There is a sweet side but one that is not constantly revealed (hmmm like a normal 22yo male!).

Let's bring in the other characters....Demos, Suki, Nate, Key, Harvey, Bill, Alicia, Ryder and Amber - the original group of hunted that The Unit (Jack and Alex's spesh ops team) are seeking out.  The information the unit work on is that Demos is the one who killed Jack and Lila's mum.  Each one has an x-men ability - all of which are pretty cool and would be rather handy in most situations!!! My favorite out of this bunch would be Suki - sneaky mind reading Suki!  Gotta watch your head around her. Her conversations will make for humorous reading - especially when she answers out loud to questions she hears from within someones mind!!

So overall..........I thoroughly enjoyed reading HUNTING LILA by SARAH ALDERSON. It was nicely paced, complete with romance, action and super powers!  It wasn't a "heavy" read where I was exhausted afterwards - just the right blend of everything and the right speed to leave me wanting more of what Sarah has to offer.

ENJOY!

MARISSA