Review: The Almost Girl

Book: The Almost Girl by Amalie Howard
Publication Date: January 7, 2014
Series: The Almost Girl (#1)
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Riven is as tough as they come. Coming from a world ravaged by a devastating android war, she has to be. There’s no room for softness, no room for emotion, no room for mistakes. A Legion General, she is the right hand of the young Prince of Neospes, a parallel universe to Earth. In Neospes, she has everything: rank, responsibility and respect. But when Prince Cale sends her away to find his long-lost brother, Caden, who has been spirited back to modern day Earth, Riven finds herself in uncharted territory.

Thrown out of her comfort zone but with the mindset of a soldier, Riven has to learn how to be a girl in a realm that is the opposite of what she knows. Riven isn’t prepared for the beauty of a world that is unlike her own in so many ways. Nor is she prepared to feel something more than indifference for the very target she seeks. Caden is nothing like Cale, but he makes something in her come alive, igniting a spark deep down that goes against every cell in her body. For the first time in her life, Riven isn’t sure about her purpose, about her calling. Torn between duty and desire, she must decide whether Caden is simply a target or whether he is something more.

Faced with hideous reanimated Vector soldiers from her own world with agendas of their own, as well as an unexpected reunion with a sister who despises her, it is a race against time to bring Caden back to Neospes. But things aren’t always as they seem, and Riven will have to search for truth. Family betrayals and royal coups are only the tip of the iceberg. Will Riven be able to find the strength to defy her very nature? Or will she become the monstrous soldier she was designed to be?


Overall Review:
It still amazes me how Amalie Howard is able to go from subject to subject, from vampires and witches to mermaids to a futuristic science fiction world, and still be able to keep them so different from each other. Howard is the perfect author for people who like variety. I honestly think that The Almost Girl is her best novel yet! Almost immediately we're thrown into the action. Things were a little confusing at first because I wasn't exactly sure what was going on, or what was supposed to be going on, but once I finally figured it out things really picked up and I had a hard time putting it down! Even more so than Waterfell! The Almost Girl is chock full of heart pounding action, terrifying enemies you never want to cross, and a kick butt heroine who doesn't take crap from anybody. There were times the story was predictable, or when a character did something that made me either want to scream or chuck the book at a wall (which I would never do), but most of The Almost Girl was full of nonstop amazing that made me never want to put it down. There were shocking revelations, deadly secrets revealed, and of course my most favorite, plot twists. Oh my freaking god does Howard know how to make plot twists! Once again she has completely done me in with them! Left me caught off guard and anxious at times, but I wouldn't have it any other way!

In the beginning Riven was pretty much an emotionless killer who didn't care about anything but finishing her mission and moving on. She was manipulative, sneaky, and heartless. Or so we're lead to believe. Riven was raised to kill, that the only way she'll ever be anything or mean something is if she kills and does exactly what her commanders tell her to. She's faced many loses, faced things alone most of her life, and been pushed far too many times. Her emotionless demeanor was just a facade to fool not only those around her, but herself, that she didn't care. Her act was so strong that she even managed to fool herself at times that she couldn't and shouldn't feel. In actuality she was just a lonely girl that wanted what everyone does. A family, a friend, someone who cares about her and her them. She just didn't know how to show it or begin to search for it. I thought she was a little too patient and nice for her own good at times. The people she trusted, people she relied on in our dimension, left her for dead or betrayed her time and time again yet she never held a grudge. She never abandoned them, even when I felt she should've. She deserved better than the crap she got from people. She was a strong fighter, very kind hearted, lonely and broken girl. I felt for her every step of the way, even as she began to realize she did have feelings, that having emotions and expressing them didn't make her weak or the enemy strong. She was such an amazing character and I can't wait to read more of her in the sequel!

The relationship between Caden and Riven is very complicated. In the beginning Riven tried to convince herself time and time again that Caden was just a means to an end, but it was pretty quick when she started having feelings for him. When she started to care for him. Caden is the reason she stopped being so emotionless and hiding behind a mask. He saw the truth behind the wall she put up to protect herself from the world and he tried and tried to break down that wall to reach the girl underneath. He genuinely cared about her and I think would've done anything for her, even when she constantly tried to push him away for both their sake. There was a tad bit of physical romance that got pretty steamy, but it was mostly the emotional bond between them. There was just far too much going on for them to find the time to make out at every corner, yet they didn't let the trouble they faced get in the way of just feeling and caring about each other. I truly loved that, and the fact that Howard did it and pulled it all off so beautifully.

The Almost Girl was very fast paced and full of action, thrilling suspense, and tons of brawls! Howard did not hold any expense when it came down to the action and adventure that is The Almost Girl. It was a nonstop thrill ride that was so hard to put down, with excitement on every page. While a few things were quite predictable, for the most part I had no idea what was going to happen next and I loved that. Of course we also have the plot twists. We simply can't have an Amalie Howard novel without the plot twists! These ones were a little more shocking than Waterfell and I loved every one of them! Even when I felt my heart was going to crack from all the feels I had! I adored Riven so much. She made everyone believe, even herself, that she was like a robot. A heartless, emotionless, killer whose only thought was securing the mission and doing what she must. That really wasn't the case. She was a broken down, lonely girl who wanted love in a loveless world, whose only way of coping from all she's been through was to put up a wall to separate herself from the world. I really felt for her and was so glad when she started to come out of her shell and break the wall she had put up. Part of the reason she tore that wall down was because of Caden. While at first she tried to convince herself that he meant nothing, he probably became the center of her world (not in a creepy way). They genuinely cared about each other and Caden wanted nothing more than to break the mask she held and see the girl she truly was underneath. It was an amazing relationship. I love the title because it really fits for Riven and who she was in the beginning. I also adore the cover. I adore it so freaking much. It's so gorgeous and by far my favorite of all Amalie Howard's covers so far. How she manages to always get beautiful covers, I don't know, but this one is just stunning.


Overall Rating:
I give The Almost Girl a 4.5 out of 5 star rating. I enjoyed reading it so much and I really think Amalie Howard has outdone herself with this one! It's so different from Bloodspell and Waterfell yet still had the same elements that really makes it an Amalie Howard book! It was so hard to put down and is my favorite of her books. I would recommend this to people who have read Howard's other books, but also people who like the science fiction, action packed adventure, futuristic world type of books. I can't wait to see what happens in the sequel! Thanks for reading!

4.5/5 stars

~Kayla~