Anomaly Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Anomaly by Tonya Kuper! Today I'll be sharing my review of the book with you - and don't forget to enter the awesome giveaway! To follow the rest of the tour, click on the banner above.

Anomaly (Schrodinger's Consortium #1)

Author: Tonya Kuper

Genre: YA Science Fiction/Fantasy

Release Date: November 25, 2014

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Description:

Reality is only an illusion.
Except for those who can control it…
 

Worst. Birthday. Ever.

My first boyfriend dumped me—happy birthday, Josie!—my dad is who knows where, I have some weird virus that makes me want to hurl, and now my ex is licking another girl’s tonsils. Oh, and I’m officially the same age as my brother was when he died. Yeah, today is about as fun-filled as the swamps of Dagobah. But then weird things start happening…

Like I make something materialize just by thinking about it.

When hottily-hot badass Reid Wentworth shows up on a motorcycle, everything changes. Like, everything. Who I am. My family. What really happened to my brother. Existence. I am Oculi, and I have the ability to change reality with my thoughts. Now Reid, in all his hotness, is charged with guiding and protecting me as I begin learning how to bend reality. And he’s the only thing standing between me and the secret organization that wants me dead…  

Anomaly is the thrilling first book in a new young adult science fiction/fantasy series that fans of the genre will certainly want to read. The book follows our main characters - Josie, our female heroine who's having the worst seventeenth birthday ever, only to have it become worse when she meets Reid - the incredibly hot new guy at school. Reid turns Josie's already screwed up life upside down when he tells her that she is an Oculi - a person who has the ability to change reality with their thoughts. Reid is there to train her to use her abilities as well as to protect her from the organization that wants to control all Oculi - and to kill the ones with the most power, namely Josie. 

This was definitely something original and completely unlike anything I've read before. I've read some science fiction novels that deal with time travel, but nothing like being able to manipulate reality itself. I have to admit that my mind was a bit boggled during the book when I attempted to wrap my brain around the concept - just like it took Josie awhile to adjust to the idea. I loved learning all about the Oculi - their abilities, history, the Resistance, the Consortium - everything. It was incredibly fascinating, and I really hope we get to learn more in the next book. Josie is a cool female lead character. She's ridiculously smart, super nerdy, logical, and practical. She also has a softer side, which makes her a devoted daughter and sister, determined to do what's right and fight the Consortium, and she has hopes, dreams, and fears like the rest of us. She was a very realistic character and I liked her right from the start. I can't say I understood all of the nerdy phrases or references made in the book (like quotes from Star Trek), but I still think she pulls off being super smart and nerdy in an awesome way. Our second lead character is Reid - the incredibly hot guy that seemingly appears out of nowhere on Josie's birthday and enrolls in the school. I loved him as a main character because of his attitude, strength, determination, and devotion. I also adored the way he thinks about Josie and acts around her - not quite like a trainer is supposed to. The book is told in alternating viewpoints - those of Josie and Reid - so the reader gets a really personal look at both characters. We hear their inner thoughts, emotions, and get a firsthand look at the story from their perspective. Using the dual first person viewpoints was a fascinating writing technique, and I feel it did a fantastic job of letting the reader get to know both the characters personally. I'm a romantic - so, of course, I loved all the mushy and sweet thoughts that went through Josie's and Reid's minds - and I really enjoyed watching their relationship grow from each perspective. Although some aspects of the plot have been done before, like the people who have special powers and are being hunted down by a secret organization, the whole premise of the Oculi and the concept of changing reality with mere thoughts was genius and highly intriguing. The pace of the book was a bit slow at the beginning, probably because all of the nerdy jokes and references were going right over my head; but once the story got going - it didn't stop until the very end. Overall, I definitely enjoyed this book and will be reading the sequel when it comes out. I can't wait to see where things are going to go after the ending of this book. Highly recommended for fans of science fiction and fantasy, as well as those who enjoy quantum physics, action, adventure, and a compelling story.

Tonya Kuper's debut, ANOMALY, the first in the Schrodinger's Consortium young adult scifi trilogy, releases November 2014 by Entangled Teen. She lives in Omaha, NE with her two rad boys and husband, is a music junkie, and a chocolate addict. Star Wars & Sherlock fan.

Author Links: Website│Goodreads│Twitter│Facebook 

Buy Links: Amazon│Barnes & Noble│Kobo Books│The Book Depository│iBooks

a Rafflecopter giveaway