Sunday, October 26, 2014

*Gizmos Book Reviews* Loop (Loop #1) by Karen Akins *Review & US Giveaway*

**I received this book for free from St. Martin's Griffin via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.**

*Synopsis*

At a school where Quantum Paradox 101 is a required course and history field trips are literal, sixteen year-old time traveler Bree Bennis excels…at screwing up.

After Bree botches a solo midterm to the 21st century by accidentally taking a boy hostage (a teensy snafu), she stands to lose her scholarship. But when Bree sneaks back to talk the kid into keeping his yap shut, she doesn’t go back far enough. The boy, Finn, now three years older and hot as a solar flare, is convinced he’s in love with Bree, or rather, a future version of her that doesn’t think he’s a complete pain in the arse. To make matters worse, she inadvertently transports him back to the 23rd century with her.

Once home, Bree discovers that a recent rash of accidents at her school are anything but accidental. Someone is attacking time travelers. As Bree and her temporal tagalong uncover seemingly unconnected clues—a broken bracelet, a missing data file, the art heist of the millennium—that lead to the person responsible, she alone has the knowledge to piece the puzzle together. Knowledge only one other person has. Her future self.

But when those closest to her become the next victims, Bree realizes the attacker is willing to do anything to stop her. In the past, present, or future.


*My Thoughts*

Loop (Loop # 1) is the first book in a new series from author Karen Akins. Sixteen year-old time traveler (Shifter) Bree Bennis has only one thing on her mind: finding a way to cure her mother Poppy who was presumably injured in a mission to the past. She will do almost anything to be able to find the money in order to help her mother get better again. Even working with someone who isn't necessarily above the law.

When she is sent back to the 21st century for an apparent easy mission for her midterm exams, Bree proceeds to stick out like a sore thumb, and fails at completing her mission that would have given her the means to see to her mothers treatment. Eventually Bree finds a way back to the past, but things have quickly turned into an even deeper mystery. What surprises her even more, is finding Finn Masterson has turned into a hunk-a-hunk-a burning love, and even more questions that quickly spin into deeper conspiracies and she can't really trust anyone.

I'm not 100 percent behind Bree as a heroine, and perhaps it has to do with her age, and the fact that she's in over her head more times than not. Take for example her relationship/romance with Finn which should have been straight forward, but ends up angst-y and dangerous because while she wants to learn the truth, he's trying to protect her. She's over-the-top rude, whiny, and irritating when he holds things back from her because that is what HE was told by another character for whom I will not spoil.

The overall storyline was fun and I was invested in learning what really happened to Poppy, and how deep the conspiracy actually went and who was behind almost everything. I was interested in the relationship between Finn and Bree and was hoping that all the baggage Bree carried with her, wouldn't get in the way of her finding a moment of happiness she's sorely been missing for the past 6 months. I was interested in Bree's friend Mimi, as well as Wyck who has plenty of baggage as well, and a person we haven't seen the last of apparently.

I enjoy time travel as much as the next science nerd. I like the fact that Akins pretty much sticks to the fact that you can't change history no matter how hard you might try, even if you created something to break that rule. There are laws that prevent you from going back and say...killing Adolf Hitler before he could kill off millions of his own country men and tearing Europe and the world apart. There are even laws about bringing back things from the past, which Bree quickly obliterates within the first third of the story by bringing to the future.

Loop is one of those books that is more of a mystery, than pure science fiction. Akins gives you kibbles and bits, and leads you on a journey that isn't all that straight forward. You can guess as to who the villains are and why, but I'm encouraged by the fact that Akins didn't truly reveal the bad buys until almost near the end of the story.

Title - Loop (Loop # 1)
Author - Karen Akins
Published by St. Martin's Griffin
Released: October 21, 2014
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Format: E-Book, 336 pages



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