Review: Erased by Jennifer Rush

Title: Erased

Author:  Jennifer Rush

Publisher:  Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Publishing Date: January 7th 2014

Pages: 288
Genre:  YA Sci-Fi Thriller

Series: Altered #2
Source: Hardcover

   

                                                                                             They thought they had escaped. They were wrong.After fleeing the Branch with Sam, Cas, and Nick, Anna is trying to make sense of the memories resurfacing from her old life. At the same time, she's learning how to survive in hiding, following Sam's rules: Don't draw attention to yourself. Always carry a weapon. Know your surroundings. Watch your back.Then a figure from Anna's childhood reappears. Is it a Branch setup, or could it be the reunion Anna has hoped for? Uncertain of where her loyalties lie, Anna must fight to learn the truth -- before she is betrayed again. Ultimately, the answers hinge on one question: What was the real reason her memories were erased?Jennifer Rush delivers a thrilling sequel to Altered in a novel packed with mysteries, lies, and surprises that are sure to keep readers guessing until the last page is turned.

 I absolutely adored the first book in this series and the love didn't stop there. This book carried much of the same entertaining adventure as Altered. The same wonderful characters were present and the all the wit and fun were involved too. I loved it beginning to end. 

Sam, Cas, Nick, and Anna are still on the run, living like fugitives and training in any spare moment they have. They stay in one place as long as they can, moving when ever needed. Anna, Nick, and Sam are struggling with recovering memories that tie all their pasts together. They are unsure what is true and what is misinterpereted. Some come as memories, some come as dreams. Anna is convinced to figure it all, which is made a tad bit easier when she learns someone who claims to be her sister is trying to track her down. From the moment Anna is told this information, everything becomes hetic, crazy, and a big mess. 

I absolutely loved this book. Once again, I started the read and just couldn't pull away. Action and suspense from the very first page. Same awesome pacing. It was quite a thrilling ride. All the goodness from the first book was in this book, but with more, more intensity, more story, more character building, just more. 

The story continues and I didn't know where it would lead. I knew it would deal with the boys and Anna's past, but the way it was all weaved together to paint a much bigger picture was pretty cool. I was able to learn so much more about the experiements, the company that Anna and the boys worked for, and more about the all of their pasts. Well except for Cas' past. Which was a real bummer. I would have loved to know more about Cas. But we do get more of Anna's, Sam's, and Nick's past. I felt that I was able to really connect to the characters more this book. 

I liked Anna in the first book, and I did like her in this book too, but I wanted to slap her just a little bit this time. Things got a little cloudy for her and I felt strongly about who to trust. Her decisions didn't always match up with mine and it caused her a bunch more trouble then she would have had to go though. She really should have listened to me. I didn't agree with many of her choices, but I understood them and where she was coming from. Anna wanted to find out what happened to her family, to her, what her memories meant, who she really was, the parts that were not on paper. It made sense, but sometimes things are best left untouched. I also liked her relationship with Sam. It was sweet and fiery. My only complaint. I didn't get to see enough of their relationship, between the running and the hiding, there wasn't much time for romance. What I did gt to see I liked, they were good together. I also liked the relationship she tried to keep going with her father, the one that raised her, used her, and saved her in the last book. Even though he wasn't her biological father and didn't make the best choices for her growing up, she loved him. 

My favorite character was still Cas. I love his humor, he teasing, and his caring. He will always be my favorite but like the Anna's relationship with Sam, I didn't get to see enough of Cas to really say much about him. I just love him. Sam was Sam, didn't get to much of Sam either, but I did get to see his caring for his family, his leadership, and he goodness. What surprised me most, is how much I fell for Nick in this book. It seemed he and Anna were the focal in this story. There is no romance there, no love triangle, but there is a bond that forms between them and I was able to really see Nick for who he was and connect to him. I adored him. 

Nick was a bit of a jerk at times, he was mixed up, and bit troubled, but underneath it all he has heart. He was sarcastic, endearing, and grumpy, in every breath he showed all of these characteristics. He was the hero of the day more than once and I just fell for him. I learned much of his past which explains so much of his disposition and his pull to the others. Loved him. 

They story was full of action, betrayal, secrets, and relationships. Just like the first. So much of the same yet more. 

I loved it, I am not sure if there is more coming, but I hope so. I will read as much as Jennifer Rush will give me. 

Jennifer Rush lives in a little town on the shoreline of Lake Michigan with her husband and two children. She grew up wanting to be an Egyptologist, but realized she hated the desert and declared herself a writer instead. She won her first writing award in the fourth grade (a Mickey Mouse pencil was the prize) and has been crafting stories ever since. In her free time, she likes to read, Photoshop, and consume large amounts of caffeine.