Book Review: Apolonia by Jamie McGuire

Apolonia
Author: Jamie McGuire
Reading Level: New Adult
Genre: Sci-Fi | Romance | Dark | Thriller
Published: October 6th 2014
Review Source: Purchased

“They’d killed me, but I survived.”

Three years after Rory Riordan foiled her own murder, she still trusts no one—not Dr. Z, the eccentric college professor who has taken her under his wing; not Benji, the endearing, attractive classmate who insists on following her around; and certainly not Cy, the beautifully dark and mysterious boy who sits in the first row in Dr. Z’s Astrobiology class and asks far too many questions.

When Rory witnesses Cy being abducted by soldiers in the middle of the night, she finds herself immersed in a world that holds more secrets than she could imagine, even darker secrets than her own.

From #1 New York Times Bestseller Jamie McGuire, experience the perfect combination of her bestselling books Providence and Beautiful Disaster. This New Adult Sci-Fi Romance is an action-packed, whiplash-inducing roller-coaster ride. Page after page, this unpredictable, dark, and sexy nail-biter will keep readers guessing until the very end!

I really do admire when authors step out of their comfort zones. When they take a leap of faith into a territory they are strangers in. I applaud McGuire once again for writing a book that stands out from her typical contemporary romance genre. Last year McGuire did this similar move with the book Red Hill, which I loved immensely. No romance, just survival and hope against the zombies. Well McGuire did it again with Apolonia. Now this time, she did incorporate some romance but it was not the forefront of the story. Apolonia takes you on a roller coaster that's out of this world.

Before chatting about the story, I want to take a few moments to gush over the book cover. Isn't it fantastic? I knew as soon as I saw it, I had to read it. The colors and graphics just draw you in. So kudos to the mastermind(s) behind the creation of the cover.

Now on to the story inside the pages of Apolonia. This story follows the recent life of Rory, college student that survived something so horrible and tragic, that its hard to believe. Her parents and sister did not survived this same attack and were brutally murder. And when I say Rory survived, don't think it was your typical survival story either. Rory died but did come back and now believes she can't die. So Rory is left with huge trust issues and resentment towards everyone. How she works around her issues is that she is dedicated to her studies and one professor in particular Dr. Z. Rory helps Dr. Z alongside another student on a special top secret project that only Rory and Cy know what exactly they are doing.

Rory you can say has one friend (sort of), remember those trust issues, yea they are in full affect all the time. So friend might be exaggerating a bit but its the closet person she has left. This boy that follows Rory around like a sad puppy is called, Benji. He is madly infatuated with Rory, and tells her he will wait for her to be able to be more with him. When all these feelings and doubts begin to take shape with Rory, Cy the quiet mysterious guy she has been working with, finally decides to start speaking to Rory. This clouds Rory even more that what she has been. Does she go with the safe choice which is Benji or does she venture towards the unknown which is Cy. Regardless they are both mouth watering (FYI). 

Now if you think the romance and angst is the focal point here, no not even close. Believe me when I say the romance is a part of the main picture. Secrets and mysteries begin to unravel and Rory, Cy and Benji are all involved in this circle. The world Rory thought she lived in, will open a new window to something else. And this will put Rory in the center of something supernatural-out-of-this-world that is happening around her. Who will Rory trust after everything is revealed, you have to read to find out. 

Highly recommend for the Sci-Fi junkie and of course any fan of McGuire will approve.