Originally Reviewed at Witchmag's Boekenplank

This book didn’t move me at all. It failed to make me feel something, anything. Not even negative emotions were activated inside me. All I could feel was one big Meeeh (And no, I do not have a sheep inside me ;) ). There were moments in the story where I could almost feel something, but before I could tell which emotion it was, the moment was already over. Oh wait, I did feel one emotion throughout the story besides my sheep: confusion. At times I had the greatest difficulty with keeping track of what was happening or what had occurred. Especially when the point of view is switched between Milo and Nick. It was not always clear when the switch took place and made for an even more confused me.

It’s also hard trying to follow a story if you get tons and tons of information to process at once. That’s what happened in this book. Even then the information is still not detailed enough to get an idea of what’s going on. I saw only glimpses of scenes and persons, but was never able to complete the picture, to make them come alive in my head. The culprit (this time) could be the rather unique comparisons the writer used. They obviously failed their purpose: I was unable to create an image. Cause who knows what beams that angled peaceably are???

Just like me, our main characters had great difficulty with showing or feeling any kind of deep emotions. Nowhere in this book is there any kind of mention or sign about the attraction between Milo and Nick, the sorrow of loosing your dad or the despondency of the situation. Not anywhere. Maybe this explains why I could not feel a thing. Cause how else would it be possible for me to feel my heart in my throat if the character’s heart doesn’t even beat faster? (And no, I’m not going into the fact that he’s an alien ;) )

Since our main characters don’t feel a lot, I had a hard time with giving them a voice, an identity. And for some reason I had great difficulty with remembering Milo’s name. She’s a main character, so how is it possible she couldn’t leave a single impression on me? Milo is also prone to the usual unbelievable “mistakes”, just to make the story more interesting (which did not happen). Instead it made me feel annoyed (yay, another emotion!).

In the end, despite the total lack of emotions and bonding with the main characters, I rather liked the plot. Okay, we have our very cliché moments and some very predictable ones ( Would the DoD really treat Aliens like that?), but I quite enjoyed myself while reading this book. The puzzle that represented Nick and his “family” also deserves some brownie points. It kept me busy and was very original.

Conclusion

2 HEARTS. This book did not succeed in leaving any kind of impression on me. There was too little use of emotions, from anyone, to leave a more lasting impact. The plot, though, deserves some merit. Despite some overused scenes in the story world, it was interesting to read about Nick’s family and what they represented. ( )

I have to say that this is one of my favorite Sci-Fi fiction books I have read. The characters are very relatable. The story is about Milo who is recovering from her father's death and trying to find a place in the world. She does so by continuing her father's research on the deer population. That is where she meets a mysteriously hot guy who by accident she shoots with a tranquilizer dart gun. He doesn't remember anything about what happened before or after he got shot by Milo. They go on a journey to uncover who he is and eventually discover who he is.

This was a fantastical read that I just fell in love with. I can't wait for the other books of the series to come out. I give this book a FULL 5 star review and will add it to my favorites. ( )

Wow, I loved this book, and when I say Loved, I mean in the same way I Love the Lux series by Jennifer L Armentrout. This is right up there with that one! I want to keep this as spoiler free as I can, as part of the great excitement in reading this was not knowing, like back in the day, before Twilight got big, and I had read it, not knowing anything but my daughter saying its great, read it, so I did. So that same suspense was here, the not knowing what someone is. I loved it. I started to suspect something, but didn't know what. I read it in one sitting just today, once I started I could not put it down. I carried my kindle all around doing a few things, and neglecting many, and hiding for some of it, so I can read, lol.

Yeah, so I am not going to tell you. It’s just great. It’s written so well, and the plot flows along nice. It goes back and forth from Milo and Nick’s point of view which is great. Loved being inside his head as well. I really liked Milo, and found myself loving Nick, he is so sweet, and how he cares for Milo is something. I am truly hooked.
It was like taking a bit of the Bourne Identity, doing some great paranormal whammy on it, through in some x-men and some Luxen, and big dash of I am Number Four, and you almost have this book. I do think a different name would have benefited this book a lot. I do like the cover; it’s pleasant and fits for sure.

I can’t wait to read book two. This is a hard review to write without giving away the biggest part of it. The part that not knowing makes it so exciting. I warn you, do Not go read the blurb for the second book, it’s a major spoiler for this one. Just saying.

I give 5 huge stars out of 5. It’s an awesome story, and a cliffhanger too, but not too bad, it’s bearable, as long as the wait isn’t too long.

I was provided this book by the author for my honest review.

See my post for the book tour at my blog, it has a few spoiler free excerpts to read. It will give you a small taste of this great book. Michelle's Paranormal Vault of Books. http://concisebookreviewsbymichelle.blogspot.com/2013/01/here-here-trilogy-1-by-... ( )

Holy cow, Ella, you DID NOT just end the freaking book like that! ACK!!!!! Yup, that was my first thought when I read the last page. As you can imagine, it's a cliffhanger, ACK!

I would like to thank Ella James for sending me a copy of this book to review and give my honest opinion.

Blurb from Goodreads:

Milo Mitchell's life used to be charmed, but that was before her family dissolved, she went a little crazy, and her best friends started acting more like strangers. Spending Saturday morning in a treehouse with a stun gun for company and a herd of deer for friends is the only exciting thing in her life...until she shoots a fawn and finds her dart stuck in a guy.
Her gorgeous victim is dressed in a Brioni tux and armed with a hanky. He has no idea who or where he is. Afraid her dart caused his amnesia, Milo takes him in, names him Nick, and vows to help him solve his mystery. Soon the pair find Nick's face in a newspaper obituary, and Nick beings to have strange, ethereal memories of Milo--who is sure she's never met him. Suddenly Nick knows things he shouldn't know and is doing things he shouldn't do. When the Department of Defense shows up, Nick and Milo run--toward a shocking conclusion that could destroy both their worlds.

I will be honest and say I did not read the blurb or any reviews for this book prior to reading it. So, I went in blind, not knowing what it was about or what to expect! Boy, am I glad I dove into this one. I mean, WOW! I am not usually a sci-fi fan as far as reading is concerned, although I have no idea why since for TV and movies I love that stuff. So, when I noticed this book was slated under a sci-fi YA genre, I wasn't sure what to expect!

The Cover: When I received the book, I was taken aback by the cover. It was very cryptic to me: a person on the front and then some windmills in the background, and all in what I would refer to as "black light." I couldn't make heads or tails of it. Now that I read the book it makes total sense. As does this new cover, which I much prefer, in all honesty, and I really think captures things better as far as the theme of the story is concerned.

Characters:
I really love the main characters in this story. They are well developed and very strong. I connected to them almost immediately. I felt their emtions to the tee: fear, love, doubt...you name it, my heart was in there right with them!
Milo is a teen girl who is very strong minded. She has three best friends but she is very independent and does her own thing. I have to say that she did come across much older than what she was. She did not strike me as the typical teen. One thing I loved about her was there was no self-loathing with her. She didn't think herself unworthy of being liked for the most part. I have to say that I was a bit disappointed in the fact that she really could not tell that Nick/Gabe was not totally normal. She alluded to it, but still seemed so shocked when it was finally revealed. It seemed unrealistic to me since there were so many clues during her growing relationship with him.
Nick/Gabe is just so sweet. And I love the beginning of the book when he comes off as shy and quiet. His need to protect Milo is unsurpassed. I love that he is such an enigma to both Milo and the reader (although, as a reader I figured there was something out of this world about him, I just wasn't sure what). For so long, we really have no idea who he is or how he showed up so instantly in those woods. Slowly he is revealed to us, which I really love. And my gueses were wrong at first. He's shrouded in mystery and that makes him so much more interesting.
The ancillary characters realoly weren't developed in this book. We don't see all that much of Milos best friends, just a small glimpse at the begging and then at a party they attend. But nothing to really show us the relationship she has with them. She does describe it a bit, but to me it was still not all that clear. And I don't think it necessarily had to be, since they didn't appear all that much in the book. Then again, Milo was so independent, I am not sure she would have related what was going on, even to her best friends. Her mother is not really around for us to get to know. We do get to know some of the "evil" character personalities a bit, but not really until the end of the book as they are an integral part of what is going on.

Storyline:
I was not expecting the storyline from this book at all. When I first started the book I have to say I was a bit confused. The tone confused me. It was very choppy and I really wasn't getting a sense of where it was going. I was unsure of whether or not I would enjoy the book because I didn't like the way the writing was going. And then I got to chapter 2 and things just kind of took off. I mean, I could not put the book down. I read over 1/2 of it the first night and was chomping at the bit the next day to get back to it and finish it up! It was fast paced and suspenseful. It was so captivating, I stayed up late and wasn't even sure where a good point to stop would be! The book builds slowly, keeping you wrapped in it's mystery and wanting to move along to find out what happens. James does a great job of world building. And James cleverly sneaks us through this world, as she reveals little by little what she wants us to know. My heart was pounding by the end and I just couldn't get enough. Then, all of a sudden, BANG, CLIFFHANGER! OMGosh, Ms. James, how the heck can you leave it all out there like that? I need the second book NOW!

So, you could say I definitely loved this book. I really enjoyed the ride the author took me on, especially since I have read minimal sci-fi books and I'm always leary of where they will go. I am into this trilogy for the long haul and would highly recommend it to anyone who loves sci-fi/paranormal young adult reads.

4 out of 5 stars from me! ( )

Wow, this was a great story. I wonder how I missed this author but when I got a hold of this book, I found an author that I knew I was going to follow from here on out. I enjoyed her writing style and the flow of this story. Because I don’t want to share any spoilers, I’m going to give as little detail as possible, but this story will surprise you of the outcome so you have to read it to find it out yourself.
Milo Mitchell lives in Colorado. Her dad passed away two years ago and she finds herself in the woods doing the things her dad and her would do together. It’s like a place of peace to go and spend time with her dad. While out at her tree house one day, she’s spotted the deer that she wanted to tag and follow by shooting it with a dart to sedate it and tag it. What she ended up with, was a young man around her age feeling bad and determined to help him.
He didn’t remember who he was. What was in that dart he was hit with? He knew everything about everything else, but not who he was or where he was from. While searching for clues, they come across a newspaper article that states he is missing with his picture on it. She’s named him Nick but is his name Gabe? He doesn’t feel a connection to the name. So who is he really? I found myself so eager for more and this story definitely leaves it open for a sequel. I can’t wait to get my hands on it. Thank you Ms. James for a wonderful story that I couldn’t put down. ( )