REVIEW: Hunting Lila (Lila #1) by Sarah Alderson

 

Author: Sarah Alderson

Series: Lila 

Pages: 320

Genre: Young Adult - Paranormal

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Childrens Books

AMAZON:  Hunting Lila

Synopsis. (Goodreads)

17-year-old Lila has two secrets she's prepared to take to the grave. The first is that she can move things just by looking at them. The second is that she's been in love with her brother's best friend, Alex, since forever. Or thereabouts.After a mugging on the streets of South London goes horribly wrong and exposes her unique ability, Lila decides to run to the only people she can trust - her brother and Alex. They live in Southern California where they work for a secret organisation called The Unit, and Lila discovers that the two of them are hunting down the men who murdered her mother five years before. And that they've found them. Trying to uncover the truth of why her mother was killed, and the real remit of The Unit, Lila becomes a pawn in a dangerous game. Struggling to keep her secrets in a world where nothing and no one is quite as they seem, Lila quickly realises that she is not alone - there are others out there just like her - people with special powers -and her mother's killer is one of them..

REVIEW: 4 out of 5 stars

I have been trying to get my hands on Hunting Lila by Sarah Alderson since it’s release date so was quite excited to finally be able to order it.

Lila Loveday is 17 years-old and moved to London with her often absent and distant father after her mother was murdered a number of years prior. Lila has two big secrets, the most important being she has the ability to move items with her mind, the other is she has had a major crush on her brothers best friend Alex since she was a young girl.

When an incident happens which causes Lila to use her telekinesis, out of fear she packs her bags and sets off to California to visit Jack.

Jack and Alex are marines working for ‘The Unit’, there are a number of secrets they hide from Lila, including their ongoing search for their mother’s killer, a Psy named Demos. They are both protective and fierce when it comes to her safety but leaves her curious about the reasoning behind it.

When Demos kidnaps Lila, what they have been led to believe comes undone with his revelations. There are a number of plot twists and turns that really keeps you guessing, it is action packed and filled with conspiracies which are exposed along the way.

I loved the main characters, Lila has a strong voice, she is determined, inquisitive, quirky and at times reckless and stubborn but she truly cares for those around her. I enjoyed reading her inner turmoil when it came to Alex.

Alex is sweet, endearing and of course gorgeous, I enjoyed the slow-build up to their relationship and look forward to seeing how it progresses.

I am quite curious about some of the secondary characters and am intrigued to learn more about them in upcoming installments, each of the Pys abilities were fascinating and well developed – I especially enjoyed Suki’s mind reading power, definitely something I wouldn’t mind.

Hunting Lila doesn’t read like a debut novel, Ms Alderson’s writing style is engaging and entertaining. It is a fast paced, compelling read that held me captivated.

We are left with a cliffhanger so I am really looking forward to reading the sequel, Losing Lila which has an August 2012 release date. I am just thankful I will have another book to read by this wonderful author prior to then with the release of Fated which has a January 2012 release date.

Obtained: Purchased Amazon for Kindle