Review: Rush by Eve Silver

So what’s the game now? This, or the life I used to know?


When Miki Jones is pulled from her life, pulled through time and space into some kind of game—her carefully controlled life spirals into chaos. In the game, she and a team of other teens are sent on missions to eliminate the Drau, terrifying and beautiful alien creatures. There are no practice runs, no training, and no way out. Miki has only the guidance of secretive but maddeningly attractive team leader Jackson Tate, who says the game isn’t really a game, that what Miki and her new teammates do now determines their survival, and the survival of every other person on this planet. She laughs. He doesn’t. And then the game takes a deadly and terrifying turn.

Is it fair to rate a book really low just because the author throws an awful, heart-wrenching cliffhanger at you? I mean, I wasn't thoroughly invested into this book from the start but that ending just totally took me by surprise, so I'm a teeny bit torn over this book.

I was just kidding when I suggested giving it a low rating though, well I wouldn't rate it low just because of the cliffhanger. I did love the premise of this book though - the game is exciting and full of action and I loved all the gaming lingo that I (a very nerdy gamer/former MMORPG player) could understand, it didn't seem totally necessary to the book even though a half-formed reason is given, but it still made for some gripping reading. The action is there from very close to the start until the very last page, mixed in with some real-life scenes and some slower scenes in the game so this book was gripping.

Miki was a difficult character to connect to so I wasn't completely invested in her story until quite a way into the book, however I think my shock at the end proves that I did come to care about her and the other characters. I really liked the character of Luka, but he did seem pointless - he's kind of there for the love triangle but he just sort of fades out through the book which I was disappointed at. Jackson did seem like he could have been an awesome hero but unfortunately he did fall short for me since his romance with Miki had very little development and the insta-love just didn't work.

The writing in this book was good, but not amazing. I did find that Silver info-dumped a lot and could do with a little practice in showing, not telling since the book builds up all these questions which are all answered in this massive bulk and it was difficult for my poor, stupid brain to keep up at times!

Overall, Rush was an exciting read and the action scenes are definitely worth reading this book for. The characters needed some more work, but this is only the first book in the series! Silver does info-dump at times, but this is still worth considering for a fast-paced read!

Book released  11th June 2013 by Katherine Tegan books

Book received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review (edelweiss)