Hunting Lila
Sarah Alderson
Released August 4th, 2011
by Simon & Schuster
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…
With memorable characters, a sweet romance and an exhilarating plot – Hunting Lila is a fantastic read. The cover is what drew me to read this novel at first. It’s unique, sexy and mysterious. Once I read the premise that described a girl with special abilities and lots of excitement. I knew I had no choice but to read it.
Going into this, with the incredible reviews it’s been getting, I had high hopes. I’m happy to say that I was not disappointed. Hunting Lila has a great plot that swept me in from the start. We meet Lila right away during a mugging, trying not to stab a guy in the eye with a hovering knife… that she’s controlling. See, Lila can move objects with her mind. She doesn’t know why or how, but she’s been able to for the last three years. This mugging incident makes her flee to California to go stay with her brother and, most importantly, see Alex again – her brother’s best friend who she’s been secretly in love with her whole life.
Lila is a wonderful character. I adored her from the get-go. She’s stubborn, feisty, unsure of why she has this ability and with a huge – but completely adorable – crush on her brother’s best friend. What goes through her mind when she sees, or even just thinks about, Alex is incredibly sweet and often amusing. She contemplates every detail and perceives every reaction – it’s pretty entertaining. Her feelings really feel genuine, though. It’s not hard to imagine being as irrational as she, with a crush like hers. A crush she’s had her whole life. It was absolutely romantic. And Alex, I loved him! He’s sexy, charming, protective, has a big heart – just dang perfect!
I did notice a few similarities with Hunting Lila and the TV series, Heroes. The conspiracy behind the agency, the abilities, the power hungry villain, the mind piercing “weapon”, are all also found in the show. So the idea behind the book is not something I haven’t stumbled upon before. However, Hunting Lila does have a unique plot, fun mysteries and unexpected twists. Just when I thought I had it all figured out… BAM, another bomb was dropped. I was really impressed by the complexity of it all. I have really high hopes for the sequel, Losing Lila, which promises to be action packed and full of adrenaline.
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| 4 Hot Espressos |
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This one is new to me, and I agree the cover looks mysterious and had me curious. Glad to read that you enjoyed it. Happy reading!
Kristan
Love this review! I swear you should be in book marketing or something, because all of your reviews make me want to go out and buy the book! The relationship between Lila and Alex is what’s really drawing me in. AND the complexity of the story. I like it when you’re surprised while reading!
Kristan @ Lost Amongst the Shelves
Ron C. Nieto
There is something remarkably odd about running off with red stiletto heels (laughs). But this looks interesting. I wonder if there’ll be too many prosecutions, or the romance thing will prevail though…
Glad you enjoyed it, and thanks so much for sharing!
Ron @ Stories of my life
Giselle
Kristan: Thanks so much! I’m glad I can convince someone to read them because there are a lot of great books out there that don’t get noticed.
Giselle
Ron C. Nieto: I’m curious so see where the series will go in the sequel. I’m sure it’ll be good though Sarah is a great author!
Savannah
Hmmm, this book I have seen around for a while and need to read it. Thanks for the review!
Mocha ღ Latte(Cupcake and a Latte)
Hurray! LOVED HUNTING LILA!
Book Passion for Life
I loved this! I glad you enjoyed it too 🙂
Lauren M
Oooh, Hunting Lila sounds amazing! I loved Heroes (or at least the first season, haha), so I’ll probably really enjoy this book. Thanks for the review, Giselle! 🙂
joder
Haven’t heard of this one, but am intrigued by your description and review. Thanks too for visiting my site for Follow Friday. I’m now your newest follower.
Words of Wisdom from the Scarf Princess
Melissa
I agree that the cover doesn’t seem to fit. But putting that aside, this does sound like a promising series! And I love the way you review!
♥ Melissa @ Melissa’s Eclectic Bookshelf
Mimi Valentine
Oh my gosh, I’m so glad you liked this one, Giselle! I’ve read so many awesome things about it around the blogosphere and I love the whole synopsis — it sounds like such a cool book! Plus, I’m a definitely mystery lover so you can bet I’ll enjoy that aspect of it! 😉
Awesome review, Giselle! I want to fall in love with Alex and Lila too — I’m going to try and get my hands on a copy soon! 🙂
Elizabeth
Thanks for stopping by my blog today.
OLD FOLLOWER.
Elizabeth
http://silversolara.blogspot.com
Cindy (Oodles of Books)
This one sounds great and I love the cover. Great review 🙂
Leanna (Daisy Chain Book Reviews)
Loved this one! And I totally swooned for Alex!
You’re so right with the Heroes comparisons. I loved the first season of that show, but it all went downhill after that for me. I compared this one to X-Men in my review! Great read, though! Can’t wait for the next book!
Giselle
@ Leanna (Daisy Chain Book Reviews) & Lauren M:
I agree season 1 of Heroes was really awesome and then it went all downhill. What a shame too!
@Mimi Valentine You HAVE to read this, Mimi! Can’t wait to see what you think of it!
Thanks for all the comments! *virtual hug!*
Melissa (Books and Things)
Another great review of this book. Oh and Lila sounds like someone I’d love to get to know. I also love the complexity works so well. Yep, it’s on the wishlist!
Candace
I hadn’t heard of this one before but it sounds good! And that it’s a little similar to Heroes makes it more interesting to me. I’ve only seen little pieces of the show but it seems pretty good. Glad you enjoyed this one!
Ninja Girl
Unique, sexy, and mysterious?? This sounds fantastic! I’ve looked at this one a time or two but just never picked it up for some reason. When you compared it to Heroes, I was so there. Now, I’ve gotta go see about this book! Great review, Giselle 🙂
Ninja Girl
Shellie
I have seen this around the blog world lately & it’s very catching. I’m going to have to add this one as well. lol =)
Jesse
I LOVE Hunting Lila! The cover is soooo pretty I just HAD to read it. Great review!
Kyle (A Reader's Pensieve)
I have never heard of this book, but it sounds great! Adding it to my TBR list now!
Vicky
Great review! I haven’t read it yet but it’s been on my wishlist for a while and now you made me want to read it even more. 🙂 I agree, it was the cover that drew me to read it and I also have high hopes for this book. Can’t wait to read it now!
Vicky
Books, Biscuits & Tea
Kim
Awesome review! I think I might cave and buy this book soon. I’m a sucker for a book with swoon-worthy male characters… lol