Blog Tour: Revival

Title: Revival

Author: Jena Leigh

Series: The Variant Series #1

Genre: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Paranormal

Publish Date: Nov. 24. 2012

Tour Organizer: TeamNerd Reviews

Length: 282 pages

Format: paperback, ebook

Goodreads: here

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Description: Possessing the uncanny ability to fry a television set from twenty paces can really wreck a girl’s social life.

If you’re looking for proof, just ask sixteen-year-old Alexandra Parker. After catching her boyfriend in the arms of the prettiest girl in school, she made the journey from social elite to social pariah in a haze of electricity and exploding electronics. But finding herself at the bottom of Bay View High’s social hierarchy was nothing compared to the shock of discovering who—and what—she really is.

After being zapped out of a burning bookstore by the mysterious Declan—a hero nearly as handsome as he is infuriating—Alex finds herself under the protection of the powerful Grayson family. It’s through them that she learns the truth: that the world she’s always known is nothing like it appears to be... and that she has far more in common with them than she might want to believe.

Now, on the run from a fire-wielding hit man and a secretive government organization, Alex must navigate a strange and treacherous new world filled with superhuman mutants known as Variants. As she begins to unravel the many secrets of her family’s past, she uncovers the real reason for her parents’ death twelve years earlier—and finds out that the threat to her family, and to everyone she cares about, is still dangerously real.

My Review: Revival was a lot better than I expected it to be. I wasn't quite sure how I would feel about this novel as I have read many books about teenagers gaining supernatural powers and I was a bit curious about how this would be different. I think this was a great novel.

Alex is just a normal girl dealing with a break up from a cheating ex boyfriend when she discovers that she is not so normal after all. She meets Declan who just so happens to be able to teleport, Kenzie-telepathic, Nathaniel-telekinetic, and Brian who can see glimpses of the future. Each of these characters are important and fascinating in their own way. They operate as a family and joke and bicker with each other like one. I was happy to see the characters interact with each other in a way that made it clear that, despite not being blood related, they cared for one another.

The training that Alex goes through to control her abilities with her new family is fun and exciting to read. Although she learns quickly, it is amusing to see her mistakes. In my opinion, it is what makes Alex seems more realistic and sincere. All of the characters are well developed as their emotions are well defined and no one seems to be a background character. Brian is, perhaps, my favorite character because he seems far wiser than his years of 10 or 11 because of his visions, yet he does not let it stop him from having fun. Even the girl who Alex's boyfriend cheated with was fleshed out so that she did not merely fill up space on a page. 

I found the dynamic between Declan, Alex, and Nathaniel to be very interesting as I sense a maybe love triangle/unrequited love/I don't know what it is. The two boys both act interested in Alex and share strange looks and comments when one of them goes off with her alone. I am very interested in how this will play out and am happy that there will be more to this series.

Finally, the action is great. It feels movie-like in that there are car chases, fights, guns shooting, power hungry psychopaths, and strange, corrupt government agencies. There is suspense and surprise as nothing is what you expect it to be. I was very pleased with this novel and cannot wait until Resistance.

Quick Opinion: I was pleased with Revival overall. I think the concept of teenagers with supernatural powers, while not a new one, is well executed in this novel. I was captivated with the action in this novel and genuinely interested in what came next and how the characters ended up. I am definitely interested in reading the rest of the Variant series when it is released. I give Revival 4.5 stakes and I cannot wait to find out more about the characters that I have grown to care about.

Get to Know the Author: Born and raised in Tampa, Florida, Jena Leigh spent ten years in the mountains of North Carolina before returning home to the lightning capital of North America. A shameless geek, she loves bad sci-fi movies, Skittles, writing cracktastic e-mails to friends and taking shenanigan-filled road trips to faraway concerts. She has a degree in English from Appalachian State University. Revival is her first novel.

Author Links: 

Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook

Where to Get Your Copy: Barnes & Noble | Amazon

Giveaway: 

**MUST be 13 or older to enter**

**Winners have 48 hours to respond before new winners are chosen**

*ONE winner will receive a SIGNED hardcopy of REVIVAL and RESISTANCE (Be aware you will have to wait for the second book until it is published in FEB)**

**FIVE winners will be chosen to win e-copies of REVIVAL and RESISTANCE (Be aware you will have to wait for the second book until it is published in FEB)**

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have you read Revival? What did you think? What do you think about a supernatural bunch of teenagers?