The Swell

I don't even have any idea where to start with this. The premise made me think of the movie Point Break- crazed surfers living life by their own compass. Kenna goes to Sydney to see her friend who has fallen in with a guy and a group of badass surfers- but why is Mikki different from how she used to be? She doesn't seem super enthused to have her friend there, and the vibes are off from the start. 

Kenna accompanies her friend to this secret beach they hang out at, and there she meets the rest of the group. They're all pretty free spirited, and I loved how this book felt so Australian- the wildlife, the setting, the language. Eventually Kenna decides to try and infiltrate the group- fit in, so she can see what the heck is going on with Mikki.  

The POV chapters are mostly from Kenna but every once in a while you get someone else's POV, and I really liked that. That other perspective really adds to this narrative, and provides some pretty wild clues throughout. It only happens rarely, so you mostly get Kenna's POV. One thing I didn't really buy was how she tried to take the group by pushing buttons, and as volatile as this group is, I think they would have shut her down. Otherwise this was such a good read- the chapters go quick and I had to keep reading. Some of the twists I did NOT see coming. 

This book is a love letter to surfing as well, and sometimes with books like that you get a sense of info dumping or pushing the subject so much it can turn off a casual reader, but here I felt like the expertise of the author made the story work withour feeling heavy handed. I felt like Kenna mostly made good calls, considering the info she had- I mean, clearly she did NOT know what was happening at particular points, but with thrillers I'm often disgusted at the decisions they make. Here I felt that way maybe a few times but not excessively.  

 So... is this like a book version of Point Break? Sort of, but deeper too. The blurb on the rear cover says to embrace the paranoia and take the ride- I couldn't agree more. 

Black Tide

Well that was a trip. 

Beth's housesitting for some wealthy people on the Oregon coast when the end of the world happens. Literally. She hooks up with the guy next door- Mike- and after a night of fun they both experience some weird things. The next day everything goes bad when they are on the beach and all heck breaks loose.  

Beth and Mike were fun. And can we talk about the dog? I mean, he steals the show perhaps? I had a good time with this one- it didn't quite blow my mind like I was expecting based on some reviews- but it was good and very intense. I like too that it took place over a short period of time- it's likeaction packed from the moment things really get started. Very much character driven. I really liked the ending- there's a sense of- I don't know- hope but also not a definite resolution, so things could go different ways. 

I ended up really caring for these characters also- Beth hooked me from the get go with her snark, but Mike was a little longer to get going for me. By the end though- her, Mike and Jake (the dog) - yes please. At times I felt like what's going to go wrong next - but this is a thrill ride from start to finish- and if you're gonna experience the end of the world, might as well be Oregon's coast, right? 

Travelers 01x06 Helios

So we have a bunch of nutsos about to drink... something- in anticipation of the Rapture. But they get overwritten and are Travelers now. Our team meanwhile are undertaking a mission- apparently the overriding reason they've come back in time- to prevent an asteroid- Helios 685- from devastating the earth. We see that the team has a little mantra, reflecting that they risk their own butts to fix the past. Or, to alter it- I mean, if the asteroid hit earth, is that meant to be, and are they doing the wrong thing by changing that? 

The best part of this, by the way, are the senior citizens packing assault weapons and the elderly lady being the top sniper. 

So we're back to the antimatter facility and Kyra Zagorsky is fabulous as Delaney. Carly shows that she's getting attached to Jeffrey. 

An elderly woman named Bloom is about to end her life, but she gets taken over tooand Traveler'd. 

Mac's team infiltrates the facility.

Ooh Bloom is older and knows Trevor (they're both older in the future). And she relates that they're not exactly popular in the future right now- apparently there are debates going on over their actions. Mac says you know who abducted my team? She does know, apparently- and also if their mission succeeds then they're all done. 

Bloom shares that everything up to now has been preparation. If they successfully deflect the asteroid all the plagues and wars that led to their timeline won't - and they may not be born. 

Bloom hits up some weed for pain control since her body has cancer.   

This is wild. I love how involved the operation is. 

 I love how the senior citizens are the reinforcements. 

I missed it on my first watch but Mac and Carly really have a thing. 

Ooh the blast radius will decimate everything nearby. 

I wish they could waive Protocol 3 because they're sitting ducks. The Travelers who took over the seniors are shooting not to kill, and the military are taking them out. 

The engineer orders MacLaren to get away. Oh, so she forced the Director's hand? By leaving herself behind (and getting shot) she makes him take over the military- and have those guys complete the mission. Just to save delaney? Or does she know things? 

Tuesday Tagline #225

  

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week a new Top Ten will be posted. Everyone is welcome to join. Link back so everyone can check out other bloggers' lists. It's a fun way to get to know fellow bloggers.

This week is a school freebie. Ooh I like these. Guess I'm going with books about schools that are a little... iffy.