The Messenger Reviews

I had heard an abundance of praise for this book, and immediately added it to the list of books that I needed to read because of that. These high expectations may have altered what I thought of the book, but I had to say that it didn't completely fall short of expectations, even though it didn't reach the high bar I had set. I couldn't say that I was as astounded as I thought I would be. I found myself underwhelmed. It was a good book, don't get me wrong, but it wasn't as good as I thought it was going to be. 
The plot was amazingly inventive. I have never read anything like it, and don't expect to read much more like it in the future. It took alien invasion to the next level. The plot took unexpected turns, and always managed to astound me with what came next. Really, the only complaint that I had was that it sometimes got confusing flipping between different times and narrators, but other than that, there's really nothing poor I can say about it. 
The characters, though are a different story. While not necessarily poorly written, I felt like I didn't connect with any of them. I was especially not a fan of Cassie's love interest. In one word, I simply found him creepy. She even acknowledges him as so at one point, but then seems to pay it no mind later. I didn't find myself too invested in any of the character's survival or well-being. I felt like I didn't really know enough about them to form any sort of bond. There were all sorts of anecdotes, yes, and maybe their affects were just wasted on me, but I still felt like they didn't reveal much about their character. Additionally, I felt as if this book was more plot-oriented, and didn't focus too much on the emotions of the characters, which is something that I tend to favor. This angle might have worked for some people, it just didn't for me. 
As far as I'm concerned, in this book the goods outweigh the bads. The superb plot is really what sets this book aside as good. However, I felt as if some of the other elements fell a bit short, and brought it down, keeping it from being as fantastic. Still, I would definitely call it worth my time, if only for the fact of it's originality.
Three Point Five out of Five Stars