Gravity (The Taking #1) by Melissa West

Author: Melissa West
Published: October 30, 2012 (Kindle)
November 20, 2012 (print)
By: Entangled Teen
4.5 Stars!

This cover is so pretty!

In the future, only one rule will matter:

Don’t. Ever. Peek.

Seventeen-year-old Ari Alexander just broke that rule and saw the last person she expected hovering above her bed — arrogant Jackson Locke, the most popular boy in her school. She expects instant execution or some kind of freak alien punishment, but instead, Jackson issues a challenge: help him, or everyone on Earth will die.

Ari knows she should report him, but everything about Jackson makes her question what she’s been taught about his kind. And against her instincts, she’s falling for him. But Ari isn’t just any girl, and Jackson wants more than her attention. She’s a military legacy who’s been trained by her father and exposed to war strategies and societal information no one can know — especially an alien spy, like Jackson. Giving Jackson the information he needs will betray her father and her country, but keeping silent will start a war.

Thank you to Entangled Teen for this e-ARC. There were two versions of this that were sent out, the second included some changes (a Prologue was added, the end was changed as well as a few other things.) and being the nosey nelly that I am, I read them both.  I'm so glad I did because while I liked the first one, I enjoyed the finished version much better!  In fact, you should just bypass this review and read this book for yourself, you won't be sorry.

Gravity (The Taking #1) is one of the most unique, creative and interesting alien stories I've read in a long time.  There's action, adventure and a swoonworhty romance that will have you wishing for your own close encounter of the third kind.  

Ari, the heroine is one tough cookie.  She's been training for Special Ops her whole life and takes her future as a military leader very seriously.  She's loyal to her family and her country but the one thing she's never been okay with is the Taking.  Ari knows the rules and she's been warned against peeking but her curiosity gets the better of her one night and she opens her eyes.  She's shocked to discover Jackson Locke is assigned to her and from that moment on, life as she's known it will never be the same again. 

Ari expects to be at odds with Jackson, especially now that she knows what he is but she never expected to want to help him or worse, to develop feelings for him.  He shows her that they really aren't that different and that together they might be able to keep their worlds from going to war.  Ari struggles with betraying not only her country but her family as well and she doesn't know for sure if Jackson can be trusted. However, when she sees the truth firsthand, she'll realize the only person she can really trust may be herself.

I enjoyed this book for many reasons - detailed world building, solid characters, and having to work together with those who are different than us are all key elements, but what jumped out at me is that this is a clean read. The romance definitely gets your blood pumping, as do the action scenes but this is a book younger readers can enjoy (like my nearteen) without any worries from the parentals. 

I'm looking forward to seeing what happens in book 2!