The Rise of Nine (Lorien Legacies, book 3) by "Pittacus Lore"

Synopsis (from goodreads.com):

Until the day I met John Smith, Number Four, I'd been on the run alone, hiding and fighting to stay alive.

Together, we are much more powerful. But it could only last so long before we had to separate to find the others. . . .

I went to Spain to find Seven, and I found even more, including a tenth member of the Garde who escaped from Lorien alive. Ella is younger than the rest of us, but just as brave. Now we're looking for the others--including John.

But so are they.

They caught Number One in Malaysia.
Number Two in England.
And Number Three in Kenya.
They caught me in New York--but I escaped.
I am Number Six.
They want to finish what they started.
But they'll have to fight us first.

Jillian’s Review:

I actually enjoyed this one more than the first two, I Am Number Four  and The Power of Six. It helps that there are more girl point of view parts. I just don't care for the three boys so far, but the girls are great.

I’m happy to say that the author’s writing improves with each book. I refuse to call him Lore—since this is the name of one of the characters in the novel and I hate that the author is using it as his/her nom de plume just to try to convince us that this is non-fiction we’re reading.

There was more action than I care to read. I found myself skimming a lot through those parts, just as I did in the first two. But I did like the storyline... I’m just annoyed that there was no resolution. So, once again, I'll have to wait to find out what happens. How many freaking books will there be?? Please don't make it be like the Wheel of Time!

 

The Power of Six (Lorien Legacies, Book 2) by Pittacus Lore

Synopsis (from goodreads.com):

I've seen him on the news. Followed the stories about what happened in Ohio. John Smith, out there, on the run. To the world, he's a mystery. But to me . . . he's one of us.
Nine of us came here, but sometimes I wonder if time has changed us—if we all still believe in our mission. How can I know? There are six of us left. We're hiding, blending in, avoiding contact with one another . . . but our Legacies are developing, and soon we'll be equipped to fight. Is John Number Four, and is his appearance the sign I've been waiting for?

And what about Number Five and Six? Could one of them be the raven-haired girl with the stormy eyes from my dreams? The girl with powers that are beyond anything I could ever imagine? The girl who may be strong enough to bring the six of us together?
They caught Number One in Malaysia.
Number Two in England.
And Number Three in Kenya.
They tried to catch Number Four in Ohio—and failed.
I am Number Seven. One of six still alive.
And I'm ready to fight.

Jillian’s Review:

I'm not a big fan of the first book of this series, I Am Number Four, mostly because it wasn’t written well, I can’t stand reading present-tense, and because I watched the movie which I thought was better than the book. I didn’t plan to read the next book in the series but then there was a sneak-peak in the back of I Am Number Four for The Power of Six, and I was hooked. It’s written from the POV of Number Seven (a.k.a. Marina) and I LOVED her. I was so excited to start reading.

And then I got the book and discovered that it’s also written from the POV of Number Four (a.k.a. John Smith) and I was sorely disappointed. I guess I just don’t like this guy, especially when he starts to crush on Number Six when his “one true love” is supposed to be Sarah, waiting faithfully back in Paradise. Oh, but Lore takes care of that, he just makes Sarah a snitch and the one true love thing isn’t even real—which was one of the first book’s redeeming qualities—then it’s OK for Four to forget all about Sarah and move onto Six! Ugh. I understand the need for romance, believe me, I thrive on it in the novels I read, but to throw out the relationship so carefully built up in the first book just because Sarah can’t physically be there with Four is lame. But I guess it’s kind of a teenager thing, right?

Also, a pet-peeve of mine (one that I’ve recently discovered thanks to this series) is that the author isn’t just using a pen name, he’s using the name of a character in his novels. I guess he wants it to feel more realistic, but it’s just weird.

All that being said, I did liked this one better then I Am Number Four. It was much better written (Lore discovered contractions!). I still can't stand reading in present-tense, but there was enough action that I was able to get wrapped up in the story instead of tripped up over the writing. There were a few parts where I found myself skimming just because it took forever to get through the battle scenes and I'm not a big fan of those—and there are A LOT.

I really liked Seven and I loved how badbutt (my clean word for bad@$$—I know it doesn’t sound cool, but I’m so sick of the swearing in YA. Yet another one of my pet-peeves) Six was. If it had been written from their POVs I would have loved this book. The ending was an obvious “to be continued” and I’m pretty sure I’ll read the next one. I’m just not sure I’ll like it.

(Because the girls were cool!)