False Memory by Dan Krokos

Book: False Memory by Dan Krokos
To be published August 14, 2012 by Hyperion

Summary (from GoodReads): Miranda wakes up alone on a park bench with no memory. In her panic, she releases a mysterious energy that incites pure terror in everyone around her. Except Peter, a boy who isn't at all surprised by Miranda's shocking ability.Left with no choice but to trust this stranger, Miranda discovers she was trained to be a weapon and is part of an elite force of genetically-altered teens who possess flawless combat skills and powers strong enough to destroy a city. But adjusting to her old life isn't easy--especially with Noah, the boyfriend she can't remember loving. Then Miranda uncovers a dark truth that sets her team on the run. Suddenly her past doesn't seem to matter...when there may not be a future.Dan Krokos' debut is a tour-de-force of non-stop action that will leave readers begging for the next book in this bold and powerful new series.

Characters:  The nature of the story made it hard for me to immediately connect with the narrator, Miranda.  I had a hard time getting a handle on her, but the story starts when she wakes up with no memory, so she has a hard time understanding herself.  Regardless, it was fascinating watching her slowly get to know herself again and, by the end, I was on her side all the way.

The other characters have a ton of history, but Miranda doesn't know any of it.  I loved watching her try to unravel the past while forging new relationships in the present.  Peter and Rhys were definitely my favorites.  Peter stole my heart in the quiet way Peeta did in the Hunger Games, while Rhys (the rogue) is reckless and made me smile.  I still don't trust Noah, the boyfriend Miranda can't remember, but I'm interested in where his character will go in future books.  I never really connected to Olive, the final member of Miranda's team.  This is probably because there is so much else going on and Miranda doesn't have complicated, romantic feelings for Olive, so she gets the least amount of time in Miranda's thoughts.

We really only brushed the surface of the villains, but this is the start of the series and I'm dying to learn more about their organization and their work.  I love scientists as villains, because they have this completely logical way of thinking and they are smart.

Plot/Pacing:  If I had a complaint, it would be that this book is too fast, which seems like a poor thing to complain about.  The book is full of twists and turns and it goes a ton of places that I never expected.  However, because it moves so fast and Miranda is trying to piece together her memory, it sometimes felt like I was barely following what was happening.  As soon as I started to feel comfortable with what was going on something would happen that would completely send my head spinning.  I think this will be a great thing for most readers, but I'm weird and prefer the anticipation of being able to guess the ending.

Moments I Loved:  The very last scene that will kill you when you realize you have to wait for book two and there is a make out scene in a bathroom that is pretty awesome.

WTF Moments:  Miranda and her genetically altered friends need to take a serum to protect their memories from fading.  At one point they are trapped, but Noah has vials hidden under his tongue, so they have this weird group make-out sesh to pass the vials to one another.  I mean... I kinda liked it, but... yeah, it was weird.

Overall:  A quick read that is hard to put down, False Memory is the start of a series that I plan on sticking with.

Reading Challenges: This book counts toward the following challenges:  327 pages toward the 15,000 page challenge.  Track all my progress on my 2012 Challenges page.

False Memory gets a FakeSteph rating of...

**I received an ARC of False Memory from the publisher at BEA.  I was in no way compensated for my review and all opinions expressed here are my own.  Feel free to check out my full FTC Disclaimer on my About This Blog page.**