The Host by Stephenie Meyer

The Host, a novel by the beloved American novelist, Stephenie Meyer (author of the Twilight series), is a highly entertaining work that needs not be overlooked. Remember the chemistry Meyer created between our fictional vampire and human characters in Twilight? And the effect they left as they lingered in your thoughts all day? Stephenie Meyer does not disappoint, and once again she has brought to life a scenario and characters that you just cant get out of your head.
Published in April of 2008, The Host is classified as a science fiction novel, however it is also classified as a romance. The basis of the novel consists of an alien human race referred to as "souls" who forcefully inhabit earth and embody the humans who live there. Our main character "Wanderer," or "Wanda" as she is later called for short, is a soul that has inhabited a human's body - a beautiful, smart and strong young woman named Melanie. Before Melanie was captured and embodied by this soul, she survived in hiding with her young brother Jamie and boyfriend, the love of her life, Jared.

When the "souls" embody humans, the human mind within is supposed to become erased, non-existent, so that the "soul" can take over complete mental control of this new body and life as their own. Wanderer finds out all too soon that the human inside this new body of hers, Melanie, is a fighter and is very resistant to the takeover. That said, Wanderer and Melanie live simultaneously inside their head, tormenting each other on some levels. However what was once torment eventually evolves into a deep sisterhood love. Because of Melanie's undying presence in her head, Wanderer experiences all the same memories that Melanie has, human emotions, memories and the powerful determination to get back to Jared and Jamie.

The book is a journey of Wanderer and Melanie's search for the two people most important to Melanie, and the events and adventures thereof, eventually finding them along with the secret human colony living with them in underground caverns. Wanderer, although alien to the human race she embodies, becomes a part of them, interwoven by choice into their daily fabric, and their means of survival. Wanderer and one of the humans, a heart-throbbing young man named Ian, find an attraction but cant get past how to deal with love between two different races - human and alien. Love and companionship are tested, and in the end Wanderer finds herself left with a choice she needs to make - whether or not to bring Melanie back to existence and sacrifice herself, for the sake of both of her brother and Jared, who is still so much in love with Melanie. What she decides in the end is shocking, and completely throws a twist into the story.

The end leaves you grasping for more, to be honest I was so disappointed. But only selfishly. I wanted so badly for the story to continue, to find out how life goes after her decision had been made. Meyer definitely severed the novel at a perfect place for a sequel. Let's hope!

I don't have too many spoilers, but I will say that the familiar love triangle that Meyer created in Twilight is present in The Host too. The dynamics of the love and attraction battle between Wanderer, Jared and Ian is addicting, to say the least. It is the kind of story that keeps you up at night reading for hours. Although the book is amazing, the beginning is very confusing and can be hard to get though. Everything makes sense eventually though; it all comes full circle.

My bottom line is that I would recommend The Host, just as much as I would recommend Twilight. Happy reading!

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Fantasy + romance + historical + sci fi. Outlander (or Cross Stitch as it was published in it's UK homeland in 1991) is the first of a series of (currently) six novels by Diana Gabaldon. This first novel starts during the 1940's in Inverness, Scotland, but quickly transports you (and of course the main Character Claire) to eighteenth century Scotland. Claire, who is a nurse in the British Army during WWII, and her husband Frank, reunite after the war by way of a second honeymoon in Scotland. After an errie stormy evening, Claire ventures alone to a cluster of large standing stones and finds herself suddenly transported through time to eighteenth century Scotland, where things - and people are very very different. Clueless to what just happened, Claire struggles to find her way back and to make sense of her surroundings when she is detained by a highly notorious and brutal British captain named Jack "Black Jack" Randall, who unbeknownst, is the six times great-grandfather of her husband, Frank. On the brink of attack she is saved by a Scotsmen and transported through the old rural countryside where she finally delivered to the clan and shortly thereafter introduced to our main hunk of a hero, Scots warrior James Frasier. Jamie is young and built like an ox with fiery long red hair and muscles like steel. His clan dubs her "Sassenach"- an outsider to Scottish Highland culture. Through a series of events, "already married in the year 1940 Claire" and 20-something Jamie find themselves bound to each other in an arranged marriage, partly to keep Claire out of the hands of "Black Jack Randall." It's a horrible thing for both of them... or is it?

SPOILERS AHEAD!

Oh you thought I was going to give you spoilers did you? How could I possibly spoil one of the most romantic and blood bubbling love stories of the eighteenth century? It may cause my cheeks to turn pink trying to explain it. I will say that the care, companionship and eventually deep love that ensues the couple, cannot be spoiled by my review. If anything it will make you want to read the book!