Hunting Lila by Sarah Alderson

Release Date: 4th August, 2011

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Pages: 320pgs

The Story

17-year-old Lila has two secrets she's prepared to take to the grave. The first is that she can move things just by looking at them. The second is that she's been in love with her brother's best friend, Alex, since forever. Or thereabouts.

After a mugging on the streets of South London goes horribly wrong and exposes her ability, Lila decides to run to the only person she can trust - her brother and Alex. They live in Southern California where they work for a secret organisation called The Unit, and Lila discovers that the two of them are hunting down the men who murdered her mother five years before. And that they've found them.

Trying to uncover the truth of why her mother was killed, and the real remit of The Unit, Lila becomes a pawn of a dangerous game. Struggling to keep her secrets in a world where nothing and no one is quite as they seem, Lila quickly realises that she is not alone - there are others out there just like her - people with special powers - and her mother's killer is one of them . . .

The Review

Is it wrong to love a book so much? With HUNTING LILA, Sarah Alderson delivers on an electrifying debut novel that takes you on an epic journey from the first to the very end page, with some non-stop action, suspence, and some serious hot romance that will take your breath away. Literally. I couldn't get enough of this novel and I can guarantee that all you readers will love this utterly amazing novel! Gripping pages . . . a fiesty heroine . . . hot boys . . . and my GOD it was just one hell of an adventure!

Our main heroine, Lila, has two secrets. 1) she has an ability to move objects with her mind and 2) she's in love with her brother's best friend since like . . . forever! Throughout the book Lila's courage will be tested when these two secrets collide into a series of events that will change her life forever. When a mugging attack went wrong, Lila's so-called 'ability' was exposed and in a panic she runaways to California where her brother, Jack, and his best friend, Alex, live. The only two people she can trust. Or so it would seem. Jack and Alex have been working for a secret organisation called The Unit and while it seems to be a military organisation, however there is more that lies beneath this unit. Something unexpected to Lila. With lies and many secrets revealed, one that has a lot to do with Lila's mother's death five years ago, Lila is bound to have her world crashing down.

I admit, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect with this book. All I knew was it was a book crossed between X-men (which I LOVE) and something of the likes of '24', which all up I knew was going to be an epic read for me. And GOD it was everything I hoped for - if not more than I realized. From the first chapter that hooked me . . . what really did it for me was Lila's love for her brother's best friend, Alex. Alex . . . ALEX! GOD! I will not stop gushing over that guy. He was just - gah! The first time you meet Alex, you can easily tell why Lila fell for him so hard since she was a child and it didn't matter whether he was older than she was . . . I mean, isn't that the attraction of him being older, wiser, and hot? *nods* Damn straight. Alex was so dreamy, caring and considerate, and did I mention hot? I think I did. Anyway if you want a hot romance entwined with an epic adventure then be sure to pick up this book and dive into the non-stop action sequences that will leave you wanting more!

HUNTING LILA is a wonderful accomplished novel with major sex appeal. Yup, I'm just laying it down onto the table. Sarah Alderson has such an amazing talent in engaging the reader and is definitely someone you ought to be watching out for to be the next big thing! While I saw this novel as it if was a movie, I'm super excited to know that the movie rights are being discussed for this book and all I can say is, 'move over Twilight and let HUNTING LILA break down your fangal battle fort'. A sequel for HUNTING LILA is currently in the works and be on the lookout for Alderson's second book Fated which will be released in January 2012. *forces hands away from the keyboard to avoid extra gushing*

The Rating

5/5 stars