Erased by Jennifer Rush

Erased by Jennifer Rush
Altered #2
Release Date: January 7, 2014
Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Source: Jenn Rush, because she's lovely and fabulous
Star Rating: ★★★★★
Rating: All Time Favourite

After fleeing the Branch with Sam, Cas, and Nick, Anna is trying to make sense of the memories resurfacing from her old life. At the same time, she's learning how to survive in hiding, following Sam's rules: Don't draw attention to yourself. Always carry a weapon. Know your surroundings. Watch your back.

Then a figure from Anna's childhood reappears. Is it a Branch setup, or could it be the reunion Anna has hoped for? Uncertain of where her loyalties lie, Anna must fight to learn the truth -- before she is betrayed again. Ultimately, the answers hinge on one question: What was the real reason her memories were erased?

Jennifer Rush delivers a thrilling sequel to Altered in a novel packed with mysteries, lies, and surprises that are sure to keep readers guessing until the last page is turned.

Like clockwork, I woke after midnight and immediately had the urge to see Sam.

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I have been book pushing Altered on all of you since I read it almost a year ago, so when Jennifer Rush offered to send me a copy of Erased back in the summer, I was over the moon! At first I was a little bit nervous about Erased not living up to my expectations, but once I started reading it I realised that those hesitations were silly. Erased is just as good as Altered, meaning this series stays as one of my all time favourites that I want to reread RIGHT. NOW.

The action scenes were one of my favourite parts of Altered (that's a lie, I loved it all), and Erased had action scenes that topped those! It was a crazy, non-stop ride, and Jennifer Rush doesn't give the reader a chance to catch their breath. Sometimes this is a bad thing, but with Erased it works really well, as I was constantly on edge waiting for something to go wrong or for someone to get shot. The plot was slightly predictable, which I think is what happens when you read so many books and watch so much TV, but there were quite a few things that I didn't see coming at all. When they happened I almost dropped the book.

There was less romance in Erased as well, due to events that occur and cause Sam and Anna to put a hold on their romantic relationship. Don't worry, there's no stupid second book breakup though! The romance is just pushed aside for most of the book in favour of the action, and more importantly Anna's backstory. 

Can we have a round of applause for Jennifer Rush for actually focussing on her main character? Lots of YA authors don't do this, and instead choose to fill the book with romantic scenes and tell us how the two love interests can't live without each other. Instead of that rubbish, Jennifer Rush writes about Anna and her backstory, and her history with the government. We learn how she lost her memory, who she was before she lost it, and all those sorts of things. It's lovely to read about, because, like I've said in the past, lots of YA main characters - particularly females - don't get a chance to be their own person before they're thrown into a relationship which then defines them. With Erased, we get to actually focus on the person who should be the focus all along - the strong, interesting, complicated female main character.

And you didn't think I was going to write this review without squealing over Nick, did you? Honestly, don't you know me at all? Nick is my favourite out of the four guys, and I was so happy when I learnt that he's going to have a more important role in Erased. We get to see a lot more of him in this book, and we learn more about his backstory and his history with various other characters. I adore him, and the fact that he got so much more development (AND BOOK THREE IS ABOUT NICK!) made me cry from happiness.

And yes, I ship him with Anna. Even though I also ship her with Sam. OT3! *screams* Anna and Nick have amazing amounts of chemistry, that I definitely don't think I'm imagining, and their scenes together made me flail. 

That said, Jennifer Rush does not turn this into a love triangle! *sobs with part relief, part horror* So you don't need to worry about Nick getting in the way of Sam and Anna. Although I totally wouldn't mind that, so if anyone wants to write some fanfiction then hit me up.

Overall, Erased is fucking amazing and definitely worthy of sitting on my favourites shelf with Altered. Jennifer Rush has created a thrilling mystery full of action with some romance sprinkled in, and I adore it. I need more of these characters, mostly Nick, RIGHT. NOW. Seriously, where is that fanfic?