Host

Disclaimer:
This is probably closer to a 4-star rating book if I'm being honest but:
1) I was shocked by how much I enjoyed it, and
2) My ship hooked up.

I'm biased. I'll admit it. But, back to the book:

A little history:
When The Host first came out, I'll admit I looked at it and went "Huh, that sounds interesting," but passed it up. Why? I'll give you one guess, and it starts with a T. As much as I loved the movies (a total guilty pleasure--I'm such a closet Twilight fan), the books were mediocre writing at best. They weren't as horrible as its opponents tend to claim--but I wasn't in love with them either (the writing more so than the story itself--fan of the movies, again). So, my opinion of that influenced my decision to pass by The Host. I'd wait for a movie.

I regret this decision.

I saw there was a movie was coming out for the film (via an edition of the book with the poster on the front), and went - Screw it. I bought it. I read it. And you know what? I loved The Host.

The Actual Review:

First off, I love that the main character of this book is the alien & for the first time, I enjoyed that it was first person. The entire novel is from Wanderer's point of view, and Meyer manages to keep her sympathetic, and interesting as a character. A good quarter of this book is dedicated to Wanderer first adjusting to Melanie. It was slow paced, but you got a great feel for the Soul's frustrations and fears, as well as the world she lived in.

The other three quarters of the book are dedicated to exploring the consequences of sharing emotions, memories, and a physical body, while dealing with other people--specifically, family and romance. This isn't a big action book, or a hard sci-fi novel--so don't expect thrills around every corner, or detailed technology. But it isa romance (leaning more toward drama, I think) revolving around a very odd love square.

And I adored it.

It's fun tackling the topic of a Soul loving a human, but then trying to sort out the flooding emotions from the girl in the back of her head. Does Wanderer really love Jared, or is it just the influence? What happens when Wanderer starts to like Ian--who is genuinely in love with Wanderer and not Melanie? It's an interesting dynamic, and aside from a few hiccups here or there on the romance half that felt a little forced, I really enjoyed the exploration of these relationships.

And the best part? The romance isn't even a large portion of the book. Most of this is Wanderer/Melanie dealing with the people hiding from the Souls. Her friends, her family & community. Wanderer & Melanie's concerns for her little brother Jamie outweighed the romance portions of this book, if you really want to get down to it. Plus, it explores these two groups (Souls and Humans) learning more about each other, and how to survive.

Besides, I adored the rest of the cast. Jeb is amazing. Jamie's adorable. Kyle is oddly likable all considering (I blame him being related to Ian), and I loved Doc (which I may attribute to the fact I pictured Doc from Red vs Blue as his actor). They were all great. <3

But more important than that, I adored the final couple roster when the dust cleared and the book ended. Spoilers: Ian and Wanderer hooked up. YES. Waited the entire darn book for that. I loved them. They had chemistry, he really did love the Soul, and not the body, and she loved him back. Yes. Yes. Yes. Jared and Melanie can have each other. Also--Kyle and Sunny. Wasn't expecting to love that like I did. But I ship it. So much. SunnyxKyle. Yes.

Conclusion:

It was good. I enjoyed it. The end. Can't wait for book two & the movie.