Rating:


Author: Stephenie Meyer

Publication: May 6th, 2008

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Description: Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy. Humans become hosts for these invaders, their minds taken over while their bodies remain intact and continue their lives apparently unchanged. Most of humanity has succumbed.

When Melanie, one of the few remaining "wild" humans, is captured, she is certain it is her end. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, was warned about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the glut of senses, the too-vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

Wanderer probes Melanie's thoughts, hoping to discover the whereabouts of the remaining human resistance. Instead, Melanie fills Wanderer's mind with visions of the man Melanie loves - Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she has been tasked with exposing. When outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off on a dangerous and uncertain search for the man they both love.
Via GoodReads.

My Review:

Honestly, I'm not the biggest fan of the Twilight series...


So, it took my mother and sister a lot of presuading before I finally gave in and read The Host. Wow, am I glad I did. The Host was a breathtaking story that was original, exciting, and moving. It was a trully beautiful story.

My one and only complaint with The Host is the slightly confusing beginning of the book. The reader is immidiately thrust into a strange place with strange people using strange words, none of which is explained. But now that I'm typing this, maybe Meyer did this on purpose - giving the readers the same confusion and disorientation that Wanderer was feeling after waking up in a new body on an entirely new planet, since the story is told from Wanderer's point of view. Which is actually pretty genius. I see multiple reviews on GoodReads where readers put down The Host and didn't come back to it because of this first chapter or so. I honestly didn't think it was that bad, but if you do, don't give up! Trust me, you won't regret it.

Did you read the synopses? Because this storyline is just as amazing as it sounds, plus much more because of all the things they couldn't say due to spoilers. This story is trully original and amazing. The more I read, the more I was awed by the depth and magnificence of the world that Meyer created with both the human rebels and the alien life. Not only am I in love with the storyline and the writing that made it all come together, but also the characters.

Wanderer, the main character of the book, a "soul" alien that has taken control of rebel human Melanie's body, is awesome. Some reviewers say that they thought Wanderer was too kind and too self-sacrificing to be realistic. I agree 100%. For a human, that is. Wanderer, however, is a soul. The souls have come to Earth and other planets to experience life there by living through hosts from that planet and to make these planets better by irradicating all violence and suffering. Souls are known for their ever good and helpful natures. Wanderer had these characteristics, but also grew into something more than your average soul as she basked in the vivid emotions of her human host.

Melanie, a voice in the forefront of Wanderer's mind as Melanie refuses to give up the control of her body without a fight, also grew on me. Melanie is solely focused on saving the ones that she loves, Jamie her younger brother and Jared the man she loves. These powerful feelings seep into Wanderer until she too loves them and will do whatever she has to to protect them. As far as characters go, I really liked Jamie, but Jared was a complete and utter a-hole. That's all I'll say about that.

My favorite character, next to Wanderer, was Ian O'Shea. Wow, do I wish I could have a guy like that.

“It’s not the face, but the expressions on it. It’s not the voice, but what you say. It’s not how you look in that body, but the thing you do with it. You are beautiful.”

Ian loves Wanderer, the little parasitic alien, not the body that she is residing in. Swoon. Definitely one of the parts where I got teary eyed. What an amazing guy. Wanderer begins to have feelings for him as well, but is confused by Melanie's overpowering love for Jared. What will she do? I'll let you find out when you read it.

Sidenote: Being "unconditionally and irrevocably in love" with Ian myself, I just had to look up who would be playing him in the upcoming film for The Host. Guess who's playing him!



So, not only is Ian a sweetheart, but he's also a total babe. And what's really ironic is that I was literally just drooling over Jake in my last review, Dark Kiss. I guess the gods were smiling upon me.

Anywho, the ending did the wonderful story justice as well. It was perfect, though I do wish that I could hear more of Wanderer's story just because I loved this one so much. On Oprah, Meyer stated that she might write two more books for a Host trilogy. It's all very ify though. I'm hoping that after the inevitable success of the upcoming movie, Meyer will be inspired to continue writing.

The Host is definitely now one of my all-time favorite books. It was that good. I laughed, I cried, I feared for my life, I fell in love. I recommend this book to anyone and everyone looking for an amazing read, most certainly not just to the lovers of Meyer's Twilight series.

Summed Up:

This is absolutely one of my new all-time favorite books! I loved everything about it: the unique storyline, the main character and the other characters, the love interest, the wonderful romance, and the great writing. It should be noted that the first chapter was a little confusing, but not too bad.