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Users
Some people have great ideas. Hers kill.
At 20 years old, Cael is a draft dodger on the run from a brutalized New York City. He thinks he’ll be safe on his aunt’s farm, but when his parents go missing and he gets a lead, Cael is determined to find out what happened. Along the way, he makes two life-altering discoveries: his childhood enemy has become the girl of his dreams…and she can kill people with a mere thought.
Iggy’s teen years were anything but normal. She didn’t study for classes or date boys; she fought death and torture at the hands of the scientist who made her a biological weapon. Now that war has come, the government is determined to use her against the enemy. And once again, a boy she cares about becomes the pawn in a game of blackmail.
Along with a group of students who have extraordinary powers, Iggy and Cael are held captive in an underground lab…part of an experiment they do not understand. While they fight against the authority that dominates them below ground, the world above is collapsing. And even if they manage to escape, they may find the battle for life and death has only just begun.
*Recommended for ages 16+ due to profanity, sexuality, and violence.
At 20 years old, Cael is a draft dodger on the run from a brutalized New York City. He thinks he’ll be safe on his aunt’s farm, but when his parents go missing and he gets a lead, Cael is determined to find out what happened. Along the way, he makes two life-altering discoveries: his childhood enemy has become the girl of his dreams…and she can kill people with a mere thought.
Iggy’s teen years were anything but normal. She didn’t study for classes or date boys; she fought death and torture at the hands of the scientist who made her a biological weapon. Now that war has come, the government is determined to use her against the enemy. And once again, a boy she cares about becomes the pawn in a game of blackmail.
Along with a group of students who have extraordinary powers, Iggy and Cael are held captive in an underground lab…part of an experiment they do not understand. While they fight against the authority that dominates them below ground, the world above is collapsing. And even if they manage to escape, they may find the battle for life and death has only just begun.
*Recommended for ages 16+ due to profanity, sexuality, and violence.
284 pages, ebook
First published August 11, 2015
16 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 2, 2015
Wow, what a fantastic read! Set in a disintegrating America on the verge of a massive end-of-world-type war, Users is fast paced and full of action - I was glued to every page and on edge about what was going to happen next. The characters were great, especially the guys. I loved Cael, who was both tough and sweet... and normal. Wes, too, was a compelling character with hidden depths. And then there's Iggy - complicated, fiercely loyal, both strong and terrified as she confronts what she's capable of. The progression of her ability was well mapped out and believable. These characters are by no means perfect, they're each flawed in their own way and that makes them more relatable and real. Andrea Alexander has produced a book that will keep you guessing, completely engaged and begging for more. I got to the end and almost wailed at the thought of having to wait for the next instalment. I can't wait to find out what happens next... and when I'm feeling that way I know I've read an outstanding book.
October 6, 2015
Before I start I just want to say that I don't think enough people, readers included, give self published authors enough credit. Yes, there are a few out there that should really be attacked by a red pen, but there are a lot of them that are really quite good. Users is one that I would place in the good category.
Users takes place in the Unite States. However, the world is in complete disarray. Everyone is going crazy. They are attacking each other and stealing from one another. Stores are being looted and ransacked. No place is truly safe.
Cael leaves New York with his best friend Cody to meet his parents at the farm of his aunt and uncle. The farm isn't really so much a farm as it is a bunker. They have been stocking up on food and weapons for a long time. He hadn't been to the farm since he was about 13, but it was the safest place his family could think of to go.
When he gets there, he discovers that his parents haven't gotten there yet. His cousin Iggy (who isn't blood related) is there and is completely different than what he remembered. Iggy's best friend Wesley is more than a little hostile to him.
While they are there, a few surprise visitors come by. First there is the next door neighbor who is anything but a savory character. Second is some people from the CDC. Interested specifically in Iggy and Wesley.
After a few days at the farm, Cael begins to worry. His parents haven't shown up and after some looking around, Iggy's father learns that the car they were traveling in has been found but they are no where to be found. Cael takes it upon himself to go find his parents car to see if he can determine what has happened to them. Cody, Wesley, and Iggy all decide to go with him (even though Iggy's parents are very against the idea).
So begins their journey. They learn a lot about each other on the way. Iggy and Wesley end up having a bounty on their head. And it turns out that those two are anything but ordinary.
As far as dystopians go this was a pretty good one. However, I am still kind of unclear on what exactly it was that set the United States (and perhaps the rest of the world) to collapse to the state that it is in in this story.
For the most part I liked the characters. Though I do think there were some issues with character development. This was more of a problem for me towards the beginning of the story, but it did alleviate a bit as the story continued. However, I never really felt a connection to Cody. To me he was very much in the background and was just the stoner guy who happened to be there. I didn't feel his friendship, which was supposed to be more like being a brother, between him and Cael.
This story is actually told from two different perspectives: Cael and Iggy. However, you don't see Iggy as the narrator until past the 50% mark. I thought this was kind of unfortunate. I really liked seeing her side of things and I would really have liked to see more of it.
I personally liked the 2nd half of the story more than the 1st. It really picked up. To me, it almost felt as though that was where the original idea of the story is and the rest was built around it.
Also, just a note. This is a young adult book, but it is probably more appropriate for the older half/more mature side of the intended audience. There is some profanity and some sexual relations.
I am really looking forward to the next book. I absolutely NEED to know what happens next!
This review is based on a copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review
Find more of my reviews here:
http://readingwithcupcakes.blogspot.com/
Users takes place in the Unite States. However, the world is in complete disarray. Everyone is going crazy. They are attacking each other and stealing from one another. Stores are being looted and ransacked. No place is truly safe.
Cael leaves New York with his best friend Cody to meet his parents at the farm of his aunt and uncle. The farm isn't really so much a farm as it is a bunker. They have been stocking up on food and weapons for a long time. He hadn't been to the farm since he was about 13, but it was the safest place his family could think of to go.
When he gets there, he discovers that his parents haven't gotten there yet. His cousin Iggy (who isn't blood related) is there and is completely different than what he remembered. Iggy's best friend Wesley is more than a little hostile to him.
While they are there, a few surprise visitors come by. First there is the next door neighbor who is anything but a savory character. Second is some people from the CDC. Interested specifically in Iggy and Wesley.
After a few days at the farm, Cael begins to worry. His parents haven't shown up and after some looking around, Iggy's father learns that the car they were traveling in has been found but they are no where to be found. Cael takes it upon himself to go find his parents car to see if he can determine what has happened to them. Cody, Wesley, and Iggy all decide to go with him (even though Iggy's parents are very against the idea).
So begins their journey. They learn a lot about each other on the way. Iggy and Wesley end up having a bounty on their head. And it turns out that those two are anything but ordinary.
As far as dystopians go this was a pretty good one. However, I am still kind of unclear on what exactly it was that set the United States (and perhaps the rest of the world) to collapse to the state that it is in in this story.
For the most part I liked the characters. Though I do think there were some issues with character development. This was more of a problem for me towards the beginning of the story, but it did alleviate a bit as the story continued. However, I never really felt a connection to Cody. To me he was very much in the background and was just the stoner guy who happened to be there. I didn't feel his friendship, which was supposed to be more like being a brother, between him and Cael.
This story is actually told from two different perspectives: Cael and Iggy. However, you don't see Iggy as the narrator until past the 50% mark. I thought this was kind of unfortunate. I really liked seeing her side of things and I would really have liked to see more of it.
I personally liked the 2nd half of the story more than the 1st. It really picked up. To me, it almost felt as though that was where the original idea of the story is and the rest was built around it.
Also, just a note. This is a young adult book, but it is probably more appropriate for the older half/more mature side of the intended audience. There is some profanity and some sexual relations.
I am really looking forward to the next book. I absolutely NEED to know what happens next!
This review is based on a copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review
Find more of my reviews here:
http://readingwithcupcakes.blogspot.com/
November 6, 2015
I genuinely enjoyed a lot of the elements of Users. I found the beginning to be really exciting and it drew me right in, with great action and superb and different characters. However, the book to me read a little like two distinct books: one half was out in the world, and the other was in the facility. And, honestly, it didn't really feel like the two had much of a connection to one another. I wanted to see more of the chaos in the outside world, but the majority of the book focused on the lab--or maybe it just felt that way? Either way, I was hoping for a little more The Walking Dead-style apocalypse encroaching on the characters.
There were a lot of moments where Iggy's character rubbed me the wrong way, but when I took a step back and remembered that this was, in fact, more of a young adult-style piece, things made more sense. Iggy is young, and made younger still by her years of sickness and being an experimental test subject. Her thought processes probably won't be as mature as Cael's. and her responses to certain issues and situations may seem melodramatic because she's young and, frankly, inexperienced with the world outside of a lab. Sure, she can ride a horse and shoot a gun, but there's more to a person's development than that.
While I genuinely loved reading about the development of Iggy and Cael's relationship, which was so sweet and thoughtful and just CUTE, I found the Iggy/Wesley angle to be a little forced. I can understand underlying feelings, especially when they've been best friends and confidants for years and years, but the final explosion between the two of them when Iggy catches Wesley with Alex read a little... off to me. I remember thinking... But what about Cael? You love this guy? What is happening?! Again, I think that's a bit of the immaturity of Iggy's character rearing her ugly head in the face of situations where she's not entirely equipped to handle her feelings.
The ending left us off in a really interesting place, and I hope that, going forward, we can see a growth in Iggy's character as she gets older and learns a little more about the world. All in all, Users was an interesting book set in a world rapidly descending into a dystopia, and I look forward to reading more from Andrea M. Alexander in the future!
There were a lot of moments where Iggy's character rubbed me the wrong way, but when I took a step back and remembered that this was, in fact, more of a young adult-style piece, things made more sense. Iggy is young, and made younger still by her years of sickness and being an experimental test subject. Her thought processes probably won't be as mature as Cael's. and her responses to certain issues and situations may seem melodramatic because she's young and, frankly, inexperienced with the world outside of a lab. Sure, she can ride a horse and shoot a gun, but there's more to a person's development than that.
While I genuinely loved reading about the development of Iggy and Cael's relationship, which was so sweet and thoughtful and just CUTE, I found the Iggy/Wesley angle to be a little forced. I can understand underlying feelings, especially when they've been best friends and confidants for years and years, but the final explosion between the two of them when Iggy catches Wesley with Alex read a little... off to me. I remember thinking... But what about Cael? You love this guy? What is happening?! Again, I think that's a bit of the immaturity of Iggy's character rearing her ugly head in the face of situations where she's not entirely equipped to handle her feelings.
The ending left us off in a really interesting place, and I hope that, going forward, we can see a growth in Iggy's character as she gets older and learns a little more about the world. All in all, Users was an interesting book set in a world rapidly descending into a dystopia, and I look forward to reading more from Andrea M. Alexander in the future!
books-i-have
August 5, 2016Some college students just have to worry about grades and where the next party is. Others are forced to live underground with kidnapped superheroes training to stop world destruction.
20 year old Cael Bellamy thought escaping New York and the draft meant salvation from the next apocalypse. But arriving at a prepper farm and falling for a girl with the power of telekinesis means he is diving head first into a battle against the government. He’ll sacrifice his freedom to protect her, but his life will never be his own again.
Iggy Bennefield can ride horses, hunt deer, shoot straight, and kill people with just one look. Literally. But nothing can prepare her for the realization of just how much more she is capable of. And how necessary she is to winning a war.
Love can happen in strange places during the worst times, but can Iggy and Cael survive the torture and lies long enough to discover exactly what they mean to each other and what roles they are destined to fulfill?
August 17, 2015
A man and his good friend travel from New York to a relative's house in Georgia, trying to find safety in a world gone mad, but when he gets there, things are different from his childhood memories, namely, his step-cousin. When his parents are declared missing on their way to the house, the man (Cael) decides to go and search for them, and his friend, step-cousin, and her moody friend come with him; this sets off a series of events, and confirms for Cael that things ARE different from what he remembers, for sure. This book is in first-person past-tense, is NOT over-written, the style is crisp...she knows how to write, and she succeeded in constructing a good plot and making characters who aren't perfect (in a good way!), allowing their histories to shape their attitudes and choices. Try it out, as there's good stuff, for sure!
May 25, 2016
The idea of the story was good. The thing that I did not like was the changing between Iggy's point of view and Cael's. The problem I found is that the two points of view were written exactly the same. I did not feel a change in character's narration. The only way to know was that each chapter labeled who was speaking to the reader. I have read some great books that changes who is telling the story. I think it would have been better to just stuck with one character. The story moved at a snails pace. There is promise in this author but this was not a hit for me.
August 20, 2015
Pacing, characters, and overall style all skillfully executed. I found Users through a self-pub list but this book reads like it's been edited by a top publisher. The themes of the book are familiar but if you like supernatural-fantasy-end of the world type stuff - pick this book up now and add it to your collection. The ending was great - sets up the next book for sure.
September 11, 2015
Worth reading
Worth reading. The story jumps around with no true explanation of anything in the plot. The romantic angle could have been left out, and becomes confusing for no apparent reason. More of a young adult novel, but was still a fun read despite the overly dramatic love triangle that made little sense.
Worth reading. The story jumps around with no true explanation of anything in the plot. The romantic angle could have been left out, and becomes confusing for no apparent reason. More of a young adult novel, but was still a fun read despite the overly dramatic love triangle that made little sense.
July 31, 2016
Omg
This book was so interesting. It has mystery, intrigue, danger, romance and betrayal. Some characters you will love and others you will hate. The one thing you'll hate most is trying to put this one down.
This book was so interesting. It has mystery, intrigue, danger, romance and betrayal. Some characters you will love and others you will hate. The one thing you'll hate most is trying to put this one down.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews