Saturday, August 11, 2012

Review: Losing Lila by Sarah Alderson


Title: Losing Lila (Lila, #2) 

Author: Sarah Alderson 

Rating: 3.5 Stars 

I think this is going to come off as really strange, but I was so skeptical about reading Losing Lila. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to – because I did – it was simply that I was wary of what I would find within its pages. I wasn’t exactly a fan of Lila, or her whirlwind romance with Alex, in the previous novel and I was dreading another bout of this underdeveloped love story, but I needn’t have worried. I liked this story much better than Hunting Lila and fans of the previous novel – and even non-fans – will really enjoy this sequel.

I’ll cut straight to the chase – I couldn’t stand Lila. Even from the first page of the novel, I felt like smacking her. I had written this in my review of Hunting Lila and after some thinking, I think the best way to write this review is to compare it to its predecessor and prove just how much better it is. While I didn’t like Lila at all in the previous novel and felt as if she was silly and completely obsessed with Alex, she really surprised me in this story. Lila is still Lila – she still retains her humor and her die-hard lusting after Alex, but she is also incredibly mature this time. I really loved the way Alderson showed us how much the past events affected Lila, making her a character who was more focused on saving her family than her romance. In fact, I thought the romance only added to the story and improved Lila’s character which was a nice change. Plus, Lila becomes seriously kick-ass in this one, which I adored!

I’m a sucker for best friend romances, but the one between Lila and Alex felt artificial at best. Guess who fell hard for this love story? Yup, me! I didn’t think I would actually like Lila and Alex together, but somehow I really enjoyed seeing them together in this one. Not only were their moments incredible sweet and cute, they also had a deeper sense of protection and loyalty to them which totally convinced me that these two, for all their lusting after one another, cared for each other very deeply as well. In fact, my only qualm with the romance in this novel is that Lila and Alex fight over something reallysilly. I’m glad that their argument only strengthened their relationship, but I still thought it was very silly, hence the reason this book isn’t getting a higher rating. Still, it was a much better done romance than the one in Hunting Lila. 

While it is evident that they aren’t very close, although Jack loves and cares for her [Lila] dearly, I thought that Lila brushed aside her brother for Alex more than was strictly necessary or normal. THIS! This was one of the biggest issues I had with Hunting Lila since I have a brother myself and was simply mad at Lila for forgetting about her brother so much, but I loved her interaction with her brother in this novel. Not only does she really put family ahead of herself or her romance, her relationship with her brother really gets much stronger in this too which I am so happy about. It was hands down one of the best parts of this whole story.

So, as you can see, Losing Lila was faaar better than Hunting Lila ever was. It had a strong, kick-ass heroine who had her priorities straight, a caring romance, fast-paced action, and Alderson still managed to throw in some really unexpected plot twists which I loved. Plus, I enjoyed being part of this world with Suki, Nate, Key, Demos, and the “gang” really once again. I thought their personalities were fleshed out much deeper in this one too and while I’m hoping for a small novella about them in the future, I’m pleased that we got to spend so much more time with them in this installment. Overall, Losing Lila is an incredible sequel – one that is far better than I ever expected – and I’d highly recommend it to those who have read Hunting Lila. While many follow-ups and sequels wind up being immense disappointments, this one most certainly is not!(:

12 comments:

  1. I'm glad that you end up loving this book far more than Hunting Lila, Keertana! I read quite mixed reviews on Hunting Lila, but seems like I don't need to worry for the sequel! Every one seems to like Losing Lila, and I'm excited that Lila becomes mature in the sequel! Especially since she puts her family first - I LOVE books with characters who put their families first! <3

    Fantastic review as always, Keertana! :)

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    1. Thanks Hilda!(: Yup, you definitely don't have to worry about the sequel. I was so pleased with Lila's growth as a character, so that really made my day! :D Plus, her relationship with her brother is really sweet in this one!

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  2. Yay! I'm glad you ended up enjoying this after your reaction to Hunting Lila. It's true that the brief tension between Alex and Lila is over something incredibly silly. Even I thought so. :P I liked the romance overall though and I'm pleased you did too. Lovely review, Keertana! :)

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    1. Thanks Sam!(: I'm so glad I decided to continue to read this one even after my experience with Hunting Lila. I'm glad I wasn't the only one who thought their argument was silly, but the romance was very nice overall. I can't wait to see what Alderson writes next! :D

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  3. I'm so happy that you enjoyed this one a smidge more than Hunting Lila, there's such a fantastic bunch of characters with Demos etc that I couldn't wait to be back with them, so like you I'm glad that we were able to spend a lot more time with them! Lovely review Keertana, hopefully your next couple of reads will pick up a lot more from now on! :)

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    1. I'm hoping so too, Jasprit! I still have a couple of disappointing reviews to post, but I'm reading some much better books now, so it looks like I'm crawling out of my reading slump! :D I really enjoyed this one though, especially Demos and all the other characters surrounding him, so I hope we get at least another novella with these characters in the future! :)

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  4. Oh, I'm so excited to hear you really liked this one! I can't wait to read this and to know that you really enjoyed it in spite of having big issues, makes me really happy. Wonderful review Keertana! :)

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    1. Thanks Rachel! I really liked this one and since you loved Hunting Lila so much, I'm sure you'll adore it! I can't wait to see what you think! :D

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  5. I am really happy to hear that you liked LL better than HL because that gives me hope that my opinion of this series will improve, too! I have my fingers crossed - great review!

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    1. Thanks Mandee! Yup, I'm really hoping you like LL better than HL as well, so I can't wait for your final thoughts on it!(:

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  6. YES!!! I am SO happy you gave this a go and ended up enjoying it way more than HL. This is definitely my favourite of Sarah's novels so far and I think she totally stepped things up from HL. I couldn't help but grin after every bolded statement and your changed opinion after it :D

    Fantastic review!

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    1. Thanks Brodie!(: It's my favorite of her novels as well and I'm so glad I wound up enjoying it so much - all thanks to your terrific review and blog tour of it, for sure! :D

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