Persistence of Vision

Reviewer: Kristen 
Author: Liesel K. Hill
Pages: 386
Format: Paperback
My Rating: 10 out of 10

Summary (thanks Goodreads): In a world where collective hives are enslaving the population and individuals have been hunted to the verge of extinction, Maggie Harper, and independent 21st Century woman, must find the strength to preserve the freedom of the future, but without the aid of her memories.

After experiencing a traumatic time loss, Maggie is plagued by a barrage of images she can't explain. When she's attacked by a creep with a spider's web tattoo, she is saved by Marcus, a man she's never met, but somehow remembers. He tells her that both he and her creepy attacker are from a future in which individuals are being murdered by collectives, and Marcus is part of the rebellion. The collectives have acquired time travel and they plan to enslave the human race throughout all of history. The flashes Maggie has been seeing are echoes of lost memories, and the information buried deep within them is instrumental in defeating the collective hives.

In order to preserve the individuality of mankind, Maggie must try to re-discover stolen memories, re-kindle friendships she has no recollection of, and wade through her feelings for the mysterious Marcus, all while dodging the tattooed assassins the collectives keep sending her way.

If Maggie can't fill the holes in her memory and find the answers to stop the collectives, the world both in her time and in all ages past and future will be doomed to enslavement in the grey, mediocre collectives. As the danger swirls around her and the collectives close in, Maggie realizes she must make a choice: stand out or fade away...

---------------------- This book was sent to me by the author in exchange for a fair review. ---------------------- 

My Thoughts: Oh. My. God. Seriously though. I think it suffices to say that this is one of my new favourites. I loved Maggie. I loved Marcus... okay, I really loved Marcus. But more than that, I loved the premise of the novel. More often than not, when you're reading a story that deals with time travel it's easy to get confused. However, the writing ensures that you'd be hard pressed to get lost. Though written in third person, the story follows Maggie. She's a twenty something year old girl who luckily (or is she so lucky) to have the brain chemistry that the BCO is looking for. And thus begins this epic tale. So, the BCO travel back into the past because Maggie is essential for the prophecy. And so, Maggie quickly becomes part of the team. For a while. A year, to be exact. However, after a failed mission and some memory loss (I know, right?!) the BCO returns Maggie to her home"time". After being back, the BCO needs her again, and this is where the story really begins. Persistence of Vision throws a lot of information at you, but you never feel like you're drowning in it. It all seems crucial and essential to the story. There were points in the book where I laughed, where I wanted to scream, and where I wanted to hit my head against the wall a few times for not connecting dots sooner. This novel literally has everything that I look for in a book. Originality, romance, a fight for something better. This book completely captivated me, and it was all I could think about for days. Even after I finished the book, I would talk about it and try to figure out what happens next. Suffice to say, I'm eagerly awaiting the next one. 

On a kind of side note, this book would make an amazing movie. 

Final thoughts: I honestly believe that this could be the next big thing. You need to get your hands on this asap. You won't regret it for a second!

On a second kind of side note, thanks to Liesel K. Hill for sending me this book! 

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Reviewer: Kelsey

Rating: 8 out of 10

Basically: I really like novels that make you question the world around you. So much could really be happening in the world that we don't know about. I love that. I don't know everything, obviously. I'm totally open to novels that question the world. This novel did. It also makes you think about the future and where we as a people are headed. I don't like where we are heading if this novel becomes reality.

I enjoyed the premise of this novel. I also loved the characters. I felt sooooooo bad for Maggie. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to be missing time or to have to learn all of this while everyone is acting weird around her. That said, I think Marcus has it so much worse. She can't remember him at all and that's totally unfair. 

Final Thoughts: I agree with Kristen. This book could be huge. You won't regret taking the time to read this novel!

Kristen is currently hoarding the second one so I'll have to steal it from her so I can find out what happens.