The Host by Stephenie Meyer
I think the summary from Goodreads does a great job summing up this novel:
The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of their human hosts while leaving their bodies intact, and most of humanity has succumbed. But Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, knew about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, 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. Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts 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 yearns for a man she's never met. As outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off to search for the man they both love.
There's something about Stephenie Meyer's writing that makes her books incredibly hard to put down. The world she's built is this novel is fascinating, and I'd walk away from the book only to find myself walking back a few minutes later for "just another chapter." Yeah, right. I finished this book within a couple days.
Wanderer's thoughts on the human race were probably more accurate than I'd like to admit, and I really enjoyed reading them.
My favorite aspect of The Host was the romance. It was confusing and wonderful. Mostly confusing. For those of you who have read the book, who's your favorite, Ian or Jared? Ian for me, I think.
I would have loved to have a map of the cave in the book, but I was able to make due without one.
The ending of this book wasn't the best, in my opinion. Although I liked the way it ended, the last couple pages just didn't sit right. I've heard rumors of a sequel, and if so, that would make the ending make more sense.
As someone who hasn't read much science fiction, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed The Host. It kept me entertained and was well worth the time spent.
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