After facing off against the Chancellor and her powers of persuasion in Glitch, Zoe has finally escaped the Community with her love, Adrien. In this sequel to Glitch, we find Zoe living at the Foundation, a home for refugees and members of the Resistance movement trying to destroy the VChip system for good. The Foundation is also home to many other glitchers that are learning to control their powers like Zoe is doing. Zoe's telekinesis grows much stronger and she learns to control it more in Override. Throughout Glitch, Zoe was terrified of using her telekinesis. Now, Zoe is confident and more brave.

The relationship between Adrien and Zoe felt completely off throughout this novel. However, there is a really great twist that explains everything, so it made the book even better! The author, Heather Anastasiu, is a master of plot twists. There is a big whammy of a twist in this book which kind of makes it difficult to write a review without giving away too much!

Overall, Glitch is a great series so far. Override was just as good if not better than Glitch. I can't wait to read Shutdown and see what happens!!!

5 stars to Override! ( )

I don't see the direct comparison to The Hunger Games as some other reviewers stated. Yes, the genre is the same, but the concepts are immensely different. In The Hunger Games, the characters are subject to a digitally manipulated environment, but in the Glitch series, the digital manipulation happens in their own bodies. I loved this book! I hadn't had the privilege of reading the first in the series, unfortunately, but there wasn't any need. Most of the background and characters were fleshed out very well so that reading the first book was not necessary.

I was a little disappointed that Adrien and Zoe didn't keep their heated relationship at the same pace as in some places of the book as Adrien was either physically not present or thinking about other things, but I understand the need for it. I like the concept of chips being implanted in the human subject and giving them extraordinary powers as it makes you think about the current technology out there today and its ramifications should it continue on the same path. I'd almost wished that Taylor had made it to the end of the book because she wasn't as bad as you thought she was; which made her disappearance all the more sad.

Overall, the story is fairly fast-paced (with a few slower parts that were necessary) with an entertaining, dystopian plot that isn't overly technical or bogged down with the sci-fi elements. It is about survival and doing anything it takes to ensure that everyone can go on living normal lives. It's about saving those that have literally had their voices stolen by those they trusted. It's a bit of Enders Game mixed with Hunger Games, though the story certainly shines on its own with original concepts and compelling characters.

I received this book from a Goodreads giveaway in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed above are my own and I was not monetarily compensated for penning this review. ( )

Disclaimer: I was given a copy of this digital galley, free, in exchange for my honest opinion.

Did anyone read my review of Glitch? Well, this is not going to be the same. I liked this Override. Did I love it? Almost, but not quite. I have learned a valuable lesson in keeping an open mind when continuing a series, and to finish all review books. Yep, it’ll be hard and irritating, but you never know what will surprise. Where I didn’t feel Glitch was worth reading, Override definitely was. I couldn’t put this one down. It still had it flaws, but they weren’t so in-your-face. I was able to overlook them and get into them. That’s something I can appreciate, since it is hard to write the perfect story for more than one person. Override was redeeming to the series. I am once again looking forward to this series.
There are only a couple of minor things that I didn’t like, so I won’t talk about those. I will talk about the major flaws that I saw. Of course, the first one is the romance. I get it, I really do, but gag! They are teenagers so their hormones are going crazy. Their emotions are still fairly new so they are strong and overwhelming. But, really? Come on! Is it really necessary to do some serious kissing and light touching, then sneak away and insinuate they’re going to have sex only to pull back at the last moment? At this point, either do it to get it over with or move on. Personally, the passion is too much for such young and naive people. I can understand the tension that’s being created, but there are much better ways to do that.
The second major thing is the twist. Well, it sucked. It read as if it was thrown in there because Anastasiu didn’t know how to get to point A to point B with what was already happening in the story, so she just pulled something out of the air. What’s sad about the twist is two things. The first is the writing is better than that, she cut herself short doing this. The other is that this would have been an awesome twist, and an emotional pivot point in the story – had it been believable. I won’t spoil it, but if there had been an earlier clue to put the possibility out there this would have been amazing.
Now on to what I liked about it. This time, the characters had emotional depth. It wasn’t just because they were able to openly share and experience emotions. Each had a story and as it was shared, I was able to understand them a little better. With this understanding came a connection. There was a whole lot of action and second guessing. The pacing was strong and the storyline was engaging. Finally, Zoe. When I started reading and she was the same whiny, annoying glitcher I groaned and thought the books was doomed before I started it. But-she grew, she changed. She developed into someone who really stood a chance at being a hero.
3.5 Stars ( )

I really have mixed feelings about this book. I enjoyed how much action got packed into this book! It was more eventful than Glitch and that definitely made it really fun to read. There was something happening almost every chapter, if it wasn't a mission to get something or save someone, it was something just as interesting, like snooping in the leaders office, or Zoe losing control of her powers causing something huge to happen. This book never had a dull moment. So the Chancellor is like seriously out to kill Zoe, just because of how powerful her gift is. The Chancellor stops at nothing to kill her. First she found out where Zoe was hiding out before being moved to the Foundation, and went after her, with Zoe barely escaping. And then after that, the Chancellor kept trying to do things to either find out where the Foundation was or doing something that caused the Resistance to come out after her. She would just not give up.

Characters:

When it came to the characters I felt like something was lacking. I did feel sorry for Zoe when she was having trouble controlling her gift, because it took a huge toll on not only her but the people around her. I mean, she could be having a dream, or just meditating and just because the power from her gift became to much to keep inside and handle at that moment she would lose it and end up causing a big mess (literally). I was very proud of her though when she got control over it and was able to use it for the good of the Resistance. She became a very valuable member after that. Adrien. I still liked him throughout the book. He genuinely showed how much he loved and cared about Zoe, especially in the beginning when Zoe was struggling with her gift. And Zoe tried to be there for him when he was struggling with whether he should be telling people about his visions. Though I just didn't feel like their relationship grew much. I was just waiting for their relationship to get more serious and it just didn't.

I also though, wasnt a fan of the General though. She always seemed to not like the Glitchers and only wanted to use them for her big plan. She did have some great ideas for missions and whatnot but I wasnt a big fan of her as a person. I did however like that she was willing to sacrifice herself for Zoe just because she knew it had to come true thanks to Adrien's vision. It showed even she was willing to make sacrifices to further the cause. I was really happy also that Zoe became a leader at the end of the book also like Adrien's visions said would happen. I was so sad with the ending though when it came to Adrien! What happened to him was horrible. I dont even know how he can come back from this. Even though I didnt enjoy the book as much as I wanted to I'll definitely be picking up the third book to see what happens in the end! ( )

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales.

Quick & Dirty: Action mixed with romance with twists at every turn fill the pages of this thrilling sci-fi.

Opening Sentence: My heart pounded in my ears.

The Review:

There’s something about Heather Anastasiu’s writing that calls to me. Override is the follow up book to Glitch, a futuristic story based futuristic societies and controlled thoughts. Once again Anastasiu brought me to the world that I was amazed by, managing to surprise me with her own twists and turns. What I loved about Glitch was renewed in Override, and I can’t wait to tell you why.

In Override, there is chaos, breaking free from the control that the government set into place. Zoe was hiding underneath the government’s noses, living in the walls until Adrien came back for her. Living outside and away from the control wasn’t a safe option for Zoe, being allergic to the atmospheric allergens. But plans never work out the way they were intended. Zoe must risk it all and escape. The Chancellor wants Zoe, for her own purposes and control. She will stop at nothing to get Zoe back. In true second book fashion, Zoe discovers what she is made of. She tests her beliefs and stretches out her power. When Zoe is now a part of something bigger, and she must do whatever she can to carry it out.

Zoe is still someone that I adored in this book. There was something refreshing about learning about emotions and feelings through Zoe’s eyes. Just being able to encounter all of these strange thoughts and feelings, must have been so different prior to her disconnecting. Her feelings intensify in Override, and not just for Adrien. Zoe finally has something worth fighting for and she won’t stop at nothing to get what she wants. I loved where Anastasiu brought her in the end of Override. It was well worth the wait.

It’s hard to talk about the characters without giving anything away, but I’ll do my best. I didn’t swoon as hard for Adrien in Override as much as I did in Glitch. He was a more absent and disconnected from the storyline, but with a very good excuse. He struggles with a choice and it alters the relationship slightly. Anastasiu introduces us to new characters, all with strong, individual personalities. They each had their own persona and added to the reasons why I liked Override.

Where everything in Glitch was uniform and controlled, Override was not. There were many elements that could not be controlled, and I’m not just talking about the plot. From the scenery and environment there were places and spaces that are newly introduced. It made for an interesting variable.

Anastasiu brought a lot of twists and turns, some predictable and some not. I enjoyed it all and thought it made for an easily flowing plot. There weren’t an abundance of elements that caused chaos nor were there too many personalities to get to know. It was balanced well and I was able to keep up with everything. I enjoyed it, I felt wonderful emotions, and at the end of the book, I wanted more.

Notable Scene:

We stayed frozen for several more long minutes as the engine’s whine became a distant hum again. It didn’t loop back around. They hadn’t seen us.

Xona let out a huge sigh of relief.

“What was that?”

“Sweeper drone, scanning the area.” She put her hand above her eyes and looked upward. “The canopy should have covered us. But still,” she dropped her hand and looked at me. “They don’t usually come this far out in the forest.”

I swallowed hard. “They’re looking for me.”

FTC Advisory: St. Martin’s Griffin/Macmillan provided me with a copy of Override. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. ( )