Review: Altar of Reality by Mara Valderran

From Goodreads:

Sixteen year-old Madeline has struggled with epilepsy for most of her adolescent life, leaving her something of a social pariah. Things go from bad to worse when she wakes up from her first grand mal seizure in an extremely unfamiliar world but surrounded but familiar faces. Her hometown is in ruins, the aftermath of a Cold War turned hot. 

Thomas, the boy that stomped on her heart a year ago, and his brother Brandon have been hiding her away since the explosion that killed her parents. The Lord Commander, now running the southern territories, believes Madeline died with them and the brothers need to keep it that way. The biggest problem? The explosion happened when she was twelve. 

Madeline isn’t sure what to believe. The brothers insist her memories must be of a dream life she created while in her coma. But when she returns to the reality she knows, they insist this war-torn world must be the dream. She doesn’t know if she’s truly caught in the middle of a brewing rebellion or teetering on the brink of insanity. As she finds herself flipping between the two lives, her heart becomes torn between two versions of the same boy and the lines between her realities begin to blur.

My Thoughts:
I've been meaning to read this book since it released, but my life has been too insane lately, as any of you know. With three books in edits and lined up for release (one that just released) plus having baby on the way, a lot of things slipped by me. But, catch up!
So, I read the first part when this was in submissions to help Mara. Mara is one of the best people when it comes to supporting other writers and being an awesome friend, so naturally I wanted to return the favor. I liked the beginning enough that when it released, I snatched it up.

So my overall thoughts.
This story starts strong, very, very, strong. The premise is intriguing, the characters catch the attention, and the writing is solid. It kept me glued.
But somewhere in the middle, I got a bit irritated with Madeline. During one of her times in the post-cold war reality, she started to bother me, and Hayden got on my nerves too. I think she came across as kind of too much of a pacifist considering her circumstances, and a bit on the whiny, and dangerously headstrong side.
But returning back to her original reality, she seemed to drop the annoying act and I started to enjoy it again.
I kind of saw the twists coming, but that's because I'm obnoxious and can almost always predict them! Ha ha! They were good though, and there are plenty left unresolved for the next installment.
Thomas... I never saw the appeal. But Brandon makes this book worth your time. In both realities he's strong, smart, and loyal to Madeline, even if she's oblivious to his real feelings. There's your typical teenage drama between them, ad I hope they can get over it in the next book.
Austin, I loved this guy from the start. I love the cocky guy in books, especially if he's also pretty nice. If he's awful, no, but Austin's nice and wants to help Madeline. I'm intrigued to find out how deeply he's interwoven into Madeline's life.
A fair warning, this does have a massive cliffhanger ending. If you don't like those, then just wait for the next book.