Tandem

Many-Worlds Trilogy #1

by Anna Jarzab

Everything repeats.
You. Your best friend. Every person you know.
Many worlds. Many lives--infinite possibilities.
Welcome to the multiverse.

Sixteen-year-old Sasha Lawson has only ever known one small, ordinary life. When she was young, she loved her grandfather's stories of parallel worlds inhabited by girls who looked like her but led totally different lives. Sasha never believed such worlds were real--until now, when she finds herself thrust into one against her will.

To prevent imminent war, Sasha must slip into the life of an alternate version of herself, a princess who has vanished on the eve of her arranged marriage. If Sasha succeeds in fooling everyone, she will be returned home; if she fails, she'll be trapped in another girl's life forever. As time runs out, Sasha finds herself torn between two worlds, two lives, and two young men vying for her love--one who knows her secret, and one who thinks she's someone she's not.

The first book in the Many-Worlds Trilogy, Tandem is a riveting saga of love and betrayal set in parallel universes in which nothing--and no one--is what it seems.

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Romance, Dystopia, Fiction, Time Travel

428 pages, Hardcover

First published October 8, 2013

About the author

Anna Jarzab is the author of All Unquiet Things, The Opposite of Hallelujah, Tandem, Tether, Red Dirt, and Breath Like Water. She lives in New York City and works in children's book publishing. Visit her online at www.annajarzab.com and connect with her on Twitter and Instagram @ajarzab.

Reviews

[Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cliffhanger warning

Parallel universes are a tricky topic in fiction. I've read my share of them, and the majority have been fairly horrible. They tend to be poorly explained and in the end, I am left with more questions than the answers I was given. The failures stem from the lack of scientific backing, or rather the lack of make-believe-science backing. I can believe either, so long as the "evidence" for such a parallel universe presented makes sense to me, and in that sense, this book's parallel universe was very well described and explained. I had my reservations and I had plenty of questions...and all my concerns about the concept were addressed quite nicely.

The background was well executed, but the characters were considerably less enjoyable. I found no enjoyment in the characters; with the exception of one side character, I felt most of the major characters in the book were unlikeable, idiotic, and inconsistent in their behavior and thought.

16 year old Sasha Lawson is flabbergasted when her longtime crush Grant Davis suddenly asks her out to prom. After a lifetime of looking at him from a distance, of never having had his attention, of being solidly smart but under the radar at school, of resigning herself to the fact that her schoolgirl crush will never come to fruition, Grant suddenly asks her to be his date for Prom on the very same night he notices her for the first time.

Totally not suspicious at all.

The problem is that Grant isn't actually "Grant." "Grant" is actually the analog (read: double) of Thomas Mayhew, from the United Commonwealth of Columbia. A secret agent in an alternate universe. After prom, he kidnaps her, and they travel back to his world, where he needs Sasha to pretty much play a stunt double for the missing Princess Juliana. They have a deal, she is to play Juliana for a week, then Thomas will return her back to her world. Naturally, there are always complications, and Sasha finds herself falling for the boy who has kidnapped her, while trying to solve the mystery of her connection with Juliana and her whereabouts. Who is the person leaking information to the enemy Libertas? What is Juliana's real scheme?

The Setting: Quite well done. The world in which the United Commonwealth of Columbia is set in was identical to our version of Earth, if not for the Last Common Event taking place during the Revolutionary War. Then, the two worlds diverged, and therein lies the difference between the worlds. There were some details that remained unexplained, that bothered me somewhat, but overall, the history and the explanations behind the parallel worlds were adequately covered. I had a lot of questions about the worlds, and what I thought were inconsistencies, but they were eventually explained.

For example, it bothered me that Juliana and Sasha's parents were not the same people on their respective worlds. I mean, what the hell, right? There's such a thing as DNA...we are made from some very, very specific combination of DNA from both our respective parents, so how the fuck is it that Juliana and Sasha can be physically identical, each others' "analogs" not having come from the same parents? To my shock, that was actually addressed in the book.

“I still don’t understand,” I said. “What about DNA? If we look the same, shouldn’t we come from the same parents?”
“Are you familiar with Anaximander’s theory of apeiron?” Dr. Moss asked. I stared at him blankly. He sighed. “...As far as I can tell, that’s what an analog is—a worldly fragment of one whole and perfect being that exists only in apeiron.
“Have you ever visited a hall of mirrors, Ms. Lawson?” I nodded. “Imagine standing in one, then. Everywhere you turn, there are multiple reflections of your own image. The mirrors are expertly arranged so that these reflections appear to multiply in every direction, stretching out into infinity. You look alike, you move in perfect harmony, but the reflections are not you. They simply have their origin in you. You are the primary being, and they are mere copies. That is an imperfect but adequate example of what I mean.”

That's good enough for me!

The vocabulary involved with the concept of the parallel world and its people were well explained. An analog is the version of you in the parallel universe. The tandem is the veil that separates the worlds. The problems of analogs meeting, etc., all were exceptionally well explained compared to other books I've read regarding the subject. I have very few complaints when it comes to the world building.

(Although I'm still confused as to why the fuck there's an AURORA present in the sky of the other world when the two are supposed to be the same. And potatoes can't grow in the United Commonwealth? Come on, I can leave a potato in my pantry for a month without water nor soil and it'll start sprouting on its own. Give me a break.)

The characters: Fools. Sasha is not my ideal heroine. She is supposed to be really, really smart, but acts like a scared little girl. Understandable, given the fact that she was kidnapped and all, but the majority of the things that made her cry in the book were just completely stupid and I like for my female MCs to be more respectable and dignified than that. I would understand if Sasha sobs her heart out because she's terrified for her life, but she cries in response to idiotic, minor things, like finding out that Thomas lied to her about his mom. Because that's such an important event. Um, no.

She overreacts, she is inconsistent. She cries far too easily, far too often, and then turns around to too completely competent to be a believably flawed character. She gives a fucking TELEVISED interview within hours of becoming "Juliana," she rarely stumbles at all in fooling people into thinking she is the princess. I don't believe it one bit, and I don't find her a likeable or credible character. Sasha forgives Thomas far too easily for the crimes he has committed against her. It is completely unforgivable what he did to her. Thomas gained her trust, then betrayed it, he threatens her life, he endangers her life, and she develops feelings for him. No, thank you.

I couldn’t figure out what it was about him that made me so angry, and at the same time melted my insides like butter left out to soften.

I can tell you what it is about him that makes you so angry, Sasha. HE FUCKING KIDNAPPED YOU.

Because no matter how hard I tried to make myself see reason, all the feelings I’d started to have for Thomas when I thought he was Grant just wouldn’t go away.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Thomas is a fucking asshole. I'm sorry, there's just no other way to put it. He's manipulative, he is an idiot, and he is a prime example of nepotism. He is 18 year old. Pretty much an infant where law enforcement is concerned, hell, you can hardly find any police officers in our world who are under 20, but at the glorious age of 18, Thomas is a member of the very elite, very skilled King's Secret Service. It's equivalent to the President's Secret Service, and Thomas is the son of the very powerful, very influential General. Did I say nepotism? I mean nepotism. Skills, my ass.

Thomas "seduces and kidnap a sixteen-year-old girl," and then is completely astounded, SHOCKED, I tell you, when he sees that she's mad at him. He doesn't know why it takes her awhile (five minutes, tops, actually) to trust him after having pulled her into his world and demanding that she does whatever he says or never see her home world again.

He literally dangles her off a high rise in order to get Sasha to remember some crucial details. Because scaring the living shit out of a poor girl is the most effective way of getting the information you need from a girl you're slowing coming to love.

The level of stupidity is high with this one. Thomas and Sasha makes the perfect Stockholm Syndrome couple. He kidnaps her. She still likes him anyway.

Oh, and did I say there's a love triangle? There's a love triangle. Insta-love and a love triangle. Yay me!

The alternate character, Juliana, is similarly deplorable. She is a stupid, selfish, spoiled princess, who is too ready to throw away her future and the safety of her nation for the sake of escapism. It is fitting that she is Sasha's analog, and I can only thank the gods that we don't meet any more of their analogs, because I'd have a long list of naming and shaming all the ways I wanted to kick some sense into their silly addle-brained heads.

Read this for the interesting concept of an alternate universe, but don't expect much out of the characters.

This book was provided as an ARC by Netgalley. Quotes used were taken from an uncorrected galley and subject to change in the final edition

[J.L. Sutton · Rating 3 out of 5]

“The world is far less random than it appears. Once you started paying attention, patterns emerged where before you only saw chaos.”



Anna Jarzab's Tandem (Many-Worlds, #1) begins quickly with the abduction and transportation of Sasha to a parallel world. In doing so, Jarzab defines her multiverse and how analogs (people from different worlds who look identical) work within it. I thought she did a good job of this. What I had more trouble with was Sasha quickly falling for the person, Thomas, who tricked and captured her. I'm not sure yet if I'll continue reading the series. If I don't continue, Sasha's feelings for her captor (and ascribing a noble purpose to her kidnapping) will have been the deal breaker.

[Reina · Rating 1 out of 5]

First of all, I just want to say that I am astounded at how many times Sasha cries. Her sobbing/tearing up/flat out weeping/crying does absolutely nothing for the story, I never felt for her in the moment (frankly, all I gave her was an eye roll after I realized that this crying was becoming a thing for her) and 90% of her crying/ tearing up happens in reaction to something not worth sobbing over.

Second of all, the taglines for the book on the back cover "Everything repeats. You. Your best friend. Every person you know. Many worlds. Many lives- Infinite possibilities. Welcome to the multiverse" is quite misleading and possibly a lie Nothing repeats. We don't meet Sasha's best friend in the other universe nor are there more than two repeats of people in the other universe. Basically the storyline is a girl gets thrown into another world where she lives someone else's life. Its not like she is in a parallel universe where everyone looks the same but is a different soul.

Third, I liked Sasha and the book for maybe the first three chapters, but gradually after that I began to not like Sasha and find the writing and plot questionable which majorly impacted how I viewed the book for there on out.

As I am reviewing this months before the book's publication date, this review is spoiler free (I will hide all the big spoilers) unless you didn't want to know about all of Sasha's excessive crying, or that the taglines are a lie. Ooops.

This was my first ARC/first read EVER so I was ecstatic to have won the goodreads giveaway for this book! But unfortunately, and I hate that it has to be this way, the book, to put it in the vernacular, kinda sucked. There were plot holes aplenty, the dialogue was entirely un-engaging and frankly, what I think is the biggest problem- the book is just overwhelmingly flat, stereotypical and expected, leaving the reader with no sense of awe or intrigue. No, maybe not in the premise, but in the execution of the book, meaning the characters, the world-building and whatever else makes up a book.


Two things that are stereotypical and expected-

1. All of the characters are who you would expected them to be. We have the royally bitchy step-mothers who are queens, a love interest who can gets protective , the "loco" yet endearing scientist etc. Really not interested in unoriginal characters like that.

2.All of the settings, especially the castle where around 85% of the book takes place, is described like the stereotypical grand royal palace. Here's a description of Juliana's bedroom since I couldn't find a description of the palace-

"Juliana's bedroom was the most beautiful, luxurious, impeccably decorated room I'd ever stood in. An enormous four-poster canopy bed with a blue satin goose down comforter and mounds of pillows that took up a portion of the rightmost wall. All the furniture was made of beautifully carved mahogany wood. There was a sitting area with a sofa and two armchairs upholstered in bright ...blue...The adjoining bathroom was done all in silver marble and the cavernous walk-in closet was filled with every item of clothing and accessory that a girl could possibly want. Floor-to-ceiling French doors opened onto a huge stone terrace that looked out onto the gorgeous landscaped garden..." 141-142.



So while reading this book, I decided to take notes on everything that I gawked at or found something illogical about, that may help explain the poor writing/dialogue and plot holes (my plot hole comments will be hidden below). Also, I lost a page of my comments so these are only a sampling... and some things I didn't even bother to write down. Here are my notes ---

128- "Much as I hated to admit it, I found him interesting". Please do not describe a character as "interesting". Also, why would you hate to admit someone is interesting? And usually you would pick a more polarizing word than "interesting" if you're going to say, "Much as I hated to admit it..."

- She can stop being so snippy and sarcastic. Almost every word out of her mouth is some lame dig at someone or something. She comes off as rude and snarky and whiny.

135- "Why couldn't awful people be ugly and good people be beautiful, without exception". Um. I don't really know what to say to this. People aren't black and white good and bad. This just strikes me as a slightly dumb thing to say or think.

157- She (Sasha) has a lot of emotions that come from nowhere like, she doesn't mention being nervous or do anything to suggest that , and then all of a sudden Thomas is like "why are you anxious" and she's like I don't like hospitals" and so suddenly now she's anxious. She should have talked about that way before when they entered the room and she mentions it looks like a hospital.

162- "It was hot as hell in the room". Um. Well. There are, I do believe, more sophisticated ways of expressing that in a book.

163- I've never heard of anyone who coats their teeth in petroleum jelly. WTF??? (Have you? Or am I just not in the loop?)

176- I WANT A BREAK FROM THOMAS! He's not much of a character and is quite a generic love interest.

191- OMG. she's crying again. Does the author realize how much her protagonist is reduced to unnecessary weeping? (And this is where I start keeping track of every time she cries)

228- Oh, whats this? She's crying again?

231- "guided him by instinct to the room I'd always wanted to visit" ALWAYS??? You mentioned it once. Like 100 pages ago.

162- I feel like Jarzab is trying to make Eloise Dash a Rita Skeeter, but Eloise is just coming off as a rip off.

272- "... I realized I had no idea what to say to him. Luckily, I wasn't the only one. Callum seemed similarly tongue-tied" LUCKILY??? I think that just makes things more awkward.

279- Oh. Of course she's "special".

281- cliche cliche cliche!!!!!!!!! I thought they taught you not to use cliches in writing?

289- OOOooff. That was a close one. She almost had another full on crying incident.

324- So basically, we miss the actual exciting part and get the boring after discussion about it. NOT what you do in a book. You write the exciting part because that's what makes the book exciting

377- Crying. Again.

385- More unnecessary crying.

426- Tears are rolling down her cheeks. The water-works strike again.

427- "I wanted to cry...but I'd shed all the tears I had" HA!. Biggest lie of my LIFE. Guuuuurrll, if you can manage to cry all those times, I KNOW you still got some water and salt to make into tears.

And here are all my spoiler-y plot issues.



1. All of a sudden Sasha just believes Thomas about the tandem and other world? Not very convincing for me as a reader that someone would just be able to do that.

2. She refuses to go with Thomas and yet she CLEARLY cannot handle herself on her own in this new world. If I were her, I'd stop trying to run away especially after my little incident with the thugs in the alley and try and figure out why exactly I was here. I wouldn't try and get away because clearly I have no chance without Thomas to make it on my own.

3. How can Congress and the President co-exist with Juliana and the queen regent? None of this was explained and it makes no sense

4. Obviously the Libertas are going to know if you get an IDENTICAL girl. They're not just going to think its "some look-alike". They're obviously going to know something its up.

5. She starts to like Gloria? She's had all but like, 20 minutes with her and the only things out of Sasha's mouth have been snarky and judgmental

6. We, and therefore Sasha too, learn absolutely nothing about Juliana and what she's like and what her likes and dislikes are, her habbits etc. and suddenly Sasha's supposed to act like her?

7. There is no possible way Thomas could have held onto Sasha for that amount of time, with her full weight dangling over a building and him only grasping her arm/hand even if she was holding onto his too. And he DEFIANTLY couldn't have then reeled her back up.

8. I find it really illogical that Sasha connects to the tandem only when she's dangling over the roof and not anytime previously when she'd been in great danger and in an emotionally vulnerable state like when she was cornered by the men in the Libertas riot.




Honestly, this book just had so many problems and a lot of the book, (especially since there were numerous parts that needed some more thinking & fleshing out and explanation) felt glossed over. The book felt flimsy, lacking emotional impact, boring even and a little superficial. If this had not been an ARC, I would have set the book down after the first, say 100 pages, and never picked it up again. Perhaps much younger readers will enjoy this book and absolutely love it, but alas, I cannot say that the Multiverse enthralled me whatsoever.

READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

[Sara Bow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rezension ist jetzt online auf: http://bowsandbooks.de/das-licht-von-...

[Jessy MelodyofBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hier gehts zur Rezension: https://youtu.be/vVJBARhWR0M

[Melanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

See more reviews at YA Midnight Reads

Alas, another mediocre and disappointing novel. I sometimes want to believe that I just generally expect too much from books. But seriously. How on earth do you make light of a book that had a stupid and painful protagonist, predictable story line, poor world building, ridiculous romance and pretty much no plot progression? Answer: you can't.

The Main Character:

Most crappy books are crappy because they have crappy lead characters. Tandem, was definitely not an exception. It was raining heavily a few minutes ago, I wouldn't be surprised if it was Sasha bawling her eyes out. Again. Yes, that's right. Sasha is a freaking cry baby. Every ten pages, she's in tears for no good reason. Crying because she wants to go home, crying because life is just not fair. I get it okay, you want to have your life back but crying EVERY 10 pages is going to get you NOWHERE. Fine. Sob once or twice. That's reasonable. But more than 2 times a day is plain stupid, girl. Not only did I hate Sasha's constant wailing, she was also idiotic. You were kidnapped into a world you have never seen before, you are confused. A good idea would to just listen to your captor instead of rebelling and running around directionless like you've lost your head. In most cases, you're going to get hurt. Summary: no common sense, stupid and overly emotional.

The Plot:

Where arth thou plot? Apart from what the synopsis includes we don't get too much more into it. I was bored. I wanted to DNF this because nothing interesting was occurring in the middle. This is an overview of what happens: a girl is thrown into a parallel universe where she is told that she must pretend to be a posh princess (because of course, she looks identical to her) and marry the prince in order to save the world. But she doesn't want to (duh) and just sobs all day wanting to go home. However soon she falls in love with her captor (*cough* Stockholm Syndrome *cough*) oh but wait! The prince is equally as handsome. While she is still in love with her captor that she just met a few days ago, she does hint interest towards the prince. So...if you love the sound of this, please read this book! I won't tell you otherwise. But if like me and you think that this actually sounds pretty horrible, I recommend you refrain.

The Romance:

Basically, instant love. Sasha is kidnapped by some guy who she did not know too well and hates him for betraying her. Within 6 days, he's all she thinks about. TYPICAL MUCH. Then we have a slight love triangle between Callum, Thomas and Sasha. This is a universal motif or something these days. The chick falls for someone who she isn't meant to and even shows interest in the prince. *rolls eyes*

The World Building:

Like dystopian novels, world building is vital in parallel universe novels. While we get some science behind how to travel between universes, but what about the political details? Tandem has a heavy focus on the political aspect but my idea of it wasn't clear at all, resulting in me feeling even more disconnected from the story.

Overall:

Not a very convincing novel. I do not think that I will be continuing with this series unless some of my trusted friends find it better than this one.

~Thank you Random House Australia for sending me this copy!~

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating is 3.5 stars -- This is a PRE-REVIEW. My full review will likely be posted on here closer to Tandem's release date (maybe a few months--one, two, three at the very most), but for now, here is a brief run-through on how I felt about Tandem.

Tandem is a palindrome of sorts--it starts off fantastically, then it soon gets into 'really good' territory, then it gradually recedes into 'average' territory, then it goes back up into 'really good' territory, and ultimately ends fantastically.

It's where the novel reaches the 'average' territory, however, where Tandem clearly met most, if not all its faults. Tandem offers readers with an incredibly unique, well-fleshed out (mostly), and creative perspective on parallel universes and realities, and I can say with certainty that this take on parallel universes is truly unlike anything I've ever read before. For some readers, the novel may be a bit slow to start, and maybe even a bit confusing, but from the first page I was absolutely captivated by the characters (the little romance--however brief--in the beginning of the novel is so sweet, guys), and soon enough the novel had me feeling practically all the feels--anger towards a particular character, betrayal because I found that particular character charming and adorable, and mostly I was in a state of absolute wonder as I was introduced to the intricate world Anna Jarzab has formed.

That very world, however, I feel is not met with a whole lot of development or world-building, and that, next to the pacing towards the middle of the novel, is probably the biggest fault I feel Tandem has.

I'll expand on this all later on in my full review (ha, I feel like I'm leaving you all off on a cliffhanger), but in the end Tandem was a well-written novel with good characters and a refreshing and complex take on parallel universes, and I look forward to reading the sequel.

[Serap · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eksikleri var am Güzel bir YA idi... yaşlar 16 malesef😔artik isyan edesim var "16 yaş "a, bari 18-20 yapın allah aşkına!
Bu arada 3.kitap hiç yayınlanmamış, muhtemelen hikaye açık uçlu bitecek...

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm really excited for everybody to get to read this! It comes out on October 8, 2013, which is not that far away at all. It's pretty different from what I've written in the past, but I think that anyone who's read and loved my other books will see the parallels (GEDDIT? PARALLELS? Because it's a book about parallel universes?! You get it) with ALL UNQUIET THINGS and THE OPPOSITE OF HALLELUJAH in terms of themes and language, even if the stories are very different. Blah blah blah--I hope you like it!

[Suzan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ahhh Thomas😍

[꒦꒷CAISEE꒷꒦ · Rating 2 out of 5]

OK, This time, for sure- I'm done. I tried getting through this 3 times now and I'm done. Good-bye! ꒰๑˃͈꒳˂͈๑꒱ﾉ*ﾞ̥
Tandem is that poor yellow slug from Monsters University. He's late on the first day of classes so he starts running. He's pumping his little arms and squinting with fierce concentration, determination radiating from him!!! But he doesn't move very fast. Cause, he's a slug. That's Tandem for you. Tandem is that poor yellow slug who missed the first day of classes. The idea of Tandem is actually kind of cool- lost princesses of parallel universes; space jumping through portals with a hunk of spunk called Thomas; pretending to be princess for a week.
Everything was happening and it was all so exciting and confusing and great, but- nothing was actually happening and it was slowing down and getting boring. I know that doesn't make a lot of sense, but that's really the only way I can describe Tandem.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nose Graze — Young Adult book reviews

Tandem is a fun and original new take on parallel universes! I think this book really proves how you can take a similar idea and twist it into something totally different. I got hooked on the idea of parallel universes after reading Parallel by Lauren Miller. But despite both books being about parallel universes, they are both completely different. Actually, now that I think about it, if anything, the parallel universe concept in Tandem is similar to The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman.

Tandem is far from lacking in the swoony boys department! I adored the romance in this book. There is a bit of a love triangle, but it's honestly not really a love triangle because although there are two boys in the picture, Sasha only has her eyes on one of them. I loved both guys though. Thomas is... well, he's kind of perfect. He's a high ranking security guy, which means he's pretty grown up and badass (despite being a teenager). But he's also a really, genuinely amazing guy. He promises to never lie to Sasha, and he doesn't! Throughout the entire book! And considering that he's a high up military guy in another universe, that kind of says a lot. Thomas is sweet, hot, romantic, and all around just deeeliiiicious!

Then we have Callum. Callum is super different from Thomas, but he's also a nice guy. He's a prince in the parallel world, but he's so down to earth. He acts just like a regular, nice, high school guy. But that's why I felt so bad for Callum. Sasha has to enter a parallel universe and pretend to be her parallel self (princess Juliana), because the real Juliana was kidnapped. But Callum thinks that Sasha is really Juliana, the woman he's been arranged to marry. So he's trying to really get to know her and ease into some kind of intimate life, since they'll be married... but Sasha has no intention of staying in this parallel universe forever. And I just felt so, so bad for Callum who was a nice guy trying to make the most of an arranged marriage, but little did he know that he wasn't even talking to the real princess Juliana this whole time! I just wanted to hug him.

I think the world building is definitely where Tandem was lacking. Some parts of the world building were done pretty well, like going over the idea of parallel universes and the science behind them—that was all fine. But the actual parallel universe that we spend most of the book in wasn't built up very well. There's clearly a ton of political unrest. There are two main kingdoms, which are divided up in the United States. But then there's also a rebellion group trying to dismantle both kingdoms and form like a democracy. But we get very little history about all of this and overall I didn't have a very good grasp of the world's history, why their politics was so messed up, etc. And since the politics were a huge part of the book, that was a bit of a bummer.

I sort of have a love/hate relationship with Sasha. She was okay at the very beginning, but as soon as she went into the parallel universe, she annoyed me. She cried a lot and she ignored common sense. I mean, I get that she was kidnapped and that's scary, but they laid out pretty clear terms and instructions for her and said they'd take her back if she followed them. They also said, "Hide your face because you're really recognizable here and it would be a really bad thing if people saw you." So she immediately ran out into the open, deliberately showed her face, and then people tried to kill her because of it. Yeah, nice job Sasha. But towards the end of the book, Sasha felt a lot more independent and sure of herself. She wasn't that teary, crying girl anymore. She actually took charge, uncovered secrets, and became a much stronger character.

Overall, Tandem is definitely worth reading. It's an interesting book with a sweet romance, and it leaves off in a phenomenal place. The end of the book really picked up and hooked me in!

[Jasmine · Rating 1 out of 5]

That was... the biggest load of crap I have ever, and I do mean ever, read.


-----------------


"Everything repeats.
You. Your best friend. Every person you know.
Many worlds. Many lives--infinite possibilities.
Welcome to the multiverse."

*casually turns on "I Wanna Know What Love Is" by Foreigner*

[Lenas Welt der Bücher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meine Meinung:
Das Buch stand schon lange auf meiner Wunschliste und als ich dann beim Online Leseevent zu dem Buch mit machen durfte, wurde es höchste Zeit für mich, das Buch zu beginnen.
Das Cover des Buches ist einfach ein Traum! Ich liebe es! Die Farben und die Gestaltung sind einfach grandio.
Ich war von Anfang an in der Geschichte gefangen. Zu Beginn lernt man Sasha erst einmal kennen. Sie lebt bei ihrem Opa, da ihre Eltern bei einem Unfall ums Leben gekommen sind. Viel Zeit zum Durchatmen bleibt allerdings nicht. Sie trifft auf Grant, der gut aussehende Junge aus ihrer Schule und lädt sie zum Ball ein. Ich war anfangs sehr skeptisch, was es mit Grant auf sich hat und ob er der ist, den er vorgibt.
Als Sasha dann in das Paralleluniversum kommt, geht die Geschichte richtig los. Das Paralleluniversum ist ähnlich aufgebaut wie unsere Welt und es gibt Menschen die sich ähnlich sehen, so wie Sasha und die Prinzessin Juliana. Sasha soll sich als Juliana ausgeben, da diese verschwunden ist.
Ab dem Zeitpunkt wird die Geschichte richtig spannend. Leider gab es immer wieder kleine Durststrecken. Dennoch wollte ich einfach wissen, wie es weiter geht.
In dieser Geschichte darf die Liebesgeschichte nicht fehlen. Natürlich ist relativ schnell klar, auf was das Ganze hinaus läuft, aber dennoch hat sie mir gut gefallen. Sie hat auf jeden Fall viel Platz eingenommen. Aber dennoch im passenden Maße.
Der Schreibstil der Autorin Anna Jarzab hat mir richtig gut gefallen. Geschrieben ist das Buch aus der Ich-Perspektive von Sasha in der Vergangenheitsform. Der Stil war sehr flüssig und manche Dialoge waren super sarkastisch, was dem Buch eine tolle Note gegeben hat.
Das Ende des Buches ist wirklich fies. Man möchte sofort zu Band 2 greifen. Hier wird die Spannung auch noch einmal riesig.

Fazit:
„Das Licht von Aurora“ hat mir unheimlich gut gefallen. Die Idee mit dem Paralleluniversum war super. Außerdem hatte das Buch eine tolle Liebesgeschichte und einen super Schreibstil. Da es ein paar Durststrecken gab, was die Spannung betrifft, bekommt das Buch von mir 4 Sterne.

[Zey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ya çok güzeldi ama... 2. kitabını hemen okumak istiyorum

[Lisbeth Avery {Domus Libri} · Rating 3 out of 5]

Forget about black – Stockholm Syndrome is the new sexy. Well, at least according to Tandem and a Ms. Sasha Lawson (though I’m sure a certain Gemma would agree).

Thomas, one of the love interests, not only kidnaps her but also lies to her about who he is and emotionally manipulates Sasha. Either he is so good at his job or Sasha is so stupid that she ends up being so conflicted about her feelings that she completely loses any sense of self preservation that she ever had.

"I rescued it," he said. "It was the only thing I had from... us, in your world. I guess I didn't want to let it go. I meant what I said to that night on the beach. It was the best night of my life, being with you; it was the one time I really felt like myself. Ironic, huh?" I nodded, pulling him in for a soft, lingering kiss.

"Thomas," I whispered. "That's very romantic, you know."

No, that's not romantic. He pretty much kept a memento of that night he tricked you into falling for him and following him to a beach where he then kidnapped you. There are no blurred lines here - just very, very defined ones.

While, the romance was certainly the worst part of the novel, the rest of the book was really good as far as most books dealing with parallel universes go. Hell, Tandem was a really good book period. The world building was incredibly in-depth and very well done.

The world building in Tandem was beautifully executed - from the science behind parallels to the United Commonwealth itself. Science is probably the most ignored part of world building in fantasies and dystopias. We're often given either no explanation and told to just accept it or we're given a flimsy explanation based in faulty science. Tandem however addressed all my questions with a sensible explanation.

This, however, came with a price. Jarzab spent all of her energy building her world and as a consequence, not enough time on their characters. While the United Commonwealth of Colombia was fully fleshed out, there was a lot to be desired in the characters.

At times the characters were likable but more often than not, I felt little to no connection with any of the characters. Sasha was wholly unlikeable and at times I couldn't stand her. She darted from incapable to overly and impossibly competent. She goes from crying over stupid things to making a televised interview within hours of arriving in the Commonwealth and assuming Juliana's title.

Thomas was irritating and clichéd - not to mention a huge dick. There was absolutely nothing new to his character. He was smart, incredibly handsome, and, of course, a jerk. He has the nerve to be surprised when Sasha doesn't like him at first after he kidnaps her. What did he expect - Sasha to thank him for saving here and taking her away from her world? Um, no.

Thomas works for the King's Secret Service, at the age of 18 mind you. The only reason he got this job was because Daddy Dearest is the great and powerful General. Favouritism, much? He then at one point tries to tell himself, feebly, that the General did not display favoiritism when it came to the 'Academy'. Thomas, dude, you getting in was a textbook example of nepotism and nothing else.

The other love interest, Callum, was the embodiment of the cute, cuddly love interest cliché but at least he was likable and quirky as opposed to Thomas who definitely wasn't.

Before I end the review, I have one more thing to cover quickly. The tagline.

Everything repeats.
You. Your best friend. Every person you know.
Many worlds. Many lives--infinite possibilities.
Welcome to the multiverse.

Wrong. It's explicitly stated that not everything repeats. Not every person Sasha knew was in the multiverse. For example, Juliana had totally different parents in the other universe and Sasha's parents didn't even exist.

Overall, Tandem has an enjoyable plot and world building. Was it a great read? No, but it was entertaining enough for me to finish it. I recommend it to people who can read through a book without paying too much attention to the weaknesses.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so interesting, I'm really disappointed the third book will never be published. I was going to read the second one, but I feel like the ending to that one will probably be worse than how this one ended, so I might try to save myself some emotional turmoil.

Sasha Lawson always thought she was an average 16 year old. Until she's pulled through something called the Tandem into an alternate universe where she's a royal princess. Her grandfather is a theoretical physicist and her parents were before they died. Sasha isn't a stranger to thinking about parallel universes, but it's something completely different living it. In Aurora, the world Sasha has been taken to, she must pretend to be the missing princess. She has one week before the princess is to marry her mortal enemy and seal a peace treaty. If she can make it through this next week and convince everyone she's truly Julianne, she'll be free to go back to her normal life.

But there's something no one knows about the princess's disappearance: she left of her own volition. But Sasha has always had strange dreams of Julie, though she never knew who she was dreaming of. With the help of Julie's bodyguard Thomas, and a slightly mad scientist, Sasha may be able to control this unique ability in order to help Thomas find Julie and make sure peace is achieved throughout Columbia.

This was such a wild book! I loved the alternate universes and the various explanations for how things are similar but distinct. Space, parallel universes, all of that stuff is so fascinating to me. I was immediately hooked on the plot of this. All of the secrets that were revealed during the story was just a cherry on top.

I really liked Sasha. She was fierce and pretty stubborn, but it helped her keep her head level and survive this whole experience. Thomas was a bit more tricky for me. I was never certain if he could be trusted and his feelings weren't always clear to me. But I loved the direction the ending hinted at. I don't know how it would've worked between these two, but wow I want it to so badly.

I'd love to see how this series would be concluded, so fingers crossed book 3 will come one day!

[Kelly (Diva Booknerd) · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://www.divabooknerd.com/2014/03/t...
I loved Tandem. I'm looking at other reader reviews and wonder if they read the same book that I did. Tandem was incredible. A brilliant blend of science fiction, suspense and romance. I was highly anticipating it's release, the premise of a parallel universe isn't all too common in young adult, and it certainly didn't disappoint. Sasha had lost both her parents, and raised by her estranged grandfather, who she now couldn't imagine her life without. She's the quiet achiever who doesn't rely upon her peers, but longs for a more exciting life than the predictable one she seems to be stuck in. Little does she realise that her entire world is about to change, literally.

The teen is thrown into a parallel universe against her will, where she is almost a carbon copy of the Princess. Based on science fiction, Anna Jarzab created an incredibly engaging storyline that readers will invest in. Although Tandem doesn't contain long and boring scientific explanations, thank goodness, readers will need to be observant within the first few chapters to gauge the storyline as a whole. The characters are all interconnected, but Sasha shares a special bond with her Analog through a tether. Visions she assumed were vivid dreams, were events as seen through the eyes of her Princess counterpart. It allowed the storyline of both Sasha and Julianna to be told through two different points of view, through the one person.

Slow to begin but imperative to the storyline, once Sasha is taken through the Tandem, I was complexly engrossed. If this is the future of young adult science fiction, then readers are in for a brilliant ride. But be warned, it ends in what could be seen as a cliffhanger, I for one can't wait for the release of Tether, book two in the Many Worlds series.

[Burçak Kılıç Sultanoğlu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tamam paralel evren konusu güzel, farklı boyuttaki düzen falan da güzel sevdim ama kitapta aksiyon, bir macera yok. (Son 20 sayfa falan hariç.. Tek hareketli kısım orası o yüzden 3 yıldız veriyorum.)

Olaylar resmen bir şatonun içindeki betimlemeler ve açıklamalarla geçti.. Boğuldum :P
Ama 2. kitabı çok merak ediyorum.. Son 20 sayfa çok hareketlendi ve çok ilginç bitti.. Dedim tamam kitap hareketlendi.. Tam en heyecalı yerde kitap bitti :D İkinci kitaptan umudum daha çok.. Yani bu kitap açıklama kitabıysa diğeri heyecan kitabıdır inşallah :D

[Gamze · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5

fringe hayranı olupta paralel evrenleri konu alan bir kitabı beğenmemek olur mu hiç? :D
ilk başlar tempo biraz düşüktü yarım puanı o nedenle kırdım.
ama sonrası aktı.. bugün hatta kitap fuarına gittim serinin ikinci kitabını alayım olmazsa diye bir fiyat söylediler neyse kalsın dedim internetten daha ucuza alırım dedim ayrıldım standtan :D
yalnız üçüncü kitabın basılmayacağını öğrenince yıkıldım. umarım bu durum düzelir..

[Jan (lost pages) · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5/5 Sternen. Zum Ende hin war es nimmer ganz so furchtbar! :D

[ஐ฿υκєτஐ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fazla bir beklenti ile başlamadığımdan sanırım sevdim kitabı.Konusu ilginç paralel evrenler falan güzeldi.Sonuda heyecanlı bitti.İkinci kitabı istiyorum şu anda.

[Estelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

This review was also posted on Book Probe.

Did not finish at 42%.
I hate to be that person who would completely trash a book however I cannot stall this review any longer. The first thing you need to know is that Tandem is the best book to read during exams. It’s so dull and boring that it even makes studying seem to be a much more attractive option. Improved marks are guaranteed!

With a combination of stressful end-of-high-school-exams-that-will-determine-your-entry-to-university-and-pretty-much-your-whole-life, a disappointing book as well as the pressure to review it within a reasonable frame, I admit that I’ve undergone a quite a reading slump over the past month. I apologise for my inactivity however I will endeavour to catch up on all the ARCs and combat my massive TBR pile during the next 3 months of holidays.

The thought of revisiting Tandem for this review makes me want to cringe yet it has to be done. I usually enjoy reading YA sci-fi/romance novels yet this book was laughable at its best. The comparisons to the Matched series certainly didn’t help at all. I’m unable to organise my thoughts into a coherent review, hence I will leave you behind with a list of key points instead. I apologise in advance for the vagueness since I had read the book almost 2 months ago at this time of writing and I’m going off purely from my notes here.

PROs:
1. The prologue was very appealing as it immediately caught my attention. The lovely writing, lush descriptions and political intrigue made the opening to be a very decent one. I wish I could say the same for the rest of the book.

2. Sasha is allergic to chocolate and Thomas eats when he is anxious. That’s about the only interesting things about those main characters.

CONs: (i.e. reasons why I DNF’d this book)
1. The writing style
I know I said that it was “lovely” in the beginning however it immediately went downhill from there. Some parts were a bit too flowery and the use of that sentence certainly did not help. I also felt that the writing was too repetitive at times as many things were unnecessarily spelled out. It was almost as if the author had SHOWED us something and then also felt the need to TELL us the same thing afterwards. Overall, it ranged from being satisfactory to being downright juvenile and boring.

2. Point of View changes
I usually don’t mind multiple POVs however I prefer them to be all in either only 1st or 3rd person. Unfortunately Tandem tries to have both which felt extremely out of place and confusing.

3. Grant/Thomas
“Grant Davis was, to put it bluntly, the finest human specimen that had ever come into existence”
Yeah yeah yeah, you and every other YA male love interest in existence. His characterisation was also cliché and overdone. OF COURSE he has to be so smart and bloody perfect.

4. More weak characterisations
Sasha is a fan of classics and Shakespeare yet this seems to be is a lazy and poorly disguised attempt to make her appear more intelligent and cultured than she actually is. I am not convinced. The name-dropping of famous works of literatures was absolutely pointless. Furthermore, I could not stand Sasha at all. She is devoid of a mental filter and common sense and she can also be very emotional, melodramatic and illogical too. Also, what is it with YA heroines biting their lips unconsciously that they bleed? Sure this can actually happen in real life yet so many main characters in YA fiction do it so often like it’s nothing. Do you know how inconvenient it is to talk and eat with a bloody mouth?!

5. Pretty much everything to do with Sasha
It was unrealistic that she could successfully impersonate a girl that she hardly knew anything about in front of ruthless reporter. Oh, and she could also be broadcasted live to the whole (parallel) world without faltering under the pressure. I often felt irritated by her actions and she was not likeable or engaging at all. This was mostly due to her incessant and annoying internal narration and I could not get into her head without feeling the urge to roll my eyes.

6. The plot
It felt significantly dragged down by the lacklustre main character and shaky science fiction elements. It was a struggle for the book to capture my attention as there was no real sense of urgency or tension to the plot, despite being almost half way through the book. I did not need to know the exact specifications of the clothing being worn and their price tags. I rather read the Clique series thank you very much.

7. The dialogue
This was badly written and very amateurish. Also, there were a number of strange lines that were spoken by the main characters that few teenagers would actually use today. E.g. Sasha said to her grandad “Be cool,” in one scene. Seriously? It was out of place to say the least.

8. Disappearing parent syndrome
Of course her parents are dead. How convenient. So, what else is surprising again?

9. Awkward word choice
“…I’d have to troll the department stores for something off the rack – and on sale.”
Um, how can you troll department stores? Perhaps there is an obscure meaning to the word “troll” that I am unaware of however surely there must be a better synonym to use in this age of the internet? Especially since this is a YA book targeted at teens…

10. The world building
It was a bit convoluted and there were numerous of plot holes that I could not care less to pinpoint after a certain stage.

11. The romance
Romance? What romance? I refuse to call anything between Sasha and Thomas as “romance”. It was a mixture of Stockholm Syndrome as well as a love-hate relationship going on that felt absolutely unconvincing and contrived. Their dialogue, actions and gestures were so cliché that I had to skim through their scenes for my own sanity.

To sum it all up, Tandem was a huge let-down and disappointment for me. It took an excessively long time to get through this book and I wouldn’t recommend it at all.

[Anncleire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Real vote: 3.5

Recensione anche sul mio blog:
http://pleaseanotherbook.tumblr.com/p...


“Tandem” è il primo volume di una serie fantascientifica di Anna Jarzab di cui io mi sono innamorata perdutamente, prima di iniziarlo per due motivi: la copertina, lo sapete che sono una cover slut, e questa è STUPENDISSIMA, due per l’argomento. Io e gli universi paralleli siamo una cosa sola, è un argomento che mi ha sempre affascinato, soprattutto quando è a sfondo sci-fi. L'ho iniziato grazie ad un buddy reading con la mia favolosa collega Lorena di Petrichor. Ma devo ammettere che questo libro non mi è piaciuto quanto speravo e quanto volevo. Interessante, ma non bellissimo, da occhi a cuore insomma.


La sedicenne Sasha Lawson ha sempre e solo conosciuto una vita semplice e ordinaria. Quando era giovane amava le storie del nonno sugli universi paralleli abitati da ragazze che apparivano come lei ma che conducevano vite completamente diverse. Sasha non ha mai creduto che questi mondi fossero reali – fino a questo momento, quando si ritrova in uno di questi mondi contro la sua volontà. Per impedire una guerra imminente, Sasha deve scivolare nella vita di una sua versione alternativa, una principessa che è svanita alla vigilia del suo matrimonio combinato. Se Sasha riesce ad ingannare tutti, potrà ritornare a casa, se fallisce, rimarrà intrappolata nella vita di un’altra ragazza per sempre. Mentre il tempo sta per scadere, Sasha si ritrova tra due mondi, due vite e due giovani uomini che lottano per il suo amore – uno che conosce il suo segreto, e uno che pensa che sia qualcuno che non è. È una saga di amore e tradimento ambientata in universi paralleli in cui niente – e nessuno – è ciò che sembra.


Sono convinta che questo non sia l’unico universo possibile e che la nostra vita sia determinata da una serie di scelte. Scelte che influenzano i passi che ci portano in una direzione piuttosto che un’altra. E che in definitiva la somma cumulativa delle nostre prese di posizione determini il futuro e quindi il nostro universo. Amo questo genere di immaginazione che porta a compimento scientificamente ipotesi di astrofisica con quei cenni di meccanica quantistica che non guastano. Le premesse in questo libro c’erano tutte, con un mix di fantascienza e romance, ma devo dire che mi aspettavo molto di più. Il grosso della narrazione si concentra sulle spalle della protagonista, Sasha, una sedicenne spaesata e a volte abbastanza addormentata che non si accorge di quello che le accade intorno. Sasha non è l’eroina che prende in mano la situazione, non si lancia in faccende più grandi di lei pretendendo di avere le risposte. Anzi inconsciamente l’unica cosa che vuole Sasha è tornare sulla Terra abbandonare questo mondo sconosciuto che la risucchia. Un momento prima stava vivendo il suo sogno di andare al prom con un ragazzo che le piace, il secondo dopo corre forsennata per le strade di una Chicago familiare ma sconosciuta che respira sull’onda di una crisi politica di dimensioni sconosciute. Sasha è una controfigura che si avvicenda in una situazione spinosa. Vive di espedienti e questi le consentono di sopravvivere anche quando tutto sembra perduto. Il fatto è che risulta essere una ragazzina piagnucolosa, che non sa cosa, vuole ed essendo la protagonista, a lungo andare, finisce per annoiare. Prima vuole una cosa, poi un'altra, si perde i passaggi fondamentali, è anche un po' tarda, il che fa perdere tutti all'idea di base del libro, che è favolosa. Il suo pov si intreccia a quello di Thomas, una delle guardie del corpo che la proteggono, un ragazzo che ha sofferto molto, che cerca sempre di fare la cosa giusta, che è disposto a compiere sacrifici enormi per la sua patria, che crede che sia fondamentale vivere appieno. Thomas è anche fin troppo patriottico, troppo onesto, troppo fiducioso e questo lo porta a essere cieco di fronte alla verità che non tutti sono come lui, che non tutti sono leali e sinceri, che mentire è solo il primo passo verso il tradimento. La sua integrità gli costerà molto, anche in termini affettivi e solo il suo coraggio e la sua determinazione lo porteranno verso la salvezza.
In termini di intreccio la storia non è particolarmente ingarbugliata, anche se condita da alcuni colpi di scena posti in punti strategici. Quello che ho davvero apprezzato è il world building legato agli universi paralleli, con il classico schema a grappolo. Le teorie che vi sono dietro sono spiegate in maniera ottimale e restano coerenti per tutto lo sviluppo del libro. I mondi paralleli, legati dal Tandem, sono assolutamente affascinanti e le descrizioni favolose.
L’ambientazione, con la Chicago di Aurora simile, analoga ma non uguale è affascinante e ben caratterizzata. Con Sasha scopriamo ogni punto del castello, ogni anfratto della Cittadella, con l’impressione di trovarci accanto a lei. I pericoli sono all’ordine del giorno e l’atmosfera che si respira è quella del chi vive, con l’ansia di venir scoperta. Sasha non è chi dice di essere, la principessa Julianna, una egoista e viziata ragazzina che si crede padrona dell’universo e che non riesce ad accettare che è nata per rivestire un ruolo importante. La principessa che non accetta di essere vincolata in un ruolo che le sta stretto, che le impedisce di essere libera e scoprire chi è cosa vuole. E in un qualche modo, il mistero che si nasconde nella persona di Sasha risulta ancora più interessante. Tante domande per un finale che apre le porte al di più.

Il particolare da non dimenticare? Un origami a forma di stella…

Due mondi paralleli, una protagonista odiosa e piagnucolosa, lontana dall’eroina sprovveduta tipicamente young adult, con un compito assurdo e la speranza di tornare a casa senza danni. Una storia da cui mi aspettavo di più, ma che mi ha intrigato e incuriosito. Un ritmo veloce per uno degli argomenti che più amo, con una cover da urlo.
Buona lettura guys!

[Diana von Dinchen´s Welt · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF ~ p. 148

[mylibraryofdreams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dieses Buch schaute mich nun Wochenlang in der Buchhandlung an. Das Cover ist extrem schön, mir gefallen die Farben und Verläufe. Eine Freundin von mir hatte es bereits gelesen und auf ihre Top Liste gesetzt, sie fand es einfach nur toll! Mir allerdings sagte der Klappentext irgendwie einfach nicht so ganz zu. Aber gut, nun hab ich doch noch dazu gegriffen und ich fand es mehr schlecht als recht…

Aber reden wir erstmal von dem extrem magischen Cover! Ich bin ja ein absoluter Farbe Fan und wenn die Farbverläufe dann noch so wunderschön ineinander fliessen.. seufz! Ich bin ja auch total vernarrt in diese Cosmosbilder, da könnte ich stundenlang hinsehen! Im Hintergrund sieht man die Siluette eines Mädchens -wieder einmal ohne Kopf- in einem Prinzessinnenkleid. Beim unteren Teil des Bildes bin ich mir allerdings nicht ganz sicher. Sollte das eine Stadt am Meer oder See darstellen oder ist dies eine Moorlandschaft? Sieht jedenfalls toll aus!

Zum Inhalt: Sascha lebt eigentlich ein ganz normales Leben, bis zu dem Tag als ihr Schulschwarm Grant sie zum Ball einlädt. Nachdem sie einen wunderschönen Abend verbracht hatte, wacht sie in einer Parallelwelt wieder auf und muss feststellen das Grant gar nicht Grant war, sondern sein Analog aus der Parallelwelt- Thomas. Dieser hat sie nach Aurora gebracht um sie dort als Prinzessin Juliana auszugeben. Den die Prinzessin, die Sascha bis aufs Haar gleicht, ist verschwunden und das ist äusserst schlecht, den die Heirat von ihr und Prinz Callum aus dem verfeindeten Nachbarsland, steht vor der Türe.

Zum Schreibstil: Ich fand er war ganz okay. Nicht wirklich herausfordern aber flüssig. Irgendwie war alles zu nüchtern, ich habe definitiv schon bessere Schreibstile gelesen. Die Erzählsicht wechselt ab, einmal liest man aus Saschas Sicht, dann wieder hat man ein Abschnitt von Thomas und zwischendurch kommt auch Juliana zum Wort, wobei ihre Teile auch Saschas Träume sein könnten.

Über die Charaktere: Sascha war mir zwar sympathisch aber gleichzeitig konnte ich ihre Handlungen nicht immer nachvollziehen. Sie änderte ihre Meinung einfach viel zu oft. Mal mochte sie Thomas, dann verabscheute sie ihn, dann mochte sie ihn wieder… Dann wollte sie unbedingt nach Hause, dann wieder nicht, dann wieder schon…. Ihr Name hat sie allerdings gerettet, ich finde Sascha ein wirklich cooler Name für ein Mädchen! Viel besser als Juliana, die ich übrigens nicht ausstehen konnte. Was mich auch gestört hat, war die Tatsache, dass Sascha so bereitwillig mitgemacht hat. Wenn ich in einer anderen Welt landen würde, selbst wenn ich schon von ihr geträumt hätte, wäre ich schon etwas ängstlicher oder würde hinterfragen.
Thomas war auch so eine Sache für sich. Ich fand ihn undurchschaubar und konnte auch bei ihm nicht immer verstehen wieso er jetzt dies oder jenes gemacht hat z.B. den Part auf dem Dach! Absolut NICHT nachvollziehbar! Auch sein Verhältnis zu Juliana fand ich sehr seltsam, aber da wird wahrscheinlich im zweiten Teil noch was kommen.
Callum war dagegen sehr offen, dafür aber langweilig. Das typische dritte Rad am Wagen, denn das er Sascha nicht bekommt ist ja leider Glasklar… Ich bin gespannt ob die Autorin ihn einfach mit Juliana zusammenkommen lässt, denn die sollte er ja ursprünglich heiraten.

Persönliche Meinung: Wie schon gesagt, mir gefiel dieser erste Band der Aurora-Reihe nicht wirklich so gut. Ich verstehe nicht ganz weshalb meine Freundin dieses Buch so toll fand? Da habe ich in letzter Zeit einiges besseres gelesen. (Elias und Laia, Wie Monde so silbern, Lux-Reihe..) Die Thematik und Idee mit den Parallelwelten fand ich aber enorm spannend und der Cliffhanger ist auch da, das macht einem doch neugierig auf den nächsten Teil. (welchen ich natürlich lesen werde, so bin ich halt grins) Aber ich fand es halt trotzdem nicht ein so tolles Buch. Es geschah irgendwie extrem lange nichts und dann geschah ebenfalls nicht viel. Es tut mir leid aber ich bin echt nicht so vom Hocker und freu mich nun riesig endlich den zweiten Band der Luna-Chroniken zu lesen.

[Mlpmom (Book Reviewer) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Normally I would say that this sort of read just isn't something I pick up willingly. I normally don't gravitate towards sci fi and fantasy reads but lately, lately, that isn't the case at all. In fact, I am pretty sure I can no longer claim to shy away from the two genre as it seems I suddenly have great interest in them and in fact have been loving what I have tried for the most part.

I don't even know why I shy away from it because some of my favorite shows and stories growing up were in the two blended genres, with anything having to do with time travel high on the list.

And really, how could I resist that cover? You have to admit, it is pretty eye catching and all around great. This also happens to be my first book by Jarzab and I can say without fail or falter that is won't be my last even though I didn't fall in love with the storyline, I did really enjoy it.

I think the biggest thing is that I loved Thomas and Callum (and yes, sorry girls, there is a bit of a love triangle going on) but sadly, I didn't love Sasha. She seemed to fragile at times and then other times she was strong and took charge but there were way too many fragile moments for my liking. I think it was those weak moments that made her appear more whinny than I am sure the author intended for her to come off as. It is no secret that I like a strong heroine who will take charge and kick butt and Sasha just wasn't her.

The world building was nicely done explaining Earth, Aurora, the Tandem and analogs for the most part and there were lots of twists, especially towards the end so it did keep me entertained.

Would I continue one with the series? I think I would, it would be nice to see where it went from here but it wouldn't be high on my priority list but again, I would love to try another book from this author because I did enjoy her writing style.

[franzi_heartbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Das Cover:
Zu sehen sind wunderschöne Polarlichter über einer beleuchteten Stadt. Leicht vor den Polarlichtern ist die Skizze eines edlen Kleides abgebildet, was sehr gut zur Geschichte passt, da Sasha ja in ein Paralleluniversum kommt und dort solche Kleider trägt.

Die Geschichte:
Die 16 Jahre junge Alexandra Lawson, genannt Sasha, staunt nicht schlecht, als vor ihr eines Tages Grant Davis, der beliebteste Junge de Schule steht und mit ihr spricht. Als wäre das nicht merkwürdig genug, fragt er sie auch noch, ob sie mit ihm zum Abschlussball gehen möchte. Für Sasha, die ihre Eltern verloren hat und nun bei ihrem Großvater lebt, steht die Antwort schnell fest. Er schenkt ihr ein Armband und beide gehen nun zusammen auf den Abschlussball und haben einen schönen Abend … bis Sasha in eine Parallelwelt namens Aurora gezogen wird.

Dort erfährt sie von Grant, der in Wahrheit Thomas heißt, dass er sie entführt hat, damit sie die Rolle der Kronprinzessin Julianna, die in dieser Welt ihr Analog, also ihre Doppelgängerin, ist, bis zur wichtigen Hochzeit in sieben Tagen spielt. Sasha bleibt gar keine Wahl, denn sie kommt vorher nicht nach Hause auf die Erde. Mit der Hilfe von Thomas und Glorias, Juliannas Privatsekretärin und rechte Hand, lebt sie sich in den Alltag einer Kronprinzessin ein. Da Verhältnis zum Königspaar ist jedoch gespalten: Juliannas Vater ist nach einem Attentat geistig verwirrt und die Königin, Juliannas Stiefmutter kann sie nicht besonders leiden. Sasha hat es nicht leicht, vor allem, da es Verrat in den eigenen Reihen gibt und Julianna nicht grundlos verschwunden ist …

Meine Meinung:
Ich war sehr überrascht, als ich ‚Das Licht von Aurora‘ vom Loewe-Verlag unaufgefordert zugeschickt bekam. Natürlich hatte ich schon viel von dem Buch gehört und war sehr gespannt, sodass ich das Buch schnell zu lesen begann. Die Idee einer Parallelwelt ist schon eine tolle Idee, die nicht neu ist, aber doch eine andere Richtung einschlägt. Sasha, die eigentlich Alexandra heißt, lebt nach dem Tod ihrer Eltern vor zehn Jahren zurückgezogen und behütet bei ihrem Großvater. Als sie dann von einem Jungen so viel Beachtung findet, ist sie überrascht, aber glücklich. Doch das ändert sich, als sie nach Aurora kommt. Man merkt, wie sie zickiger, aufbrausender, frecher und widerspenstiger wird. Sie will ihr Schicksal nicht akzeptieren und hasst Thomas dafür, dass er sie in diese Parallelwelt gebracht hat.

Diese Parallelwelt namens Aurora ist der Erde ähnlich, jedoch gibt es dort noch Königreiche, aber auch einen technischen Fortschritt mit z. B. Fingerabdruckscanner. Dieser Unterschied zur Erde geschah durch ein großes Ereignis in der Vergangenheit, das die zeitliche Entwicklung veränderte. Viele Menschen auf der Erde haben außerdem einen Analog, also einen Doppelgänger in Aurora, aber nicht alle. So z. B. nicht Sashas Vater. Der hat sein eigenes Geheimnis. Zu Sashas Charakter habe ich ja schon was gesagt, zu Thomas noch nicht. Er ist sehr bestrebt, seine Aufgaben zu erfüllen, doch er merkt auch bald, dass Sasha ihm mehr bedeutet. Er ist am Anfang sehr zurückhaltend und akkurat, weicht aber im Laufe der Geschichte auf. Auch Juliannas zukünftiger Mann, Prinz Callum ist ein wirklich netter Charakter, der es nicht leicht hatte. Näheres verrate ich hier nicht.

Für mich war ja sehr überraschend, dass Sasha Träume von Julianna hat und auch schon früher hatte. Wie sie diese ‚Träume‘ heraufbeschwören kann, ist eine recht witzige Sache. Die Geschichte ist übrigens aus drei Sichten geschrieben: Juliannas, Thomas‘ und Sashas. Am Anfang etwas verwirrend, aber ich habe mich doch recht schnell dran gewöhnt und es war für den Verlauf und das Verstehen der Geschichte wichtig. Insgesamt konnte mich das Buch überzeugen. Geschichten über junge Frauen, die ‚Prinzessin‘ spielen müssen, sind irgendwie gerade angesagt. Kann ich verstehen

[Juli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anna Jarzabs "Das Licht von Aurora" ist ein Fantasyjugendbuch, dass voller Überraschungen steckt. Nach dem ersten inhalieren des Klappentextes, hätte ich niemals erwartet, dass mich dieses Buch so emotional packen kann und zu einem solchen Pageturner wird. Anna Jarzab punktet mit vielen neuen, sehr überzeugenden Ideen, die mir in einer solchen Kombination bisher noch vollkommen unbekannt waren. Die Kombination aus Sci-Fi Elementen mit Parallelwelten und Analogen (Doppelgängern) und Märchenelementen, bestehend aus einem Königreich, einem ganzen Hofstaat inklusive Dienerschaft, Kammerzofen mit einer verschwundenen Kronprinzessin, ist einfach genial und konnte mich von der ersten Seite überzeugen. Noch ein Wort zur Covergestaltung: Grandios! Das Cover passt so perfekt zum Inhalt, nachdem Verschlingen von "Das Licht von Aurora" ist mir aufgefallen, dass das Coverbild genau zu einer meiner liebsten Szenen des Buches passt.

Der Schreibstil ist wahnsinnig packend und emotional. Anna Jarzab hatte mich schon nach wenigen Seiten voll und ganz in ihre Geschichte gezogen und an ihrer Schreibfeder kleben. Nicht nur mit grandiosen Storyideen, einer unfassbar prickelnden herzzereißenden Romantik, sondern auch mit einer fingernägelzerkauenden Spannung, kann die Autorin punkten. Zu keiner Sekunde des Lesens ist das Buch langweilig oder langatmig, es lässt sich sehr gut verschlingen und ist eine wundervolle Leseunterhaltung.

Die liebenswerte 16-jährige Protagonistin Sasha ist ein absoluter Büchernarr und auf der Beliebtheitsskala ihrer Schule eher unsichtbar. Ihr genügen ihre beste Freundin und ihr geliebter Großvater als soziale Kontakte. Allerdings hat sie schon vor Jahren ein Auge auf den attraktiven, überaus beliebten Grant Parker geworfen und als dieser ihr urplötzlich seine volle Aufmerksamkeit schenkt und sie sogar zum Abschlussball einlädt, ist Sasha voll und ganz in ihrer romantischen Traumwelt gefangen. Das Grant Parker ganz andere Absichten mit ihr hat und seinen plötzlichen Wandel in Frage zu stellen, das kommt Sasha gar nicht in den Sinn. Schnell erfährt der Leser, dass Grant gar nicht der Grant ist mit dem Sasha aufgewachsen ist, sondern Thomas - Grants Doppelgänger, oder auch Analog genannt. Thomas stammt aus einer Parallelwelt. Eine Welt in der Sasha der Analog der verschwundenen Kronprinzessin ist. Und genau diese Rolle muss sie nun für eine gewisse Zeit übernehmen. Welches Mädchen wäre nicht gerne einmal Prinzessin? Allerdings ist Sashas Rolle keinesfalls einfach zu bewältigen, sie muss perfekt schauspielern, denn sonst ist nicht nur ihr eigenes Leben in Gefahr. Sasha ist der Verzweiflung nahe und genau diese Verzweiflung überträgt sich auch auf den Leser. Man fiebert von der ersten Seite mit und hofft eigentlich nur, dass die symaptische Protagonistin heil aus der Nummer wieder raus kommt und in ihre eigentliche Welt zurück kehren kann. Aber von Seite zu Seite wird die Situation heikler und mittlerweile ist der Leser so verliebt in Aurora, das Paralleluniversum, dass er und auch Sasha gar nicht mehr dort fort gehen wollen. Dies liegt eventuell auch ein klitzekleines bisschen an dem attraktiven, starken, beschützerischen Thomas, der uns und Sasha von der ersten Seite begleitet und immer mehr ans Herzchen wächst.

[Alexa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tandem is an incredible novel. It combines the science fiction element of parallel universes with the makings of a diverse fantasy world, which had the potential to either be a complete success or an utter failure. Thankfully, even with a bumpy beginning, the novel managed to dazzle me completely. Anna Jarzab managed to succeed in combining these two sub-genres with her novel, and has introduced me to a world and characters that are utterly fascinating.

In this book, there are plenty of universes but the story focuses on two: Earth and Aurora. Earth requires no further explanation, obviously, but Aurora does. It's a universe with more differences than similarities to earth, particularly natural phenomenons like the aurora borealis being an everyday thing, far more advances in technology and science, and the geographical divisions resulting in only two main countries. Aurora is characterized by political unrest, which remains the most important thing about it throughout the course of the story. While I could have used a little more description when it came to the actual scenery, Aurora sounded like a fascinating place.

Sasha Lawson is an Earth girl torn away from her real life to step into the life of her analog (the alternate version of herself) in Aurora, Juliana, who happens to be the crown princess of her country. While she initially seems weak-willed and makes incredibly rash decisions, she eventually demonstrates her intelligence, determination and goodness.

Sasha certainly experiences a bit of romance in this novel, as there are two boys worthy of her regard: Thomas, a high-level security officer who serves as Juliana's bodyguard, and Callum, the prince whom Juliana is arranged to marry to broker peace between their rival countries. In case you were worried, this doesn't come across as a real love triangle at all because it's clear who Sasha picks right away.

The story is the best part, beginning notwithstanding! Apart from including a rationale behind the parallel universes and analogs, we are treated to a fantasy that tackles political unrest and palace intrigues. There are plenty of surprising turns that this book takes, and I found myself just being pulled along for the ride. It's hard to talk about what goes on without spoiling anything, but I can say this: from the moment Sasha arrives in Aurora, it's one thing after another for everyone involved.

After that ending, it is only right that I eagerly await the next installment! Tandem was an exciting series starter that has me fully invested in these characters and their story. Combining familiar, irresistible fantasy elements with surprising shots of sci-fi, this book won me over completely.

(originally posted on Alexa Loves Books)