Over the Moon

by Diane Daniels

When seventeen-year-old Tiana moves to Hurricane, Utah, her comfortable world is turned upside down as she traverses the rough waters of adjusting to a small town and new school. Her father insists they were supposed to move here for some unknown, important purpose, and the voice in her head tells her not to argue.
After resigning herself to being a miserable outcast, Tiana finds that she is not only accepted by most of the students at her new high school but is also the recipient of unwelcome attention from the opposite sex.
But then she meets the mysterious Andrew Martin and is soon Over the Moon crazy about him. Andrew seems to be the perfect boyfriend: protective, tender, good with her parents, and a fabulous kisser. But he also has a few unusual qualities: an intuitiveness that borders on mind reading, a touch that seems to heal, and almost superhuman strength.
Tiana marvels at his talents but doesn't seriously consider the implications until she can no longer ignore the clues: Andrew does not belong on Earth.
When Andrew admits his true identity, Tiana enters a world previously unknown to her and is plunged into mortal danger as it is Andrew's sworn duty to combat evil, extraterrestrial villains who wish to invade Earth and enslave mankind.
Join Diane Daniels for a romantic adventure in Over the Moon, which will take you to a world where the impossible comes to life.

Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance, Science Fiction, Aliens, Fantasy, Mystery

254 pages, Paperback

First published July 27, 2010

Reviews

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

Finished this book though I though I wouldn't. WAY too much like Twilight and too many self- depricating thoughts from the mane heroine "I'm not worthy thoughts..." It feels more like a middle grade romance to me not sure YA or adults would like it. Started out okay but then about five chapters in started going downhill for me.

[Georgia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am thinking about how to word this review correctly, I do not ever like to give a negative review and the thought of hurting the authors feelings makes my tummy hurt... I will update with my review soon. :(

[Octavia · Rating 1 out of 5]

"Bring it on! We can deal with it. After all, we are star stuff!" This is a DIRECT quote I got from Over the Moon. In hindsight I have now idea what compelled me to buy this book. Besides aliens really aren't my thing, but I guess I wanted to give it a chance. To be honest the only reason I was able to finish this book is because not only did I spend money on it but I actually patiently waited for the US postal service to ship it. And if you don't know first hand then let me tell you they are sooo competent in their shipping process (extreme sarcasm). Tiana was one of those whiny "life isn't fair", "my curiosity wouldn't let me forget", "I was drawn by his charisma" kind of characters. Don't get me wrong sometimes I don't mind insta-love stories, but what was up with the whole "your so beautiful Tiana" from every man, woman and child in the whole town? Not to mention her constant self hate. I can't stand a person who is down on themselves as much as Tiana was on herself throughout the ENTIRE book. There is one moment in the book where she states "I don't thing I'm ugly". Then she turns right around and starts with the I'm plain, I'm not pretty, I'm not deserving blah blah blah crap that makes my blood boil. Andrew was too damn perfect for my liking and to be honest his whole family was like a homework assignment that was forgotten until the last second and then was half ass done to get some sort of grade. Sonya and Alexis seemed like they could have been your typical mean girls but honestly even they were lacking. And not to put in a spoiler or anything but what the hell was that bathroom scene with Tiana and Sonya!!?? Call it violent, take me to jail but i would have punched her in the face and it wouldn't have stopped there. All in all I know authors put a lot of effort into their work but I was EXTREMELY disappointed especially since this book retails for 9.99 at Amazon. I guess it's a better read for ages 12-14 but I don't thing those of us in the NTOFYAB group will enjoy this. Sorry

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

To start off, I was very disappointed with this book. I am glad I didn’t spend money on this.
With the idea that I think the author was trying to express, it should have been good, but she veered off target frequently. The many likeness to the Twilight and Roswell series was blatant. The editor missed quite a few grammar issues as well.
I will say that this is a workable outline for a story that needs a lot work. The flat secondary characters and bipolarity of the main character were just annoying. The thrown in political innuendos were just unnecessary.
The describing of the clothing is filler at best. Nobody cares what anyone is wearing, just as long as the reader knows that the characters aren’t naked. The gist of it, shirt-shoes-pants, short simple to the point, move on. I don't want to read a whole paragraph describing the color and texture of anybody's top-dress-skirt unless it is pertinent to the story, which it wasn't.
The story ran way too fast. This read like a seven year old's thought process. Stories thrown together because they can’t separate things in their heads, with the phrase “and then” thrown in every 4 seconds. The age group that I think this book is aiming for will have a hard time following this.
I gave it 2 stars because it had a good backbone, I just think it needs a lot of work still.

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alright... So let me just start of by saying that I'm all about aliens, I saw Avatar... LOVED IT! This didn't quite do that for me. It was however a quick and easy read that was pretty enjoyable. Tiana was as fleshed out as I wanted her to be and it seemed like a lot of her emotions just kind of fell flat for me. On a brighter note I thought the romance was sweet and the book overal was a plesant suprise... just not my cup of tea. I think this would be better aimed towards a younger audience.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally posted on my book blog at nemzep95.tumblr.com.

Over the Moon is about a girl named Tiana that moves to Hurricane, Utah because her father's work at a pharmaceutical office. She despises the move from a large city to a small, hot town in the middle of a desert. Soon after moving in, she meets Andrew, who is actually an alien with special powers. Tiana falls in love at first sight and the story unfolds.

Okay so going into this I was prepared for similarities to Twilight (the description is spot on similar). I tried my hardest to not judge based on any coincidental scenario or anything else they had in common. But it didn't work out. This book has so many scenes from Twilight that are virtually verbatim it started to drive me nuts. I don't know if the similarities were intentional or simply coincidental, but regardless there wasn't a lot of originality or really creativity. What wasn't taken from Twilight seemed to come from Roswell. Granted I did find some information intriguing and ultimately interesting, some scenes made me go nuts.

Some things I liked about this particular novel is that the main character, Tiana, was actually intelligent (except for occasional parts where she temporarily goes dumb). She isn't overly emotional (although her instant infatuation with Andrew bothered me) and made the book more interesting to read from her point of view.

There were definitely some parts that stood out and were interesting, like the encounter with the villain(s) and a confrontation with a high school student that was realistic and in a way amusing. The middle of this novel was definitely the best, where it wasn't really "quoting" other stories and it was pretty original.

Overall I think this book could definitely be improved. It is decent for an author's first book. If I hadn't read Twilight I probably would have enjoyed this book a lot more. But I found at times I wanted it to end, which is usually a bad sign when reading a book. With the flaws present in this book, I think it would be easy for the author to improve future novels and make them ten times better.

I would highly recommend this to anyone who hasn't read Twilight and/or is interesting in aliens. Granted a particular religion was kind of endorsed in the novel, I feel it would definitely still be intriguing to those who like books on aliens.

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

[Shanda]

I'm not going to rate this book, but I will say this: Oh how I wish I could have gotten my hands on this book as an alpha reader so I could have given some feedback. I really don't want to hurt the author's feelings but no one is helped if honest feedback isn't given.

This book has SO much potential but I kept tripping over things that a couple of really good alpha readers could have solved. The best plot points & conflict were underemphasized. Even though the story is told in 1st person, Tiana knows things before the reader does so the reader is left asking "Wait, when did we find this out? Did I skip a page?"

Also, the voice of the character wasn't believable in several places even for an intelligent teen. Lots of grandiose language that was a little over the top for YA. No teen I know would use the word vermillion or the phrase "aforementioned scenario" in conversation.

I do want to point out the author's strong points. She wrote the warehouse scene when Tiana is captured very well. The hallucinations were quite effective.

I encourage the author to keep writing and find an amazing group of alpha readers who will be honest with you. Let's see what you can do!

[Shannon · Rating 1 out of 5]

This one had so much potential, but failed to deliver. The pacing was wrong, the story line a little uninteresting and at times comical (not in a good way). I hate giving books a bad rating, but this one was unpolished and read like a bad draft of a book.

If you want a brilliant book about sizzling romance and Aliens (which is what I think this one was trying to acheive) then I suggest you read Obsidian by Jennifer L.Armentrout.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok, I have to admit, at first I was a little skeptical...BUT, when I got a few chapters into it, I had to finished reading to see what happened! I really liked this book, and finished it in one sitting. It was a fun, easy read. The author has a fantastic sense of humor that kept me smiling. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a fun, light read. Great new novel for ages 16+.

[Sydney · Rating 2 out of 5]

it was exactly like twilight. just with different names and instead of vamps they were aliens. I wasn't way impressed with it. Although it was very entertaining to read just because it resembles twilight so much. I wouldn't recommend it as a serious read.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Over the Moon is a Twilightesque type story, but with space aliens instead of vampires. Some of the ideas may not be totally original and the author's writing at times is a bit amateur, but for me the good things about the book outweigh the not so good. Plus I like Twilight and well done copy cats. I really like the morals and light spiritual tone. And the author is obviously familiar with the setting, as I felt transported to the beautiful desert sights. Some kisses, but overall a clean read. Nice cover too.

[Jordis Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked how it took place in st george so it was easy to imagine everything taking place.

[Emily · Rating 1 out of 5]

Okay, my real rating is a 1.5
I tried REALLY hard to like this book. I kept reading it hoping it would get better...and it never really did. I think this book had some serious potential and would probably be enjoyed by a specific type of reader. I'm not going to lie, there were some parts that were very well written and that i enjoyed. But, the majority just kinda fell flat for me. I do, however, recommend that you read this book if you think you will enjoy it. Even if you don't end up liking it, at least you gave it a shot and didn't let my views on this book keep you from reading it.

DO NOT READ PAST HERE IF YOU DO NOT WANT SPOILERS/RANTING

Ok, so, now that I've gotten my nice part over I'll share what I thought was wrong with this book. First of all, the main character(Tiana) is seriously annoying. She is completely clingy and revolves around Andrew. He is gone for even a second and she gets all depressed and mopes around. Also literally EVERY guy mentioned by name is obsessed with her and wants to date her. And Jordan? Don't even get me started on him or Sonya. Almost all the characters in this book are exaggerated way too much. And of course there is Andrew. Andrew, Andrew, Andrew. What can i say? He is every stereotypical male main character. He is hot, kind, too perfect, has solid morals, and is otherworldly. Literally. Not to mention all of his alien supper powers. Oh ya, and the fact that he's actually 25, not 17 like he is faking.
Besides character issues, this book is super cheesy. Very little creativity was used in the whole alien factor. Circular UFOs,evil planet destroying aliens, and mentions of superior technology than ours also appear in this book.
Okay, I'm almost done ranting. One thing that really bugged me was the lack of a plot line. Almost the whole story consisted of her fawning over Andrew and being saved by him. There were some minor conflicts along the way(mostly dealing with all the other guys who wanted to get with her) that made me get my hopes up. But the climax point didn't happen till almost the end of the book and only lasted half a chapter until she went back to being Andrew obsessed.
This is the last thing, I swear! Personally, I found all the mentions of God and how Andrews 'super powers' are just 'high levels of Faith', annoying. I don't mean to disrespect anyone's beliefs or religions with that comment though. I respect everyone's choices in the religion aspect, but my preferences are to not have that many God references in a book.

.......................................................................
All in all, this book has some potential to be very good and is probably liked by a certain type of audience. All of my comments were made from my own opinion and I would not discourage anyone thinking about reading this book not to based off of anyone elses views(mine included). Any book you read isn't a mistake even, if you don't like it, because it make you more aware of your likes and dislikes. And if you made it this far, thank you for reading and feel free to express your opinion about the book or my review.

[L · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extraordinarily rich paranormal romance that is exquisitely atmospheric and beautifully written

This impressive, ambitious novel exceeded all expectations with its well-written narrative and compelling plot. Amid the delicate supernatural ambiance is an interwoven, multi-layered tale of impressive scope and sheer inspired vision. Remarkable and astonishing I was swept away by this deeply and profoundly affecting, emotive tale of eternal love that tugs at the heartstrings. Attractive characters delight and intrigue you whilst you loose yourself within an exceptional read of intense multi-layered meaning and sublime simplicity. Tiana’s instant connection with the mysteriously attractive Andrew Martin I felt was remicent of Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight Saga (when Bella meets Edward). Darkly sinister and charming this seductive supernatural story is an evocative paranormal phenomenon with a surprising twist…

Andrew is protective, tender, caring and a fantastic kisser. He really is the ‘dream’ boyfriend and yet it is apparent early on that there is something about him that he is hiding. Superhuman strength, mind reading and healers hands are all gifts that Andrew has, which brought to mind other authors who include characters from other worlds. (I.e. Willa Jemhart ‘sketch of secrets’). Plunging headfirst into an alternate world wherein intergalactic dangers, extraterrestrial villains and alien’s intent on destroying Earth dwell in a most remarkable place. I felt as if I was reading a science-fiction novel with a dose of teenage romance and a totally breathtaking adventure of a lifetime.

‘Over the Moon’ will appeal to those readers who are seeking a sensational young Adult story that is refreshingly original and highly distinctive, and which interweaves a variety of genre. Utterly enchanted, I was delighted upon discovering how intensely captivating and spellbinding this otherworldly romance was, and together with the sci-fi element made for an explosive, exciting read beyond all imagining! This is a book that will melt the heart and send your pulse racing, and which will send chills down your spine it is so electrifying. Complete with a cast of colorful characters who are memorable and likeable, I was astonished by Diane Daniels accomplished creation of great magnitude.

This is a book in which dreams become reality. A book that you can loose yourself within and be transported to other worlds and magical places. It is a book in which love can be found and danger…with Tiana’s story remaining forever etched within your memory.

*I would like to take this opportunity of thanking the author for letting me have the opportunity of reading her work. I was sent a paperback copy of “Over the Moon” by Diane Daniels to read and review.*

[Yelania Nightwalker · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5
english...SOON

¿Qué bonita portada, no creen? Y una premisa más que atrayente, sobe todo por que nos enfrentamos a un romance entre una humana y un alien misterioso. Yo quisiera decir que la novela cumplió todas mis expectativas, pero desafortunadamente no fue así.

Los primeros capítulos de la historia tenían ciertos parecidos a una saga que es ultraconocida en el mundo juvenil (no menciono nombres, pero a que saben a qué me refiero!), esto me complicó un poco la lectura, porque habían cosas que no podía pasar por alto, me decía... "esto parece esa escena de..."

Tiana tenía una "atracción" a los accidentes que terminaban con Andrew usando sus poderes de curación con ella y por lo tanto ella dándose cuenta de extrañas cosas con respecto a él. Además, ella era tan indecisa que me irritaba; en un mismo párrafo podía decir: "me gusta... no, no me gusta" "arriba... no, mejor abajo" "que sea blanco... no, mejor negro" ¿me explico? Además, ella estaba tan obsesionada con él, me hubiese gustado ver más interacción de ella en otras situaciones.

Creo que a pesar de los problemas que hubieron al principio, la historia empieza de pronto a tomar su rumbo y se vuelve un poco más interesante y fue en última instancia lo que le hizo subir su puntaje. No obstante, el clímax fue un poco enredado, yo no pude entender cuál de las dos partes era el verdadero obstáculo, los aliens? o la chica obsesionada con Andrew? Era como si todo se hubiese acomodado convenientemente para que se dieran las cosas como se desarrollaron en ese punto de la trama, me frustró también.

La parte de las alucinaciones de Tiana me gustó mucho, creo que fueron una de las mejores cosas de la novela. Sólo me he quedado con la duda de por qué Andrew la soñaba y por qué ella era tan importante que no sólo fue aceptada por la familia de él... parecía que ella era la clave de algo, salvo que nunca se sabe de qué.

Creo que el libro tiene un buen final, aunque quedan algunas cosas sueltas. No es una saga y aún con las dudas que tengo al respecto, tengo mis preocupaciones sobre si de verdad un segundo libro podría ser conveniente.

Si buscan algo MUY al estilo de Twilight, bien, este es su libro.

[Mallory · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review was originally posted on my blog http://teenbibliophile.blogspot.com/2...

Over the Moon is about 17-year-old Tiana moving to Hurricane, Utah. At first she hates the idea of living there until she meets the handsome and perfect Andrew. Not only does he have the good looks and a great personality, but he is an alien. Tiana and Andrew have an instant connection and both feel like it was fate that brought them together. In the novel they face many obstacles. There were a lot of questions I formed while reading, and they propelled me to read on to find the answers.

Seems to be a good read right? It is for the most part. I did have quite a few problems with this book and I'm not completely sure if it was the book itself or if it was because I was also reading another alien book at the same time. For one the teens in this book at times talk too maturely. Tiana and Andrew's conversations with each other were cheesy and cliched whenever they were talking about their feelings for each other. I wish Tiana had some other activity or something so she was not obsessing about Andrew throughout the entire book. The beginning was confusing because you are introduced to so many characters at once. Some of the chapters for some reason seemed repetitive. The whole book itself was a bit slow, but it picks up near the end.

Despite all the problems I had with this book I really do like it. I loved the obstacles the two main characters faced and it only went to show how deeply in love they were with each other. The other characters in the book are interesting and fun to read about. I also liked how the two main characters had values and morals. The christian feel and quotes from literary works were inspiring. The settings were so detailed that I actually felt like I was right there too. Diane Daniels is a promising author and I look forward to reading more of her works.

[Myranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Over the Moon surprised me! I fell in love with the cover on Goodreads, but I didn't expect it to turn out this good! Diane Daniels did a very good job with her first novel!

I was hesitant to pick this up at first because I thought it would be to science ficton-y. That really wasn't the case. The are some fables about the stars, which I thought was pretty cool! Their wasn't as much talk as I thought their would be about astronomy, still some, but not much. Believe it or not the novel is more about the romance between an Alien and a human.

Tiana was an average main character. She really didn't start to get a backbone till about halfway throughout the book. But once she was standing up to people I really started to like her! The only thing I didn't like about her character was she was doubting Andrew most of the novel. Andrew had to keep telling her that he loves her. It seemed like she was hesitant to trust him. I really liked Andrew's character! I thought he was so sweet all of the time! He did have some similarities to Edward, but I was able to look past that!

The only flaw, that I could find, was that Tiana used very large vocabulary words. No, I am not saying I'm incompetent, but it seemed that an average teenager wouldn't use those words. It also took awhile for the climax to occur. By the time the really action starts your already at the end. That was kind of disappointing.

Overall I thought this was a pretty good read. It is a little bit on the long side, but still good! Diane thanks for not writing about werewolves or vampires I needed a change! (I still love them though!)

[Alyssa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although the concept of this book holds potential and the research is interesting, I just couldn't get into this story. It's a Twilight copycat that takes place in Hurricane, Utah instead of Forks, Washington and with an alien instead of a vampire. The characters were shallow and too straightforward in their dialogue. If the book was stripped of all the tags attached to the dialogue telling me who was saying it, all the voices sound like they're being said by the same character. The 'leading man' is too perfect and, thus, unbelievable. And the main character, Tiana (which is a very cool name, btw) is beyond whiny. She has no depth and complains for paragraphs on end about how her life sucks and how she'll stop thinking about Andrew and how gorgeous he is, but then rationalizes how she can't. I think I counted three chapters in the beginning that ended with Tiana vowing not to look at Andrew ever again.
That said, Diane has that spark of a great writer. She uses great imagery and metaphors. She knows how to weave her research naturally into the story, and she has a great sense of humor. The story/plot/characters/dialogue all need some work, though.

[Erika · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one kept my attention, but it follows the Twilight arc pretty closely- boy and his family is mysterious (they sit at their own table in the lunch room); they seem otherworldly- more attractive, can read minds, etc; but he's keeping a secret from her. In this case he's an alien and saves the earth from hostile aliens who end up capturing our heroine. Also both authors are from Utah, this story is set in Utah and the romance is very chaste (no premarital sex, etc).

Although, I would love to see Bella face off against one of Edward's psycho vampire ex-girlfriends...

[Lindy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the story and it was a quick, easy read, but I admittedly kept thinking of the many similarities to Twilight. The conflicts weren't given enough time to build before they were resolved, and I kept predicting what would happen next! Therefore, it didn't draw me in and I was rarely dying to find out what would happen next.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was written by a local here in Southern Utah! Set in windy Hurricane Utah, this book is pretty good once you get into it. It has A LOT of similarities from Twilight, but if you can look past that I think you will enjoy it! I hear a sequel is in the works. After reading it a second time I noticed a lot of it is very descriptive, a little to much really. But overall a good story.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was surprisingly better than I thought it would be. It is different from what I usualy read, so I was a little worried, but it was a fun, light read. I almost had it finished in one day. I would recommend this book.

[Hayley · Rating 1 out of 5]

This books was just awful. Sooo many paragraphs full of questions and unneeded filler. And the comparisons between this and twilight were just too close, and not very well done. Sad I wasted my time on this one.

[Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was absolutely amazing!!!!! The plot was great and I loved the characters. The best thing is the story takes place here in Hurricane, at the high school and all sorts of other places around here.

[Julie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sorry to say but I wish I didn't choose to read this book. The book started after interestingly but as it went on the twilight simiarlarites got worse, the story lacked depth. By the time I got to the last hundred pages I started to skim readjust to get to the end.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Diane's humor! This book was written by a friend of mine and I was able to read a draft before it was published. This is a fun, clean book that clean romance lovers will enjoy.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy, fun read. Lots of action, clean, great for teenagers

[Zan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun book. When I was looking at it on Amazon, I noticed there was only one copy left. Looks like its popular.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was an okay book, it wasnt bad but it wasnt amazing either.
The story really wasnt original at all but I think it could have had the potential to be a good book.

[Jordan Bushaw Colledge · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book I couldn't put it down, I caught a lot of the references to Hurricane, well because I'm from Hurricane, Utah Yes people it is a real place. I love love loved it