“Today is the day my crush, David, will finally ask me to the Ball...”
California teen Arizona Darley feels the buzz of an exciting day ahead as she rushes to Starbucks to meet David. Her David.
But he’s a no-show. Crushed, Arizona leaves the coffee shop and walks straight into trouble. Her life is turned upside down when she is thrown into the middle of yet another of Raj’s schemes.
Wanderers, Sigma-W-Pi, what is everyone talking about? And what’s up with Kellan?
This is the fourth book of the Portal Chronicles, a YA paranormal time travel fantasy. Catch the start of Arizona’s adventures in Book One, PORTAL.
Imogen Rose is the author of the bestselling series, Portal Chronicles, which has attained cult status within indie literature and become a favorite among teens and adults alike. An immunologist by profession, Dr. Rose published her first work of fiction in 2010. She now writes full time and is currently working on her second teen series, the Bonfire Chronicles. Imogen was born in Sweden and has lived in several places, counting London among her favorites. She moved to New Jersey in 2001. A self-confessed Hermès addict, Imogen freely admits to being obsessed with Kurt Cobain. She enjoys shopping, traveling, watching movies, and hanging out with her family, friends, and Chihuahua.
OMG, there's a FOURTH??? *sigh* Can't wait!!! I am SERIOUSLY obsessed with these books :) Imogen Rose, U ROCK!!!
update: FINISHED!!! A lot has gone on in the past year for Arizona Darley. She has been 'replaced' with herself from another dimension, got herself a hot new boy friend, found out all about paranormals, learned that she is royalty, been kidnaped more than once, and more. Her mother, Olivia, thinks that her dog was the trigger because it is a wanderer.
Gertrude has been sent back and, consequently, so has Arizona Stevens. Arizona Darley has now lost 1 year of her life and no-one will tell her what happened. She has new feelings for Kellan and David, who she thought liked her, is keeping his distance. Aswell as this, she has new friends who she doesnt know, isn't on the cheer squad anymore, and more!!
But the real twist happens when she is captured again. Since Arizona has no recollection of being captured previouslty, she is very confused. She meets some of her old friends and everyone is confused by her memory loss!!!
Oh Imogen, what can I say...I was so excited about the fourth book coming out and couldn't wait to see how things were going to play out with Arizona/"A" and David/Kellan. I was really hoping that the two girls would get to meet and to escape together; there was so much they could have potentially done together and learned from each other. So, as you can imagine, I was kind of dissappointed that the last three books, which I have loved so much, lead up to this. It was short and, I'll be honest, I skimmed over some because, frankly, you can only get caught and "wandered" so many times before it starts getting old and I could really care less about Dan and Sophie, give me some more of the real characters. I understand that you have deadlines and you have a fantastic proof reading team and editing team! You have wonderful ideas and stories but I would much rather wait an extra 6 months to have a longer, more put together book that has more story line to it then get what I felt like was half a book with pieces of the story missing. If you wanted to put some meat in the story, what about the fight with Rowena and Simla? Or better yet, why in the world would Rupert's parents drop off the face of the Earth without worrying about anyone else after Rowena is killed? They've been protecting the kids this whole time and then, when the kids disappear, and someone is murdered in the room they go into hiding? Really? And Kellan wanting Arizona to remember was great at the beginning of the book but why not give some more resolution at the ending? Seriously, even though I feel like I should get half my money back since I only got half a book, I'll still be grabbing up the last book to see what happens. I only hope that Imogen will knock this one out of the park to make up for this book being so lackluster compared to the first three!
Each book of the Portal Chronicles has built on the prior book in two ways. First, the story world has gotten more complex. EQUILIBRIUM introduced the Wanderers (barely hinted at near the end of Portal). In Quantum, it was the introduction of the Sigmas. Both books added additional characters, each with their own agendas that influence the lives of the Arizonas (Darley and Stevens). Second, these changes complicate the life of Arizona (one, the other, or both) in some way. Complication equals conflict, and if all else is done right, also results in a good story.
In MOMENTUM, Imogen Rose doesn’t increase the complexity by introducing more paranormal beings or many new characters. But Arizona’s life does get more complicated, not to mention confusing. This confusion of Arizona’s, along with conflict from expected quarters in unexpected ways, should prove to be a spellbinding story for Portal fans. No matter how quickly Rose writes new books in this series, it is never fast enough for me.
**Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy. **
As we continue Arizona's saga, Potomal is continuing the quest for the blueprints for the Portal. Raj is rebuffed at every turn, but is continuing with his attempts. As with the other Portal Chronicle books, it's full of excitement and mayhem. These are super books, and they are young adult, but this Granny LOVES them!
Ah, the 4th book in a series. It is usually really good or really bad (like most book 2 offerings). This one was a little middling for me. Let me say that I absolutely adore Imogen Rose, I'm a big fan of her work and she makes sure I get a preview copy. She has an amazing ability to bring the people and places in her books into my own reality and I sometimes feel like I kinda of know them - if Arizona were to walk by me in the mall, it wouldn't phase me to stop and say hello.
This book picks up where Equilibrium left off very well... and then I kind of felt like it meandered a bit. It does manage to pick back up and the story straightens back out about one third of way in. There did feel like a bit of a disconnect there in the first part of the book. While I'm complaining, I'll also say the cliff hanger might have been too much as well. No, you cannot please me.
I'm going to try to not spoil it, but there's a phone call early on in the book that made me grin. I nearly wet myself hoping that two people would meet like I've been waiting for since book 1. I won't share if it happened or not... but... well, you'll see!
The writing and editing, as always, was absolutely spot on in this book. Imogen has always delivered nothing less than darn near perfection in that respect. I like that she is consistent in that regard. I do think it could have dealt with a little bit more of a content edit to straighten out a straggling plot point or two. Or perhaps that was on purpose for book 5? Hmmm...
Here's what you really need to know about this entire series... it's clean. There's a few curse words (not a big deal, my kids hear worse in Elementary School) but it's interesting and really well done young adult books. The characters (even the bad guys) are very likable. I especially like the main character, Arizona. I've watched her grow up in these books and I find her to be a very likable teenager (yes, I realize that's a huge oxymoron). Honestly, she's a great kid.
At the end of the day, I recommend this for teenagers, pre-teens and adults alike. I'm 30-something and I totally wanna hang out with Arizona and the crew.
What a wild ride! Raj has joined forces with a faction of Wanderers, led by Potomal, to gain a copy of the blueprints for the portal, thinking that with the help of some Wanderers his kidnapping ploy will be successful this time around. We learn so much more about the Wanderers in this book, I loved this.
Stepford Arizona is back, the boys walk lightly around her because she has no memory of the past years events. Olivia is in a coma in this book, so nobody had to deal with her opinions for long. I find her, Arizona and Ella Darley exasperating. Rupert finally grew some balls, which was nice to see, Olivia will have to deal with the results when she awakens. That should be interesting. I am sorry, that was mean.
The crux of this story is the relationship between Arizona Darley, Arizona Stevens and David. David is torn between the two, he loves Arizona Stephens but is assigned to oversee and protect Arizona Darley in another dimension. Why are there two Arizonas and apparently two Dillards? What is going to happen when these two Arizonas come together? Or will they? Will poor Kellan be left in the cold?
The plot is imaginative, intriguing and fast moving at times. I am completely caught up in Arizonas' story! And can't wait to see what happens when Gertrude switches dimensions again. Now, I have to wait, along with everyone else, for the next installment. ~sigh~ I wish my timing had been better.
This series has been taunting me for a while, ever since I bought it over a year ago. It sounded so interesting, but unfortunately, it didn't live up to it's hype at all. I did finish the entire series, which ended up being a huge waste of my time. I kept thinking it was going to get better, but sadly, it never did.
The writing was unnatural and didn't flow well, especially in the dialogue, and I felt that there were a lot of missed opportunities in the storyline. I'm no writer, but if I were, the story would have been much different.
There were a lot of outside conflicts and battles that were hinted at, making you think the protagonist would get involved in them (which would have made for a much better story), but it turned out that it was only a love story. And an angsty one, at that! Don't get me wrong. I love love stories, but there was so much potential for the plot to thicken in the rest of the story that I was disappointed when it turned out to be just another angsty love story that could give Twilight a run for its money.
And I know that ever since Twilight and Harry Potter, the money-makers have all been about the supernatural, but I thought the Wanderers were a ridiculous addition to this storyline. It should have been complete science fiction, rather than paranormal fiction. It was completely unnecessary to involve paranormal beings.
Overall, I thought the premise was good, but the execution was very poor.
The real Arizona Darley is back and the real Arizona Steven is home, so where's Arizona Stevens-Darley? Momentum is the fourth and second to last book in the Portal Chronicles. It is the most action filled and confusing one yet. The pages just kept turning. I'm really falling in love with the characters, except Ella- she's an annoyance. Arizona D has surprised me throughout this book. She's tougher than I thought. All the characters are developing and growing from book to book. Ill be sad to finish this series but it needs its happily ever after. My only criticism is the writing, which still needs some work. The authors imagination is astonishing but at times uncreative. It seems like she makes characters up just as way out of situations ,which is too easy. Also, there is no technical terminology. More research and interviews should have been done for a story like this. I went into this series thinking is was young adult, however, my eleven year old sister is reading it after me. It is definitely geared toward teens but written at a fifth/sixth grade level.
This book left me a little confused,I wish there was a little more about Arizona Stevens and A little less running from one place to the next.It was rushed,I feel.She is a kick arse author,and I KNOW it could've been what I expected from it.On a good note,it was a Great book regardless,and I love the series.This is time traveling...some travel through dimensions as well,others require a portal.It has me very interested still,because I got to like Arizona Stevens...apparently there are TWO Arizonas....(said in the beginning)...that call,and than the ending is where I was like...NOOO KEEP GOING....so Now anxiously awaiting the next Book.She definately kept us hanging.I guess bottom line,sometimes that just drives me crazy lol
Typically, the sign of a good book is if you read it in three days. Momentum was not only a good book, but grabbed me from page one. Did it pass the 3 day test? More like the one day test! I could not put this book down! The story is action-packed and full of surprises. We get a new twist to the character of Arizona Darley. While I was at first nervous with the turn of events, I should not have worried. Imogen Rose allows readers to see a new side to the love story between Arizona and Kellan. The only bad thing---having to wait for the next book! Great addition to the Portal Chronicles series. Just like its predecessors, I am sure this book will have a long waiting list in my school library.
Happy and a little bummed all at the same time. For me, it kind of feels like there was no conclusion this last story. Ms. Rose usually ties up the story and then sets up the last few pages for the next book. With this one we never reached that point and there was so much still left un-said or un-done. Normally I am all about just going with the flow and seeing what happens, but I've been in love with this series from the get go and I am just so anxious. Not for the end, Lord knows I don't want it to end....But Ah!!!!!!! How can I love David & Kellan at the same time? And how in the world is that going to work with both Arizona's. I hate being in the dark. =(
As always, this series has kept me wanting more and it looks like I may get my wish.
I was thinking back in book 2 and 3 when i thought "what more could happen?", well, now I know. Part of me wishes that Arizona would have figured it out in this book what was going on between her and Kellan, but I guess she will get there sooner than later. I love the relationship that they have and I kept feeling so sad for Kellan that she didn't know where they stood.
Imogen has created this world that is so complex and complicated, but at the same times, works so seamlessly. I love it!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I really tried to finish this book but I just couldn't. The writing, which was not great through the whole series, just seemed worse in this one. I was finding it difficult to follow the story as there was a lot of jumping between dimensions and, to be honest, I'd finally had enough of Arizona. If I thought she'd be annoying when she was Arizona Stevens in her Darley life, as Arizona Darley, she was worse.
Obviously as I didn't finish I can't comment on too much more. I just felt like this book was too much work.
I like this series in general. this one was dragged a little bit once and a while, but overall I did like it. I didn't have high expectations of it because I thought it would be more of a filler book at this point in the series. however, it was better than I expected and had some key points that will make the next installment pretty good
Another great installment in the Portal series! I thought this would be the last one, but once again, it just ended leaving me wanting more so I'm assuming there's going to be more?!?! Of course I hope so and that's the feeling I got when I finished =) I'm a happy camper and I def reccomend this series!
So disappointed. I wanted a little more resolution at the end of this one than was there. If there are no plans for another book to resolve things, then this is a terrible book to end on. If there are plans for more, I seriously want some issues worked out and some answers in the next book, or I'm going to be too bored to continue. BLAH.
Arizona and her family and friends are once again troubled by Raj Sen and his group who want the plans to the Portal. Raj has once again been able to gain some bargaining power when he has gotten Kellan in his clutches. Arizona's Dad has taken over the Sigma W organization has the new King , and has arranged a rescue mission to Kellan back.
I had previously decided that after book three I would not continue to the fourth book... but I read it anyways. It was similar to the rest of the books, and was predictable but I enjoyed it more than the third book.
I liked it but it was not as good as the first three. It's getting a little too faity tale for me, but I am still super excited for the next book to come out early next year.
Yes, I definitively love this serie. I was a little sad for Kellan all along in the book. I can't wait to read the fifth book to see that love come back, at least I hope....