The Overtaking: (The Overtaking Series)

I usually read romance novels but stumbled upon this book and enjoyed reading it. The more I read, the greater my interest. Another good read by Victorine.

Since I dont haunt the Young Adult romance aisle of the bookstore, I wasnt sure what to expect when I read this novel. What I got was an enjoyable read and characters I truly cared for. Shayne and Danielle are strong, likeable characters put into an interesting and twisty situation. Danielle and her people have been kidnapping people from Shaynes world for a long time. Now Danielle is hunting for Shayne while he is trying to stop them. In the process of them dealing with their divergent goals, they fall in love. They also encounter other honorable people and villains. These secondary characters didnt have the same depth and development as the primary characters. For the most part that isnt a major problem, however I would have liked to have seen them more fleshed out. Since this story is a romance and not science fiction, I kept a more open mind when it came to some of the futuristic plot elements. A few of them had me raising an eyebrow, they didnt detract from the romance storyline. I would have liked to see a bit more ambiguity when figuring out who the bad guys were. I think that wouldve helped ratchet up the action and conflict. Maybe that is not the way Young Adult Romance handles things. Again, this really didnt detract from the story for me. I liked this book a lot and none of the issues I mentioned really slowed me down as I read the story. Ill have my eye on Victorine and will grab the her next book when it comes out.

Although I hate to say it, I was somewhat underwhelmed by this book. I had high hopes because Ive heard good things about Lieske, but I just never connected with this book. I read a lot of YA and enjoy fantasy and scifi, so I thought this book would be right up my alley, but I was never sucked into the story...never able to forget I was reading a book. You know how when youre reading a book that you really connect with, you can lose yourself in the story? I was never able to lose myself. It wasnt a bad story. I thought the premise was interesting. Being a comic book fan, I enjoyed the idea of the characters having powers, but it would have been nice to see the powers used a little bit more. It sounds like the powers may play a more key role in later books, so maybe Im just impatient ;) With a romance central to the storys plot, I didnt believe it. Yes, the characters are young and therefore may be forgiven for acting silly, but it still seemed a bit fast to be throwing around the L word after only a few dates. Since this story is obviously going to take up more than one book, I think the romance aspect may have worked better for me if it had been a slower build up across the whole trilogy/series(?). This is also a small nitpick, and maybe its a regional thing, but Shayne spelled like that makes me think of a girls name. Note: I read a free review copy from author

I am surprised how much I enjoyed this. Ive been reading all of Lieskes work lately as everything shes written has been interesting, well written and satisfying. I put off reading this because although I enjoy scifi I wasnt sure Id enjoy this...but I really do and cant wait for the next book to come out. Highly recommend!

Ever wonder what a world without badness would look like? Or how it would feel to live in a perfect environment? The Overtaking takes you to a place where goodness reigns and bad thoughts can simply be erased. People are transplanted from a harmful society to a manufactured city without crime and worries. Danielle believed the premise. She thought she was kidnapping Shayne for his own good, taking him out of an evil environment and giving him paradise. But Shaynes memory wipe does not go as planned, and he retains his mind-reading abilities. Memories of a mother he was programmed to forget pop up, and he starts to realize that things are not as they seem. As Danielles eyes are open, she and Shayne fall in love and discover a nefarious plot built on an illusion. The story is fast paced and fresh--cute and heart-pounding and joyous and gut-wrenching all at the same time. This book was a great start to what will be an epic and exciting series. The cast of characters includes many talents and special abilities as well as two members from the overlord group. Shayne is a cutie-pie, Danielle is gutsy, and Jennaya upbeat and friendly. My only complaint is that one of the heart-throbs died. He had so much potential! (sob, sob, sob). Summary: Delightful sci-fi romance and great start to an engaging series. Victorine Lieske has gathered a personable cast of characters, Shayne, Danielle, Nolan, Celeste, Jennaya, Kellec, Asia, and Gita to fight an evil empire bent on mind controlling a peaceful planet and raiding it for their resources. I cant wait to read the next installment.

This book is without a doubt a fantastic read for any adult. Although not usually into this type of story (more of a who dun it....loved her book Not what she seems.) This is about romance and mystery with a twist of the supernatural. A good book for all!!! I truly appreciate it when an author can write a book that is not using profanity in every other sentence. The story has teens and adults in the storyline, I truly be happy to share this with my fifteen year old granddaughter. Thanks Victorine for a wonderful and entertaining time!

I enjoyed this book. It is sci fi which I like, clean romance, and good character development without having to strain your brain. A fun quick read

From the first page, this is one of the most riveting science fiction works Ive read in a long time. Sounds corny, but I really couldnt stop reading until Id finished. People are involved in a major planet-wide deception and are losing their freedoms. Memories are re-wired repeatedly. Just when the main characters are discovering more of the truth about how theyve been deceived, theyre caught and have their memories wiped/changed. Trusted people turn out to be villains who are robbing this planet and turning it into a wasteland. I cant wait until the next book comes out! :)

Best selling author Victorine Lieske has made the jump from romantic suspense to alternate universe romantic suspense. And she has done it in a compelling manner that will not disappoint her existing fan base. As an author of political and military thrillers, I admit to having read Ms. Lieskes Not What She Seems to research romance narrative. But I was hooked by her authenticity and character development. I followed with The Overtaking in the same vein, but because this author has a unique style. On an author chat board the other day I classified myself as a cross genre reader and its Ms. Lieskes fault. In this genre, mostly for young adult in this case, I have to admit I found the characters immature in many respects, but that is exactly who they are throughout the story. They are represented correctly, although at first I saw them as simplistic, self-centered, and unaware of the consequence of their actions. Does that not describe most teenagers? As with the other reviews of this book, I was confused for several pages, wondering when I would be able to get into the story. The opening flow is jerky, but without realization, within a few chapters I was immersed in the storyline. The audience for this type of story, (YA and Sci Fi) will be quite pleased with the result, I think, and I expect to see yet another of Ms. Lieskes titles on the NYT best seller list. This looks like a runner for the next several episodes. Well done, Vicki. Gordon Ryan

This book is very good, but it stops with telling you the second book will be out soon, i think they shouldnt have them to read if you cant finish it. My problem is by the time it comes out I will probably have forgotten the first one