Collide by Shelly Crane

Collide by Shelly Crane (1st in Series) 2.5 STARS

Synopsis-Sherry has always known there was something out there. She's eighteen, works for a tabloid newspaper in Chicago and has a brother, Danny who is a lazy mooch. They live a pretty normal dull life with hippie parents and a normal existence. Then the moon dissapears and people start to go missing only to reappear later, but different. Sherry has an abusive ex-boyfriend who shows up and claims to be one of these beings that have been showing up around the world. He's no longer the same person in that body. He tells her he has come to protect her and her brother and takes her underground, against her will to save her, where they meet others like them. She begins to unravel the truth about Merrick, about what he's really doing here, about the way he looks at her, about the crazy dangerous world they live in. Can he convince her that he's here to help? Will she like what she finds when she opens up to the truth? Will he be the one to love her when everyone else has failed her? Will he be able to protect her?

Cover- intriguing
Rating: PG - 13
Overall: Eh, decent read 
Characters:  Danny, Celeste, Sherry, Merrick 
Page Turner: Sometimes
Series Cont.? Yes
Recommend if You Like...
Book Boyfriend: Merrick
Genre: New Adult /Science Fiction/ Dystopian
Sex Scenes: Yes
Setting - America?


Overall--The general idea of this book is really gripping and interesting, which is what kept me reading and finishing this book. First off, the book was really slow. Unbearably so at times. I understand that sometimes the mundane needs to occur to move a book along but at times I found certain scenes to be utterly pointless. I kept with this book though because the author had rave reviews and the book had good reviews from people I follow. But maybe it was just me, I just wasn't that into this book, and honestly have no interest in continuing the read. The book was LONG. And considering I wasn't completely enthralled in this one, I cut my losses.

On the good side. I LOVED Merrick. I think he was the saving grace. And really, I actually really liked the plot (though after reading the covers for the other books it seems I may not like the others…). I think this was a new and different point of view on the whole "alien" thing. I even liked the world building, and mystery that the author wove into the story. I think at the end of the day, my issue with the book was that for as long as it was, not enough happened in action. It felt too slow and the relationship tension felt awkward at times. (I don't get why every guy has to like Sherry?) I was hoping for more, and I think thats what got me. I wanted Sherry to be special. I wanted more Danny and Celeste, and I wanted to know more. But by the end of the book I felt a little cheated, I spent a lot of time reading this very long book yet I wasn't satisfied with it (which reminds me of Beautiful Creatures.) I will read more Shelly Crane, because I think she has a really unique take on stories, giving old plots new twists, and hopefully they will be better than this one.

Plot-
The plot is really what kept me interested in this one. I was fascinated with the storyline. And honestly still am. I think its REALLY interesting. Which is why I really really wanted to like this book. But I just didn't. The plot felt like it was moving so incredibly slowly. I feel like I could have skipped several chapters and still not have missed anything. I wanted more action too. I felt that there was plenty of mystery but not much action or adventure. It reminded me of the M. Night Shyamalan's movies. I think the movement that did occur, and the development was interesting, don't get me wrong I liked it, but it was just too slow. I also liked the development of Sherry and her role, though I wish she would have been more important. One of the biggest downsides for me, was that at times I felt there were too many characters introduced so frequently that I couldn't remember who was who anymore. I actually stopped trying/caring after a while.
Okay, now that Im done ranting, I want to mention that the author did some really creative and imaginative things in this book to take it to the next level. I was really impressed with the "angel"/"alien" story and the idea of "the following" I liked that we started off in a normal today world and we got to witness the beginning of the end. I liked the different ways in which the group found a way to hide and protect themselves and I thought the bad guys and their ways were different, intriguing. So there were a lot of good things in there too! The romance in this book is what seemed to drive this book though. And I felt their romance continue to play on repeat. Their tension and chemistry was already interesting, I think at times the author took it too far, and could have left it where things were at times (for instance the jealousy issues between Merrick and Sherry, every guy wanting to be with Sherry…)

Characters--

Sherry - Emmy Rossum

Sherry- I like Sherry, but I also found her to be annoying. Considering she was the main character I should have really liked her and been rooting for her, but sometimes I just wanted her to shut up. I felt like she didn't deserve Merrick most of the time. He was so good to her, but I couldn't figure out why she deserved him, what did she ever do? In general though she was likable. I just had some issues with her, as a character. For instance, the lying thing, whats with that? And why do all the guys seem to fall in love with her? But most specifically, what is her purpose in the book aside from a love interest for Merrick. It felt like this book was about Merrick but from Sherrys point of view. I frequently felt out of the loop and confused, much like Sherry. I just wanted more from her and her role in the book.

Merrick--LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! He is such a great guy. From the beginning it is easy to see the difference between Merrick and Sherry's ex. And I like that it doesn't take her long to figure it out too. I love their story. Their tension was real and the chemistry was palpable. Merrick is what really made this book for me. He was such a great guy. He reminded me of Daniel from Fallen.

Danny- Hunter Parrish

Danny- I would have loved to have seen more of Danny. He seemed like he was growing over time, but by the end of the book I don't think I got to see as much of him as we did in the beginning. I would have love to get to know him and see his relationship with Celeste grow. It was obvious that he and Sherry had an interesting relationship, but at times the focus was so much so on Merrick and Sherry that it seems we missed out on Danny (who's the actual charge that Merrick is supposed to protect!)


Celeste- I liked Celeste, even though I got to know her the least, I felt like I was able to see her begin to grow and develop over the novel. At the beginning she was naive and innocent, young, but by the end she was in love and showed her strength. She become more than a charge.