Blog Tour: The Persephone Series by Michelle Gagnon

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Don't Turn Around
Persephone #1
By:  Michelle Gagnon
Harper Teen
Published:
Source:  Publisher

GR's Summary:

Sixteen-year-old Noa has been a victim of the system ever since her parents died. Now living off the grid and trusting no one, she uses her computer-hacking skills to stay safely anonymous and alone. But when she wakes up on a table in an empty warehouse with an IV in her arm and no memory of how she got there, Noa starts to wish she had someone on her side.

Enter Peter Gregory. A rich kid and the leader of a hacker alliance, Peter needs people with Noa's talents on his team. Especially after a shady corporation called AMRF threatens his life in no uncertain terms.

But what Noa and Peter don't realize is that Noa holds the key to a terrible secret, and there are those who'd stop at nothing to silence her for good.

Fans of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo will devour the story of Noa, a teen soul mate to Lisbeth Salander.

Welcome to Our Stop of the Persephone Tour, to Follow the Rest of the tour Click Here!


My Thoughts:

Don't Turn Around, by Michelle Gagnon, was an intriguing story and very different from anything I have read in quite a while.  The beginning of the story hooked me, and before I knew it, I was turning pages as fast as I possibly could.  The story began with 17 year old Noa, lying on a cold table, having no clue where she was and what was going on.  She notices that she has a large incision on her chest, is hooked to an I.V., and that the two men in the room with her don't look like real doctors.  Fairly quickly, she realizes that she is in danger, and makes a run for it, with numerous people chasing after her.  Shortly after, she learns that three weeks have lapsed and she is left with no memory of what happened to her during that time.  

Peter comes from a wealthy home, but his parents don't pay any attention to him. His older brother, Jeremy, died of PEMA, a critical disease, and his parents have left him to feel like it was the wrong son that they lost.  Peter is a talented hacker, who founded, Alliance, a site where vigilante hackers use the internet to bring about justice to societal degenerates that prey on the weak.  One day when Peter is bored, he gets in to his father's locked files and see's something that doesn't look right.  Out of curiosity, he decides to hack in to a website that his father is involved with, and immediately has dangerous looking men in black, breaking down his door, and warning him to stop what he's doing.  Of course, this just piques Peter's curiosity even more, and he enlists the help of an anonymous fellow hacker who is part of Alliance.  This fellow hacker ends up being Noa.  

Peter and Noa don't trust one another at first, and have no idea how the other is involved.  However, as they help each other out, pull resources, and keep in contact, they realize that they both have a common enemy that will stop at nothing to catch them.  Don't Turn around, by Michelle Gagnon, was filled with mystery, danger, suspense, and secrets!  This story was one very action-packed thrill ride, that contained crazy twists, turns, conspiracy, murder, unsurmountable odds, and intrigue.  The descriptions were absolutely flawless and created vivid imagery.  I enjoyed secondary characters, Amanda (Peter's ex girlfriend,) and Zeke, an acquaintance of Noa's.  I have no doubt that the both of them will play an even larger role in the next installment of the series.  This story was extremely fast-paced and a great first installment in the Persephone Series!  (I would have liked to have a little romance, (there was none whatsoever,) but this story didn't need it.  Don't Turn Around is perfect for fans of action packed thrillers, and is full of suspense, and mystery!  Michelle Gagnon, is the John Grisham of YA. I can't wait to continue this crazy roller coaster ride and see what happens next!     

My Rating:

I give, Don't Turn Around, by Michelle Gagnon, 3.5 Intense, Spellbinding, Hold Your Breath, Suspense Filled Stars!  This story would make a great movie and I think it's perfect for teens.  In fact, I'm recommending it to my nephews, who are 15 and 17 years old.  I love that this story wasn't gender specific and it will appeal equally to male and female readers. I love stories that make readers think.  In Don't turn Around, you encounter a multitude of puzzle pieces and I for one enjoy unraveling mysteries, learning about conspiracies, and watching the "bad guys" meet their match, as Noa and Peter use their brains, team work, and courage to take on powerful and corrupt enemies!  If you are a huge fan of action packed, suspenseful thrillers, reminiscent of John Grisham stories, and The Bourne Movies, add Don't Turn Around to your TBR!!!  

Purchase At:

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Don't Look Now

Persephone #2

By:  Michelle Gagnon

HarperCollins

Published:  Aug. 27, 2013

Source:  Publisher

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GR's Summary:

Noa Torsen is on the run. Having outsmarted the sinister corporation Pike & Dolan, Noa and her friend Zeke now move stealthily across the country, protecting runaways before they become test subjects for P&D's horrific experiments. Noa knows all too well what that feels like: Whatever they did to her has left her exhausted and scared.

Back in Boston, Peter anxiously follows Noa's movements from his computer, using his hacker skills to feed her the information she needs to stay alive. But he's desperate to do something more, especially when he learns what P&D has done to his ex-girlfriend Amanda.

Then, in an explosive confrontation, Noa and her team are trapped in the one place they thought was safe. It will take everything Noa and Peter have to bring down the corporation before it gets them first. And with no one to trust and enemies hiding at every turn, they may be the only people alive who can.

This stunning second book in the critically acclaimed Don't Turn Around trilogy raises the stakes to their absolute limit and will leave readers begging for the exciting conclusion, Don't Let Go.

My Thoughts:

Don't Look Now, by Michelle Gagnon, was an excellent second installment in the Persephone Series!  The story grew more intense, and I didn't realize that was even possible!  Zeke and Amanda played a much larger role in this installment, new characters were introduced, more suspense and danger ensued, and romance was added to the plot!  It wasn't central to the story, and it was very limited, but I felt like it added another dimension to the story, and I enjoyed this book even more than the first one in the series.

In this segment, Noa and Peter are both forced to go their separate ways in order to further the cause.  Noa and Zeke have gathered an army of teenagers to go on raids and rescue as many abducted teenagers as possible.  Noa is the leader of the group that she has named, "Persephone's Army," and Zeke is her right hand man.  Peter is busy trying to hack in to Pike & Dolan's servers so that he can collect data of likely warehouses where the abducted teens are being held as prisoners, and being experimented on.  Peter than passes on the information to Noa and her team.  However, things start to get complicated when Persephone's Army begin to disagree on how to proceed, and with danger at every corner for both Peter and Noa, things start to spiral out of control.

I connected more with the main characters in this installment of the series.  I worried about Amanda's health, stressed out about Peter getting caught while he was spying, was curious about the changes Noa was going through, and worried about Zeke getting his heart broken.  I loved meeting, and getting to know Teo, as well as Daisy (two of the teens in Persephone's Army,) and thought that their romance was really sweet.  There were a ton of twists and turns in this sequel, and I loved how I never knew what would happen next.

My Rating:

I give, Don't Look Now, by Michelle Gagnon, 4 Gripping, Action-Packed, Unpredictable, "I need the next installment now," Stars!!!  This is an amazing sequel to a great series!  This series just keeps getting better and better!  I read this book really fast, and am really excited to see how it all ends!  The Persephone Series is such a captivating, fast-paced, "on the edge of your seat," roller coaster ride!  I highly recommend this series for teens that enjoy an action-packed thriller, full of secrets, conspiracy, mystery, and suspense!

Purchase At:

 Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | iTunes

About Michelle Gagnon:

Michelle Gagnon is the international bestselling author of thrillers for teens and adults. Described as “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for teens,” her YA technothriller DON’T TURN AROUND was recently nominated for a Thriller Award by the International Thriller Writer’s Association, and was selected as one of the best teen books of the year by Entertainment Weekly Magazine, Kirkus, Voya, and the Young Adult Library Services Association. Book 2 in the PERSEFONE trilogy, DON’T LOOK NOW, is on sale now. She splits her time between San Francisco and Los Angeles.

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