Tandem

By: Anna Jarzab

When I was reading this I was ready to give it a 4.5 or something like that.  I thought it was really good.  The writing was great and everything just in general was good.  It was enjoyable to read and I looked forward to reading it.  Reading it was like standing outside in the middle of the spring with a nice sweet breeze that smells like wet grass and a little like mud --  refreshing after a long winter.  Tandem was about a high school girl, Sasha, who like many people gets asked to prom.  Grant is the boy she's liked forever and was happy to say yes.  He is popular and good looking and someone that she hadn't talked to since elementary school.  She's a little baffled as to why he suddenly had a change of heart.  Well as it turns out, he had this change of heart because it's not actually Grant; it's Thomas.

Thomas is from an alternate universe.  This universe calls itself Aurora because one of the differences between Earth and Aurora is that each night there is an Aurora in the sky that is visible everywhere.  Aurora has some of the same history as Earth but during their Revolutionary war George Washington was killed and they lost.  As a result, in the twenty first century the United States is not the United States, it is two countries -- Farnham and the United Commonwealth of Columbia.  Thomas is from the United Commonwealth of Columbia, the UCC, and is on Earth to kidnap Sasha.  Thomas brings Sasha to Aurora where she is supposed to pretend to be Juliana, the crown princess of the UCC.  The UCC needs Sasha because Juliana has been captured by a rebel group, Libertas.  Sasha is Juliana's analog, her look alike.  In a week Juliana is supposed to be married to the prince of Farnham in order to make a peace treaty after years and years of fighting.  Sasha is told that she will be returned to Earth in 6 days, one day before the wedding.  Thomas, Juliana's body guard, is one of the few people that know who Sasha really is.  Thomas has been trained as a soldier which includes keeping his emotions in check but he has trouble when he falls in love with Sasha.  Without Thomas's knowledge Sasha also falls in love with Thomas.  They both know that it is impossible for them to be together because when Sasha is in Aurora she is supposed to be the Prince of Farnham's fiancé.  Prince Callum is charming and funny and Sasha doesn't want to hurt him but she doesn't love him either.  Prince Callum was a great character, definitely one of my favorites.  Thomas's love for Sasha tests his loyalty to his family, to Juliana, and to his country.  Even though this is definitely a romance it isn't consumed by the romance, which I appreciated.  Libertas, as well as a other secret plots, cause problems for Thomas and Sasha in the week that she is supposed to be Juliana.

This book was absolutely amazing.  All the characters were realistic and I was rooting for them the whole time.  For once, I actually liked the main characters and wanted everything to turn out good for them which, at times, didn't seem possible.  The romance wasn't too sappy and there was a lot of action and movement in the book.  The character's feelings were well balanced with the plot and movement of the story.  The end of the book, don't worry I'm not giving anything away, was stunning.  I cannot wait for the next book, which is coming out July 2014.  I absolutely loved this book.  I really didn't want to give this book a 5 because I feel like I give them too easily but I just can't deny this one.  I don't think this book is as good as Quintana of Charyn by Melina Marchetta, which is still my favorite book, but I did love this book.  While I can't wait to read the next book I don't think it is going to be as good because of the set up at the end of this book but I can see the third being great.  The next book is called Tether because...well read this book to find out -- I know why. This book was like a hot soup, filling and comforting and easy to just slurp up while wrapped in a warm blanket.  And yes, this book is absolutely a 5.