Review: Pulse By: Patrick Carman

Title: Pulse (Pulse Trilogy #1)
Author: Patrick Carman
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books, 384 Pages (February 26th, 2013)
From: the Publisher & Amazon Vine
Format: ARC
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis: From New York Times bestselling author Patrick Carman, a teen fantasy-adventure of epic proportions. In 2051, some teens have a “pulse,” the power to move objects with their minds. Compulsively readable, with thrilling action scenes and a tender love story.

The year is 2051, and the world is still recognizable. With the help of her mysterious classmate Dylan Gilmore, Faith Daniels discovers that she can move objects with her mind. This telekinetic ability is called a “pulse,” and Dylan has the talent, too.

In riveting action scenes, Faith demonstrates her ability to use her pulse against a group of telekinesis masters so powerful they will flatten their enemies by uprooting street lights, moving boulders, and changing the course of a hurtling hammer so that it becomes a deadly weapon. But even with great talent, the mind—and the heart—can be difficult to control. If Faith wants to join forces with Dylan and save the world, she’ll have to harness the power of both.

Patrick Carman’s Pulse trilogy is a stunning, action-filled triumph about the power of the mind—and the power of love.

Review: 2.5 Stars - Pulse, the first in the new Trilogy with the same name by author Patrick Carman is a fantasy set in 2051 with characters that have abilities and a world that's vastly different from our own due to global warming.

The story follows Faith as she lives on the outside in a world that's changing every day. With the threat of the earth and all its people dying due to global warming, scientists come together to create a way to save both. Most people have moved to safety and live on the inside called "States", while people who are still trying to live a life free in what remains, choose to reside outside. Everything on both sides is run via tablets. Kind of like the tablets we have today. They go to school, watch TV, movies, shop, communicate, etc all by these devices. It's a very tech world, though the outside is crumbling and isn't cared for.

Faith is somewhat nerve wracking for me throughout the book. I often wondered what the heck was wrong with her or why on earth she did so many of the things that she chose to do and I think by the end of the story I somewhat understood why she was so naïve. Oh and could she have picked the most evil, nasty guy to have a crush on? I mean seriously, there was one scene that I was so upset over and I wanted to throw the book. It really made me want to scream!

Speaking of the evil jerk - Wade he was just ugly! He made my skin crawl and if I could I would have kicked him in the shins, slapped him up one side of his head and down the other I would have and then some. I mean seriously!!! And then there's Hawk and Dylan that I liked the most yet even they had their moments that made me wonder what the heck? There are some seriously creepy or even creeper moments that were just so wrong on so many levels.

While I was able to give this book 2.5 stars it's because there were a few moments here and there throughout the book that I did enjoy. Some that could have even been amazing if not for how slow the story went, how creepy multiple characters were for no reason and for how upsetting one scene was and that I was confused more than once about what the heck was going on and why? That's just to name a few things. *takes a deep breath* Yeah, that is a lot of things to not like and be frustrated about. And I HATE when that happens to a book I'm looking so forward to.

Also, I kept waiting and waiting for the budding romance to start and that I assumed would be in the story yet was sad when it never blossomed. I kept hoping but just continued to be let down on that part. One thing I should mention is that I did read an ARC copy so maybe that's why I was left confused because the book isn't actually 100% finished. Not sure either way.

All in all, I wanted to love Pulse. I tried to love it from beginning to end and it just fell flat because of the reasons stated above. While I can see some great potential for the trilogy and the characters, I'm not sure this one is for me. Will I read the next book in the series? I might just to see if I can figure out what the heck was supposed to be going on and why? Only time will tell if I'll give the next book a shot, so we'll see what the future brings.

FTC Disclaimer: I did NOT pay for this book, nor have I been compensated at all in any way or means for reading and writing this HONEST review.