I had no idea exactly what I was getting into, but the blurb had me thinking a quirky, fun main character and that's something I can always get behind. So, I jumped right in feet first and I wasn't disappointed. I had to immediately grab the second right after.

I went into this book not too sure how much I was going to love it, but wow, it really knocked my socks off. I hadn't expected to like this one nearly as much as I did, and I'm so impressed by how amazingly written the story and the characters are. I've found a new favorite series and I can't wait to read the next book!

I began reading this book because I was asked to do an honest review of Enigma by Tonya Kuper … but coming into a series that really needs you to stay in order. Well, I had to pick up book one 1st.
So, I began reading Anomaly. Entering the world that has a special type of people: Pushers, Retracters & Anomalies. I would go into what these individuals are but that would be a bit of a spoiler for this book.

In this book, you will learn who Josie is. What her link to this entire series is, as well as the powers she has. You will, also, find that her parents are not what you would call the “normal” type of parents. (No they are not abusive, but they are definitely not normal.)

You will also meet Reid and discover who was in the past. You will find out what he is able to do. But Reid has several secrets that could harm his any type of relationship with Josie. He just has to have to nerve to tell her or not to tell her … problem is, if you don’t tell someone, eventually those secrets will come to light even if you don’t want them too.

You will meet Santos, who is Reid’s teammate & best friend in all this. He here to help train Josie with the powers she get’s on her 17th birthday … yea, what a way to discover you are just a bit different!

There are a lot of twists in this story. Ups & downs plus things you just don’t think would actually believe would happen in our world … they definitely happen in this one.
Ms. Kuper writing is definitely worth reading. She has created characters that are full & intriguing. Ones that make you want to keep reading, to find out what they will do next in a world made just for them. I am excited to read the next book in this series!!!

This book is about a girl who suddenly 20696040can make almost anything appear. Anomaly takes place in present day, but there is a secret society of Pushers (those who can make anything inorganic appear) and Pullers (Those that can retract, or make things disappear). Occasionally among these people is born an Anomaly that can both Push and Pull. (Yup, our heroine is an Anomaly) She may be the most powerful anomaly the world has ever known, and they need to train her fast, because they need to get a top secret serum to the Vice President quickly, but there is another secret society that wants to stop them. (Okay, it’s a little more complicated than that, but this is the jist of it.)

I really enjoyed this book. The writing flows nicely and I felt completely engaged with the characters. My only nitpick might be that the big, scary job that they are 23014836training her to do didn’t really seem all that big and scary to me. And when they got there, there was this epic battle, but I wasn’t really sure why the main character HAD to be the one. (Especially since there were so many others there.)

Pushing that aside, this was a really fun read, and there is a double-edged twist in the end that really caught me off guard. Never saw either one coming.

So, yes, a thumbs up on this one. I will be reading and reviewing the next book, Enigma, shortly.

Book two just released, so no worries about having to wait to continue the series. And according to the author on Goodreads, this s only a two book series. So… ready, set, go! (She reaches for her Kindle and opens up the next book)

REVIEW
I've had this book both from Netgalley and I bought it a while ago when it was available at a special price too! I was looking forward to reading Anomaly and then Entangled Teen generously offered me a copy of bk 2 in the Schrodinger's Consortium Series which is called Enigma.

The cover features a young female on the cover strawberry blonde/red hair and rather piercing green eyes. The female I had guessed and confirmed by reading the book is the main character Josie Harper. Behind Josie the sky looks dark and troubled, does that represent the teens mood? or can she somehow control lightening? Then there's the byline "Not everyone is born equal" The combination of the cover, byline and blurb had me asking those couple of questions and many more, so it certainly did it's job! Will it stand out on a book store shelf?. . .I think it would yes with the hair and those eyes! They really pull you in and make you want to pick up the book and read the blurb.

So a brief or my attempt at a brief description of the book. . .Well Josie Harper is now the eldest child of Mr & Mrs Harper as their eldest child Nick died about 2 years ago. Since they have always moved around a lot, and Josie and the other Harper children used to be home schooled, Josie doesn't really make friends very easily. At the moment Josie lives with her mother and younger brother Eli. Their father has been working away for longer and longer periods of time. As the book begins Josie isn't having a great time at all, her father isn't going to be home for her birthday, her boyfriend just broke up with her because ''she won't put out'' and a lab assistant job she had managed to get has also strangely fallen through. So she's not having the best day let alone a great birthday!
All that is about to change, in fact Josie has been having "strange things" happening, and they coincide with her having headaches and feeling ill. One such "strange happening" is when two motorbikes pull up at school where Josie and Hannah, the first person she would ever call a best friend are leant on the wall outside school. Josie thinks it would be nice if these bikers were hunks and goes into detail even including the intricate one off tattoo her brother had. When the guys remove their helmets and walk across to the girls they introduce themselves as Reid and Santos. And yep the guys are both just what Josie and Hannah have been dreaming and thinking about! Later in the book Reid and Santos are revealed to be there to help Josie hone her talents as an Occuli. Reid is an Oculi and an Anomaly like Josie, and Santos is an Oculi "pusher". I won't go into detail about the whole Anomaly, Resistance and Consortium, but lets just say Josie may have wished for Reid and a more exciting life and she sure gets one. In fact she has been living a life on the run, which is why they have been constantly moving whilst she grew up. It seems that Schrodingers Consortium want all Anomalies under their control. Reid, Santos, Mr & Mrs Harper, some of their old friends from years ago are part of the resistance. Reid and Santos have arrived to train Josie in the ways of the Oculi which is what they all are.
As Reid and Santos reveal and explain the oculi to Josie we as the reader learn about it too.
In one of the first Oculi lessons Reid tells Josie the three rules. Rule One, cause no harm. Rule Two, never reveal your oculi abilities, and finally Rule Three, Don't play God.
Then Reid and Santos explain the different types of oculi, Pushers who make the possible real. Meaning they can create items but only items that they are familiar with. Retractors retract reality, meaning they can take away anything/item. Then there is an Anomaly who can both push and retract. Oculi come into their powers at around the age of seventeen. In Josie's case she was a pusher initially and then her retracting power began, making her unusual and an Anomaly. The oculi "power" is not a bottomless energy, eventually oculi come to the end of their reserve of "power". Being an Oculi is hereditary, in fact both Josie's mother and father are Oculi. Josie learns about a lot of secrets that have been kept from her until now. Her mother explains about the Consortium and the Resistance.

Being totally honest the pace of this book was initially a bit slow for my taste, then suddenly as certain things were revealed it caught my interest more and I became much more immersed in the book. It did remind me a little of the Seer's Series by Heather Frost and I truly adored that series. I am certainly enjoying this book more now that Josie knows what she is. .This book is well written and from the points of view of the two main characters, Josie Harper and Reid Wentworth. The detailed descriptions of the characters enable you to visualise them and by the latter part of the book you really do have enough insight into the characters to predict how they will react in certain situations. The book has plenty of action with all the pushing and retracting during the training sessions that Reid and Santos have with Josie. There is immediate chemistry between Josie and Reid. However relationships between trainer and trainee are forbidden. Reid also knew Josie's brother Nick and we discover more details about Nick's death within this book via Reid. This book is so in depth and comprehensive about the oculi history, the Resistance and the Consortium. A lot of work has gone into the background of the characters, the associations of the Consortium and the Resistance. There really is a lot to take in, but it makes the book all the more interesting to read.

My favourite characters are Josie and Reid but I also enjoyed learning about the background and relationships within the Harper family as a whole.
So what with great characters, oculi powers of pushing and retracting, then the Anomalies there's loads going on in this book. Then throw in a serum that everyone wants to get hold of and wow! I really enjoyed this book, and will certainly be reading the next book, Enigma as soon as I can! I would also checkout any other books by this author too.
My immediate thoughts when I finished reading Anomaly were, Loved reading this book. What a fantastic start to a potentially addictive brilliant series! When can I read the next one?

Anomaly is the first book in the Schrodinger's Consortium series by Tonya Kuper. The story is told from alternating point of views between Josie and Reid. Josie is a nerd. She's super smart, pretty, and at times awkward, but it only adds to her charm. Reid is quite serious, but he also knows more about what's at stake and takes training Josie and her newly forming powers very seriously. Both characters are very likeable. I'm not a fan of Josie's mom though. I question if she really loves her kids. She seems to be all about "the job". What's her deal? With that being said, I'm not sure which of the two organizations to trust either. The Resistance or the Consortium? Right now, I don't trust either of them. Actually, I don't trust anyone else in the book either. I hope Reid and Josie don't either. It's not going to be an easy road for them regardless.

The pacing was a little slower than I was expecting, but it picked up towards the end. I love the premise of this story, and I'm pretty intrigued by Josie and her world. I'm excited to see what she has in store for us next.

This sucked me in and had me intrigued from the first few pages. She is a nerd and that is littered throughout but more of a quirk than anything else. (It does get a bit forced at times though...)

Reid is strong  and alpha.... but not. Definitely a softy who is brave enough to be a soldier.

This was incredibly well-written and the reveal of everything,  lore and otherwise, was masterfully done. The characters come alive off the page and bring you into this fantastic world.

The subtle chemistry between these two is a slow burn but not to be ignored.

The suspense is fantastic and had me on the edge of my seat, with action that had me cheering at how badass she is.

There were some things I predicted early  but it is still a hell of a ride!

4.5 Stars

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

Worst. Birthday. Ever.
My first boyfriend dumped me—happy birthday, Josie!—my dad is who knows where, I have some weird virus that makes me want to hurl, and now my ex is licking another girl’s tonsils. Oh, and I’m officially the same age as my brother was when he died. Yeah, today is about as fun-filled as the swamps of Dagobah. But then weird things start happening…
Like I make something materialize just by thinking about it.
When hottily-hot badass Reid Wentworth shows up on a motorcycle, everything changes. Like, everything. Who I am. My family. What really happened to my brother. Existence. I am Oculi, and I have the ability to change reality with my thoughts. Now Reid, in all his hotness, is charged with guiding and protecting me as I begin learning how to bend reality. And he’s the only thing standing between me and the secret organization that wants me dead…

This book promised so much (just read that blurb) but failed to deliver on a lot of things I had expected...

This pretty much wraps up the story: geeky, smart girl; "hot" male lead; secrets; superpowers (of the paranormal persuasion); high school stuff; a government department that you can't trust...so pretty much most YA fiction in that genre.

Sad thing, for me, is that it is really well written - sometimes authors can drop their skill level in return for "clever" or "witty." That doesn't happen here. I could have done without ALL the pop culture references, though - that ended up getting just a little tiring. Overall, though, I enjoyed the writing itself.

The character of Josie was really clever and I enjoyed following her trials and tribulations...it was a shame that I just couldn't connect with everyone else (or, to be honest, the plot)...


Paul
ARH

Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read and review Anomaly by Tonya Kuper. The story opens with Josie and her dysfunctional family and alternates between Josie and Reid. It also begins on Josie's seventeenth birthday. Josie's birthday hasn't been a happy one. She lost an internship she was counting on, she's been dealing with a weird headache and her boyfriend, Tate, broke up with her. She lost a brother a few years ago and her Dad works away from home, so her mother is basically a single parent raising Josie and her younger brother Eli. Josie's world is turned upside down when she's shown that she has powers and is part of the Oculi. Everything she believes about her life has to be reevaluated and it all falls into place- the moving, the solitude and the home schooling. It made me ecstatic and warmed my heart when Reid tells Josie who he really is. I fell in love with Reid and Josie and became anxious when the suspense and danger grew. The story flows well and the action and world building combined with the complex characters, make a science fiction book worthy of 5 stars!

*review posting on blog 7/05 at 6:30am PST*
****4.5/5 Stars****

Anomaly was fast paced, had me completely addicted and was so much fun! I flew through the pages, I became attached and connected to the characters, I swooned over the romance, and the abilities/powers we learned about was beyond unique! This book was such a huge win, and I can't wait to see how it all wraps up in this duology!

Her safe little world had to be disrupted, and I was the one chosen to drag her into hell. It was my responsibility to keep her alive and in check. Her life depends on me. My throat felt dry. She didn’t deserve this, but she also didn’t have a choice. - Reid


Josie Harper made me laugh. And totally not on purpose. You see, she's this science loving girl. And the facts and explanations she gave throughout the book was spot on, but so not right for the moment lol. I mean, we start out the book with her bestie bringing her a birthday cupcake to school.......with the image of Sheldon Cooper (Big Bang Theory TV Show) on it ha. I quickly found myself liking her. Josie was smart, sarcastic, strong, brave, honest and everything I love in a heroine. So when Reid burst into her life, I felt a little clueless, just like Josie. You see, she's not aware of who she really is, and what's she's capable of doing. She's been sheltered and lied to her whole life, and Reid is about to blow her whole world up.

“I understand you’re scared and you don’t know what’s going on, but you can trust me . I won’t let anything happen to you.” We stood there, staring at each other, and after a few seconds, something changed in her eyes and she closed the gap between us.


The day Reid entered her life, strange things started to take place. She thought things, and they happened. Plus she had this blinding pain in her brain. Thankfully Reid explained to her that that was normal, since she was Oculi. Oculi have the ability to make what they observe a reality. That was SO original for me. I was fascinated learning about their powers, and all that they could and couldn't do! Yet life wasn't all roses. Because of her powers, people wanted her dead. And Reid was there to train and protect her from those people.

I wanted to grab her and run. To hell with the war, the Resistance. I wanted to take Josie away and keep her safe. - Reid


From the moment Josie and Reid met, I was a goner. They have this attraction between them that was undeniable. And their beautiful chemistry had me sighing out loud and left me wanting to curl into this happy little ball. Plus I loved that we got to alternate between Josie and Reid! Because then we got little clues about the past and what the bigger picture was from Reid.

“You’ve sacrificed so much,” I said, watching the water lap around my shins.
“Well,” he whispered, drawing me toward his side, “some things, some people , are worth making sacrifices for.”


Oh, Reid Wentworth. I loved everything about him. That he worked so hard to earn Josie's trust and friendship. That he was fiercely loyal. That he was her ultimate protector, while also training her to take care of herself. The things he sacrificed to keep Josie safe and to train her, ugh, it pulled at my heart and made me fall harder for him. He was such a good guy and I completely fell for him. And as the story progressed, I loved hearing his thoughts and how he felt about Josie. Melt me into a puddle why don't you! He was charming, strong and I was completely enchanted by him!

“I’m tired of not living,” I whispered. I hadn’t planned the words—they just broke out of me.
His eyes searched my face, then he dipped his head, lips barely grazing mine. - Josie


So I can't say more, other than there were some manifestations of Josie's powers that floored me and there was a twist I didn't see coming from a mile away. Anomaly was such a fun book, and it's for people who love their sci-fi and paranormal stories to have a romance that plays a strong part. Now I'm off to see how it all ends up in the final book, Enigma!

*ARC kindly provided by Entangled Publishing via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

anomaly introduces us to a world where regular people are known as plancks in honor of max planck the theoretical physicist who is the originator of the planck constant. if that's not the stuff of a wikipedia deep dive, i don't know what is. but anyway, regular people are called plancks because as the constant they are boring and nothing special. because there is a whole other kind of human on the planet known as oculi. oculi have special abilities to push or retract things they observe.

and then there are the anomalies, who have the ability to push and retract. and reid and josie are both especially gifted anomalies. which also means that they are targets for schrodinger's consortium, an evil lex-luthor type company who seeks to eliminate the anomalies for the powers that they have to rule the world. not that they do, but a power hungry corporation isn't going to take anyone's word for that.

the thing is josie has no idea about her status as an anomaly. her parents have brought her up entirely outside of the hub. so when her powers begin to manifest and people start chasing her down, reid, who has been brought to town to train and protect her must step up his plan. what makes things even harder is that josie used to know reid as cal, her brother's best friend. he had to go into hiding after her brother's death and the more she learns about the circumstances surrounding her brother's death the angrier she is with the truths her parents were keeping from her.

because everything has changed with reid's arrival in her life. not just her perception of the world, but her perception of herself. and the fact that suddenly so much depends on her and her ability to take action is inconceivable. adolescence is already trying enough, but now with the stakes being life and death, it just feels like it's too much to handle. and who can she trust, when everyone seems to have their own agenda. even reid.

I'm guessing there were books like Anomaly around when I was a teen, but I think I was just so fixated on reading my mom's Harlequins that I didn't bother to see what else was out there. I'm glad that as I've gotten older I've also gotten wiser, and have expanded my reading horizons quite a bit. I don't think you need to be a teen to enjoy this one, even with all the pop culture references. Anomaly is an entertaining, fast-paced, and fun read.
Although I'm nowhere near being a sceince nerd, or dork as Josie prefers to refer to herself, I found all the science based references in this book really interesting.
I loved that Josie is such a smart and strong girl, she loves her family, and makes no apologies for her geekiness. If I was a mom she's a character I wouldn't mind my daughter emulating.
Reid is a great character- he's tough, but has a heart. He's very mature for his age, and has a lot riding on his shoulders. Even with all his responsibilities he's able to keep a level head for someone his age. I really liked his relationship with Josie. There was an underlying pull between them, and when things were revealed it all made sense for Josie.
The romance between Reid and Josie wasn't a major plot point, but it added a sweetness and light to the story.
I thought Anomaly was really terrific. The plot was unique, the characters engaging, and the end left me wanting more.

Josie had the typical life-sucks thing going on until bad boy Reid shows up on a motorcycle intent of convincing her she has special powers. When the evidence gets to strong to ignore, Josie is thrust into the unknown of the Oculi world with a target on her back. Her consolation prize? A hot trainer. But as Reid and Josie train, their feelings for each other grow but things are standing in their way. Like a certain society motivated to kill Josie. Suddenly, her brother's death doesn't seem so unconnected to her new life after all and with a traitor in the midst, Josie has no choice but to do everything in her power to stay alive and uncover the secrets that have been surrounding her life.




There are two types of Oculi-Pushers and retractors. Pushers can kind of manifest things and Retractors can make things disappear but they can't mess with things that have a soul. Then there's the Anomaly which can do both manifest and retract things. I know the science of it all may sound a little boring but it's actually a really exciting read!! Josie and Reid are anomalies which makes them powerful and dangerous.



I loved Josie mostly because she's a total nerd as much as I was and I got all her Star Wars/Big Bang Theory references and she was unapologetic of her character. BUT I have to say the author took a risk with all those fandom references because not everyone would get what Josie is talking about. In a way it completed the whole "nerd" aspect of the character the author was trying really hard to portray but I think it was the only way the reader could connect with Josie. If you don't get all her refs then you might not really connect with her.




Reid was awesome! There was a lot of mystery surrounding him especially because he kept hinting that he knew Rosie from before. It was obvious that he liked her and despite the bad boy persona he was still super sweet and affectionate.



There were some pretty shocking twists and Tonya Kuper's writing was amazing! Though it was a pretty stereotypical YA novel so I guess the premiss might not be for people who've read loads and loads of YA books. But it was definitely an entertaining read and for someone who's just jumping on the YA train, this book would be perfect!

Thank you to MaryAnn from Chapter by Chapter and Entangled Teen for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for review! All opinions are my own.

Anomaly was a book I did a reveal for when it first came out in 2014 but I never got around to reading it. I couldn't help but feel like it was one I would enjoy but always just kind of slipped through the TBR crack, so to speak. But I've finally gotten a chance to read it and while it wasn't the A+ most perfect book I've ever read, I definitely enjoyed it and am already reading the sequel, Enigma!

Plot:
Josie Harper just got dumped on her birthday. To make things even better, her dad is missing, she's sick, and she watched her now-ex making out with some other girl. Oh, and she's also the same age as her brother when he died. Best. Birthday. Ever. But now, she's experiencing...weird things. Like being able to make something materialize just by thinking about it. When Reid Wentworth shows up on a motorcycle, Josie's life completely changes. Everything she thought she knew is turned upside down. She discovers she's an Oculi, with the ability to change reality with her thoughts and Reid is there to guide and protect her as she learns to control her new powers. He's also the only thing standing between Josie and the secret organization that wants her dead.

This was certainly a unique premise for a book. I was all about a female main character that was both into science and a huge nerd, just like me! Plus, the ability to basically create things out of thin air sounded really cool. Anomaly felt like a very...typical YA science fiction book to me. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it just meant that I knew what to expect while reading. "Ordinary" girl meets new dark, mysterious boy in school, boy turns out to be not human (or has some form of powers but still appears human), girl finds out that she, too, has powers (or is not human), bad guys come after girl, boy protects girl, the two fall for each other and team up to fight the bad guys.

I did enjoy the Oculi powers and thought it was really funny that super nerdy Josie who loves the idea of superheroes and the like found it hard to believe that she, herself, was essentially a superhero. Her internal banter was funny, as was the constant back and forth between her and Reid. I did feel that many (if not all) of the nerdy/pop culture references were made just to be made. They were definitely not lacking in the reference department, with at very least one on every page, and while it was clever at first, I ended up getting tired of it by the end. It just felt too forced after a while and I feel that maybe one every so often would have served the same purpose. That being said, it didn't ruin the book for me entirely. The plot kept me fairly engaged for the first half, and I found myself kind of reading kind of skimming the second half, but still enjoying the overall story. Everything unfolded at a relatively decent pace and it never really felt like things were dragging on or moving too slowly.

The relationship between Josie and Reid was kind of hard to get into, probably due to the fact that Reid constantly made comments about how he knew Josie from a very long time ago but he couldn't let her know who he really was but he definitely had feelings for her and definitely couldn't let her know. It was just...not something I enjoyed. I get that the "thing" is for the bad boy to like the girl but it's "too dangerous" to be with her, but I guess I've just grown out of that whole trope. I'm hoping in the sequel that there's more to their relationship than just them constantly thinking about how hot the other one is but never actually doing anything except make snarky comments towards each other.

Characters:
I briefly mentioned this above but I liked Josie and the fact that she was into science and a huge nerd. It was really cool to read about a character that had the same interests as I did! Her nerdy/pop culture references were funny at first, but again, they eventually felt like they were just being made to kind of hammer in the fact that Josie was a nerd. She was fun and sassy, and watching her come into her powers at such an accelerated rate (I mean, of course she's basically mastered her powers after a week!) was kind of cool. Who wouldn't want to have the ability to just poof things into existence?! All in all, Josie was a good main character who I'm definitely looking forward to reading more about in the next book.

Reid was your typical dark and mysterious YA male character but with superpowers. He drove me absolutely insane with his constant internal battle regarding Josie and whether or not he should tell her who he really was because he liked her but couldn't tell her because it would put her in danger. Again, I'm just tired of that trope. The Oculi powers were cool, as they were with Josie, and the twist with his past and Josie's brother made for an interesting ending, but Reid just wasn't anything fantastic for me. I was bothered by something that was addressed towards the end that seemed to just get kind of grazed over involving Josie and Reid, and hopefully that gets brought up in the sequel because I felt like it was a bigger deal than Josie acted like. I don't care how hot you think this boy is, something like that just does not get glossed over because you can't stop thinking about running your hands through his hair!

I would definitely like to read more about Josie's mother and father. Without giving away anything about them both, there's definitely more to them than you initially think, and I'd be interested in learning more about them! The rest of the characters were well-written, but none of them were really ones that I'd be excited to see in the next book. They're not bad, but just not as memorable as Josie and Reid were.

Writing:
Anomaly was definitely an easy book to read. It never felt complicated or too overly descriptive, just very easy to sit down and read and get through the story at a relatively quick pace. I enjoyed the way that the Oculi powers were described and also the way that Josie reacted to having those powers. Seriously, it cracked me up that super nerdy Josie was having trouble grasping the fact that she basically had superpowers. Also, I thought it was hilarious that one of the first things she asked Reid to Push was ice cream. If I had those powers, I'd Push all of the food, no shame. But I really enjoyed Tonya Kuper's writing and I was definitely immediately picking up Enigma right after I finished Anomaly!

If you're looking for an easy to read, funny, science-y YA book to get into, then Anomaly is the book for you. It has a nerdy main character that readers are sure to be able to relate to (at least a little bit), easy writing that's fun to get lost in, and a unique plot that you'll definitely enjoy.

Anomaly (Schrodinger's Consortium #1)
Tonya Kuper
Book Review: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Anomaly is the first book in the Schrodinger's Consortium series. It is only 99p and book two is due to be released on the 3rd July.

Josie is supposed to be celebrating her birthday, but life hasn't been easy lately. Her dad is absent, and she has lost her brother. Even worse her boyfriend chooses this day to break up with her. Everything in her future is slipping away, but maybe she never had the mundane in her fate. The fantasy world is about to catch up with her.


There's action, fantasy, romance, and a little sci-fi.

Josie is a nerd and likes to follow the rules, but some rules are meant to be broken.

An interesting read, which sets up a series of books. I would recommend it for fans of sci-fi fantasy like The Tomorrow People.


4 stars out of 5.


*I received this book in exchange for a fair review*

Paperback £7.99 (£3.52 Amazon Marketplace) or 99p Kindle, 400 pages.
Published November 25th, 2014 by Entangled: Teen.



Book 2 Enigma is out 3rd July! £4.48 Amazon Kindle

Anomaly is a super-fun book that both teens (and not-teens) can enjoy. I'm a self-confessed nerd so I absolutely lapped up Josie's nerdalicious characterisation. Her powers were also really interesting and limitless! You see, this is the fun thing about fantasy books - anything can happen. And with Josie's ability to "push" things into existence, that is literally the case with this book. So much fun!

I also have to mention Reid, the bad boy/mentor/possible love interest. He was adorable! I'm definitely going to be on the look-out for the next book, ENIGMA, when it hits the shelves next month.

4 Stars ★★★★ A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

“Anomaly” was an interesting YA sci-fi/fantasy where we’re introduced to a whole other world. Josie lives with her mother and her younger brother. Her older brother died a few years ago, and her father is constantly away on business. She’s finally turning 17, and on her birthday, not only does her boyfriend break up with her, but she also begins to have these strange headaches. Soon, Josie learns that she has a special ability called Pushing, where she can make objects appear into reality by observing them. There are also people who can Retract things- they can make items which were Pushed into reality disappear. People who can do both are Anomalies.

To make things more complicated, Josie learns that the hot new guy (Reid) in town was sent to train her for her new abilities. The plot flips between first person narration of Josie and Reid; it turns out Reid has been in a version of witness protection and his identity concealed, but we learn quickly that he’s been in love with Josie for a long time. There’s a bit of instalove, but it’s backed up by some substance mentioned in the past and developed during their trainings. Their romance is a little push and pull, but I liked it overall. The world of Pushing is made even more complicated by the existence of the Consortium (they are bad, but it’s not exactly clear why- something about the power of Pushing and attitude towards Plancks, or normal people). Reid is part of the Resistance, which works against the Consortium- who are out to kill Josie.

Overall, it was a really fascinating read, and I liked how we learn about Josie’s abilities and this new world through her eyes. It’s a bit unique in that these powers are limited and people will eventually run out- however, it seems like they aren’t too worried about it/use it all the time (but older adults have already run out). This is complicated by the existence of a serum which can allow a Pusher to move past these boundaries. Furthermore, using the powers too much can corrupt and/or make someone lose their sanity. There’s an interesting balance with these powers that you don’t usually see in these types of books. It really sets this one apart. It got a little lengthy with the trainings, but I think it helps set up the abilities and limits, although I do wish it moved a little faster in the middle of the book- the beginning and ending paces were perfect!

There’s also a good amount of action and the plot continues to thicken throughout the book- I am really excited to read the next one! I think people will also enjoy the sci-fi/comics references and science information integrated into this strong plot. I think this is good for all ages (no intense sexual situations, although there is some making out, and not too much violence). It’s a really intriguing sci-fi book- that will be a series to follow!

Please note that I received a copy from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are my own.