“You’ll make mistakes because it’s impossible to know what is or isn’t a mistake until it’s made.”
Title: The Chemist
Author: Stephenie Meyer
Series: Standalone
Publication: November 8th 2016 by Little, Brown and Company
Pages: 512
Source: Purchased
Summary from Goodreads:
She used to work for the U.S. government, but very few people ever knew that. An expert in her field, she was one of the darkest secrets of an agency so clandestine it doesn’t even have a name. And when they decided she was a liability, they came for her without warning.
Now, she rarely stays in the same place or uses the same name for long. They’ve killed the only other person she trusted, but something she knows still poses a threat. They want her dead, and soon.
When her former handler offers her a way out, she realizes it’s her only chance to erase the giant target on her back. But it means taking one last job for her ex-employers. To her horror, the information she acquires only makes her situation more dangerous.
Resolving to meet the threat head-on, she prepares for the toughest fight of her life but finds herself falling for a man who can only complicate her likelihood of survival. As she sees her choices being rapidly whittled down, she must apply her unique talents in ways she never dreamed of.
In this tautly plotted novel, Stephenie Meyer creates a fierce and fascinating new heroine with a very specialized skill set. And she shows once again why she’s one of the world’s bestselling authors.
My Thoughts:
Stephenie Meyer has done it again, it’s as simple as that. I have been an avid fan of hers since Twilight, which I grew up reading. Then The Host, which blew my mind away. Now, with The Chemist Meyer has created a high stakes world filled with the threads of what makes her writing her writing. There is romance, suspense, humor, sugar and spice and everything nice. The Chemist is an exciting dance between the intoxicating romance of The Host and the thrilling intrigue of Jason Bourne and other spy films alike.
Juliana, Alex, or whatever other name she decides to go by, was a fantastic heroine. She was smart, savvy, and a terrifying badass in the best way possible. In all honesty, I think of her as someone to look up to in a way. She took what she had, what she could do, and she made a name for herself with it. She earned respect for her skills – something often lacking. She is not a good person, not at all. She’s tortured people for her job, she’s killed, she’s done things that would make you squeamish – but she tries. She wants to be one of the good guys, until everything in her world turns upside down and the good isn’t so good anymore. Alex, the name she goes by the majority of the book, is fascinating. Sure there were flaws in the character development and the character in itself, but as a component to the story Alex was everything she needed to be. I found myself absolutely loving her analytical approach to things. It was all practical, all business, totally deadly. It was refreshing. Of course, she had her moments that made her completely believable. There was a certain vulnerability to her, too. Which, when you’ve given a character this badass skill set and background, vulnerability can be hard to believe. Meyer nailed it.
This is one of those books that I can’t talk about because I will spoil it to the moon and back. I never saw any of the twists coming, not really anyway. I found myself on the edge of my seat, waiting, salivating, trying to figure out what was going to happen next. The characters are brilliant. They are so full of life, even Einstein the dog (He was amazing and I want one). I can’t actually judge the whole spy aspect of the book, because I have absolutely no interest or experience with anything outside of James Bond and the basics everyone watches. I, personally, found the whole thing captivating. It was well thought out, nicely executed, and dipped in the most delicious intricacies.
Overall, The Chemist was well worth the wait. Stephenie Meyer has, and always will be, an instant buy author for me. The Chemist is yet another amazing addition to her fabulous books out in the world. I can’t wait to see what she does next.
Reed's Reads & Reviews 