The Host by Stephenie Meyer

Earth has been invaded by parasitic souls. The souls think they are helping the humans by purging the Earth of violence; the resisting humans see it differently. Humans have become hosts for these parasites and been forced to relinquish control of their bodies and minds to the souls. The resisting humans see this as bad a murder, if not worse.

Wanderer is a soul who has chosen Earth as the setting for her ninth life. She is given the body of Melanie Stryder, a recently captured resister. Wanderer had been informed about the increased difficulties of a mature adult host, but she never expected Melanie’s mind to still be there. Melanie, always a fighter, refuses to give up. Instead, she tries to protect the humans she loves from Wanderer, lest a Seeker find them and make them available hosts. But Melanie slips up and Wanderer gains knowledge of the existence of Jared, the man Melanie loves. Strangely, though, Wanderer finds herself unable to completely separate her body’s desires from her own, and she begins to fall in love with this human she’s never met. Soon, an annoyingly persistent Seeker unites Melanie and Wanderer, and they set off to find the man they both love.

I will admit that after reading the slightly disappointing Breaking Dawn, I was afraid Stephenie Meyer’s writing had gone downhill, but after reading The Host, my faith was restored. Firstly, the idea behind this story, a science fiction romance was so unique that it immediately captured my interest. On top of that, the characters, especially Wanderer and Melanie, were so well-developed that their actions were always easy to understand. Plus the sense of desperation added in some action. I loved how everything fit together perfectly in the end, even though that doesn’t leave room for a sequel. The ending of the story, probably the last fifty pages or so, was my favorite part of the book, because that was when everything came together; every character realized his/her importance and other conflicts were unexpectedly resolved. I don’t think I could’ve asked for a better story than this; it was all I was hoping for from the incredible author of Twilight and more.

I loved this story and recommend it to all readers, whether they are fans of Stephenie Meyer/science-fiction/romances or not. Length shouldn’t be an issue either; those 600 pages really flew by. I suggest everyone find a copy of The Host so they can read this amazing story for themselves.

Rating: 5.0

Review copy from personal collection