5.8k reviews for:

Verten

Stephenie Meyer

3.71 AVERAGE


I think reading this in 2008 would have hit better than 2024. Sorry I was late to the party.

It was like a dystopian soap opera. Not a lot of action, just emotions. I went into it cold so I truly had no idea what to expect. Sort of a cool plot but so repetitive and a lot of detail wasted on things that really didn't apply to the plot. Not for me. 

This was a fun read: not a great work of literature, but entertaining and decently written nonetheless.

2021 re-read/re-listen.

Man, this gets me every time. All the stars.

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2020 re-read/re-listen.

I still love this book. It needs a sequel!

I watched the movie a few years ago and thought it was really interesting. The book however is so much better. I read all 841 or so pages of my version in about 5 days which would've been sooner if not working. Anyways, I highly recommend reading this book because it's a really fun story and every page keeps you wanting to know what happens next. I also enjoyed the bonus chapter at the end of my version that was told from Melanie's perspective. That made the book even better :)

This book was frustrating. I could feel myself getting sucked in by the premise of the plot - so I expected the book to be a lot better than it actually was. It felt really sluggish and slow in parts, to the point where i wanted to throw the book across the room and forget about it. Its 'typical' Stephanie Meyer, a good story not very well executed. 3 stars given - begrudgingly!

Would you still love me... if I were a worm?

Thirteen years later, still 5 stars. Really makes you think.

natgodfrey's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH

DNR 

First of all, I should say that this is a reread. I was starting to think that I wouldn't enjoy this book as much as I did back in 2009. I reckoned that my taste has altered somehow as I have grown older. I couldn't have been more wrong. Thank God.

The Host is definitely one of my most praised books. I mean, it has managed to keep me riveted to the chair, with my fingers glued to its pages once more, even though I actually know how the story pans out.

The story is set in the near future when the Earth goes through a drastic change. It has been flooded with this utterly peaceful species who start to take possession of every human being on the planet. Basically, an alien invasion. And like in every book of this apocalyptic genre, there are some survivors. More on that later on.

The book is narrated by Wanda/Wanderer, who is a soul, struggling to find her place in this new-found world and to gain control over her new host - Melanie (this is why we often hear her distinct voice in Wanda's head). In the beginning, naturally, she hates her possessor and tries her best not to let her peek into her memories, which hold the location of her most-beloveds'(Jared and Jamie) hide-out. If she does, she risks them being turned into the same thing she currently is. In other words, they would cease to exist in the full meaning of the word.

The thing is that Melanie and Wanda gradually develop an odd relationship, which leads them towards the embarking on a dangerous journey in hopes of finding Jared and Jamie. Subsequent to nearly dying in the desert, they do find the bunch of people who had survived. There and then starts the real story of love, resentment, practicality and the finding of a new home. Because that is what Wanda does, she finds her new home, amidst these humans, who considered her the enemy. There are so many things that happen in the book that there aren't enough characters in the world (and I simply do not have the patience to go on) to recount it all. Just read it, you will not be disappointed. And if it's me reading this review, fucking get up and grab this book. Reread it again. Because it's engrossing.

I absolutely love the characters and how different they are. I got to know every one of them, I cared about them, I got to become a part of their life for a little while. And I loved every second of it, every single word. With no doubt, I can say that Stephanie Mayer may not be appreciated by many these days (I mean, come on... you know what I mean) but she is, indeed, a great storyteller. Oh, and the love triangle. Erm, more complex and perplexing than one would expect. Moreover, experiencing the Earth after an alien invasion was fascinating. If only we could go into shops and robbed them empty without being taken straight to the police. If only...

I've gone on a tangent, any book that sends shivers down my spine and makes my eyes sting, deserves a five-star rating. Hence, this is what it will receive.


Ok, ok. This is not the first time I attempted this one. I admit it. I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. But why did it have to take more than 100 pages to get going? Still not sure about the ending...

Love, love, loved it! Totally different from the Twilight series but still brilliantly written and original.