Smexy Books

Romance and Urban Fantasy Reviews

  • Review Request
  • Contact
    • Smexy Reviewers Profiles
    • New Reviewer Application
    • Contact
  • Advertising
  • Home
  • Reviews
    • By Genre
      • BDSM
      • Contemporary
      • Erotic
      • Fantasy
      • F/F
      • Historical Romance
      • Historical PNR
      • LGBTQ+
      • M/M Romance
      • New Adult
      • Urban Fantasy
      • Paranormal Romance
      • Sci-Fi
      • Romantic Suspense
      • Young Adult
    • By Letter Grade Rating
      • A Reviews
      • B Reviews
      • C Reviews
      • D Reviews
      • DNF Reviews
  • Features
    • New Releases
    • Smexy Deals!
    • Retro Review
    • Weekly Wrap-Up
    • Blog Tour
    • Scenic Sunday
    • To Be Read
    • Guest Post
    • Top Ten/Happy Friday
    • Smex Scene Sunday
  • The Psy/Changeling Channel
You are here: Home / D Review / Review: Altered by Marnee Blake

Review: Altered by Marnee Blake

January 20, 2016 by Mandi Leave a Comment

27404242Altered by Marnee Blake
Released: December 8, 2015
Paranormal Romance
Entangled

Reviewed by Mandi

The premise of this book really drew me in. The heroine wakes up, and the entire small town she lives in is dead. (Okay, that’s not awesome but I do like end of the world type scenarios). The heroine somehow survives and the hero who is just visiting along with some other friends make it. They gain superpowers (well water was infected) and save the world. Not really, but super-hero romance is cool. But sadly, the story didn’t work for me.

Blueberry (the heroine’s name is Blueberry. Maybe I should have stopped there) lives with her beloved grandmother who has raised her most of her life. One evening, Blue starts to feel really sick. Her grandmother is already in bed sleeping, so Blue goes to bed too. Blue starts to have severe flu symptoms. In the morning, her symptoms disappear just as fast as they started. She gets up, and checks on her grandmother – who has died in her sleep.

Blue runs to the nearest gas station (she doesn’t have a cell phone) to call for help, and realizes the family that lives above the gas station are also all dead. Everyone in the town is dead, but her – and the hero. Seth is a specialist in the army, on his way to training. He stayed the night in the town of Glory, and when he wakes up, he starts to realize everyone is dead. Seth and Blue meet, realize they are the only ones alive and decide to get out of town. Blue stops on the way to a friend’s house, realizes Kitty is alive (but no one else in her family) and then scary helicopters come. The three of them (they actually pick up a few more people) realize something must have been put in the well water in the town killing everyone but them. It’s a scary research lab and they don’t know what to do.

On top of all of this, the survivors all have special powers all of a sudden. Blue can make objects move with her mind. Kitty can hear everyone’s thoughts. Seth can fly. Awesome – but…

First let me start with the entire town dying. That’s hard-core. It was a super small town, but still. It was a mass murder. Blue’s grandmother who raised her was murdered. Kitty’s entire family – murdered. But – no one freaks out that much. Blue actually cracks a joke not too long into the entire ordeal. Minutes after meeting Seth, she hears him laugh and “the sound did something strange to her stomach.” I wanted to feel the horror of what happened. I wanted to feel Blue’s grief and devastation of everyone she knows in the town is dead. Her reaction was not – big enough for me. I needed to dig into her emotions and we don’t get that.

Next – the super powers. This was not explained well enough for me. I realize, Blue and the group don’t know why they have super powers – but I needed a lot more detail about these powers. Blue can move things – but it comes so easy to her. When she makes a person stay in place, she realizes the person can’t breathe – so she can’t do that to her friend. But very soon after this, she needs to help Luke, a member of their group, get on a train. And she states:

At least she and Luke had used their practice time to master holding someone still without making them suffocate.

But – how did they figure this out? It’s not explained in the book. So I’m left scratching my head – but there are a lot of things like this. Kitty can hear EVERY thought of everyone around her. Yet, she is still tricked into getting kidnapped. Wouldn’t she be able to hear things and realize what was going to happen? There are a lot of frustrating things like this in the story.

Finally, the romance. It just didn’t work for me. I never felt a passionate love between Seth and Blue. It felt forced and their chemistry falls flat.

This one just didn’t work for me.

Grade: D

Goodreads l Author Website

Kindle l Nook

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon
  • More
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Filed Under: D Review, Entangled Publishing, Marnee Blake, Paranormal Romance

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Welcome to Smexy! If you are reader feel free to use our search feature to find a specific book or browse through our features to find Smexy Deals, New Releases, and book news!

As an Amazon Associate, we do earn from qualifying purchases. We also earn a small commission on affiliate links to Apple, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords,  Booksamillion, and Bookshop,org.

 

Shop our Affiliates!

Amazon

B&N

Apple

Smashwords

Booksamillion

Angela

Melanie

Jen

Kate

Iby

Kate H.

Sign Up for Daily Emails


Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

.

Follow Us!

Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on TwitterFollow Us on Instagram

Top Posts & Pages

  • Smexy’s Top Ten Favorite Sex Scenes of 2012
    Smexy’s Top Ten Favorite Sex Scenes of 2012
  • Review: The Last Letter by Rebecca Yarros
    Review: The Last Letter by Rebecca Yarros
  • Smexy Deals- Deals for books by B.K. Borison, Tessa Bailey, Caitlin Rozakis, and more!
    Smexy Deals- Deals for books by B.K. Borison, Tessa Bailey, Caitlin Rozakis, and more!
  • New Releases- Week of May 26-30, 2025
    New Releases- Week of May 26-30, 2025
  • Retro Review: Torn by Cynthia Eden
    Retro Review: Torn by Cynthia Eden
  • Smex Scene Sunday
    Smex Scene Sunday
  • Review: Manacled by SenLinYu
    Review: Manacled by SenLinYu
  • Steamy Excerpt from Everything's Better With Lisa by Lucy Eden
    Steamy Excerpt from Everything's Better With Lisa by Lucy Eden
  • Cover Reveal- Make the Play by Kaylee Ryan
    Cover Reveal- Make the Play by Kaylee Ryan
  • Review: The Road Trip by Beth O'Leary
    Review: The Road Trip by Beth O'Leary

Disclosure

The majority of the books reviewed at this site have been provided for free by publishers, authors, or other third parties like NetGalley or Edelweiss. Acceptance of a free copy does not guarantee a review or a positive review.

As an Amazon Associate, we do earn from qualifying purchases. We also earn a small commission on affiliate links to Apple, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, and Booksamillion.

Shop our Affiliates!

Amazon

B&N

Apple

Smashwords

Booksamillion

 

Find Our Reviewers

Angela @fv-angela.bsky.social l Goodreads

Melanie @melonreads.bsky.social l  Goodreads

Jen .@thebooknista l Goodreads

Kate  @kateminasian l Goodreads

Iby Instagram l Goodreads

Kate H. @Naranjadia l Goodreads

Copyright © 2025 · Beautiful Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d