The Overtaking: (The Overtaking Series)

Great Book. I have read a lot of her books, each one just as special as the last. Check her out.

Ive read several of Victorine Lieskes and this is my least favorite. I like sci-fi and I really like her other books, but the writing in this book felt so choppy and the story just didnt flow for me. I had such a hard time with the story I almost didnt finish this book. There was no character depth and this story ends in a cliffhanger. Content: Completely clean Language: Completely clean Religion: Not at all Overall story: Science fiction romance. This had a lot of potential. Two characters from different worlds meet. Both are misunderstood. One society had super powers. Kind of a cool premise. BUT, as mentioned above theres no meat to the story. Neither the characters nor the story are very well developed. HAPPY READING!

This was an awesome sci-fi novel! I raced through it! I loved the premise and the twists and the characters. However, I just found out it was written 11 years ago and the rest of the series obviously hasn’t followed. I’m devastated!

Will you be the next person to be overtaken? Or has it already happened? You may never know. If you read this book you will understand the extra meanings of the above questions. I enjoyed reading The Overtaking and look forward to the next book in the series. I am just starting to read romance novels and will only read ones like Victorine Lieske writes. I prefer books with no swear words and no sex scenes and Victorine delivers that along with a story that builds and draws me in as I read. I like the twists and turns Victorine put into this book, things I would never have thought would happen in a romance novel. There are many creative solutions to problems that come up and unexpected help for the main characters that kept me reading and wondering how things could possibly work out now. With this book Victorine has created characters that are very memorable too me and Im not talking about just the main characters. Even a very minor character, a little girl named Gita stands out in my mind. Victorines words created clear images in my mind as I got into the story. The characters seemed real, the events flowed naturally as the story progressed. If you like romances and some sci-fi/fantasy then you will enjoy The Overtaking. Robert Marda

I loved Lieskes first book Not What She Seems so when I saw this new book I knew I had to try it out too. I am so glad I did because this was such a fun, different, unique, refreshing read. This book has it all, some mystery, some romance, some action, some paranormal, great setting, great characters, I could go on and on. I am so excited to see what happens next with Shayne and Danielle and all their friends!

I am surprised how much I enjoyed this. Ive been reading all of Lieskes work lately as everything shes written has been interesting, well written and satisfying. I put off reading this because although I enjoy scifi I wasnt sure Id enjoy this...but I really do and cant wait for the next book to come out. Highly recommend!

A sophisticated thriller complex but easy to follow. It takes a while to figure out what and where the action is happening. And just because it has some romance in it this is not a romance book. Its pure Sci-Fi. A real page turner.

Victorine E. Lieske, author of the romantic suspense novel NOT WHAT SHE SEEMS, changes gears in her sophomore outing ... kind of. While THE OVERTAKING features both romance and suspense, it shifts gears in two important ways: she adopts a science fiction setting for this novel, and due to the age of her characters, the book is likely to attract more of a young-adult audience. THE OVERTAKING is the first novel in a projected series which introduces us to the primary cast of characters. Shayne Bartlett, our main protagonist, is a young member of the Maslonian race, highly gifted with psychic abilities. Yet in short order, Shaynes mother is kidnapped, he joins a ruling council, and then he is kidnapped as well. In his new, post-kidnapping life, where he does not remember his past, he meets Danielle and the two are powerfully drawn to each other. But Danielle is mysterious, a young woman with secrets to hide. Secrets that may affect the future of their budding relationship... and perhaps even the future of Shaynes race. So THE OVERTAKING does have major differences from NOT WHAT SHE SEEMS, in genre, plot, and setting. What has not changed, however, is Lieskes storytelling ability and her capacity for charming readers with the way in which a pair of strangers become a couple. The novel contains echoes of literary and filmed forebears. Some of the SF concepts will ring familiar to those whove read Phillip K. Dicks WE CAN DREAM IT FOR YOU WHOLESALE, while other aspects could remind filmgoers of the Bill Murray-Andie McDowell rom-com, GROUNDHOG DAY. Yet through it all, the story elements blend into a finished product that is distinctly of Lieskes own making. While readers of NOT WHAT SHE SEEMS, which took place in a recognizably realistic world, may feel some need for adjustment to the new setting, the primarily strengths of Lieskes storytelling remain consistent and recognizable in this new entry. One element that is new is that THE OVERTAKING is part of a series. Readers of NOT WHAT SHE SEEMS enjoyed that novels strong sense of possessing a beginning, a middle, and an end. While THE OVERTAKING possess a strong beginning and an entertaining middle, the sense of ending isnt as strong as in NOT WHAT SHE SEEMS because the overall story is not complete. When the final page of NOT WHAT SHE SEEMS was turned, there was a sense that the tale of Steven Ashton and Emily Grant was over, at least dramatically. With THE OVERTAKING, there is a sense of resolution to many plot elements, but also a certain knowledge that more challenges lay ahead for Shayne, Danielle, and those around them. Fortunately, Lieskes novel ends on a story beat that delivers a sense of resolution, even as new threats and challenges await on the horizon. This is superior to some YA series novels, which often seem to end too abruptly, at a moment in which the author hit a pre-set word count and didnt want to write more words per installment than necessary. While I wont spoil the nature of THE OVERTAKINGs closing action here, I will at least say that the story beat on which the novel ends will not leave readers feeling like the book went to commercial and never came back. Will THE OVERTAKING leave readers ready for the next installment? Almost certainly. Yet even as the further adventures of the cast Lieske introduces here are of interest, this novel stands, at minimum, as a satisfying read in and of itself as well. Well done.

Shayne Barlet goes to a great school, has great friends and lives in a nice place. He also has a girlfriend he loves, but she knows the truth and so does his best friend. His life is all a lie... Shayne has been kidnapped; his powers disabled and his memory changed. Danielle didnt mean to fall in love with Shayne. She was only supposed to watch him and report his movement. But now that he was in trouble, she just had to help him even though it meant danger to herself. This YA/science fiction was a very interesting read and difficult to put down. I dont normally like books like this, but I really enjoyed this one. It had the mystery, adventure, and romance that kept me guessing all the way to the end and the characters were so real and easy to relate to. I will be very interested to see how this series plays out. Ms. Lieske is doing a wonderful job and Im giving this book a 4 spider rating. TLane

Although I hate to say it, I was somewhat underwhelmed by this book. I had high hopes because Ive heard good things about Lieske, but I just never connected with this book. I read a lot of YA and enjoy fantasy and scifi, so I thought this book would be right up my alley, but I was never sucked into the story...never able to forget I was reading a book. You know how when youre reading a book that you really connect with, you can lose yourself in the story? I was never able to lose myself. It wasnt a bad story. I thought the premise was interesting. Being a comic book fan, I enjoyed the idea of the characters having powers, but it would have been nice to see the powers used a little bit more. It sounds like the powers may play a more key role in later books, so maybe Im just impatient ;) With a romance central to the storys plot, I didnt believe it. Yes, the characters are young and therefore may be forgiven for acting silly, but it still seemed a bit fast to be throwing around the L word after only a few dates. Since this story is obviously going to take up more than one book, I think the romance aspect may have worked better for me if it had been a slower build up across the whole trilogy/series(?). This is also a small nitpick, and maybe its a regional thing, but Shayne spelled like that makes me think of a girls name. Note: I read a free review copy from author