Tether by Anna Jarzab

Genre:  YA Science Fiction

Many-Worlds Trilogy, Book 2

Anna Jarzab's website

Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads

Description (taken from Goodreads):

Tether, the sequel to Tandem, continues the captivating tale of rebellion and romance that spans parallel worlds.

Everything repeats.

Sasha expected things to go back to normal once she got back on Earth. But now that she knows parallel worlds are real, and that an alternate version of herself exists in a world called Aurora, her old life no longer seems to make sense . . . and her heart breaks daily for Thomas, the boy she left behind. Troubled by mysterious, often terrifying visions and the echoes of a self she was just beginning to discover, Sasha makes the difficult decision to journey once more through the tandem.

Thomas is waiting for her on the other side, and so is strange, otherworldly Selene, Sasha’s analog from a third universe. Sasha, Selene, and their other analog, Juliana, have a joint destiny, and a new remarkable power, one that could mean salvation for Selene’s dying planet. With Thomas’s help, Sasha and Selene search for the missing Juliana. But even if they can locate her, is Sasha willing to turn her back on love to pursue a fate she’s not sure she believes in?

Sasha has finally come home from Aurora.  She's back to her normal life on Earth, but she misses Thomas.  And the connection between her and Juliana has begun to grow.  Sasha's beginning to experience visions of Juliana in Aurora, and it's blurring her own understanding of reality.  This can only mean one thing: she has to go back.

Sasha's not the only analog to journey to Aurora.  Selene has made the journey and awaits for Sasha.  Once they're both there, they will make their way to Juliana.  Selene has plans of saving her own world by using the power that she and her two analogs can generate.  And it benefits Sasha because all she wants to do is break the connection between the three of them.  But in the end, will she still be able to return to her Thomas?  Or will the demands of the various universes keep them apart?

This book is definitely a second book feel.  The story continues and gets a little more in depth by adding a third universe.  But I kind of felt like I forgot the little nuances from the first book, and all of those side characters.  So without this connection, I felt disconnected with all of the characters.  And while I really enjoyed Sasha's story, I felt like that little extra oomph was missing for me.  But I still like all the universal time travel and the analog power that comes with it.

This is a series that I believe needs to be read one right after the other.  I'm definitely planning to read the third one.  I just hope I've remembered enough by then to enjoy it.

Tandem by Anna Jarzab

Genre:  YA Science Fiction Romance

Many-Worlds Series, Book 1

Anna Jarzab's website

Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads

Description (taken from Anna Jarzab's website):

Everything repeats.
You. Your best friend. Every person you know.
Many worlds. Many lives–infinite possibilities.
Welcome to the multiverse.

Sixteen-year-old Sasha Lawson has only ever known one small, ordinary life. When she was young, she loved her grandfather’s stories of parallel worlds inhabited by girls who looked like her but led totally different lives. Sasha never believed such worlds were real–until now, when she finds herself thrust into one against her will.

To prevent imminent war, Sasha must slip into the life of an alternate version of herself, a princess who has vanished on the eve of her arranged marriage. If Sasha succeeds in fooling everyone, she will be returned home; if she fails, she’ll be trapped in another girl’s life forever. As time runs out, Sasha finds herself torn between two worlds, two lives, and two young men vying for her love–one who knows her secret, and one who thinks she’s someone she’s not.

Imagine there being a lot of you's or look-alikes living very different lives in different universes.  Now imagine one of those you's being a princess in another universe.  And while she's disappeared and the military works on finding her, they kidnap you to take her place for a bit.  That's pretty much what happens in a nutshell to Sasha.

Sasha is the daughter of physicists.  So, she's grown up with bedtime stories involving physics and alternate realities.  Little does she know they're more than just bedtime stories.  A simple night at prom with Grant turns into a week with Thomas.  And while Thomas is doing right by his country by using Sasha as a Princess-Julianna-double, he doesn't realize whose opinion's going to matter more by the end of the week: the General's or Sasha's.  As Sasha tries to navigate Julianna's life, she gets tossed and turned in so many directions that she doesn't know who to trust.

This was a good book with an original plot.  Really, my only complaint was the length of the novel.  I felt like it flowed well, I was captivated by the story; it was just long.  I liked following Sasha's double life and meeting Callum.  But there wasn't an absolutely love, cannot-put-down feeling while reading this one.  However I did scratch my brow at a couple of spots and think 'huh, that's weird' or 'cool.'

Do I plan on reading the second one?  Why yes, yes I do.  While the characters didn't form complete bonds with me, the multiple worlds aspect did.  And I do want to know what happens with these worlds.