"Revived" by Cat Patrick

Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers (Hachette)
Release Date: May 8th, 2012
Pages: 336

From Goodreads: "As a little girl, Daisy Appleby was killed in a school bus crash. Moments after the accident, she was brought back to life. 

A secret government agency has developed a drug called Revive that can bring people back from the dead, and Daisy Appleby, a test subject, has been Revived five times in fifteen years. Daisy takes extraordinary risks, knowing that she can beat death, but each new death also means a new name, a new city, and a new life. When she meets Matt McKean, Daisy begins to question the moral implications of Revive, and as she discovers the agency’s true goals, she realizes she’s at the center of something much larger—and more sinister—than she ever imagined." 

When I first read the synopsis of this book I knew that I had to get my hands on it- it quite literally sounded like any other book I have read before. Overall while I did enjoy it, I must admit that it did have a few flaws. I think that my largest complaint about this book was the pacing- being a dystopian of sorts I had expected it to be quite action packed, but I didn't find it to be in the slightest. At times I felt that some aspects of the story line dragged by, while others .

Furthermore, I wish that the emotions would have been more amped up in it- because at times I found the emotions to be quite I had difficulties connecting to what was going on in the story line, for instance I never felt that that heart wrenching moment when Audrey's fate was revealed (I mean, I expected at least a tear or two since I am almost always a puddle when it comes to something remotely cute/ sad/ the likes of) or that heart-pounding feeling when Daisy was in danger. Also, I found the fact that Daisy has died five times somewhat unbelievable and it made her a bit unrelatable in my opinion (I don't know if I have met someone so accident prone since Bella Swan- after the first couple of deaths you would think that Mason would bubblewrap her and bathe her in her epi-pen medication). 

That being said, this book has one of the most adorable romances I have read in a very long time- perhaps since I read Kimberly Derting's "The Body Finder"? When I read of Matt trekking hours to rescue Daisy it totally took me by surprise- but the best sort of surprised, my heart literally skipped a beat while reading of it. Additionally, not only was the romance extremely adorable, but it was very real. Like a real life relationship Matt and Daisy's wasn't perfect, it was ever-changing, always up and down as they faced a bumps in the road and the likes of.

Furthermore, I thought that this book had a cast of amazing secondary characters- typically with secondary characters I can take or leave them, as oftentimes I feel that they do little to propel the story line, that they are just there for the sake of being there- I think that they each really established themselves and propelled the story line forward in some way, from Audrey, who brought a much needed lightheartedness to the book, to Mason, the 'cool' authority figure, to Cassie, a robotic-like/ emotionless character who you couldn't help but be intrigued by.

All in all, despite my complaints I think that this was still a very enjoyable book! I also enjoy the fact that as of right now it appears that this book is a standalone (especially with its epilogue which goes on to detail which happens to each character months, if not years, after the happenings of this book)- it seems that nowadays there are far too few standalones and therefore I find this refreshing. I can't wait to check out Cat's other books!  

Rating: 8/10

I received this book from the publisher to read and honestly review. I was not compensated in any way for said review.