As You Were by Samantha Summers

Title: As You Were
 
Author: Samantha Summers

Publisher: Samantha Summers

Published Date: December 12, 2012

Buy on Amazon: Paperback & Kindle  

Author Website: http://projectfivefifteen.com/
 

Synopsis: 

For every choice, there is a consequence.

Ronnie and Kalen are finally together, living their life in secret under the radar of the people who want Kalen dead. But when a visit from an old friend sends Kalen away on a rescue mission, Ronnie finds herself plunged back into the world of Project Five Fifteen quicker than she ever thought possible.

It’s fast becoming clear The Agency will never give up their hunt for the boys, and a betrayal closer to home starts a chain reaction that will change everything. Now, caught in a deadly web of lies and deceit, Ronnie is forced to question who she can trust; even the person she once trusted most.

As enemies close in, Kalen’s past threatens to destroy the happiness they sacrificed so much for, and it’s only a matter of time before the ultimate choice must be made…

My Thoughts:

As You Were, by Samantha Summers, is the second book in her phenomenal Project Five Fifteen trilogy.  Picking up two months after First Light ends, As You Were follows Kalen and Ronnie as they hide from the people trying to kill him.  I read First Light in November of 2012 and absolutely fell in love with the characters and storyline (my review of First Light can be found at http://endlessdaysofbooks.blogspot.com/2012/11/first-light-by-samantha-summers.html)  I was a little worried that As You Were would not live up to the first novel, but that concern was for nothing.  If anything, Summers' second book was packed with even more action, suspense, and romance!

As soon as I starting reading As You Were I was pulled into the world of the Project Five Fifteen boys.  This is definitely a book that is hard to put down.  For those wanting a little background information, Project Five Fifteen was a small and very secretive branch of the United States government that trained orphaned young boys to be thoughtless killing machines.  Once trained, the children in Project Five Fifteen were sent overseas as spies, mercenaries, and given other dangerous assignments from the US government.  

The boys did not question their assignments or superiors until Kalen discovered that once you turned sixteen you were killed.  The government thought the boys were too far gone to be integrated into society and the children of Project Five Fifteen decided to take their chances and escape to avoid death.  Kalen, Denver, Nash, Laith, and Ace were five of the boys that stuck together as they fled and became a family of drifters on the run.  They never stayed in one place for long, until Kalen met and fell in love with Ronnie in First Light.

I can not say enough about how great a book As You Were is.  In the beginning of this second novel the boys have split up after the craziness of the Laith ambush.  Ronnie and Kalen ran off together and while constantly watching their backs, they enjoy their time together.  However, everything changes when Ace finds them and informs them that Nash has gone missing.  What follows is a fast-paced, suspense-filled novel that has the boys and Ronnie fighting for everything they know and love.

I really love Ace and Ronnie's brother/sister relationship.  Ace is such an innocent boy, even after being trained as an assassin.  In As You Were Ace's feelings for Ronnie begin to transform into something more, however she does a good job at not leading him on.  Ronnie has very deep and sincere feelings for Ace and protects him and his secrets from the other boys, sometimes when she shouldn't.  I would love to see Ace find a nice girl in the upcoming third novel, Becoming.

The end of Samantha Summers' As You Were definitely threw me for a loop.  There were a couple of big shockers that I did NOT see coming!  The ending of Summers' second novel definitely has me impatient for her third and final novel in the trilogy that will come out in October, Becoming.  If it is ANYTHING like the first two books, Becoming will be a superb read!  If you haven't discovered the boys of Project Five Fifteen yet then I definitely recommend that you pick up the first book and join the growing fan base!   You will NOT be disappointed!   
                
 

Samantha Summers

Samantha Summers has provided me with a complimentary copy of her book, As You Were, for the purpose of review.