Review: Couldn't put it down!  I love a sequel that can stand alone!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 17, 2012
Jessamyn must complete her mission to bring back food for Mars.  The loss of her brother, Ethan, has devastated her, as well as the loss of her new friend, Pavel.  While Jessamyn is determined to defy Mars Colonial and rescue her brother and the other Mars Raiders, Ethan must complete his secret mission to disable the lasers threatening Mars.  Will completing their missions have dire consequences for their beloved Mars?This book starts out already in action.  This is the sequel to Saving Mars, and the story picks up right where the first book left off.  However, I must confess that I did not read Saving Mars before starting this book.  I was quite impressed with Ms. Swanson's subtle explanations of matters that happened in the first book.  Relationships between characters were simply described so that the reader did not have to read pages of backstory to understand.  The author snuck backstory in where it both made sense and contributed to the current story.  I love a sequel that can be read alone like that!I was totally sucked in from page one.  I felt for Jessamyn's loss and call to duty at the same time.  This is one amazing young woman.  She apparently did what she had to do in the last book but resolved to go back and rescue those she left behind.  Ethan's adjustment to his new body - apparently a regular thing they do on Earth that was explained in the previous book but not this one - was incredible to me.  Pavel's acceptance of and assistance with Ethan's autism really touched me and made me actually say "he better get the girl in the end!"My next move will be to buy and read Saving Mars - and not just because I'm a sucker for series.  This author painted an exciting picture right from the start, and that her sequel could be read first without the need to put it down to read the first book says a lot about the writing talents of Ms. Swanson.