Review of The Rise of Nine by Pittacus Lore

Title: The Rise of Nine (Lorien Legacies #3)
Author: Pittacus Lore
Published by: HarperCollins
Pages: 416
Source: Edelweiss and HarperCollins
Format: ARC ebook
Available: August 2, 2012
Rating: 4.5 stars

Summary from Goodreads: Until the day I met John Smith, Number Four, I'd been on the run alone, hiding and fighting to stay alive.

Together, we are much more powerful. But it could only last so long before we had to separate to find the others. . . .

I went to Spain to find Seven, and I found even more, including a tenth member of the Garde who escaped from Lorien alive. Ella is younger than the rest of us, but just as brave. Now we're looking for the others--including John.

But so are they.

They caught Number One in Malaysia.
Number Two in England.
And Number Three in Kenya.
They caught me in New York--but I escaped.
I am Number Six.
They want to finish what they started.
But they'll have to fight us first.

This series just keeps getting better and better.

The Rise of Nine is action packed, thrilling, and edge of your seat good.  Finally things start falling in place for the Lorien.  They are finding more of their own and starting to understand their legacies.  It is so interesting learning what each person's legacies are and how they are an integral part of the plot.  Of course some characters seem more powerful than others, but it is truly about them working together and using their individual talents to fight the common evil.  Who doesn't love a great "good versus evil" plot line!

Four is back but for some reason doesn't seem as strong in this novel.  Maybe it's just that more of the Lorien are there and they are all unbelievably fierce and have some serious and deadly skills, but I want Four to swoop in and save the day.  I won't give away who you get to meet in this novel but some of the old favorites are back with new powers and a taste for vengeance.

I have to admit that I am quite jealous of all their legacies and their chests of goodies.  As the Garde band together they seem impossible to defeat but Setrakus Ra and the other Mogadorians have some tricks up their sleeves as well. 

One things I loved about this novel was the alternating POVs between the members of the Garde.  It was interesting to see how each of them were thinking about a situation.  The one thing that confused me though is there was no indication of which Lorien was speaking.  You have to read a couple of sentences into the chapter to figure out which one it is, but after a couple of chapters I got used to that and was so addicted to the novel that I couldn't put it down.

The Rise of Nine surpassed my expectations and now I'm impatiently waiting for the next book to hear the rest of their adventure.