Two Bloggers One Book - Sharks and Summer Go Hand in Hand Right?

Stormi and I were long overdue for an awesome buddy read for our monthly feature and I think this time, we hit the jackpot!  Was the book we chose perfect?  No, but it sure was a lot of fun.  Plus, I got great use out of my shark stickers on Messenger while talking about it.  So let me present to you my thoughts on "MEG."  I don't know about you but Memorial Day always makes me think of sharks (cue my Jaws obsession).  When you're done reading my thoughts, hop over to Stormi's @   Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My! for her thoughts as well!

TITLE: Meg (Meg #1)

AUTHOR: Steve Alten

PUBLISHER: Viper Press

PUBLISHING DATE: December 8, 2015 (revised edition)

FROM GOODREADS: All New Revised and Expanded! Inclydes Meg: Origins. Carcharodon megalodon apex predator of all time, the most fearsome creature that ever lived a 70-foot, 60,000 pound Great White Shark. Hundreds of 7-inch serrated teeth filled jaws that could swallow an elephant whole. It could sense its prey miles away, inhaling its scent as it registered the beat of its fluttering heart, and if you ever came close enough to see the monster...it was already too late. For Navy deep-sea submersible pilot Jonas Taylor, it nearly was too late. Years ago, on a top-secret dive seven miles down into the Mariana Trench, Jonas came face to face with an ancient monster everyone believed extinct. Having barely escaped with his life, Jonas must prove to the world that Meg still exists. When an opportunity to return to the trench presents itself, he takes it, intent on returning topside with a 7-inch tooth! But man s presence in this unexplored domain releases one of the sharks from its purgatory, and now Jonas is the only one who can stop it.

MY THOUGHTS:  I love sharks and am pretty much fascinated by them, which is easy to say from my landlocked state because no, I've never seen a real one up close.  I'm sure then my opinion would change.  So I was thrilled to pick up "Meg" and for it to be my buddy read with my blogger BFF for the month of May.  My love of sharks was fueled by my father as he introduced me to "Jaws" when I was young and as the release of the "Meg" movies grows closer, I only wish he was here to watch it with me.

So this edition starts out with the "Origins" novella, which made the first book make so much sense that I can't imagine reading it after the fact (as it was originally released).  I can best describe "Meg" as a creature feature in a book.  A bunch of scientists and explorers, some good and some not-so-good, are trying to prove the megalodon actually still exists.  Well some are also trying to prove the MC and believer, Jonas, is stark-raving mad.  But I bet you know where this is leading right?  They do discover a megalodon and they've really pissed her off. I was fearful this book might be too scientific to hold my interest but that was not the case and other than a few scientific info-dump paragraphs I could have lived without, the book kept my interest.  Of course, it also helps that there were plenty of "lunch worthy" characters for Meg to chose from for dinner and that I enjoyed cheering on the deaths of some.  

Now I also have to admit a secret - I actually felt sorry for Meg.  I mean, she was living at the bottom of the Mariana Trench when humans interrupted her routine life so I can't blame her for being mad.  And even though the humans were hunting her down to keep her from killing people and upsetting the ecosystem, it was all their fault to begin with.  So yep, the shark gets all my sympathy. 

So if you are looking for a good summer creature feature, there's still time to read this before the movie releases.  And in case you've not seen the trailer, check it out!

RATING: 4 PAWS (or should I say fins?)