I learned something new today. 
 It is possible to like a book because it's unbelievable. 
 However, it is also possible to dislike the exact same book because it's unbelievable. 
 Miki was having a bad day when a car crash resulted in her waking up inside of a game where she was stuck killing aliens in order to get back to her life before. Well, as long she could keep her bracelet from turning red, that is. Avoid those alien attacks kids, or your day might just go from bad to worse! 
 The concept of Rush is bad-ass. I love alternate reality/virtual reality type scenarios. Unfortunately, the reader is first dragged through a lot of action without getting many answers up-front. Is this only a game? Or is it real? 
 Strengths of this book include a unique world, plenty of action-packed fight sequences, and writing which is entertaining enough to keep you turning pages. 
 Weaknesses of this book include limited world information at the start, an attempted info dump near the end which only brings more questions, and characters who are too heavily invested with each other extremely fast (this is a series, after all - I wouldn't have minded the slower build). I didn't buy the connection between Miki and Jackson because we were "told" the reasons for the connection. 
 Jackson reminded me of a watered-down version of Four from Divergent. While Divergent had similar world-building issues, I was always intrigued with Four. I feel like the author wanted me to form the same admiration for Jackson that I have for Four. And it just didn't happen for me. Is Jackson an interesting character? Not really. He's super hot and holds answers to Miki's questions, harping on the "man of mystery" angle. And he sort of hangs around and helps people even though he says it's not what's supposed to be done. So he fits into the formula for a standard hero; I didn't see much of a personality spark though. 
 One of my groups has a "what song is stuck in your head today?" topic. Today's song will most definitely be Luka by Suzanne Vega. 
 Was there even a point for the Luka character? By the end of the book, I was thinking that Jackson could have taken up his space in the book. Luka came into the story with a bang and then he sort of faded out. *shrug* Don't know what's going on there. 
 Back on the original part of my review : like/dislike holding equal parts here. 
 The best reason to read the book : If you're a fan of action-packed sequences or have a love of gaming, here is the draw. This was worth the read for me strictly for entertainment value. It might not have been as good as say, Ready Player One, but I can honestly say that I was never bored. Not even for a second. Having something to read which is engaging enough to keep you reading is worth a 3 star rating minimum for me, even if there are flaws in the telling. 
 The least convincing reason to read the book : The world details (especially the info dump near the end) felt completely ridiculous. Fiction does allow for authors to come up with whatever they want to, and the idea can be spun to meet the author's desires, but I wasn't buying the alien invasion as it was being spun. On a lesser note, the love story felt way too rushed and will make haters of insta-love squirm with discomfort. 
 This was good enough that I'll check out book 2. 
 This book provided from the publisher through Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.