Saving Raine by Frederick Lee Brooke

July 25, 2014 By 9 Comments

RAINE
Saving Raine by Frederick Lee Brooke
The Drone Wars: Book 1
Publisher: Self-published
Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Action/Adventure
Length: Full Length (258 pages)
Age Recommendation: 16+
Heat Level: Sensual
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

“Matt, Raine went to California because her parents thought it was safe. It’s not. You’ve got to get her out as soon as possible. She could die, Matt.”

When 19-year-old Matt Carney gets a cryptic message from his father telling him to go to California and save his girlfriend, Raine, he doesn’t hesitate—he grabs his AK-47, revs up his blue pickup, and gets ready to make the 2,300-mile roadtrip.

But cross-country travel in 2021 isn’t easy—or, sometimes, even possible. The U.S. has become a near-military state: 17,000 checkpoints severely restrict interstate movement, Predator drones target innocent civilians without cause, and explosions rock cities daily. Matt and his stepbrother, Benjy, face deadly attacks from a corrupt government, ruthless local law enforcement, and bloodthirsty terrorist groups as they embark on their trek. They’re about to find out that their trip is much more than a private journey, and their success could change the face of the country—forever.

Can Matt and Benjy outrun the drone missiles raining down on their heads? Can they avoid assassination by government officials hell-bent on taking over what little is left of the country? Can they outsmart the deadly schemes set in motion against them?
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Break the rules.
Save the girl.
He only gets one chance before she’s gone forever.

It’s easier to make a promise than it is to keep it, but Matt has never been the type of person to go back on his word.

Dystopias are one of my favourite sub-genres of science fiction. Projecting how current trends could go horribly wrong in the future is fascinating, especially when the author isn’t afraid to criticize more than one political party in the process. The world-building in this one was strong, consistent, and occasionally pretty scary.

The antagonists in this story are fairly flat characters. In some cases their reasons for opposing Matt were hard to understand because their actions didn’t match what they seemed to want from him. Everyone has contradictory moments, of course, but with such limited information about their personalities I had trouble understanding why they made certain choices.

Matt is a well-developed and sympathetic protagonist. What I found most interesting about this character is how his flaws interact with the plot. He has more than his fair share of them, but because they’re so well-integrated into everything else that’s going on they felt like natural extensions of the complex personality of a guy who has seen more than his fair share of troubles.

There were so many shifts in perspective that they occasionally slowed down my perception of how fast the plot was moving due to the extra time I needed to figure out who was speaking now. I understand this is the first book in a series, and I suspect that some of these shifts might make more sense in the future. As it was written, though, this particular tale would have worked better for me if it had limited itself to one or two speakers.

The romantic subplot fits in well with everything else that’s going on. Matt and Raine’s relationship has had to adjust to a lot of changes , but it was easy to imagine how they interacted with each other before she moved away due to the letters and other written forms of communication they’ve swapped.

Saving Raine is an adrenaline-soaked adventure that kept this reader’s attention from beginning to end. If you like dystopian fiction, give it a try!

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The City of the Broken by Ceri Benyon

July 8, 2014 By Leave a Comment

CITY
The City of the Broken by Ceri Benyon
Publisher: Self-published
Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Contemporary
Length: Full Length (202 pages)
Age Recommendation: 16+
Heat Level: Sweet
Rating: 2.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Seren Loneheart falls in love for the very first time with a boy who has a dark secret. She soon discovers he is a prince who rules over The City of the Broken, which has a population of heartbroken and outcast people. He informs her that he wants her to become a citizen of his city as he believes her to be lonely and unhappy ,but much to Seren’s delight he also wants to be her boyfriend as well.

The pair embark on a dark fairytale romance that results in Seren finding happiness for the first time in her life, but Calix informs her that she needs to remain ‘broken’ to be his girlfriend.

Can these young lovers survive all this turmoil that threatens both their relationship and Calix’s crown? Will Seren succeed in healing Calix’s heart and ending his determination to remain unhappy for the sake of duty?

Love is powerful, but it can’t fix everything. So why does Seren still feel obligated to change herself to better suit her boyfriend’s needs?
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A good fantasy novel says as much about the real world as it does about the ones that only exist between its pages, The City of the Broken reminded me of all of the incredible men and women I’ve known who’ve risen above terrible experiences. Purposefully gathering together an entire city filled with broken people is an intriguing concept, and as soon as I read the blurb I knew I had to find out what happens next.

When a character experienced something scary or new in this universe, the text told me what they were feeling instead of allowing their body language or dialogue to subtly reveal their emotions. This happened so often that I had trouble connecting to Seren in particular when even more surprising things popped up in their lives because I never quite felt like I got to know her as a unique individual.

I have a lot of sympathy for Seren. She is a vulnerable soul who so desperately wants to be loved that she’s willing to accept it from anyone who will give it to her. I would have loved to have more background information on her. It seemed odd to me that a teenage girl could spend so much time away from her home in this universe without anyone noticing she was missing. The handful of clues that were provided about her life were interesting, though, and helped to explain her low self-esteem and as well as her lack of adult supervision if my theory about what they are hinting at is correct.

There were many grammar and punctuation errors in this story. Some sentences didn’t have any punctuation marks at all. This made it difficult to figure out where one idea or description ended and the next one began. The author’s heavy use of sentence fragments was also confusing.

Strong pacing kept me engaged in the plot from beginning to end. It begins with Seren and Calix’s first meeting, so everything I learned about these characters happened at the same time that everything else was going on. Even though this was a full-length work, it felt like a novella in certain ways due to how quickly the main conflicts show up. Moving everything along so quickly was a good choice!

By far my biggest concern about this book, though, is how the relationship between Calix and Seren develops. Calix isolates her from other people, pushes her to get serious with him right away, and manipulates her when she attempts to make her own decisions. These can all be signs of an abusive relationship, so it was surprising to see the text treat them as romantic gestures. I understand why Seren would initially be wooed by his attention, but I was disappointed by the fact that no one acknowledged his inappropriate expectations of her.

I did enjoy the descriptions of Calix’s city. They often felt like they came from a gritty fairy tale that was never sanitized by The Brothers Grimm. The best scenes are the ones that describe all of the rooms in his castle, especially the black ballroom. It sounded like it would be a hauntingly beautiful place to see in person.

Despite its flaws, The City of the Broken was an interesting look at how our society treats people who aren’t easy to love. I’d recommend it as a cautionary tale to mature teens who are prepared for its occasionally disturbing content.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

The Sun, the Moon, and Maybe the Trains by Rodney Jones

June 18, 2014 By Leave a Comment

TRAINS
The Sun, the Moon, and Maybe the Trains by Rodney Jones
Publisher: Red Adept Publishing
Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Historical, Contemporary
Length: Full Length (251 pages)
Age Recommendation: 16+
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

What would it take to convince you that the woods you just left is a hundred and forty-four years distant from the one you entered?

Ten years have passed since the Civil War broke up John Bartley’s family. Living with his aunt and uncle in the tiny village of Greendale, Vermont, isn’t filled with excitement for a seventeen-year-old.

Until John walks into the woods one day and stumbles into 2009…
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Fortunately, he chances upon the outspoken Tess McKinnon. To earn her trust, he must first convince her that he is neither a lunatic nor a liar. The proof he needs is buried at the end of a mountain road, where the ruins of Greendale lie just beneath a layer of dead leaves and moss.

What became of his home? Why is there no record of its existence?

Sometimes you choose an adventure, and sometimes the adventure chooses you.

As soon as I read the premise of this novel, I knew I had to find out what happens next. Time travel is such a fascinating concept, and it’s even more intriguing when the protagonist does it accidentally. I liked seeing John go through his daily routines for a little while before he was suddenly jerked out of them. It developed his personality as well as helped me feel empathy for how disoriented he felt by the world he stumbled into.

John’s wide-eyed response to everything that has changed between his time and our own was quite funny. I was confused by his use of the English language, though, as there weren’t that many differences between the way he speaks and how Tess would phrase the same question or statement. Other than not understanding common words like car or cell phone, his speech patterns were almost indistinguishable from modern English. I briefly wondered if this was a side effect of the time travel, but my theory was never confirmed or denied.

There is still so much about these characters and the worlds they live in that has yet to be explored. From what I understand, there is a sequel to this book in the works. While I was satisfied with how this particular tale ended, I’d love to find out what happens to John and Tess next.

I’d recommend The Sun, the Moon, and Maybe the Trains to adult and young adult readers alike. This book has a little something for everyone!

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

By Force by Sara Hubbard

June 18, 2014 By Leave a Comment

FORCE
By Force by Sara Hubbard
Forever Fae #1
Publisher: Etopia Press
Genre: Action/Adventure, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Young Adult
Length: Full Length (218 pgs)
Age Recommendation: 16+
Heat Level: Sweet
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Aloe

Kidnapping Isame would set them free…

Isame wanted freedom: the freedom to travel, the freedom to explore, but most of all, the freedom to choose the life she wanted over the life—and the husband—her parents had chosen for her. But when Isame leaves home to accept another man’s proposal, she happens across five fierce, handsome warriors. She wonders why they’ve travelled so far from home, but she never imagines their purpose might have something to do with her. Not even after they kidnap her.

You will be able to achieve an erection upon arousal which will last for the generic viagra price duration of intercourse. The final separation cialis pills free occurs in the court. They viagra cialis india deeprootsmag.org were transporting a shipment of expensive plasma screen televisions, believed to have been worth over 250,000. Relaxation strategies might levitra uk try to find out more be useful when you are preventing the attack. Remmie is a man of honor and fierce loyalty. So when his king commands him to find a specific young woman on the island of Copaxa, he’s prepared to obey. But he’s not prepared for the woman to change everything. Isame is special. He can see it from the start. But how can one puny woman make him question everything he’s always known, including the rightness of doing what he’s promised?

Isame doesn’t want to stay in the village and marry the man her parents have chosen for her. She wants her freedom to travel, see other lands, and find her own love. But she has no choice…

Stories about the fae always draw me in but the arranged marriage theme also does. It’s hard enough to stay married to someone when you love them, who wants to be given in marriage to someone you don’t even know? Ms. Hubbard has a smooth writing style that draws you into the story and she gives you tidbits of information as you go along.

You know Isame is different because she heals quickly, too quickly to be human. However, she certainly didn’t expect to get kidnapped by the King’s Warriors. She’s going to get to see different lands and travel great distances but it won’t be as a free woman.

She tries to gain sympathy from her captors by telling them about her life. She gets mostly silence but she keeps trying. Eventually, one of them talks to her and tells her a little about their lives. As they keep travelling the relationship between them begins to change and they start to become friends instead of fiends. There is a bad apple in the bunch, though.

You can tell from what’s said and what’s not that the King wants her for nefarious purposes. The Warriors are not really comfortable with that. If that’s not enough danger in her life, the bad Warrior has been killed for attacking her, but he returns. The reason he returns has to do with her and he’s coming after her.

There’s plenty of excitement while the Warriors and Isame try to find the gypsy woman who wouldn’t share her fortune with her, the bad Warrior is after her, and the King is beginning to wonder why it’s taking them so long to get home.

The ending is magnificent and totally unexpected. This is the first in a new series so you know there will be more to come and I, for one, am glad to see that. There’s a romance blooming and I’m hoping it will be a happy ever after for both of them. Ms. Hubbard has me hooked.

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Ever Near by Melissa MacVicar

June 11, 2014 By 2 Comments

NEAR
Ever Near by Melissa MacVicar
Secret Affinity Book 1
Publisher: Red Adept Publishing
Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Contemporary
Length: Full Length (199 pages)
Age Recommendation: 16+
Heat Level: Sensual
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Love is ever near. But trouble is never far.

Nantucket Island is haunted, but only sixteen-year-old Jade Irving knows it. Ignoring the disturbing spirits isn’t an option, because one dwells in the enormous historic home she shares with her newly blended family. Jade is finding it more and more difficult to explain away Lacey’s ghostly, anguished tantrums, especially with Charlie, her gorgeous, almost step-brother, living right across the hall.

When a power-hungry ghost hunter tracks down Jade and blackmails her, Jade’s secret teeters on the edge of exposure, and her entire future hangs in the balance. If anyone finds out Jade can talk to ghosts, her life will be forever changed.
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Can she save herself, free Lacey, and hang on to her tenuous connection with Charlie? Or will everything she ever wanted slip through her fingers?

Some gifts come with strings attached to them. What’s worse is that Jade couldn’t reject her gift or know ahead of time just how disruptive it would be in her otherwise ordinary life.

Jade is an intelligent protagonist who has never quite managed to get used to seeing the dead. While she can be snarky and a bit too serious at times, I liked her sharp-tongued approach to the things that she knows she can’t change. Her nonchalant approach to her own sexuality was also refreshing. She’s not embarrassed by the idea of preparing for safer sex ahead of time, but neither does this part of her life take up a great deal of her time.

It would have been helpful to know more about the past and personality of a secondary character who becomes interested in Jade’s life. Some of his actions come across as inappropriate given that he’s an adult stranger who follows a teenage girl around. From what I understand, this book is the beginning of a new series. I hope that more answers are given about his behaviour in the sequel.

Not every ghost is cute and cuddly. Encountering violent, unpredictable spirits without ever being able to opt out of the experience isn’t exactly what I’d consider to be a good time. Lacey’s backstory was particularly frightening. What I liked most about it was how slowly it was revealed. Some of the other paranormal scenes are pretty intense, though, so for this reason I strongly recommend sticking with the age recommendation.

The romantic elements were out of place in an otherwise dark plot. The characters involved in it meet under an odd set of circumstances to say the least. While they aren’t doing anything illegal, their actions do cross certain social boundaries in ways that I found disturbing. I never quite understood why this particular subplot was included, but this tale would have earned a much higher rating without it.

I didn’t know much about Nantucket before reading this book, but it’s an intriguing setting for a ghost story. There’s a big difference between how certain residents have projected themselves in public and what’s really going on behind closed doors. Everyone carries a few secrets around with them. It’s how they react when they thinks those secrets are about to be revealed that makes Jade’s journey such an interesting one.

Ever Near Book 1: Secret Affinity has piqued my curiosity. This is a good choice for anyone who thinks that paranormal activity isn’t necessarily something anyone in their right mind would seek out.

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The JAX Chronicles: Initiation by Jen Lemons

June 3, 2014 By Leave a Comment

JAX
The JAX Chronicles: Initiation by Jen Lemons
Publisher: Self-published
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Action/Adventure
Length: Full Length (276 pages)
Age Recommendation: 16+
Heat Level: Sensual
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Samantha Withers is a troubled 18-year-old, who is desperate to break ties with her overbearing father and escape undeserved blame for her mother’s rape and murder. She struggles with her caged inner demons, afraid of the havoc she’ll wreak if she gives in to her anger. It begins the night Sam is recruited by a mysterious man named X for a job that may be a little too perfect for her situation: hit man. X can give Sam everything: money, freedom and his sexy employer, Ace.

All Sam has to do is become an adversary to society. Sam agrees, justifying it as vigilante work. Through her unorthodox training at Ace’s secret base of operations, Sam’s strength and skills intensify, as does her “friendship” with X and obsession with Ace, and she learns she’s not the only one struggling with personal demons and a haunting past.

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Every choice has a consequence, but not every consequence can be anticipated ahead of time.

Trauma might as well be Samantha’s middle name. Her tumultuous childhood has left behind deep psychological scars that make themselves known from the beginning of this tale. Certain words and gestures that the average person would interpret as friendly or harmless carry much darker connotations to this character. What I found most interesting about her, though, were the brief glimpses of the young woman behind her emotional anguish. Samantha is a well-rounded protagonist whose raw reactions to everything she has endured so far are painfully realistic.

Uneven pacing shows up fairly early on. So much time was spent explaining Samantha’s backstory and showing how she adjusts to her new life that there wasn’t as much time left to explain all of the clues about her mother’s death that she discovers at each hit as I would have preferred to see. Even though it was full length, certain aspects of the plot felt like they weren’t given enough time to fully develop. This could have easily been a much longer story.

Far too often justice only applies to people who aren’t wealthy or powerful enough to outrun it. What I found most fascinating about this tale was how the assassins attempt to level the playing field by ending the lives of people who should have been stopped much sooner. The most memorable scenes discuss the morality of what Samantha and X are doing. From what I understand, there is a sequel in the works to The JAX Chronicles: Initiation, so I’m looking forward to seeing how the moral codes of these characters develop as they complete even more hits.

I was confused by some of the rules of this universe. Characters say one thing but then do another without a compelling explanation for their apparent change of heart. It was never quite clear to me if these reversals were intended to erase what had been previously revealed about those characters or if there was something untrustworthy about their personalities that I never picked up on.

As soon as I read the premise, I knew I had to give this novel a try. The idea of a teenager becoming an assassin is as riveting as it is disconcerting. Ms. Lemons embraces the dark side of Samantha’s new identity, and the results are inappropriate for anyone under the age recommendation. In some ways this didn’t sound much like a young adult novel at all given the violent setting and graphic flashbacks to Samantha’s childhood.

The JAX Chronicles: Initiation straddles the line between young adult and adult fiction. I’d particularly recommend it to anyone who is interested in dipping their toes into a young adult novel or who is ready to start reading something gritty.

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Boys Like You by Juliana Stone

May 7, 2014 By 1 Comment

BOYS
Boys Like You by Juliana Stone
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Genre: Contemporary, YA
Length: Full Length (288 pgs)
Age Recommendation: 16+
Rating: 3.5 stars
Reviewed by Lupine

One mistake.

And everything changes.

For Monroe Blackwell, one small mistake has torn her family apart –leaving her empty and broken. There’s a hole in her heart that nothing can fill. That no one can fill. And a summer in Louisiana with her Grandma isn’t going to change that…
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Nathan Everets knows heartache first-hand when a car accident leaves his best friend in a coma. And it’s his fault. He should be the one lying in the hospital. The one who will never play guitar again. He doesn’t deserve forgiveness, and a court-appointed job at the Blackwell B&B isn’t going to change that…

Captivating and hopeful, this achingly poignant novel brings together two lost souls struggling with grief and guilt – looking for acceptance, so they can find forgiveness.

Though both of the main characters have suffered through great losses in their life, both are struggling to tough through it…together.

Meet Monroe Blackwell, city girl, who, in the midst of a breakdown of sorts, goes to Louisiana to spend time with her grandmother. She might appear angry and distant at first, but her heart bears a heavy weight that she believes no one will be able to lift. Guilt crushes her everyday, and she never lets it show. At least, not until she’s alone…but when her walls come down, she is a shell of her former self. I admired the fact that she wasn’t being a trouble to her family, no matter what she had done.

Nathan Everets might have caused his best friend to be hospitalized, and yes, he may never wake up, but Nathan doesn’t deal with the pain as well as Monroe does. His scorn and the obvious amount of guilt he carries is much more noticeable. He’s blind to what people see in him, and won’t accept their offers of forgiveness. I thought his growth of character was the most interesting, because he seemed to have the farthest to go, and was able to pick up on old habits again without feeling badly about it.

I liked the plot itself; I found it to be touching and sweet. However…the use of profanity and crude words did not go unnoticed; plus, I found the pastimes of Nathan’s friends to be disturbing and the sexual content is most definitely not for younger readers, despite the publisher’s age recommendation (with which I disagree — and I think it’s important to note that I am in the targeted age range).

Overall, though, I liked what Monroe and Nathan went through together. The growth of character was interesting to read about and certainly kept me turning pages. And one more note? The cover is awesome. 🙂

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , ,

Eagle Peak by Elizabeth Fontaine

March 24, 2014 By Leave a Comment

EAGLE
Eagle Peak by Elizabeth Fontaine
Publisher: Prizm Books
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Length: Full Length (191 pages)
Age Recommendation: 16+
Heat Level: Spicy
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Eagle Peak, population 596, has two bars, five churches, and a vibe (or lack thereof) that couldn’t be more different than Sean’s native Minneapolis. Moving to rural small town Minnesota, Sean must leave his life of acting classes, going to all-ages shows, and hanging out with friends, to enter into a world of pep rallies, pick-up trucks and country pop.
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Sean’s inclination for heavy eyeliner, black attire, and surly attitude make him an easy target of suspicion, intrigue, and prejudice in the small town of Eagle Peak. But despite Sean’s growing sense of dread and depression, small town Minnesota also offers a lot of firsts: he becomes the love interest of three classmates of which one is a closeted gay boy afraid of his own sexuality, he is surprised to discover and chant with a Buddhist family in town, and he gets in the middle of an abusive father and his town jock son. Sean’s old life of theater, live music, and diverse friends collides with his new life in Eagle Peak, and Sean is left confused about what he thought he knew about small towns, the world he left behind, and himself.

Sean has a definite opinion about what he thinks it will be like to live in the middle of nowhere, but only time will tell if his first impressions of his new home are correct.

Excellent character development made it impossible for me to stop reading. Sean is a well-developed protagonist whose personal strengths and weaknesses reveal themselves almost immediately. What makes Eagle Peak such a great tale, though, is how this development spreads to the secondary characters as well. The author acknowledges certain stereotypes only to turn them upside down just when this reader thought she had everything figured out.

All of the subplots are handled with sensitivity and humor. Ms. Fontaine tackles a lot of tough subjects during the course of Sean’s adjustment to Eagle Peak, but she weaves everything together so deftly that all of the points of conflict feel like natural extensions of the main storyline. My sole criticism of this story involves the way one of the subplots is resolved. Certain parts of it felt a little rushed due to the nature of the problem and how much it affected the character who was figuring it out earlier on in the narrative. This is a minor criticism of an otherwise well put-together plot, though.

It’s difficult to explain what it feels like to live in a small town if you stand out from the crowd in some way, but Ms. Fontaine accurately captures the positives and negatives of belonging to a minority group while living in a rural setting. This is the kind of book I’d heartily recommend to anyone who is curious about this topic.

Eagle Peak is a must-read for anyone who has ever felt out of place. It captures the maelstrom of emotions that accompanies this experience well and is something I will be rereading again soon.

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Off Target by Molly Taggart

March 20, 2014 By Leave a Comment

TARGET
Off Target by Molly Taggart
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Contemporary, YA
Length: Full Length (190 pgs)
Age Recommendation: 16+
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Quince

Sophie Mitchell may be the top marksman on her high school rifle team, but she has bad aim when it comes to boys. Her best friend Cory tells her that she doesn’t have to date, but how else is she supposed to fit in? Even her own mother thinks she’s eccentric. What soon-to-be eighteen-year-old girl isn’t interested in romance? So Sophie devises a plan that will enable her to date even while she remains bullet-proofed from love. As Cory observes her amorous adventures from downrange, he worries that, these days, Cupid might be making armor-piercing bullets.

This incorporates conditions called angulation, Peyronie’s sickness and cavernosal fibrosis. *If you have a disease viagra for sale mastercard that can result from use of a medicine. Phalluses with spines are commonplace viagra best prices in promiscuous species like cats. Then again, recent research has presented this finding proper numbers of http://appalachianmagazine.com/2019/04/10/wytheville-theres-only-one/ generic cialis in canada sleep at night will reduce positive Add signs or symptoms are felt. Erectile dysfunction is such a problem that no body would ever like to discuss it even in casual discussions as men are extremely petrified about letting anybody else know about their ‘inability’. cheap viagra soft Off Target is a story of love, family, and coming-of-age that will appeal to both mature and young adults.

I love surprises. And this story was a great surprise for me, because I did not like it at first, at all. But fortunately after the second third the story found its momentum and I could not put it down.

Off Target is coming of age story. I is an interracial romance and it is also a tender family story. The main character of the tale is Sophie Mitchell, member of a high school team who likes marksmanship more than dating. She has her circle of friends and her family, and she is happy with her life. The story follows Sophie’s life from the age of seventeen till the early twenties and actually it is normal life, without too much drama, angst or ups and downs. What I liked about this story was its unpredictability. Whenever I thought that the story might go in one direction it ended up going in a completely different one, which turned out far better than the one I expected and that made me happy. Also, all the characters are likable; there are no villains here, just normal average people living normal lives.

As I already mentioned, I struggled a little with the story at the beginning, mostly because of the writing style. The author tended to insert these little snippets of conversation and it caused odd digressions in the story. That bothered me while reading because the snippets distracted me from the story line. Once the author stopped using those intrusive bits, the story became more fluid and much more enjoyable to read.

By the time I reached the end of the book I was thrilled that I stuck it out and read through the rough parts because the ending made me happy. The best description of my reading experience of this story is a quote from it: Sometimes life is like that mesh veil, Sophie thinks. You may think you know what’s under there; you can see the vague form, but until the veil is gone, and the light shines in all its revealing warmth, you don’t know, not really. And you might be surprised by what you find.

Off Target is a feel good story that I highly recommend.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , ,

Haven Awakening by Gryffyn Phoenix

March 11, 2014 By Leave a Comment

HAVEN
Haven Awakening by Gryffyn Phoenix
Publisher: Avalerion Books
Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Contemporary, Action/Adventure
Length: Full Length (261 pages)
Age Recommendation: 16+
Heat Level: Sensual
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

What if you were blind and your parents gave you new eyes for your sixteenth birthday? Suddenly, all the world is back in glorious colorful detail. . . but what if there were more? What if you opened your new eyes and saw your doctor and parents smiling at you, full of love and joy… but attached to the doctor’s legs are hideous squirming monsters that no one can see but you? And the nurse has a dark pit on her chest spitting acid … and those are the easy ones.

Verity Chambers is seeing these things with her new eyes, horrible monsters that couldn’t possibly exist in her world, but do. In shock, Verity discovers she can now see past the barriers that protect Earth from the countless creatures she thought existed only in nightmares.

Throw into the mix a blood feud, two mega-hot not-quite-human boys, and a nasty girl who may be a demon, and you’ve got a difficult road ahead for Verity, who thought her toughest challenge in life would be color coordinating her outfits for school.

But hey—if Verity doesn’t make it to seventeen, at least now she’ll see it coming.

Two Teams.
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Opposite Sides.

The new veil-seer has been made

A mortal female.

Now the game has changed.

And planet Earth is the prize.

Every action has a consequence, but not every consequence can be predicted ahead of time.

Verity is a such a well-developed character that I knew exactly what kind of personality she has by the end of the first scene. Her snarky, intelligent commentary on all of the unexpected things that happen to her after her cornea transplant lends a healthy dose of skepticism to her experiences. The fact that she doesn’t immediately adjust to her surroundings makes a lot of sense given how violent, unpredictable, and sensual this new world is, although the inclusion of these scenes makes this a book that should not be passed down to younger readers.

I would have preferred to see more well developed secondary characters. So much of what I learn about their individual personalities comes from how focused they are on everything that happens to Verity. While I understand why they find her so fascinating, the idea of one person attracting so much attention didn’t always fit in with what I learned about their society. It would have been helpful had more time been spent on the difference between what the secondary characters say they value versus what they actually pay the most attention to as the discrepancy grows more distracting over time.

The world building in this book is incredible. Ms. Phoenix develops so many different species, alliances, and old, festering wounds between various groups simultaneously that I was nearly as disoriented as Verity is in the first few chapters. I was especially interested in how the author uses myths and legends from a wide variety of cultures to flesh out the narrative. They work quite well with the original creatures that she throws into Verity’s path as the plot progresses.

Haven Awakening is a wild ride that is as much fun for adults as it is for young adult readers. Why not give it a try today?

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,
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