Synopsis: To survive, their bond must be unbreakable. When the mysterious and passionate Rhane rescues Kali from an attacker in the theater parking lot, they form an immediate, smoldering connection. But Kali doesn't remember Rhane or anything from their past. As far as Kali knows, she's just a seventeen-year-old kid coping with an insatiable hunger for the “spark” or energy of others, feeding on classmates to survive. A unique artifact—one that may hold the key to returning Kali’s memories—is uncovered by the archaeology firm where she works part-time, sending Kali and Rhane on a dangerous journey that leads them to the Forbidden City, into the unforgiving Gobi, and into the ruins of Rhane’s ancient homeland. As they fight for survival, Kali begins to discover who she really is and the true power she possesses. But Rhane still harbors a secret that could destroy Kali…unless old enemies kill her first. Review: I’m not a huge fan. I was really hoping to like this book (I mean, the cover’s beautiful!), and because of all the great reviews it has been getting, I went into it with high expectations. I sadly have to say that this book just did not deliver. I wasn’t a fan of Eden Ashley’s style of writing. I found that the words just didn’t flow well and sometimes it felt like she just grabbed a thesaurus in order to make the book sound more intellectual – but those words just felt out of place. I also felt like Ashley’s portrayal of main character, Kali wasn’t quite right. Kali’s voice and choice of diction often sounded like an adult who is trying to be young again and fit in with the “hip” crowd, rather than sounding like a teenager. I also found the book itself to be laid out in a strange way. Most of the chapters were between one and three pages long – which made the book seem really fragmented, limiting its flow. Fortunately, the chapters sometimes switched voices between characters – which saved the book a little for me, as I love hearing from different points of view! What confused me the most was trying to figure out what age group this story is for. I mean, I would definitely categorize it a young adult book, but how young? Some of the content seemed a little mature, as Kali tended to be quite the promiscuous teenager who couldn’t control her hormones (maybe rated PG13?). Yet, the story seemed to be written in a very simplistic way which suggests it would be for a younger audience. I don’t know. It’s a weird combination of form vs content. What completely saved this story for me was the IDEA of the story, not the execution of writing it. The idea of a siren with lost memories and a race of shape shifters was really intriguing! Not to mention the trip to Mongolia which supplied a nice change of scenery. Though this idea was fantastic, as I said, it was not executed well. I found the story to be very predictable; and the twists were only mildly shocking. At times it became frustrating when crucial information is discovered by Kali, but she acts like she doesn’t understand, or she doesn’t completely regard it. This just made her seem really clueless and stunned. Needless to say, I had no emotional connection to the characters in this story which made everything seem less exciting. The romance was really superficial and seemed to be really forced by the author. So, no. I don’t quite ship Kali and Rhane. There’s really no chemistry, just hormones. The book seemed to end really abruptly too, with too many unanswered questions. Although this book ended with a cliff-hanger, I’m not going to be continuing this series. As far as I’m concerned, this story seemed to have good intentions but just fell short in so many ways. Rating: 2/5 Stars
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WelcomeHey everyone, my name is Amy and this is my reading and writing blog. Look out for book reviews, hauls, recommendations and original writing! xo Archives
October 2016
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