Forsaken Blog Tour: review and giveaway
Reader Girls is today's stop on the Forsaken Blog Tour hosted by Young Adult Novel Reader. We feature a blurb, the author's bio, our review and a giveaway.
Enjoy your Sunday with a good book!
Forsaken A Daughters Of The Sea Novel by Kristen Day
YA fantasy * ebook* 268 pages * Publisher: Self Published
Once you’ve been touched by darkness, it never leaves you…
Abandoned by her parents as an infant; seventeen year old Hannah spent her childhood wading through countless foster families until being adopted by the Whitmans three years ago. Unfortunately, Atlanta’s high society wasn’t quite ready for Hannah…or the strange events that plague her.
Chilling visions of murder, unexplained hallucinations, and a dark, mysterious guy who haunts her nightmares all culminate to set in motion a journey of self-discovery that will challenge everything she’s ever believed; not to mention her sanity.
Sent to live at The House of Lorelei on Bald Head Island, NC for ‘kids like her’, Hannah quickly realizes things are not what they seem. Her fellow ‘disturbed’ teens are actually the descendents of mythical Sea Gods and Goddesses. And so is she.
But when Finn, the ghost from her dreams, appears in the flesh; her nightmares become reality and her dark visions begin coming true. Inexplicably drawn to him, she can’t deny the dangerous hold he has on her heart. The deadly secrets he harbors will ultimately test her courage and push the boundaries of her love.
She must decide if she is ready to embrace the ancient legend she is prophesized to be a part of. The fate of all the descendents will forever depend upon it.
About Kristen Day
Kristen Day is a southern belle at heart with a crazy streak that desperately tries to escape at every opportunity. She loves all things nostalgic, rustic, and quirky. She’s been told she sees the world through rose-colored glasses, but she prefers to think of them as kaleidoscope glasses - swirling and morphing reality into something she can digest (who hasn't pretended those pasty lima beans were really kiwi strawberry jelly beans?).
She is the author of the DAUGHTERS OF THE SEA trilogy, which includes FORSAKEN, AWAKEN (Oct 2012), and CHOSEN (Winter 2012). She loves all books, but really enjoys writing young adult, paranormal romances. She’s loved to write for as long as she can remember. Her first published work was her poem RED in second grade (you guessed it - it was a poem about the color red - life altering, right?) that won her 5 gold stars and a spot in her elementary school's poetry book. That's when her addiction to the written word officially began. She was the only kid in fifth grade that actually enjoyed diagramming sentences. Go ahead and laugh - its okay.
When she’s not writing she’s making jewelry, painting, feeding her addiction to sweet tea, watching the Discovery Channel, or going on random adventures in the mountains of North Carolina with her amazing husband. She was born in Boone, NC and graduated from Appalachian State University with a degree in Marketing in 2001.
Review:
I was not much of a Greek mythology fan until this year with the increase of novels I've seen and a few I've read which have incorporated this rich history into their tales. Forsaken was a pleasant surprise, an enjoyable read and I sat back, got comfortable, and let Hannah tell me her story. At first I thought the book might be sad since she was an orphan and went from foster home to foster home. Even though this last family had taken her in at 13 and she was now 17, life in that home had its drawbacks (nasty stepsister). When Hannah is told by a doctor she is to leave her home and go to a new school on an island, she is shocked. So was I. Her birthmark which is mistaken for a tattoo, is unknowingly identified and Hannah is whisked away to a place where the students are like her--different. From then on, I found my eyes soaring across the pages, as Hannah, now calling herself Anastasia, finds a home with her three roommates.
Besides acceptance, Stasia finds love with Finn, a mysterious hunk she has seen in her strange dreams for the last three years and is now a student. I felt, once again, their relationship was rushed (as many are in YA today). Finn was on the stalker-ish side but our heroine forgot about that as she gazed into his eyes. At least the author gave the couple quite a few scenes and showed us their growing attachment. The romance, while there were some sweet and powerful moments, did occasionally suffer from 'flowery' descriptions. I may not have been convinced by their insta-coupling but Stasia and Finn seemed to be a perfect couple. What I did enjoy was her relationship with her roomies and how each girl was different and there for Stasia. Also, the idea of each student having a mentor was nice and Stasia's mentor was Kira, another character I liked.
The island school and the classification of students with stone bracelets and birthmarks stood out in this story for me, such unique ideas and each was conveyed convincingly. Also, the vast mythology was fascinating and I loved the affinities the students developed along with their powers. The scenes with the sea animals, especially the sea turtles, were lovely and I must thank Ms. Day for including them--very special touches will help make this story last in my mind until the next book in the series comes out.
I am a fan, of Kristen Day, of the Daughters of the Sea series, of Stasia and her friends. Fresh ideas, a main character with a fun voice and unusual abilities, a love story and more make Forsaken an enchanting YA novel.
Rating: 3.5 Liked it!
Cover comment: No girls in pretty dresses. An interesting image but considering so many of the underwater creatures and gods and goddesses, I would have preferred sea turtles, sea horses and dolphins on the cover.
Book source: I received an eARC from the author in return for my honest review during a book tour.
Giveaway:
The author is giving away 7 e-books of Forsaken. This is a tourwide giveaway and ends on 9/30. Enter below.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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