Strange things are happening to Daire Santos. Crows mock her, glowing people stalk her, time stops without warning, and a beautiful boy with unearthly blue eyes haunts all her dreams. Fearing for her daughter’s sanity, Daire’s mother sends her to live with the grandmother she’s never met. A woman who recognizes the visions for what they truly are—the call to her destiny as a Soul Seeker—one who can navigate the worlds between the living and dead. There on the dusty plains of Enchantment, New Mexico, Daire sets out to harness her mystical powers. But it’s when she meets Dace, the boy from her dreams, that her whole world is shaken to its core. Now Daire is forced to discover if Dace is the one guy she's meant to be with...or if he’s allied with the enemy she's destined to destroy.
I am completely torn by this book, I really enjoyed it but at the same time there was some things that I didn't like as much. My gut instinct is telling me that I really loved it and the critic in me is saying "Seriously Jade, are you just going to ignore the flaws". Ahhh!
What i really loved about this book was the setting. I love books with unique settings and I just loved the traditional Native American vibe that this book has, that vibe is carried by Paloma, Daire's latino grandmother who was definitely my favorite character in the book. At the same time there's a hint of a modern way of life, with The Rabbit Hole, a club, being the main hang out for people in the town.
The blurb for this book promised me romance and I was seriously let down on the romance side. I did love Dace, the love interest (I for one do like guys with long hair, especially the native american looking ones! Swoon!) and I loved Dace and Daire together, the problem was that there wasn't many scenes where we see the romance developing so it kind of comes across as insta-love. I would have loved more Daire and Dace and I can't wait till I get to see more of them in the sequel.
The bad guy, Cade was evil, but he didn't really do much for me, I wasn't scared of him and I didn't hate him, I was just indifferent, hopefully I'll start to dislike him more in the sequel. The person I disliked more than Cade was Daire's mother, Jennika. Jennika was just horrible, she basically calls her daughter psycho, leaves her with a grandmother she doesn't even know then has the nerve to get worried when she doesn't hear from her daughter, seriously, I just wanted to slap her round the face.
I love the paranormal aspect of this book, though at times I got very confused with what was going on and what was real and what wasn't. What was actually happening in some scenes; I had to reread some parts to get some clarity of what was going on. I did love the idea of guardian spirit animals and all of the native american spirituality, that was one aspect of the book that I really enjoyed.
Overall, an enjoyable book but has some flaws. I loved the love interest but would have liked more development on the romance and some parts did confuse me. I will still most definitely be reading the sequel, Echo, in September.
Overall Rating: C+
Book released May 24th by PanMacmillan
Book received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I really did enjoy this new book by Alyson Noël, It was amazingly mind-blowing novel, filled with magic, mystery, and a perfect guy. Very much a typical Alyson novel.. and I loved it! I know when the Evermore series had ended I was really sad to see it go, as it was one of my favorite series, but this definitely filled that void. Not to mention, I had read the free short story of when Ever meets Daire (you can get it free here at Amazon) it shows me its still the same type of world Ever was from. This is all about Daire and Dace, and its so beautifully written. With magic and suspense filling the pages with such a unique story, I can't help but want more.
ReplyDeleteThe book is about a whole new type of people, Soul Seekers, Daire has these visions, and she thinks she is going crazy, so goes to live with her grandma in New Mexico. Once there, she learns she is a Soul Seeker, and she starts her training with her. Then she meets the boy of her dreams, and then the bad one of course, some major stuff happens for sure. I do not want to spoil it for anyone.
I'll say the story was beautifully planned, and flowed from chapter to chapter, with such a unique story, I was amazed at the time and effort I know she had to put into this story, I know she had to have visited New Mexico to get all that so perfect, as I myself have been there before, and she described it all so perfect.