February 2012
386 pages, Paperback
Review copy
Themes:
bullying, super powers, struggling to survive, family secrets,
betrayal, surviving school, finding out who you are, honing skills,
spying, incredible buildings, people's souls, vampires, unicorns,
fairies (of sorts), dynamics of step-families, step-sibling bonds, teen
romance, a fair amount of graphic violence, occasional swearing
Book summary (from part of the press release data)
Seventeen-year old Alexander Eden
lives the life that every teenager dreads. A geeky high school pariah with zero
social status, a walking target for bullies with a step-brother who beats him
at everything, Alex’s existence is a painful, unending thread of misery and
humiliation. So when the mysterious, breathtakingly beautiful Gabriella de Luca
moves into town, Alex doesn’t even bother trying to talk to her. Everyone wants
to know her; boys want to date her; girls want to be her. How could Alex
compete? Yet even surrounded by her cloud of admirers Gabriella doesn’t seem to
notice them. Instead her eyes lock straight on Alex. In that one searing moment
Alex is drawn to Gabriella with a forcefulness he can neither comprehend nor
fight, and as her gaze bores into his soul he feels his body coursing with
strange electric shocks.
That night the nightmares begin; a macabre repetitive
nocturne in which a masked figure stalks him, with each dream more terrifying
than the last. After three days locked in a haze of strange visions Alex wakes
in a local park with no recollection of where he’s been or how he got there.
Disoriented and alone, he stumbles out to the road, raising his head just in
time to see the speeding car that smashes into him. But as glass rains around
him he hears not the sound of breaking bones, but of tearing metal as the
bonnet cleaves into a twisted heap around his body. Alex has been awakened.
Nayuleska's thoughts
*smiles*
I really like this book. Incredibly, even though the protag is male I
loved reading about his adventures. I paid more attention to Gabriella,
who rides a motorbike (something I can only dream about as I have zero
sense of balance & love my car), who is fast, skilled in fighting
and very strong. Oh and with a dark past that Alex manages to pry out
of her. Well, he does look out for her even when she's looking out for
him. He hides some things from her which make her fume, but mostly he
shares everything. They have a special bond and get the most awesome
weapons and fight scenes. I was crying a lot near the end, both sad and
happy tears. There's so much action - some was so gross my usual nausea
got worse but with all the excitement I wasn't that bothered.
I
do have a few areas I wasn't keen on. The page with all the
recommendations didn't have any sources quoted, which was a bit odd.
Sometimes I got a bit bored with the descriptions, especially when some
history is explained. There were some stylistic/formatting errors which
stuck out because the rest of the book is so addictive. But the awesome
parts balance the book out, which is why it deserves 9/10.
You can find out more on Stuart's website.
Suggested read
For addictive reading with a female protagonist check out The Demon Trappers series by Jana Oliver which starts with Forbidden
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