Thursday, January 12, 2012

The Light of Asteria by Elizabeth Isaacs GIVEAWAY


Official tour stop

Review

My Summary:

Nora Johnson's life changes the day she literally runs into a gorgeous guy with emerald green eyes on campus.  She's been helping her friends move onto campus but she has to go back home to the community college.  Not that she couldn't get into a big school, it's just...well... complicated.  Disappointed to leave her friends, she hurries off campus only to run into Gavin.  The wave of emotions and change that heats through her is tangible.  She hurries off expecting to never see him again.  But she has been changed in more ways than being attracted to a guy she doesn't think she can have.  Those changes refuse to be ignored.  So she finds excuses to go on campus again and there he is.  What's more, he seems like he at least want to be friends.  Nora falls fast and hard for Gavin but he has secrets he isn't telling her.  One of the biggest secrets is that she is different than anyone he has ever met.  He wants nothing more than to be around her.  Should she be trusting him?  Who is he really?  Nora must decide as she struggles to figure out who she is and how she fits into Gavin's mystical world.

My Thoughts:



4 stars - a great read

I think I'm an urban fantasy girl.  I don't really like epic fantasy where the other worlds are so strange and different that I spend too much time trying to keep up with the world building that I don't enjoy the story.  I think The Light of Asteria is a great comprise to these two worlds.  Starting in a nice comfortable world that I know well, this story introduces the central players and some of the "magic" while I'm still very happy surrounded by things I easily understand.  Then just when I'm wondering more about what's on the other side of the portal, the story goes there.  But because I already know so much about my characters and their lure, I'm still happy learning about their new world.  Nice world building.

The plot for this story started fast, with Nora meeting Gavin with in just a few pages.  The mystery was in place quickly and I was hooked.  I wanted to know what Gavin was and what happened to Nora when he touched her.  The scenes sped by giving me important information but not dragging through nonessential.  Bottom line, enjoyed the plot.

The best part of this book was the characters.  Nora has had more than her fair share of struggles in her life.  She can't go to a big college with her friends because she needs to help her foster mom take care of the farm.  While it makes her sad, she is a strong determined girl making good choices.  I liked her right away.  I will say that before the end of the book, I was beginning to think Nora was a little too perfect - don't growl at me Gavin.  ;)  But she is a nice strong female lead.  By far, my favorite character is Gavin.  Holding back his secrets, Gavin is a warrior that fights demons and wants to protect Nora.  But guess what, Nora saves him more times than he saves her.  Nice change there.  What I really liked about Gavin is that he grew over the course of the book. Nora seemed to already be...well... perfect but Gavin has some growing to do.  And he did.  I loved that he listened to Nora and while he didn't always like what she told him, he almost always responded positively.  Before the end, he was a better person.  Love that in a character.  LOVE the relationship between Gavin and Nora, so steamy while still very appropriate for teens.

As for the ending, can I just say that I really HOPE that book two picks up in the very second that book one ends.  It's not really a cliffhanger but I would have loved one more chapter.  Needless to say, I'll be reading book two very soon.

This is a great read if you like your fantasy not quite so epic but still out of this world.  Great YA read too. 







Elizabeth Isaacs | Twitter | Amazon Author Page| Asteria Blog  Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Smashwords

*** GIVEAWAY***

I'm please to have an eBook copy of The Light of Asteria to share with one of my readers.  Just fill out the rafflecopter below.

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3 comments:

  1. I'm a sucker for guys with gorgeous eyes. lol! Thanks for the giveaway! I've heard many great reviews about this one.

    Karen

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  2. thanks had my eye on this book for a while!

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