Friday 3 April 2015

Vikings, Romans and Greeks oh my


Blurb:
On the other side of death is destiny.

Callie Ingram is spending her senior year focused on one thing: swimming. Her skill as a competitive swimmer is going to secure a scholarship and her future, or so she hopes. She has big plans, and Liam Hale, her gorgeous new neighbor, isn't going to affect them. But when Callie sees Liam beheading someone, she learns his family has a secret that will change everything. The Hales are Vikings, demi-gods who've been charged by The Fates to find their new destined leader. 

Callie's caught in the middle of a budding Norse apocalypse, in love with Liam Hale and desperate to protect her best friend ... who the Hales believe is marked for transformation. Putting the clues together as fast as she can, can discovers she has the power to rewrite destiny, for herself and all humankind.

Review:
I love sci-fi/fantasy books and anything to do with the ancient gods.  This book, however, had them all which was a bit of a confusion, like the author was trying to get everything into just one book.  That said the explanation provided as to how all these different beings can co-exist was imaginative.


I did like the female lead Calypso (what a name) and her relationship with Justin and Allison but I did not like how she was constantly in fear of her life.  Also Calypso (what a name lol) was a bit dim and did not realise who she was and her importance to the story despite the extensive research she did and the information she gleaned from the mysterious, broody and gorgeous (aren’t they always) Liam.  I guessed what Calypso was way before the reveal.

The secondary characters could also have done with having more fleshed out and having more depth to their characters and back story.  I was actually rooting for Justin at one stage and hope he makes a re-appearance in the later books in the series.  I also lived Oliver and wish he had more page time and he is the perfect side kick to Liam.

There was, the ubiquitous love interest but Callie was true to her own self and explored/considered her options, she also considers the feelings of a third party before embarking on this love element.  The relationship she chose allowed her to blossom, she discovered herself in interesting ways. 

The story was a bit of a slow boil with back story being revealed only when it was pertinent to the plot.  Unfortunately, this reader felt that all in all it was just too little too late.  Through all the twists and turns the story lead the readers to a set action sequence which was really rather interesting and a good pay off.  Sadly, this reader felt the ending was so so and felt rushed.

In all this is a good book, not a great book, but a book that had enough ingredients to keep the reader engaged throughout and ensures that readers would vested enough to want to find out how this story pans out.  This reader will be looking forward to reading book 2 to see what develops in this fascinating world and between Justin, Callie, and Liam.

Full Disclosure: ARC received from Netgalley for an honest review.

I rated this book 3 stars on Netgalley and 'I liked it' on Goodreads (3 stars) and Amazon (4 stars).

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