Monday, November 5, 2012

The Athena Effect by Derrolyn Anderson


Country girl Cali has been kept a secret her entire life, raised in isolation by two very troubled people. Despite her parent’s disturbing fits, Cal is perfectly content, living at one with the nature that surrounds her, and finding adventure inside the pages of her beloved books. When an awful tragedy tears her away from her remote cabin in the woods, nothing she’s ever read has prepared her for a world that she knows very little about.

Girls and motorcycles are what bad-boy Cal’s life is all about. Brought up in a raucous party house by his biker brother, he’s free to do as he pleases, going through the motions on his final days of high school. Aimless, Cal stopped thinking about his future a long time ago.

Attacked by a gang of thugs while running an errand for his brother, Cal is in serious trouble until a fierce girl appears out of nowhere to intervene. She chases off three grown men, sparing Cal a brutal beating before disappearing into the night like a spirit. He can’t stop thinking about his mysterious rescuer, and when she turns out to be the weird new girl at school who goes out of her way to avoid him, he can’t contain his curiosity.

He’s never met anyone like her before, and the more he learns about the unusual girl who shares his nickname, the more he wants to know. Cal can’t help falling for Cal, but can he keep her from falling victim to a dangerous enemy from her parent’s tragic past?
 
This is a solid beginning to a new Young Adult series, with a wonderful protagonist and a pretty fast-paced plot.

The story draws you in from the very beginning, with nice descriptive writing that never gets in the way of the plot or slows it down. Although the YA field is replete with paranormal romances, this one stands out. The plot is different, and Cali, the protagonist, manages to catch the reader’s heart pretty quickly. One thing I did wish was to get to know her parents a bit more, to get a bit more background into their lives. But since this is the first book in a series, we’ll probably get some of that information in the coming books.

The romance was handled well. It wasn’t as overdone as some of the recent young adult books, so for those of you who have an issue with insta-love, this one is a good choice.

I do recommend this book for pretty much everyone who loves young adult paranormal romance. There is something for everyone to like in this novel.




 

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