Review/Giveaway - The Athena Effect by Derrolyn Anderson

Title: The Athena Effect

Author: Derrolyn Anderson

Series: The Athena Effect #1

Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

Published: August 30^th 2012

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Book Description

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?

My Review

What an extraordinary story!! I was swept up into The Athena Effect from the prologue and couldn’t put the book down until the very end. It is a beautiful story of an innocent girl taken from her simple life in the bush and placed into the modern world. It is a story of discovery, independence and love that held my attention to the very last page, leaving me wanting more!!

Cali has lived in the bush since the day she was born. Her parents have chosen a secluded lifestyle as they want to remain undetected. The house that they live in has no modern technology and most of their food is prepared from their own hands, whether it was grown or captured. They rarely leave the property, but when they leave, it is to go to the tiny town close by for a few bare essentials. Cali has never attended school; everything she knows is from her parents or from books. She has even read a whole set of Encyclopaedias.

When Cali’s world is turned upside down, she finds herself being shipped off to an aunt that she didn’t even know existed. She is enrolled into school and does her best to remain unseen. She drifts through school and hides during her lunch break to remain unnoticed by other students. There is one guy she keeps running into who turns up when she least expects it.

I really love Cali!!! She is such a beautiful and innocent person and she captured my heart immediately. She has never known anything outside of her own world and now she is thrust into the hustle and bustle that we are all used to. As she is a very bright person she adapts quickly to her new life, but then she finds trouble at home and spends most of her time alone. Having no friends and no support can’t be easy on anyone, let alone a 17 year old girl who has nothing. She even spends her nights wandering the streets so she doesn’t have to be at home. To me that is just heartbreaking, but Cali takes it all in her stride as that is the type of person she is.

After she meets Cal her personality starts to develop. She slowly opens up to the gorgeous, dark haired biker boy who has seized her attention. She starts to relax around him, but finds it hard to understand him. But really, none of us women can fully understand men!!! Cal finds Cali puzzling as she dresses like a homeless person and she goes out of her way to evade him. He never has this problem with girls, his charm usually reels them in willingly, but not the new girl. Watching this relationship grow was just beautiful and the hurdles they endure makes their connection stringer.

As always there is a catch, Cali has an ability that she keeps hidden from everyone, as she has been told by her parents never to tell anyone about it. It is slowly getting stronger and therefore, harder for her to hide. This was a fascinating twist for me and it was just amazing to imagine how it was done. But this ability is what has kept her in hiding for so long.

I really enjoyed Derrolyn’s writing style. Told from the third-person narrative, and usually following Cali, she is able to tell the story while picking up on the emotions of the other characters as soon as something happens. When Derrolyn turns to another character it is done fluently without disrupting the plot. As I have said before, I thought it was a beautiful book, with a few twists thrown in to keep you intrigued to see what happens next!!

About the Author

Derrolyn Anderson is a visual artist and writer of fiction. The creator of the four part "Marina's Tales" series and the YA romance, "The Athena Effect", she's currently hard at work on her next book, "The Mackenzie Legacy".

You can find Derrolyn online at:

Blog - http://www.derrolyn.com/Home.html

Goodreads - http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4738726.Derrolyn_Anderson
Pinterest - http://pinterest.com/derrolyn/

Giveaway

Derrolyn has been kind enough to offer an eBook of The Athena Effect to one lucky winner!! Fill out the Rafflecopter to enter!

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