Book Review: Summer Shadows

I am very sorry to say that this is the final book review to Joss Stirling's savant series.

For any of you who have read this book series, you will understand how disappointing it is to hear that there will be no more books, but as they say all good things must come to an end.

Summer Shadows (2016) is a fantasy novel set in the savant world centred around Summer Whelan.

Summer is best friends with Misty Devon and Angel Campbell who us readers met in the previous two novels Misty Falls (2014) and Angel Dares (2015).

Summer has always been a very quiet and thoughtful character in the past couple of books, a person who doesn't say a lot, but when she says something, she means it with her heart and it holds a lot of meaning.

When you first start to read this book, you are introduced to an amazing Benedict wedding (I am not going to say whose wedding this is, I'm leaving it as a surprise) that will get you smiling. In this first chapter the plot already starts to build up creating mystery, making you want to know more.

You immediately start to feel sorry for Summer, a 17-year-old savant who has not yet found her own soulfinder unlike her two best friends. While she is deeply happy for her friends that they will both live a happily ever after with their boyfriends who they adore, that streak of jealousy is lingering with her and she can't help but to feel disappointed that she doesn't feel she can live a normal savant life even if she were to find her soulfinder.

You may be wondering, why doesn't Summer feel she can live the normal savant life, but this is because of her home life which she had been keeping a secret from all of her friends.

Summer lives a demanding home life with a mother who is a rare type of savant that the entire community is warned of. She is known as a vampire savant who feeds off of the emotions of other people.

While we haven't specifically heard of this term before, in the first savant book, Finding Sky (2010) Sky was captured by Daniel Kelly. His son Sean is one of these species of vampire savants who was feeding off Sky's emotions when they were heightened due to the fear that she was experiencing. This can have an emotionally draining effect on the person and in serious cases, it can permanently damage the person.

Due to Summer having to care for her mother and needing to take on more responsibility compared to the average teenager, her home life can be pretty stressful. With having to help run her Dad's social and business gatherings, while being bought up by a Nanny who acted like the only true parent in her life, it is clear she has had a tough upbringing.

With the constant demands building up, Summer's only escape that she has been hoping for, is to go to Oxbridge University. A place where she can study literature and no longer has to live with the home demands. However, unsurprisingly her Dad does not want her going to a university too far from their home in London.

The real reason why Summer is needed to help with her mother so much is because of her savant power. She has an extraordinarily strong gift to be able to read people's minds, however when she releases her powers to its full extent, she can take over the person and make them do what she wants. This means, when her Mum starts to cause trouble, she is the person who is able to help the most to control and stop her.

While Summer is experiencing her own problems at home, trouble is also occurring in the Benedict household with Victor, who has run-away to Afghanistan to try and rescue his soulfinder who is in prison, for a crime that she didn't commit.

Since Summer is the only person who can help find Victor through tracing him with her powers (the only savant that currently the Benedict family know of, since Victor is able to hold such Strong shields), Summer's help is very much sought after. However, the only way Summer can convince her father to let her leave for a few weeks in order to find Victor, is to agree that she would apply to a university in London rather than leaving home. So this is exactly what she does,

Summer leaves for Afghanistan with Saul and Will Benedict along with Lucas, Scott and Hal Robinson who are undercover specialists, all of whom are savants except for Hal.

The journey of searching for Victor starts off rocky, with Summer and Hal often annoying each other extremely easily, however due to the need for team work so that the mission could be a success, Summer and Hal had to learn to rely and trust each other. This turned out to be easier than expected with Summer secretly liking Hal, with his good looks and boyish charm.

Hate can easily turn into love, especially in the savant world and sparks start to fly when Summer realises that Hal is not only a savant but also her soulfinder. The question is, with Summer's home life, will she accept Hal into her world and does Hal truly love Summer?

On Summer's journey, a bigger danger occurs with her being kidnapped by a savant gone bad, while another threat to the savant community will leave you clinging to your book, not willing to put it down.

I will admit, there was a main scene in this book, towards the end when I did spill a tear. Joss Stirling managed to up the level of danger and spin plot turns in many directions in this final novel. 

I was sad at the end, having to put the book down, but the ending to this amazing story will leave you happy at the way author Joss Stirling chose to finish the series.

For any bookish lovers who enjoy a story filled with romance, adventure and fantasy, you must give these stories a try and if you have started to read the savant series then you mustn't miss out on this grand finale!

Book Review: Teasing Xav

If you are a fan of the Benedict brother Xavier from Joss Stirling's Savant books just like me, then today you are in luck.

Teasing Xav (2016) is a free eBook which is based on the novel Seeking Crystal (2012).

While Joss Stirling's novel, Seeking Crystal looked into Crystal Brook's personal view of her experiences before, during and after she met her soulfinder Xavier Benedict, Teasing Xav takes on the opposite approach and allows the reader delve into Xav's past along with his first experiences of meeting Crystal.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novella for the same reasons that I enjoyed Challenging Zed (2013) and Burning Yves (2015) - because you get a closer insight to each of the Benedict boys, their personalities, their past experiences along with their relationship to their other family members.

I've always known Xavier Benedict had a soft side, ever since the moment in Stealing Phoenix (2012) when Xav walks in on Zed with his soulfinder Sky and Yves with his soulfinder Phoenix and briefly looks sad. While in this moment Xav was happy for his brothers to be paired with their soulfinders, he couldn't help but to feel sad that he had not yet found his own soulfinder.

Xav Benedict is known for being the joker of the family, always laughing and teasing his brothers in a loving way and while he likes to have a laugh in general, this is also the way that he sometimes hides his sadness.

In Teasing Xav we are first introduced to the 15-year-old version of Xav - the one who enjoyed competing in snowboarding competitions and had a real talent for it.
It was interesting because the reader gets to find out how much Xav enjoyed snowboarding and didn't care for anything else - not even researching into becoming a doctor.
Joss Stirling created a gripping couple of chapters that introduced us to the turning point of events: what happened to Xav to make him want to become a doctor and why he had to quit the snowboarding competitions.

Meanwhile, further into the novella, the story turned more humourous and romantic as we are introduced to the 18-year-old version of Xav. The one who is working hard completing his work experience at the hospital and who was hoping to meet his soulfinder during the savant conference that his brother, Trace asked him to join in with.
I was always curious why Xav acted so jokey around Crystal to begin with and it was revealed Xav actually acted this way because for him, it was quite honestly love at first sight and he didn't quite know how to act around her, therefore resorted to humour.

For anyone who has read the soulfinder series and wants to find out a bit more about these fantastic boys, or who want to read a short story that can be read within the day, then I would definitely recommend you give this book a try!

While Joss Stirling has not officially announced that she will be writing any more of these eBooks, I am remaining hopeful that we will get to read about the rest of the Benedict boys or maybe even the soulfinders to Misty, Angel and Summer? Let's keep our fingers crossed for next year!

Book Review: Angel Dares

Joss Stirling brings to us readers, the hilarious story of 17-year-old Angel Campbell in the romantic novel Angel Dares (2015).

This fifth instalment to the Finding Sky (2010) series is most definitely the funniest of them all. It is unsurprising that even Joss Stirling admitted that the book was "such good fun to write" and that she thinks she "had the most fun on this one out of all the savant books so far."

Angel, who we met in the previous novel Misty Falls (2014) who is best friends with Misty, is the definition of a bouncing bundle of joy. She is filled with happiness, excitement and a spoonful of cheekiness.

She is an incredibly fun and engaging character for all girls. She has the typical weight concerns, is 100% a fangirl of bands and I found her relatable since she is short like me!

Angel has a talent for music and is incredible on the violin, however her true savant talent is being able to control water. When Angel and her band, Seventh Edition get the opportunity to perform live at a festival where her favourite band Gifted are performing, this experience is not only a once in a life time event for her band to try and make it big in the music industry, but Angel is now on a mission to help Benedict brother Will who is trying to find his soulfinder who is linked to the Gifted band.

The only problem is that Angel is known for being impulsive and for running into situations head first without looking. While she tries her best in everything that she does, sometimes Angel tries too hard or becomes impatient in waiting.

During Angel's journey of helping Will Benedict in finding his soulfinder, problems occur. Eli Davis, journalist and savant hunter, first introduced in Misty Falls, is back on the scene and is even more determined and irrational to expose the identity of savants to the entire world. This makes Angel's mission all the more dangerous as it is highly likely that her favourite band Gifted are full of savants who need to be warned of this threat against them.

Meanwhile, to confuse matters even more, Angel meets Marcus Cohen, singer and guitarist for the up-coming band Black Belt who are touring with Gifted, who is also ultimately her soulfinder. What is confusing about this matter, you ask? He doesn't realise he is a savant.

Angel starts to fall head-over-heels for him but risks getting her heart broken through rushing Marcus into this magical world which he isn't ready for. He has already had his heart broken in the past and isn't prepared to have it occur a second time especially when he's overwhelmed by the prospect of magic and soulfinders.

Danger is quickly mounting up against the savant community. Angel's world is going to be turned upside down and Marcus will not only have to accept the world for what it truly is, but will also have to team up with the savants against the threat. The question is, will they get there in time to save the day?

During the process of reading this book, I was laughing about half the time. If fictional characters existed, Angel would definitely be on my list of best friends. For anyone who needs a good laugh, a dose of romance and enjoys living in a fantasy world, put Angel Dares on your list!

Little is said about Angels description apart from her being short, having big eyes, a bob and dimples, which is why it is handy for readers to have read the rest of the Finding Sky series first, especially since the story does rely and progress off of the previous book, with previous characters being mentioned and included in the story.

What I liked about the story is how we are meeting such different characters and since the novel is in Angels perspective we also got the chance to meet her non-savant friends along with her savant parents, which was a lovely addition to the story.

Looking forward to reading the final story in this magical series, Summer Shadows (2016), while also feeling deeply saddened by the thought that this is the last book! Keep up to date with my following book reviews!

Book Review: Misty Falls

Misty Falls (2014) the fourth instalment to the Finding Sky (2010) series, is a must read novel that takes on a twisted route, leaving the reader hooked and wanting more.

In this fictional fantasy novel, author Joss Stirling's character, 16-year-old Misty is a savant and is one with a gift that you can't help to feel sorry for. Misty is unable to tell a lie and when control over her gift is lost, the people around her cannot lie either.

As you can imagine, for a poor girl like her - who also is known for being clumsy - her gift can get in the way a lot, leaving people either teasing her for this habit of being too truthful, or avoiding her, not wanting to hear the truth.

For Misty, one of the most exciting and nerve-wracking experiences she can imagine, would be to meet her soulfinder. For most savants, meeting their souldfinder is a fantastic opportunity. Every savant has a soulfinder somewhere around the world and together, they make each others world complete - through binding their magical powers together, they can achieve great and wonderful things. However,, a soulfinder left alone can mean dangerous things as they have no one to even them out between the good and the bad in the world.

Alternatively, there are a few cases where savants have met their soulfinder and dislike them, never wanting to be together with them.

Due to Misty lacking in confidence, from her appearance, to her powers, she fears that when the day comes for her to meet her soulfinder, that he would dislike her and would not want to be with her.

At the beginning of the story, Benedict brother Uriel is preparing to meet his soulfinder. Thanks to soulseeker Crystal, Misty's aunt who we met in the previous story, Uriel's soulfinder is known to be in Australia and since Crystal is unable to accompany him on the journey, it is left up to Misty to accompany him on this exciting journey.

While things hit off to a great start and his soulfinder is found easy enough, Misty struggles during her time there when she meets young savant Alex. While he may look confident and oozes charm (which is his savant power) he has had a tough past and is not as confident as her may initially seem.

Worst of all, he and Misty clash and it seems that whenever he is around her, he lacks in charm and his comments come out harsh.

As the story progresses and Misty catches up with her mates in England, questions start to occur on whether Alex - who actually turns out to be the same age as Misty and her friends Angel and Summer - could be either Misty or Sumer's soulfinder. SPOILER ALERT: While Alex visits England with his debate team, it was make or break time, to try telepathy with Misty and Summer. Much to Misty's delight they were a perfect match, but with her college studies and his competitions going ahead, there was sadly little time for them to properly get to know each other.

Meanwhile, Alex's past was also quickly catches up with him. For a boy who is thought to have no family, his uncle turns up out of the blue after years of trying to find him. For Misty and Alex, while they should be enjoying themselves and taking the time to get to know each other properly, there is little time for this young couple to be riding the honeymoon stage of their relationship with the drama occurring around them.

All the while, danger is looming over the savant world, with a murderer on the loose, searching for young savants who haven't fully mastered their talent. Most disturbing is that little is known of this killer and no tracks are ever left behind.

What I enjoyed about this novel was that while the beginning of the story took on a fun, lighthearted and romantic route, as the story progressed, it took you slowly but surely on a much darker and gripping journey, with the suspense gradually building up, making it harder and harder to put the book down.

Joss Stirling has achieved once again in amazing me with her talent of writing. While this is the second time of me reading this particular story, it still amazes me how realistic the story comes across. Young love, insecurities that all girls experience, the relatable clumsy moments that Misty goes through (and that I can personally connect with, being clumsy myself) and the worries of what truly lingers but is never seen, contained in the darkness of this world.

Keep your eyes peeled to this blog, as shortly another update will be posted for the fifth instalment of the Finding Sky novels, known as Angel Dares (2015).

Book Review: Seeking Crystal

Out of all of the Joss Stirling, Finding Sky (2010) book series, I reckon Seeking Crystal (2012) has to be my favourite.

Meet 18-year-old Crystal Brook: In her opinion, a useless savant and family screw-up.

Crystal has been through many problems in the past and hasn't had an easy life. From being an extremely tall girl (to the point where she got bullied about it at school) with a mane full of curls, who gets spots along with not being the skinniest of girls. Needless to say that being insecure about her looks is a massive problem for her.

To top it off, while she is a savant, she doesn't consider herself to be a good one, since she gets sick if she tries to do telepathy or if anyone uses it around her. Meanwhile, her gift only allows her to find people's possessions. 

If matters couldn't get any worse, Crystal's Dad passed away last year and she was closest to him than any other member of her family.

To start the novel off, we meet Crystal's older sister Diamond. A perfect looking woman who gains the attention of all men around her, with a savant gift that is always in huge demand. She keeps peace in stressful situations. She also has the great ability (of the non-savant kind) of bathing Crystal in shadow to her spotlight, since all of the attention always seems to be on Diamond.

Diamond took over from her mother in taking care of Crystal when their Dad died, since her Mum was so heartbroken and couldn't do the job herself, which meant where Diamond went, Crystal went. In this case the story starts off in Denver, Colorado and not too far into the story, Diamond meets her soulfinder, Trace Benedict. 

Crystal goes through the motions of feeling left out and a reject while Diamond is embracing the joys of meeting the Benedict clan and their other soulfinders. It is understandable that Crystal hates the fact she has barely any true savant powers along with being upset about the fact she has no idea how she'll ever meet her soulfinder without being able to do telepathy properly.

Crystal also has the "great pleasure" of meeting Xav Benedict, the 18-year-old brother to Trace, who is a massive joker, has healing powers and is also a massive annoyance to Crystal. To get away from him and the fuss over Diamond's wedding preparation plans, Crystal goes back home to Venice to start work with her neighbour the Contessa who creates costumes and masks, currently for a new movie taking place in Venice. However, her plan of escape doesn't last since, when Diamond comes back home, Trace and Xav are right behind her, enjoying their adventure to Venice.

While Crystal and Xav have plenty of arguments and take pleasure in winding each other up, it also brings them a lot closer, managing to get an understanding of each others personalities and who they truly are.

Big events take place in the story, from Xav and Crystal having to act out as lovers while being background actors in a movie, to certain characters in the story, showing their true colours and evil personalities and kidnapping Crystals friends and family.

Crystal goes on the fantastic journey of learning that she isn't as hopeless as she once thought and that everyone has a talent.

What I enjoyed about Seeking Crystal is that Crystal is such a relatable characters as everyone is self-conscious of themselves, whether it's on looks, height, weight or if you feel you are talent-less and this story shows how no matter what, true love is out there for you, if you're not happy about yourself, either put up with it or change it and that everyone is beautiful in their own way.

Another fantastic novel by the very talented Joss Stirling. Next book on my reading list is Misty Falls.

Book Review: Burning Yves

Joss Stirling's novella, Burning Yves (2015) is a brilliant short story and a perfect companion to Stealing Phoenix (2011) Joss Stirling's second novel in the Finding Sky (2010) savant series.

Burning Yves is a short story exploring how 17-year-old Yves Benedict and Phoenix Corrigan meet, from Yves' perspective. This is the perfect introduction to anyone who is considering reading Stealing Phoenix and guess what? Even better, this story is a free e-book!

What I loved about this story is that the brotherly banter between Yves, Xav and Victor is clearly evident and is highly amusing to read, keeping the story light and fun leaving a smile on my face. I also enjoyed how at the beginning of the story, the whole Benedict clan was involved, allowing the reader to see the family bond between this unique family and their loving and caring personalities towards each other.

I found it interesting reading about Yves and finding out how his genius mind works. From his fascination on train tunnels to how he handles girls; the shock when a girl gives him her number and how he tries to escape their overbearing and flirtatious behaviour - and clearly not being able to escape it.
Reading the story, I also feel greatly sympathetic towards Yves and his struggles of trying to contain his Savant power and the troubles this has caused him in the past.

With Xav being my favourite Benedict boy, I found it enjoyable reading his character in the story, from his jokey - and no doubt, at times annoying - behaviour to how he acts towards his brothers.

It was beautiful reading about Yves' savant connection with Phoenix, especially as having read Challenging Zed (2013) the reader can see how both of the brothers savant bonds differ from when they make that very first connection with their soulmate when they speak telepathically. Right from the very start, when Phoenix first tries to steal from Yves, we can see how her character appears to be on his mind and how there was always something about her which had immediately caught his attention (and I don't just mean about the fact that she had tried to freeze his mind.)

An interesting read, that was left on a cliff-hanger leaving the reader wanting more. I would definitely recommend this read to anyone considering to read Stealing Phoenix as it is a fantastic taster novella and not only that, these short story helps us readers get inside those gorgeous Benedict boys heads!

Book Review: Stealing Phoenix

Fantasy novel Stealing Phoenix (2011) is the second instalment to the fictional series of Finding Sky (2010).

Stealing Phoenix is a brilliant sequel this time set in London, following 17-year-old expert thief, Phoenix Corrigan - otherwise known as Phee - trapped in a community of thieving, murderous savants, with no way to escape.

Phee has only ever known the community as a way of life, thinking that no one with her abilities could live a normal life. Her journey of travelling around with this group of savants has been a tough one with her mother dying when she was young and her having to steal so she can continue living with these people. Meanwhile, her life is also being dominated by the ruler of the community, known as the Seer - a man to be feared and respected. With powers to control your mind and make you do whatever he wants - even to kill yourself - he is not a man to be messed with.

Phoenix's life gets intertwined with 17-year-old Benedict brother Yves, when she is on a mission to steal from him, on orders of the Seer. Yves is sensitive, caring and smart, a boy who has been bought up to be hardworking, sensible and fair - but everything he has been bought up to know is going to be put to the test when he has to win Phee over. These two characters are complete and utter opposites and clash often, yet they are perfect for each other. However, life is not all plain sailing when Phee has responsibilities and ties to the community and struggles to escape from her old life.

We also see more of the comical brother Xavier Benedict (Xav) who is staying in London with his younger brother, often making jokes and remarks. Despite his jokey attitude though, we also notice how the lack of a soulmate is upsetting him.

This fun story is a captivating read, with danger being thrown into the midst, among the romance and jokes. I always love how Joss Stirling makes fun of both English and American phases and words whether it is Yves not understanding what "Rosie Lee" is or Sky and Phee laughing at how Mrs Benedict calls trousers "pants".

I enjoyed how both of the main characters have such diverse backgrounds - Yves having had the opportunity to have a proper educated background of school and college, being surrounded by friends and family, unlike Phee who only has one friend in her community, who has no family and who never got the chance to go to school, so had to educate herself by sneaking into the library and learning what she could from her surroundings. Both of these characters gradually influence the other as the story progresses - Phee becoming more caring and trusting of her new found friends and family, while Yves becomes more of a risk taker.

In this beautiful story, Joss Stirling casts a greater understanding on the powerful bond between soulmates, as we learn from Yves, that no danger is too great that he would leave his soulfinder behind. However, this leaves the question open that when Yves runs head first into danger, could it put not only him, but his family at risk?

What is perfect about these series of books, is that the story, although it is a fantasy, it isn't too far-fetched - I read these books wishing they were reality and believing that they quite possibly could be. Who knows what extraordinary things are lurking around the corners of the world?

This is the perfect follow on story to Finding Sky with fantastic plot turns, by the end of the story I was completely and utterly in love. I would recommend all lovers of fantasy and romance to read this novel! Looking forward to reading Burning Yves (2015), the companion novella to Stealing Phoenix in Yves' view.