Customer Reviews

The Emerald Talisman

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I really had to convince my self to read this but I wasn't disapointed! The Emerald Talisman was truly an amazing read. The pros include a strong and daring leading lady, who has a knack for getting in and out of tight spots. Julia is an original character with an incredible power that only she knows about. Her love interest, Nicholas, is the only thing that keeps her alive, literally. He is a mix between a guardian angel and Buffy the vampire slayer male style! He is her protector. This created a crazy kind of love connection.


I have to be honest vampires have been thing I have purposefully avoided because of the Twilight hype but this book sure swept me into a magical place beyond what I expected. Specifically I enjoyed that the main character was distinctively different from any other female character, I liked how she didn't whine over things or throw self-pity parties. She had courage smarts, and wit.

A truly refreshing story about a girl, Evil vampires, and the love of her life!

Julia is a sixteen year old girl that has to go through life without her mother. Although she has her father and brother there, she still needs her mom and she can`t help but feel she may be to blame for her death. Julia was very young when her mom died and she blocks out some of what happened and she doesn`t realize that since her mother`s death she has had someone not only following her but also protecting her. When Julia finally finds love, she also finds herself having to fight for her life and for her town!
After I finished The Twilight books, I wanted to read something else. I am not normally a reader but as I looked up books on Amazon This book caught my eye and I am so glad it did. The Sapphire Talisman is book #2 in this series and I was very pleased to see how Brenda connected the two books together. I love the fact there is not cussing in this series and no sexual content!

If you enjoy books where the main character is crying, sobbing or tearing up for 80% of the story then you will love this book.

I had been seeing this book all over the internet, but it took me forever to finally get it and read it. I don't know why I was so hesitant on reading it, but I think it might have been because of the mixed reviews. So I finally caved and picked up my copy of The Emerald Talisman and dove into the world the author created.


While I liked the basic story plot, I felt the story lacked things to make it great. At times the writing was choppy and stalled. I kept waiting for it to pick up pace only to have it do it but only for a few pages. I also felt that the instant attraction to Nicholas that Julia feels was overdone. She acted as though she is in love with this boy after just an hour or so of meeting him. At times, it felt like she was obsessed and almost on the verge of stalker with her feelings towards him. I wasn't a big fan of Nicholas in this book either. At one moment he is nice and sincere, then he disappears only to reappear rather rudely. It isn't until almost the last third of the book that he is even a prominent and engaging character.


I felt the author has a great base for a story and just needs to get some things reworked for the books that will follow. With a little tweaking of the writing and stabilization of the character personalities, this series could be even better.

Julia knows she's not normal. Being able to feel other people's emotions isn't normal, but she's dealing with it. She has learned to avoid crowds and has even become popular among new mothers for her amazing ability to so accurately interpret their babies' needs. So it comes as no surprise that she is walking home, alone, through the woods, when she senses an intense blood-lust. Terrified, she runs and falls over a cliff only to be rescued by the dashing Nicholas.

After several whirlwind interactions, Julia finally realizes that there is something off about Nicholas. He's different every time she sees him and he's always on his way somewhere else, but he can be so sweet to her. When kids in her school start disappearing and Nicholas is all too familiar with the details, Julia begins to question everything she knows about him and the missing teens.

I can't really explain it well, but this book is best described as "foggy." There was so much that was unclear in this book, not just the storyline but the writing as well. It was so blasé that I couldn't really jive with it. While we get to know Julia quite well, as she is very self-aware, I felt like the other characters were empty. There was nothing to them or their plot-lines.

What I certainly missed in all of this was the fact that this was going to be a vampire book. That really irked me. I would have preferred an every day serial killer to vampires. The scenes were so familiar and yet so irritating. There was no comfort or enjoyment in this book for me.

In summation, this book just completely underwhelmed me. While I know there are people who have enjoyed this book, I am not among them. Although if you like alternative vampire lore, try it out.

If you read this book you will look upon the miserable writing of Twilight as if written by Shakespeare. The main character, Julia. is the worse possible version of Bella, a whiney, crying needy teenage girl moaning constantly about some guy she met for an hour and obsessing endlessly about whether he'll call or come over or go to some homecoming dance with her. This goes on for the entire first half of the book. The only saving grace is that I got this book free but I'll never get that time back.

This book was.... okay... I found myself very annoyed quite often throughout the book. The main character Julia meets Nicholas who saves her life... she knows him for maybe an hour and they dont really talk much. She spends the next half of the book whining and crying and wondering why he doesnt call and wondering if he cares about her... really?!?! You knew him for an hour and you want to know if he cares about you?? She acts like they have been dating for months and it is really annoying and makes her seem very shallow. I bought the first and second book at the same time. I dont know if I would have purchased the second book after reading the first one. I liked the second one much better... the story seemed to flow better than the first. Overall the story is worth the read... I really wish the author would go back and rewrite Julias reactions and behavior towards Nicholas at the beginning... it is fine that she felt this strong attraction that she doesnt understand... she could simply have wondered where he was or what he was up to... she could have been bummed that he didnt come around... but for her to act like they knew each other for months instead of minutes was very distracting to the story.

I loved the plot in this book. It was fast paced and gave you a sitting-at-the-edge- of-your-seat feeling. I loved trying to discover the mystery of Nicholas and how he fit in with Julia. The book is written from Julia's POV but it was Nicholas that really kept wanting more.

One of the things that I loved most about Julia is her relationship with her dad and brother. The three of them have a great bond that feels genuine and true. I think that there may be more than meets the eye with her dad but only book 2, The Sapphire Talisman will tell.

Nicholas reminds me a bit of those old fashioned guys who hold the door open for you and are genuinely gentlemen-ly but will turn around and kick some ass if need be. Plus he's totally swoon worthy.

Pick up the Emerald Talisman you won't regret it.

This book was just painful to read. It was a crappy Twilight knock-off. You have to TRY to be worse than Twilight. But somehow, this author succeeded.

I've read both The Emerald and Sapphire Talisman books. The only thing that I really didn't like was the quick intensity of the relationship between the two main characters. There was no growing fondness or interest between the two, it was instantaneous. I wish that their relationship had been one that they each came into gradually. If you read the first book go on to the second, as I think personally, it was better than the first. Looking forward to number three.