Customer Reviews

Foresight: The Gods of Fate - Book I

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My thoughts:

I loved this story! I was hooked from the start. It's an "I don't want to put it down until the end, I can sleep tomorrow!" kind of book that leaves you looking for the sequel so you can spend more time with the characters. If you haven't read this one - GO GET IT!

Sherry Ficklin created fantastic characters. Phoenix is the woman we all want to be, Chris is the man we all want to love, and Grace is that teenager that possesses all the fire we want our kids to have! Lilith is the bad guy we all love to hate and her minions are the kind of blind evil who's death's we wait for and cheer about! I was thrilled with the addition of the gods and the personalities that each one has, Hermes is a stitch! There are too many characters to talk about them all. So, instead of telling you more about each great character, let me just say that she builds characters that are easy to invest in. She puts these incredible characters into wonderfully descriptive settings with details that make both the human world and the Fae world come alive for the reader.

I can't wait for book two, I wish it was already out so I didn't have to wait! I am excited that there will be a book three as well, because then I know I have a chance to get to know more of the characters than I have already gotten to meet.

My favorite quote:

"It takes no courage at all to do the easy thing. It takes a great deal to do the right thing."

Grace Archer has just graduated from high school. A time that should be full of celebration. But she's just learned that her mother was Pandora (yes, that Pandora). At all cost she must protect her mother's urn and defeat the evil Lilith.

Foresight is a fast, fun read. A fantastical story that is wonderfully descriptive. Grace is a very interesting character, she is strong with a great personality. Very mature when her world is turned upside down, but also fun and snarky too. I look forward to seeing how her relationship with Chris will progress. This was a surprising read for me, I ended up really loving the story. I also loved that there was a mix of the fae and Greek Mythology. If your a fan of either I think your really gonna enjoy this story.

When Grace thought she would barely make it through graduation, it was only because she was bored, she had no idea she literally would barely make it out alive. Graduation is supposed to be a happy, relaxed day. All Grace could think about is how badly she wanted to get out of there and eat a cheeseburger with fries, little did she know, that wasn't going to happen. Right away you are slammed into a mythological world full of demon vampires and a prison escapee named Lilith who wants nothing more than to have Grace's blood on her hands, literally. Grace makes it out of graduation with the help of a hunky looking guy named Chris, and her Aunt Phoenix. Grace's parents died she was just a little girl, so she was raised by her Aunt Phoenix in a small town in Colorado. Most of her life seemed pretty normal, until today, when she found out, this isn't her real life at all.

Grace's mother is actually the goddess Pandora. Lilith is desperate to find out where Pandora hid her box, and Grace's blood is the only access to it. If the box is opened, then we all know the ending to that story, it's the end of the world. Grace discovers her Aunt is actually a faerie, who was best friends with her mom. Chris is also a faerie, but we will get back to him later. By the way, it's actually an urn too. Apparently the gods don't like calling it a box. Grace has spent a lot of her life in special classes teaching her things like how to shoot a bow and arrow, and studying mythology with her aunt. She had no idea she was being trained the whole time. Now it is up to Phoenix and Chris to save mankind, which happens to be their job, by taking Grace to Faerie City. Lilith is unable to gain entrance, so they just have to wait it out until the eclipse passes. Which happens to be the only time in a couple hundred years before the urn can be opened again. If only it were that easy right. It is quite the adventure trying to make it to the closest gateway to Faerie City. Grace continues to learn more about herself, and we get in on the secret as well.

Chris is a handsome faerie with the uncanny ability to sway people's thoughts and feelings. At first Grace was a bit annoyed with him, but suddenly she is falling for him. Is it all part of his plan, or is it for real? Although Chris looks about the same age as Grace, he is actually a bit ancient. So he was around when she was born, and made a vow to Pandora to protect Grace no matter what. And that is just what he intends to do. He wont let anything get in his way of saving her and humanity.

Throughout the story you will meet quite a few gods and faeries that make the story terribly interesting. It's nonstop action with a bit of romance thrown in. Just enough romance in my opinion. I like that it doesn't overpower the main plot of the story. Grace is a fantastic character, that you really want to like, but sometimes she does things a normal person would do, that just drives you crazy. There will be a few times you are yelling at her not to do something, but alas, she does it anyway. She is a sweet girl that makes it hard to stay mad at her for long. I did find it strange how quickly she bought into the whole lifestyle, but heck, what else did she have to lose, she just graduated and has no plans. I probably would have been hoping it was true too. Lucky for her it is.

I gave this book 4 suns, simply because I felt this story was missing a few important scenes. Everything flowed nicely, but just a bit too quickly. Normally, when I read a book, I am thinking, OK let's get to the point. This time I was wondering how we even got there. I realize they were running for their lives, but it would have been nice to have more details here and there between the important stuff, just to make it more believable to me. There were a lot of unanswered questions for me about her father, so I would have loved to have more detail there. Not to mention the huge cliffhanger left at the end of the book. OK, OK, not huge, but a cliffhanger nonetheless. Of course this only leads me to believe that this is a series, and there are more to come. If so, boy I can't wait, and I might just have to change my rating to a 5. The author does a great job at telling the story, describing the scenes perfectly. Not too much detail, but just enough that I could visually see it. I also thought she did well expressing Grace's different emotions throughout the story. I know I would be feeling a wide range of them, so I am glad she showed that, without it seeming like a roller coaster ride.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book. I even chose finishing it over sleep. I would recommend it to just about anyone. There are a few scenes I felt were a bit gory for me, so it might not be good for someone very young, or someone who is squeamish. If you like mythology, fast-paced fighting scenes, and emotional romances, all with some juicy gossip, this is the book for you. I personally guarantee you will enjoy it!

I just finished reading this book a few hours ago and am already anticipating books two and three! It was a quick, but exciting read that kept me interested from start to finish. The character descriptions, as well as the descriptions in general, painted a vivid picture in my mind and allowed me a glimpse into the authors imagination. I always felt as though I could see what she was seeing while writing the book.

This is certainly a novel I would and could recommend to friends and family of all ages. The story line and plot are geared more towards twelve and older, but there is no questionable content above a PG like rating. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the characters grow and progress with one another while the twists in the plot were revealed! I recommend ordering this book or purchasing it from a store near you soon! Hopefully they don't wait too long to release Hindsight! I'm ready for it already!

I really enjoyed this book. I've read it 3 times and am on my 4th. Sherry Ficklin's writing takes you into a different world. i especially like spunky main characters. Cannot wait for the next installment!!

I love mythology of all different origins and after reading the description of this book I was eager to give it a go. I haven't read many modern fictional stories containing gods and goddesses (the only one that comes to mind is the middle grade Percy Jackson series) and was delighted that the author was using this subject as a basis for a young adult series. The story starts very quickly and throws the reader into the midst of a plot filled with action. I love that any background information we need to know is given to us as it's given to the main character, so we are learning what's going on right along with her.

There are a lot of different characters in this book, so some of them are only able to make brief appearances; I hope to see many of them expanded on in the future books in the series. The love interest, Chris, is one character that remains a bit mysterious and I want to know more about him and where he comes from, what his story is. The main character, Grace, is a determined young hero and her decision making is what drives the story along. Her decisions have dire consequences to herself and those around her and one of those decisions is left open for the next in the series which is intriguing.

Grace learns who she really is, a crucial element for any coming of age novel, and even though this is a fantasy, all of the elements put together seem real. The bits and pieces we get of all of the characters are enough to assemble a real cast of characters that could eventually span a lifetime of stories. The author has chosen a great storyline to weave in countless characters, plots, problems and disasters, love, wars, and parallel worlds. It wasn't bogged down with too much description, something that can drive me crazy in other fantasy stories. The only drawback to the book is that it was over too quickly for me. I could have eagerly read another couple hundred pages and still want more.

~Reviewed by: Carl Franklin - Author of Bloodlines, Legacy, and Monetary Discretion.~

In the first of its Gods of Fate series, Foresight comes packed full of more than just sentences to entertain. With several of her characters- from main to supporting, Mrs. Sherry Ficklin provides her readers with a history lesson that they can smile and smirk to.

Follow Grace Archer, the stereotypical teenage singleton with her journey to find out her heritage. More to her story than just graduating high school as she hoped, she turns in her cap and gown for more lessons. Just leaving behind what she thought she'd never have again- lessons, while unbeknownst to her, Grace has to fight in the battle of protecting the artifact handed down from her late mother. Defending it and several other laugh-worthy characters from the evil villain, Lilith, Grace finds out that the artifact includes more than she bargained for. Until it, itself is destroyed to shards.

After her cohort Chris levels the playing field, Grace also faces an interesting yet compelling challenge to protect more than just her mother's vase. She conquers her arch nemesis (pun intended) at the cost of who she soon finds out to be her crush's life. Through this journey, Grace discovers that she is in for a whirl of self discovery and an empowerment she never knew she had before. When she puts this to great use, it comes at such a cost that drags the reader into wanting the second book of its series. Foresight is eloquently written with a well organized manner, which is sure to attract readers of any age or genre preference into stepping feet into the shoes of Grace Archer.

If you are looking for a good read for your teenager or for yourself, be assured that containing the mastery skills of such notable writers as Meyer and Rowling, Sherry Ficklin tells a clean story while upholding the interest factor and not destroying the dignity of the young adult genre. Mrs. Ficklin writes with pure soul and her readers can tell that she, herself, stepped into the land of Fae and conversed with the fairies, gods and goddesses! More, more, more Mrs. Ficklin. My bookshelf is screaming Grace Archer.