Survival, a YA paranormal romance (Book 1 of The Guardians of Vesturon Series) [Kindle Edition]

A.M. Hargrove (Author)

Book Description

“Oh how did I like this book, let me count the ways. Well, first off it had a sci-fi element, which is always a plus in my book. But Rayn and his brothers, *swoon-worthy*. Then of course, Maddie had me in tears with her antics towards the end of the book. I kept dying laughing.”
Terri Thomas, Goodreads

“There are some sad parts where I had to find my Kleenex and wipe my tears and then there were parts that I laughed out loud. I like when an author can make you feel actual emotions.”
Tana Troniak, Goodreads

“Hargrove does an excellent job weaving such a masterful mystery while giving us a little taste of romance with just enough laughs out loud and heart wrenching moments to keep the pages turning.” Lissa Smith, Goodreads

“It’s not every author who can make the reader experience a story with her senses as well as mentally and emotionally, but A. M. Hargrove does! This author deserves a very wide audience.” Mallory Anne-Marie Forbes

“I really enjoyed being swept away by this story and look forward to more of the same in Resurrection. A must read. “
Laura Thomas, Goodreads

Survival (Book 1 of the Guardians of Vesturon), a YA paranormal romance

"Maybe I was caught between the two worlds. I was having serious trouble distinguishing fantasy from reality."

While on a backpacking trip in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, nineteen-year-old Maddie Pearce finds her world has been thrown into a vortex and is madly spinning toward the impossible. Abducted by a mad psychopath, Maddie narrowly escapes with her life. But that is only the beginning. Her mysterious rescuer introduces her to a world that Maddie has difficulty accepting as reality. Will this strikingly gorgeous stranger be the key to her future or will she return to her mundane world, scarred from her experience? Follow Maddie as she is forced to make difficult decisions that carry her to mysterious places.

Excerpt…

Then, unexpectedly, three brightly glowing melon-sized balls of light came soaring across the dark sky. When they were a few feet away from me, they elongated into long thin slivers. Moments later, the slivers expanded and then took form into three indistinct shapes.

I kept blinking my eyes, not trusting what I was seeing. I was positive I was hallucinating. This must be what happens right before you die.

Then, the indistinct shapes morphed into three men—three very tall, powerfully built men. They were identical in that they were all dressed alike—wearing black hooded cloaks that fell to their ankles. The hoods hid their faces, but I had the strangest feeling they were there to help me.

**If you enjoyed this book consider adding a review on Amazon.

This book is suitable for young adults, aged 15 and older. It is recommended that parents inspect and review what their children are reading.

Now available...
Resurrection, Book 2 of the Guardians of Vesturon

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

One day, on her way home from work as a sales manager, A. M. Hargrove, realized her life was on fast forward and if she didn't do something soon, it would quickly be too late to write that work of fiction she had been dreaming of her whole life. So, she rolled down the passenger window of her fabulous (not) company car and tossed out her leather briefcase. Luckily, the pedestrian in the direct line of fire was a dodgeball pro and had über quick reflexes enabling him to avoid getting bashed in the head. Feeling a tad guilty about the near miss, A. M. made a speedy turn down a deserted side street before tossing her crummy, outdated piece-of-you-know-what lap top out the window. She breathed a liberating sigh of relief, picked up her cell phone and hit #4 on her speed dial. Boss: Hello A.M.: Boss, is that you? Boss: Why yes, A. M., who else would be answering my phone? A.M.: Er... right. Well, I'm calling to let you know you can pick up my luxury Ford Focus at Starbucks near the interstate. Boss: Why ever would I want to do that? A.M.: Because I quit! A.M. hit the end button and speed dialed her husband. A.M.: Hi hubs, can you pick me up at Starbucks? Hubs: Sure... Having some car trouble? A.M.: Not at all. I don't have a car to have trouble with because I just quit my job. Hubs: WHAT?! A.M.: It's time for a new career and I am going to be a very famous novelist. So began A. M. Hargrove's career as a young adult paranormal romance author of self-published ebooks. Her series, The Guardians of Vesturon, centers around a family of six siblings and is a mix of humor, mystery, suspense and of course, love. Survival, Resurrection and Determinant are her first and second and third full length novels in the series and Beginnings is the prequel novella. (It didn’t happen exactly like that, but you get the idea!)

Product Details

• File Size: 504 KB
• Print Length: 278 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1478270756
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00685NFI0
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,984 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store)
  • #8 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Romance > Science Fiction
  • #59 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Teens > Romance

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Definite page turner! January 19, 2012

By WC Bailey

Format:Kindle Edition

The first thing I have to say is that I REALLY ENJOYED THIS BOOK!!! I couldn't put it down. Now that I have that somewhat out of my system, it's time to move on.

Maddie has had some serious drama in her life. Just when she thinks that things are finally settling with college and life on her own, tragedy strikes...or is is fate? After a horrific experience, she meets Rayn and her life changes. There is something special about Maddie and the relationship that develops between her and Rayn.

Survival grabbed my attention from the first pages and never lost it! The story being written from several points of view was great for getting inside each of the characters. Although each of the characters was complex, their points of view were written in a way that was descriptive and concise. The plot was never lost in the details, which was very refreshing.

This book had it all, drama, suspense, romance, action, mystery and comedy! Everything was written in a way that kept my emotions on quite the ride.

I can't wait to get my hands on Resurrection!! I need answers to my list of questions, I need to know how things will end up for Maddie, Rayn, and all the others!

As stated before, Ms. Hargrove has definitely gained a fan in me! I sincerely look forward to reading more about The Guardians of Vesturon!!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Enticing and New January 12, 2012

By Lacey Williams

Format:Kindle Edition

First Thoughts:

My review is going to be based off the second edition of this book; the author provided me with a newer edition and therefore my review will reflect the changes made to the beginning of the story itself.

At first glance of the cover you wouldn't know what journeys lie await but from the first chapter the author introduces you with "Real" conflict. The use of flashbacks in the beginning chapters really helped seduce the reader into the story and help them realize the back story of this strong yet a little fragile character. The plot was very well thought out, I felt that this book had a new take on the paranormal, I really liked the fact that it was different; there wasn't the usual mundane conflict, there was new ideas and scenery depicted in this book. The action was evenly distributed; it wasn't fast the entire book but instead gave the reader a sense of time and allowed us to gradually learn more about the characters and the story itself. The writing itself was new, I liked how she took use of the dialogue, I really could tell that she knew her characters. Just by the dialogue alone you could tell who was who; it's so cool to be able to tell the characters apart just by dialogue alone. The characters themselves each had a distinct personality, each one was easily identified and full of life. There wasn't one character I felt lacked something; each of them had their own values and flaws. Something else I found interesting and fun was the style of clothes the character wore, the author did such an amazing job describing new ideas on clothing that certain characters wore. She really had a sense of another world; a new line of items and ideas that had to be created to make the story more real; more plausible. The description itself was really good, it was just the right amount and I felt she did a great job describing the beautiful scenery and characters themselves. Each scene was created with precision and nothing went untouched. The structure of the writing itself like a said earlier is unique and I really enjoyed the use of different point of views, the author did a good job on allowing the reader to know who's point of view we were in. I think without the different points of views, this story would have really liked a good angle and would leave the reader both confused and lacking a certain connection to the book. The element of romance was great, it wasn't overpowering in the least, I didn't feel that this book was just about the romance; it was about something much greater; a more deep and intelligent conflict. I also felt that the author was knowledgeable about where the story took place, all those trails she named and mountains really helped make the fabric of the characters world more real; more believable. It was definitely a fun and fast read for me.

Goodreads Summary:

Survival (Book 1 of the Guardians of Vesturon), a YA paranormal romance

"Maybe I was caught between the two worlds. I was having serious trouble distinguishing fantasy from reality."

While on a backpacking trip in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, nineteen-year-old Maddie Pearce finds her world has been thrown into a vortex and is madly spinning toward the impossible. Abducted by a mad psychopath, Maddie narrowly escapes with her life. But that is only the beginning. Her mysterious rescuer introduces her to a world that Maddie has difficulty accepting as reality. Will this strikingly gorgeous stranger be the key to her future or will she return to her mundane world, scarred from her experience? Follow Maddie as she is forced to make difficult decisions that carry her to mysterious places only to find that perhaps it was all for nothing.

Last Thoughts:

I would recommend this book to any fantasy or paranormal addicts; it certainly screams the elements of them. I would also recommend this to readers who enjoy a good romance; this one is both comical and strong; I loved it. I wouldn't however recommend this if you don't enjoy a more native feel; this definitely had some connections between the two. Also I wouldn't recommend this if you don't enjoy romance though like I mentioned earlier it isn't overpowering and isn't the overall main focal point it is there and there is a big conflict going on. This book is one to take into consideration and the ending leaves you yearning for more; the cliffhanger definitely leaves you wanting the next book NOW. So if you're going to read this book, I'd recommend reading it closer to the second books release which should be coming out later this month or early February. Overall I enjoyed the author's style and ideas and can't wait to explore more of these characters world. I rate this book 4.5 stars.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars interesting new author February 22, 2012

By Nawnee

Format:Kindle Edition

I had a little bit of a hard time getting through the first part of this book, the stories timeline was a little confusing with how it bounced around at times I had to backtrack to figure out that we had switched scenes again. The switching between characters and times got smoother as the story advanced, I also think it improved for me when the plot picked up speed and we got more into some of the action sequences. It was at this point that I got really engrossed in Maddie's and Rayn's story. I really enjoyed getting to read the story from both of their perspectives, and seeing that the feelings were just as strong from the beginning for both of them. This author has a way of writing that really brought out the emotions and turmoil that the characters were feeling and making me feel them too. This book is an emotional roller coaster ride you kinda just have to hold on and hope you don't fall off. I think the author tried to embed some really good morality lessons into her story, and the belief that the Rayn has in the deity is refreshing the author brings God into her book but not in an overbearing preachy way. While I was reading it I kept thinking this is a great way to get an alternative choices out to a YA market without making it overwhelming. The romance was intense with out having to bring sex into it and both main characters have made choices to wait until marriage, even so the author was able to put across the intense feelings these two have for each other. Over all I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to book two in the series.
I received this book as a free book from the author for a fair review. Thanks for the entertaining read. :)

More About the Author

One day, on her way home from work as a sales manager, A. M. Hargrove, realized her life was on fast forward and if she didn't do something soon, it would quickly be too late to write that work of fiction she had been dreaming of her whole life. So, she rolled down the passenger window of her fabulous (not) company car and tossed out her leather briefcase. Luckily, the pedestrian in the direct line of fire was a dodgeball pro and had über quick reflexes enabling him to avoid getting bashed in the head. Feeling a tad guilty about the near miss, A. M. made a speedy turn down a deserted side street before tossing her crummy, outdated piece-of-you-know-what lap top out the window. She breathed a liberating sigh of relief, picked up her cell phone and hit #4 on her speed dial.

Boss: Hello

A.M.: Boss, is that you?

Boss: Why yes, A. M., who else would be answering my phone?

A.M.: Er... right. Well, I'm calling to let you know you can pick up my luxury Ford Focus at Starbucks near the interstate.

Boss: Why ever would I want to do that?

A.M.: Because I quit!

A.M. hit the end button and speed dialed her husband.

A.M.: Hi hubs, can you pick me up at Starbucks?

Hubs: Sure... Having some car trouble?

A.M.: Not at all. I don't have a car to have trouble with because I just quit my job.

Hubs: WHAT?!

A.M.: It's time for a new career and I am going to be a very famous novelist.

So began A. M. Hargrove's career as an author of self-published books. Her books include the Young Adult/New Adult series, The Guardians of Vesturon (Survival, Resurrection, Determinant and the novella Beginnings) and the Adult novels Dark Waltz (A Praestani Novel) and Edge of Disaster. (It didn't happen exactly like that, but you get the idea!)