Lore is important with stories like these, it goes a long way toward shaping the character. This writer creates the lore subtly and effortlessly within the story and I found myself thoroughly invested in Casey Blane as she went on her journey of self-discovery. The first chapter smacks you in the face and draws you in quickly, and the rest of the novel is paced well and keeps you engaged as well. What stuck out to me was how naturally the fantasy elements were inserted into the story, adding to the realism and connectivity instead of taking away from it like I find some books with elements like these tend to do. I am definitely adding the second book in this series to my soon-to-read list!

I had heard about this book and was eager to read it. It sounded right up my alley with magic, werewolves, and vampires. Unfortunately, I had a hard time reading it. The plot has a lot of potential. Casey discovers that her life is a complete lie and that she is actually a queen of a coven. She learns that she must train for this position and then protect her coven. And of course, there is a group that is hellbent on keeping her from doing just that.

It sounded like a great story, but there were issues that kept it from being amazing (for me). First, I couldn't connect with any of the characters. It's told in first-person, but the author goes from first-person narrative to feeling as if the main character is relaying everything to you in a tween phone conversation. The main character is beyond oblivious. She can't even connect obvious information, which was a bit frustrating. Her protectors are even more incompetent. I kept thinking that a coven who knows the importance of protecting their future queen would not allow such flawed teens to protect her. It just went against common sense. And the adults were even worse! It was very frustrating to read.

The characters had potential, but there was no depth to them. They spent more time bickering and getting on each other's nerves. They went from liking one another to hating one another to not wanting to be without the other to fighting again. Even when the author gave some history to the characters, I felt like it fell short. I just couldn't connect with any of them.

Another frustrating part of the characters was how important characters seemed to become unimportant from one scene to the next. And characters that were loathed were all of a sudden supposed to be important. It was just too much reader whiplash without substance to justify it.

Second, the settings was OVER-described. I found myself skipping full paragraphs that explained where every item in the room was located. I felt that it took away from the story itself. Sometimes, it's important to know where things are located because those items are connected to what a character will do, but much of what the author described felt like fillers instead of vital information.

Also, the ending fell flat. I'm a fan of books in a series. I love books that end in cliff-hangers. This book ends with a character having a conversation that just kind of stops. There is no sense of a cliff-hanger. There is no sense of urgency. It doesn't even feel like the conversation ended. The writing just stopped. It just felt like an awkward ending.

Last, the entire story needs another edit/revision. Maybe I just got the first version of the book. I see there are multiple covers. Maybe I read the first one that came out and the author has since edited the book. I don't know. But the version that I read was filled with errors. There were blatant typos. There were run-on sentences, sentences with the wrong punctuation, and sentences with missing punctuation. There were even sentences that were immediately repeated. It all took away from trying to enjoy the story.

I don't enjoy giving negative reviews, but I do believe in being honest. Again, maybe I purchased an original version of the book, and maybe these issues have already been fixed. The story has potential, but I don't see myself reading the next book. :-/

Casey is a wonderfully rich character that I thoroughly enjoyed reading about. After the epic story, I feel like we sure have been through a lot together and that she really was amazing in the face of such lifechanging events and news.

I loved that I got to watch her grow into what she was, as well as adjust to the idea of what she was. There were some sweet and not so sweet people who helped to shape her along that journey. Guardians and teachers who came out of secondary roles and turned into characters that I also bonded with and hope to see again.

The book had a lot of action, fantasy elements, magic, and even romance, which considering it was such a young heroine still worked well in most regards, though I much preferred when she was fighting or wielding magic.

I recommend this for fantasy fans all ages, and look forward to the next part.

Casey has been going through life trying avoid attention, both at school because of her unique eyes, and with the family that watches her while her mother is gone. She knows there is something not-quite-right with their sons and when they nearly drown her in the pool, her suspicions are confirmed. What she doesn't know is that her near death experience is just the beginning of her exploration of her true identity and abilities, her true calling, and maybe even finding her true love.
The story telling is wonderful and really keeps the reader engaged! Best of all the book is action packed and even the slow moments in the book add depth that propels the storyline forward. If you are looking for a clean paranormal adventure then you will love this!

From the get go I could tell that Jodi Ann Fahey was an amazing story teller. As a reader I was engaged in the story straight away from Page 1. The little details, observations the author included in her story made it all very real. The heart of the story is about Casey, through her, the author weaves a tale with wonderful characters and intrigue which will make you keep flipping the pages. I loved the friendship between Casey and Takota and their kibitzing and loyalty to each other was endearing. It was also wonderful to discover Casey's legacy at the same time as she did. Still thinking about this book, the magic, the unexpected twist and the battles even though I'm finished reading. Can't wait to read the next one!

I will start with my likes in this book. The characters and scenery were described well, almost made you feel like you were right there with them. The first 20% or so was a good lead up into the chaos that follows, however (here comes what kept this from being 5 stars) there is some confusion at the last like 30% of the story. What you think happens through the whole story isn't really what you are lead to believe, I get that great plot twist, Or not! Because it never tells you how that happens. As I said confusion, but I have book 2 and am hoping that more will come to light. I gave 4 stars because I have high hopes for this world that Ms. Fahey had started creating. A little more explaining and a little more editing for a few grammar mishaps and this world could be amazing, instead of just liked.