Reviewed
by: ?wazithinkin
Genre:
Supernatural/ Romance/ World Mythology
Approximate
word count: 75-80,000 words
Availability
Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store
Author:
Erin Manbeck was born and raised in New Jersey, but has
found a new, calmer life in Florida. With a B.S in Criminology from FSU, and a
military deployment behind her, she is now working full time and raising a
family. Whenever she can sneak away from those responsibilities, she is writing.
The "Gifted" Trilogy is her
introduction into the writing world and books two and three are now available.
To learn more about Ms. Manbeck feel
free to visit her blog or check out her Facebook page.
Description:
“Every break up is difficult, but twenty year old Regan
never expected that leaving her boyfriend, Sam, would open a door to people and
powers that only existed in books. Turning to her Grandmother for answers,
Regan is let in on a family secret that reveals not only what character she is
in the story, but what happened to her parents seven years prior.
With the truth out and Regan’s life in danger, Gram brings
in the three Guardians who have been secretly protecting Regan. Piper, the
fierce fighter who’s not afraid to speak her mind, Maggie the bubble popper,
gifted in spells, and Jake, the man who has Regan questioning who she can
really trust.
Will Regan walk down the path others have laid out for
her, or will she write the ending to her own story?”
Appraisal:
This story starts off strong and we get a good sense about how Regan
is feeling about her relationship with Sam. Ms. Manbeck does a good job setting
up the story and introducing the characters. However, she gets a little
repetitive with the Gaelic history. Regan is intelligent with a strong
personality and has a lot thrust upon her in a short amount of time. She is not
afraid to speak up for herself or others around her. She also has a lot of high
ideals but is able to keep her sharp sarcastic wit when trying to prove her
point.
The plot is fast moving, but interspersed with more intimate character
development for each of the main players. I loved the interaction between
Piper, Maggie, and Jake. They totally related to each other like family. I liked
the dynamics of all the characters and Gram seemed to have a handle on all of
them. This is a valiant first novel by the author, Erin Manbeck, but I have to
wonder if she had an editor or not. I suppose it is possible I didn’t receive
the final completely edited file but I have to review what was submitted to the
blog. Along with multiple small proofing errors there is a scene that is
completely out of place towards the end of the story (around 92%). However, it
is repeated in its proper place also. To say it threw me out of the story is an
understatement.
I did enjoy this story and feel invested in all the characters’ fates,
even Sam’s. It will interesting to see how the story progresses.
FYI:
This story contains adult language, along with several F-bombs, and
sexual situations that may be offensive to some.
Format/Typo
Issues:
Several small proofing errors that range from missing, wrong, or extra
words to punctuation errors that exceeded an acceptable level. Then there was an
editing problem where nine or so paragraphs were repeated in the wrong location
of the story.
Rating:
*** Three stars
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