Reviewed by: Fredlet
Genre: YA/Paranormal
Approximate word count: 75-80,000 words
Availability
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on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or
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Author:
“Globetrotter Imogen
Rose is Swedish by birth, went to college in London (where she received a PhD
in immunology), and is now a Jersey girl. After her eight-year-old daughter
insisted she write down her stories, Rose wrote the first of her Portal
Chronicles series and decided to let it out into the world. The response was so
positive that she’s continued with the series, and started two other series.”
Description:
“This is the final book
of the Portal Chronicles series. That, apparently, brings a conclusion to the
time-and-dimension-hopping adventures of the two Arizonas, Arizona
Stevens and her alter ego in another dimension, Arizona Darley.”
Appraisal:
Since I
became an avid reader at age 10, I have been a binge reader, and lover of
series. Every free minute, weekends, and vacation time was devoted to reading
as many books as I could fit in. This continued through my 38 years of teaching
and first year and a half of retirement. During the summer of 2010, I discovered
the Portal Chronicles by Imogen Rose. I ripped through the first two books, and
fell in love with the story and characters. I’ve always been intrigued with
time travel stories, but had not read much YA or paranormal fiction. I eagerly awaited the next two books in the
series and ripped through those as well. Finally, in March of 2013, the last in
this adored series was released while I was on vacation, and I had the same
plan to read quickly to the end. That did not happen.
I read the
prologue to Fusion and found myself
stopping to think back on all of the characters…what they had gone through, how
they had grown and changed, and what was going to happen to them in this final
book. These characters had been living vividly in my brain for so long; they
seemed real to me. I wanted to know the outcome, but was reluctant to reach the
end and let them go. So, I stopped reading until I got home. Then, I read the
first chapter and put it down again…contented to wait for more. I continued
reading this way, until I finally finished the book two months later. I felt
the way Lauren, Ms Rose’s daughter, must have felt when she was waiting for the
next installment of the story to be written for her. This is not to say that I
won’t be prone to binge reading anymore, but I am glad to discover that reading
can be just as satisfying done slowly over time.
I was
disappointed that I did not finish the book in time to review it for the blog
tour stop at Books & Pals; Al and ?wazithinkin’s reviews were an awesome
double shot! It was a fitting and satisfying ending to this series, leaving the
door open to some characters crossing over into one of Ms Rose’s other series.
I fell in love with Rupert, so I am hoping he is one to show up again. When I
found out that there was going to be a supermoon June 23rd, it
reminded me of the beautiful cover for Fusion,
and prompted me to ask about a third review for the book to be posted. So, here
it is; a review for a super series on the date of the supermoon. Thank you Ms
Rose for leading me to a new way of reading, introducing me to such well
developed, intriguing characters, exposing me to exciting paranormal events,
and leaving me with the wish that I could find them all again.
FYI:
Each of the
books in this series relies on information from the previous book, so to
experience the full enjoyment of the characters and understand the plot
details, I recommend reading the books in order.
There is a
small amount of adult language included.
Format/Typo Issues:
None found.
Rating: ***** Five Stars
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