A Blind Eye by Julie Daines – Blog Tour

 Posted by  Book Reviews, Shanda's Reviews
Apr 092013
 

ablindeyeA Blind Eye

Author: Julie Daines

Publisher: Covenant Communications

Published Date: January 2013

Softcover: 176 pages

Genre: YA Suspense

ISBN# 978-1-62108-252-1

Reviewed by: Shanda

FTC FYI: received a free review copy in exchange for an honest review

Summary

Life has dealt Christian Morris one blow too many. After his mother’s untimely death left him in the care of his distant, workaholic father, family life became anything but happy. Now, after eight years of neglect and loneliness, he can’t think of a reason to stay. The promise of a new beginning beckons, and with bags packed, Christian embarks on what he anticipates will be an uneventful road trip to Canada and freedom from his pain. But in a twist of fate, his plans take a drastic detour in the form of a beautiful and frightened girl. Scarlett, a British teenager, suddenly appears in his life and she’s in trouble.

Blind since birth, Scarlett Becket has virtually been abandoned. Following her completion of school, Scarlett’s world is shattered the night she’s abducted from her temporary London flat. Unable to see her kidnappers, she is uncertain as to who they are or why they chose her. What she does know is that in a series of vivid dreams, much like those she has had before, she has foreseen a grisly murder and this time, she’s the victim. Scarlett’s narrow escape and encounter with Christian has provided her a temporary refuge, but it’s only a matter of time before her captors pick up her trail.

Determined to protect Scarlett, whatever the price, Christian embarks on a dangerous course as he fights to keep her alive. And in entering the twisted maze of betrayal and redemption, he quickly realizes that life looks different when you may not live to see tomorrow.

Review

I was intrigued as soon as I read the summary for A Blind Eye. I enjoyed this story about a conflicted young man, a strong-yet-vulnerable young woman with a unique ability, and an interesting storyline that kept me reading.

I really liked both main characters and several secondary characters as well. With a little more page space some of them could have been a bit more fleshed out. Considering the fast-moving plot, that extra character development would have been nice but not necessary and it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the story.

The conflict between Christian and his father was well-developed and the reader is left with a realistic “resolution” considering their relationship. I loved the way the setting of the story came full circle.

A Blind Eye was a quick, suspense-filled read that adults will enjoy as much as their older teenagers. Though the book doesn’t hit 200 pages, it didn’t feel short or rushed. I believe this is Julie’s debut novel and I can honestly say I look forward to reading more from her.

Visit Julie: 

BLOG | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | GOOGLE+ | GOODREADS

Find A Blind Eye: 

AMAZON | DESERET BOOK | SEAGULL BOOK | BARNES & NOBLE | GOODREADS

Watch the trailer for A Blind Eye (click through to watch if you aren’t reading this post on the LDSWBR blog):

 

Watched by Cindy Hogan – Blog Tour

 Posted by  Blog Tours, Book Reviews, Shanda's Reviews, Special Features
Jul 202011
 
Today is the last day to comment on
The 2011 Book Blogger’s Cookbook post to enter to win a Kindle!

***

Watched

Author: Cindy M. Hogan

Published: CreateSpace

Published Date: April 2011

Softcover & Kindle: 348 pages

Genre: YA Suspense

ISBN# 978-1453899151

FTC FYI: Free ARC from the author that did not affect my review

From the back cover:

It takes more than a school trip to Washingotn, D.C. to change fifteen-year-old Christy’s life. It takes murder.

A witness to the brutal slaying of a Senator’s aide, Christy finds herself watched not only by the killers and the FBI, but also by two hot boys.

She discovers that if she can’t help the FBI, who want to protect her, it will cost her and her new friends their lives.

I started reading Watched a few hours before bedtime. I made it through the first few chapters before deciding to continue in the morning because I wanted to be able to sleep without nightmares. Cindy opens Watched with a group of teens in front of a creepy hotel. It’s late night in Washington, D.C., and they are wandering unsupervised around the city after sneaking out of their hotel.

“I plastered a smile on my face, trying in vain to stop the shiver that traveled with slow determination up my spine.” (Watched, page 1, first line.)

Watched is told from the point-of-view of Christy, an inexperienced and insecure 15-year-old whose parents sent her off with a “see you in two weeks” and not much else. Not very popular in her high school, Christy is determined to be accepted by her tour’s mini-group of older and richer teens. She finds it more difficult than she expected to leave behind her “brainy” and “goody-goody” tendencies that she is convinced caused her to be so unpopular back home.

After witnessing a brutal murder, the group is forced to decide what they should do about it. They know they are dealing with professional and scary people who wouldn’t hesitate to hurt them or their families. The experience binds them together despite their decision not to talk about it after discovering a clever way to contact the FBI. The group continues on as normally as possible despite Christy’s suspicion that they are being watched.

The suspense carried well throughout the story, with only a few teen-angst-y parts distracting from it. I read the book quickly and only felt pulled from the story a few times. The writing style and voice felt consistent for an older YA audience (15+) though there were a few rough spots that could have been polished for the final version (I was reading an uncorrected proof).

Watched, as a suspense-novel, is more plot-based, and Cindy did a good job on the storyline. I do find myself wishing for a little more depth in the secondary characters close to Christy, but that could be because I am a character-driven reader and often find myself wishing for mystery-suspense characters with a little more depth.

I was relieved to see that Watched is part of a series because I was left feeling like I wanted just a little bit more after finishing the book. I look forward to reading the next book in the series. I think Cindy Hogan has great potential and is definitely an author to watch.

Watched is available for Kindle and Nook (only $2.99) as well as in paperback at Amazon and Brigham Distributing.

Cindy is giving away a $10 Amazon gift card for commenting on her blog and telling her which blog sent you there. Don’t forget to follow Cindy’s blog while you’re there.

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Age: 15+

Content:

  • Language: none that I can remember
  • Sexual: one boy pressures Christy to come to his room but she resists; kissing w/little description
  • Drugs & Alcohol: others drink around Christy at a club and she “pretends” at one point but does not drink
  • Violence: three specific incidences of violence including a beheading and people being shot

Follow the Watched blog tour:

July 18th

July 19th

July 20th

July 21st

July 22nd