Blind Sight (Through the Eyes of Leocardo Reyes) by Ermisenda Alvarez

Rating: 4 Stars


Title:  Blind Sight (Through the Eyes of Leocardo Reyes)

Author:   Ermisenda Alvarez

Publisher:  Ermilia LLC

Genre:  Young Adult Contemporary Paranormal Fantasy

Length:  173 Pages (For Leocardo's side only)

Summary: 

 A blind girl drawing is abnormal even on the magical island of Edaion where leaves brush themselves into piles in the middle of the night. So when Odette Reyes, a girl blind from birth, begins to experience ominous side effects of the island's "gift," her brother Leocardo and best friend Aniela must figure out what the doctors cannot. As an immigrant, Leocardo is not biased by accepted rules of magic and determines that Odette's drawings are premonitions. Aniela grew up with magic and knows premonitions are impossible. She determines Odette is a medium channeling voiceless spirits.

Who is right? Whose eyes will you read through?

Snatched out of their life in Spain, Leocardo and his blind sister Odette find themselves on an island with no recollection of the trip. After foiled attempts to escape, Odette’s strange behavior gets worse. Even after learning the island has bestowed magic upon them both, Leocardo faces the possibility his sister is having a mental break down. Just as he thinks he is settled in, job and romantic life stable, Odette disappears.

Read Aniela's side of the story in "Blind Sight Through the Eyes of Aniela Dawson" by Eliabeth Hawthorne.

(Summary hijacked from Amazon)

Review: 

 I've been reading this book off and on for the past couple of weeks, and sadly, I'm not finished with it yet. It's been off and on only because I was on vacation (at the beach!) and then catching up from work, otherwise I would be done with it by now. I'm going to write a review up to the point I've reached. It's not something I normally do, but since I agreed to be part of this blog tour, I wanted to get a review up ...even though the authors were fantastic about me going on vacation and said I could just post an excerpt. So, on to the review....

The format for this book is different and not something I've seen for a long time. Two books. Both titled the same. Each told from the perspective of a different character. Each written by a different author. I remember reading books as a kid where you would read one side, then flip it over and read the other side. While I haven't had a physical copy in my hands, this concept sort of reminds me of that. I was intrigued and excited about the whole idea! As a writer, I cannot imagine how incredibly difficult writing like this would be. You would have to know your writing partner very well to pull this off.

I let the authors choose which side to give me, and I received Leocardo's side. The other side is from Aniela's (aka Ana) perspective. You get lots of exposure to Ana throughout Leo's side and I can only imagine that the same is true for Ana's side. At this point, I can't speak as to whether or not they are stand alone reads, but why cheat yourself, anyway? It's also interesting that one perspective is from an outsider and the other is from a native.

I found the beginning slightly confusing. The story seemed to jump ahead a bit, without much explanation as to what happened. Some of it comes back later in flashbacks that Leo has. Some of it (so far) has not been explained at all. I understand that it's supposed to be because they don't remember it but it makes it confusing for the reader. If I'm this confused as a reader, how confused would the characters be? And, taking that into consideration, I can't believe how relatively calmly they take everything. Leo does freak out a bit, but not nearly as much as I think I would.

Leo seems to be a well fleshed out character. He is a devoted big brother to Odette and feels an overwhelming responsibility to her. I thought it was rather strange that they lived together at the beginning of the story, rather than Odette living with her parents. Especially considering that she is still in high school and blind. Leo was going to college at the time and I don't know many college guys that would want their blind little sister living with them unless their parents were gone.

I also really like Ana. Even though she is young, she knows who she is and seems to be fairly independent. She will do what she has to do to help Leo and get things done, regardless of the consequences. She is strong, but also vulnerable when it comes to Leo.

Odette, on the other hand, comes across more like a spoiled brat. We don't see a lot of the relationship between Odette and Leo, other than the fact that they live together, but she treats him horribly enough to make me question his devotion to her. Sometimes she seemed sweet and in the blink of an eye I would be wondering if she was bi-polar. I just didn't connect with her at all.

 So far, I'm really enjoying this book! I'm about 2/3 of the way through and anxious to see how it ends.  Right now I'm giving it four stars. If that changes when I'm completely finished with it, I will update the review. It's definitely something I would recommend anyone to check out, if only for the fun and unique quality to it. Once they start reading, I'm sure they'll be hooked.







This post is part of the Blind Sight Blog Tour. Blind Sight is an urban fantasy novel written in two volumes, each telling the story through a different character's perspective.

Danger In Deer Ridge by Terry Odell (A Blackthorne, Inc. Novel)

Rating: 4 Stars 

Title:  Danger In Deer Ridge 

Author:  Terry Odell 

Cover Design: Dave Fymbo 

Genre:  Contemporary Romance 

Length: 319 Pages 

Summary :  

What do you do when your life turns upside down? Whatever it takes. 

When Elizabeth Parker arrives in Deer Ridge with her eight-year-old son, she's constantly looking over her shoulder, afraid her husband won't believe she's dead, despite the new identity provided by the high-end firm of Blackthorne, Inc. Within hours of her arrival, a man shows up claiming he's there to hook up her gas line. When he keeps turning up, she's wary as to his motives. For Elizabeth, trust doesn't come easy. She'll never let her husband lay a hand on her son, no matter what, and if this man is working for her husband, she wants no part of him.

Mark Grinciewicz, Grinch to everyone who knows him, was Blackthorne, Incorporated's top pilot. When his ex-wife dies, he is left with custody of a five-year-old son he hardly knows, and everything changes. Determined to do what it takes to help his son adjust to a new life, Grinch finds himself tethered to the ground, unable to do what he loves—fly.

When he gets a call from Blackthorne, requesting that he take a simple assignment—teach a woman how to fit into the community under her new identity—he reluctantly accepts the task. Bad enough he's not supposed to let on he's aware of her identity, or that he's on her side. But what he doesn't know is that she has something her husband needs, and the man will do just about anything to get it back. Suddenly, everyone is a potential threat. Can Grinch break through her defenses and earn her trust in time to save her without endangering her son or his? 

Review:

This is the first book I've read by Terry Odell and I really enjoyed it. Picking one in the Blackthorne, Inc. series was just luck, but I enjoyed this taste of the series enough to check out some others in the series. The plot develops at a good pace, one that's easy to read and keep up with, but also keeps driving the story forward. The characters are also very well developed and grow noticeably throughout the book.

The paranoia that Elizabeth Parker exhibits at the beginning of, and throughout, the book are believable and contagious. The feeling of it travels through the pages, up your arms and punches you in the gut. You get that feeling of paranoia yourself and can feel her fear of her husband finding her and taking her son. Despite the fear, she is determined to try not to let it show to Will, her son, hoping to give him as relatively normal of a childhood as she is capable of. If you've ever been a parent, it is easy to relate to the feelings and fear portrayed throughout the book, especially when certain situations arise.

The relationship that develops between the two boys (Grinch's son and Elizabeth's son) is cute to watch and the dynamics of the relationships with all of the characters is very real. It was also very interesting to have a book about a grounded pilot. It's not often you get one like that - usually it's the hotshot pilots, not one that is giving up what he loves for his son. The decisions that Grinch makes shows a lot about his character in a subtle way.

The imagery used in describing the Colorado mountains is extremely well done. I could just see the little town - just a quaint little, unassuming, country/mountain town - and especially the restaurant they took the boys too. I loved it! It made me want to get the map out and see if this place is real so I could visit.

The heart of the plot comes about when it's discovered that Elizabeth took something with her when she left her husband. If she had left well enough alone, she may have gotten away with hiding from him, but whether it was the human nature of greed, curiosity or, as she claims, an insurance policy, it comes back to bite her in the end. With the tension reaching new heights by the end of the book, it culminates in a nail biting situation that kept me reading well past bed time.

The romance that develops between Elizabeth and Grinch was relatable to anybody that has been hurt in a relationship before. It was slow to develop, showing them dealing with both of their feelings of fear and vulnerability. Because of that, it comes across as a much more real, and enduring, relationship. It can be hard to do this in the span of a book and still keep the plot moving forward, but Ms. Odell does an admirable job.

Whether you are a fan of Terry Odell's, a fan of the Blackthorne, Inc. series or are just finding this one, it is definitely one worth checking out. It kept me on the edge of my seat with suspense and tension and had a satisfying ending that wrapped things up nicely.