Review and G!ve@way: The Athena Effect by Derrolyn Anderson

Title: The Athena Effect
Author: Derrolyn Anderson
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Self-published
Publish Date: August 30, 2012
Source: I received a copy from the author; however, this did not affect my review.

Why You're Reading This Book:

• You're a Young Adult fiction fan.
• You're a sci-fi fan.
• You like great characters.

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "Country girl Cali has been kept a secret her entire life, raised in isolation by two very troubled people. Despite her parent’s disturbing fits, Cal is perfectly content, living at one with the nature that surrounds her, and finding adventure inside the pages of her beloved books. When an awful tragedy tears her away from her remote cabin in the woods, nothing she’s ever read has prepared her for a world that she knows very little about.

Girls and motorcycles are what bad-boy Cal’s life is all about. Brought up in a raucous party house by his biker brother, he’s free to do as he pleases, going through the motions on his final days of high school. Aimless, Cal stopped thinking about his future a long time ago.

Attacked by a gang of thugs while running an errand for his brother, Cal is in serious trouble until a fierce girl appears out of nowhere to intervene. She chases off three grown men, sparing Cal a brutal beating before disappearing into the night like a spirit. He can’t stop thinking about his mysterious rescuer, and when she turns out to be the weird new girl at school who goes out of her way to avoid him, he can’t contain his curiosity.

He’s never met anyone like her before, and the more he learns about the unusual girl who shares his nickname, the more he wants to know. Cal can’t help falling for Cal, but can he keep her from falling victim to a dangerous enemy from her parent’s tragic past?"

My Two Cents:

Oh Derrolyn, you've done it again! You guys probably know by now that I am a huge fan of Anderson's Marina's Tale series. Because of the great writing in those books, I was anxious to read this book. I was most definitely not disappointed. This is a first book in a planned series and if the rest of the series is anything like this first book, I know that we are in for a real treat.

As with the Marina's Tale books, one of the standouts for me in this book was really the characters. They are really well written and jump right off of the page. These characters feel like people that you might come across in the world (okay, perhaps without the paranormal lean to them). The main character, Caledonia, is a really great character. She grew up very sheltered and as the story unfolds, we see why her parents wanted to shelter her so much. I really wished that we got to learn more about Caledonia's parents. How did they figure out what Dr. Reed was trying to do? How did they escape? I'm really hoping that the next books will shed more light on their stories as well.

This is the kind of book you get lost in. Once I got into this book (which only took a chapter and a couple pages), I flew through it in one sitting. I couldn't wait to see what happened next. I loved putting together the pieces of Cal's puzzle.

This book is geared towards young adults but because of some of the subject matter (abuse, sexual relations, some violence) should be read with discretion. This book may be best for older Young Adult readers.

Bottom line: Sad that I have to wait until 2013 for the next installation of the story.

Giveaway:

Now, hopefully I've peaked your interest in reading this awesome book.  One lucky winner will win an ebook copy of the book and a gorgeous necklace based on some of Cal's special powers in the book.

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway