Tagged: evelyn
Stolen Skye by Nina Loard
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
It’s been years since the car accident, but with every disappointment Evelyn finds herself wondering about her forgotten days in London. After being dismissed from her job, she unknowingly wanders past an old friend who reintroduces himself by breaking into her home. Armed with a photograph and a handful of gems, he convinces her that after dropping out of her study abroad program, she befriended a group of accomplished thieves. Drawn to the handsome stranger in her living room and seduced by the idea of finally knowing the truth, Evelyn travels to London to face her past and understand what could’ve caused her to make such uncharacteristic life choices.
As conflicting memories surface, Evelyn fights her attraction to the Irish rogue, Finn, while sparring with the intimidating group leader, Ari. There’s the added problem of forgetting where she’s stashed a small fortune. Realizing too late that darker forces are closing in on her, Evelyn fights to save herself and the lives of those she’s grown to care for.
I hate to admit it, but the only reason I even considered reading this book is that it was free on Amazon at the time. Normally something like this would scare me off because I’d think “Oh, just another action movie wannabe”. You could say that I’m a little judgmental with these things, but I still did go into Stolen Skye with an open mind. You never know, right? It might actually be good.
The truth is, it’s better than good. It’s great!
I know it sounds like Evelyn has Hollywood Amnesia and she sort of does, but at least Nina Loard justifies it as the rare fugue amnesia (where victims can get their past memories back and don’t lose the memory of how to do basic things like tie their shoes). The main reason why I didn’t throw this book at the wall despite the amnesia cliche is that it wasn’t actually a cliche in this book. Evelyn is significantly hindered by her lack of past memories and she knows it. Sometimes memories come back to her if she’s in a setting from that memory, but it’s not a great big rush just when the plot finds it convenient.
Evelyn was a great character, to be honest. She’s smart and determined when she has a goal, but at the same time she’s still a little unsure of herself. I know I would be too if I was in the place where I lost my memories with these people who knew my former self. The whole art theft ring wouldn’t help either. Ari and Finn are two very different men and no, it’s not a typical love triangle in this case. Evelyn naturally grows attracted to Finn, but then something happens to sort of spoil their relationship. I can’t say anything without giving away a major spoiler, but let’s just say that it both did and didn’t surprise me.
For a character-driven novel, Stolen Skye is quite fast-paced. Of course there’s Evelyn rediscovering her past, but then a lot of the plot consists of her re-training as a thief and helping to plan a theft at one of the most famous museums in the world. (This particular theft not being illegal as they were hired for a publicity stunt.) We also see Evelyn try to learn what led to her accident and subsequent amnesia. Trust me when I say that where there’s lots of money involved, there’s a lot of criminal activity and the people with said money become targets.
What really stood out for me in Nina Loard’s book were her vivid descriptions of the locations. I’ve never been to London (something I plan to remedy in the future) but through her writing I felt like I was right there along with Evelyn. Her descriptive style appeals to me and although it’s not typically what you’d see in an action thriller, it somehow works because she has a good sense of timing. Few authors can both describe the characters’ surroundings adequately and still have lots of action going on. It’s an important skill and Nina Loard certainly has it.
This was definitely one of the best books I’ve stumbled across, paid or free. I’m so glad that I gave it a chance and went into it with an open mind because I’ve found a great new series that I’m dying to read the next book of. So check out the Skye Trilogy, people! It’s hard not to love it!
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Words Once Spoken by Carly Drake
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
YA meets high fantasy in this lush series debut about a girl who never quite fit in — and the reason why…
Evelyn might not love the confines of her village life, but she takes her small freedoms where she can get them. But everything changes when her parents decide it’s time for her to wed. Suddenly she loses her tunic and breeches, her bow, her horse, and gains rigid gowns, restrictive manners, and carriage rides.
The best way to escape is through her dreams, but as they become more and more real, Evelyn begins to worry that she is losing her grasp on reality. It is only when she makes two new friends that the truth is revealed: she is destined for far, far more than even she could imagine.
[Full disclosure: I requested and received a free ebook copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.]
For a debut novel this isn’t a terrible book, but it is by no means a great book. There are some good elements and some bad elements but I think the main problem that kept me from truly enjoying this book was the pacing.
The pacing was bad, if I’m honest. It was nice to start with a gentle beginning but the beginning dragged on and on and on while the plot went nowhere in the beginning. Then, when things finally started getting interesting Carly Drake just rushed through them without much explanation. I really wanted to know more about Evelyn’s fairy powers and the world she is suddenly thrust into but it’s just so confusing. There simply was not enough backstory to make me emotionally invested in Evelyn’s struggle to stabilize her new realm.
Evelyn is an okay character I suppose. She’s brave but eventually learns to admit when she needs help. She can be incredibly self-sufficient and even though she’s a stereotypical sort of girl empowerment character there’s a legitimate reason for it. The only problem I really had with her was her lack of emotions. She didn’t really seem fazed when her parents abandoned her, when she learned the life she was living was a lie, etc. Even during that rather disturbing scene at the very end of the novel I couldn’t feel her panic. As for the love triangle, well there was nothing unique about it. It’s pretty much the same old love triangle you’ve seen in every other YA book today.
The writing itself was not bad, however. Carly Drake has some potential here with her style of writing; she just needs to work a little bit more on the plot elements. If the plot had not been so poorly paced and the world had been fleshed out a little more this could have made it into the ‘good’ category but as it stands, this one was a solid ‘meh’. I don’t feel particularly strongly about it one way or the other so I can’t in all honesty either recommend it or warn people away from it.
I give this book 2/5 stars.