Review: a lot of details, the meat of the story is more towards the end
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 07 13, 2014
The first book in the series is all about Jolan and her life.  She is a swimmer at the local military academy on a scholarship because her parents don't have much money.  Jolan lives at home with her parents and her older brother who also attends the academy.  While she is the swimmer, he is the brains.  Jolan is a rather humble person and doesn't like to speak ill of others.  She has two very close friends: Astrid and Eshe, and they occasionally go out to the local pub for drinks and hanging out.  Jolan is very beautiful and there are always men attracted to her.  However, she likes to debate and this doesn't always go over well.  Like the night she meets Alastair and Aidan, and unfortunately she also meets Aidan's ex, Alisha, who is basically stalking Aidan and happens to be a very jealous person.  Then Jolan meets Colemund.  He is a prince.  They don't run into each other again for a while, but when they do, their love blooms and Jolan has begun to change physically.  Her eyes are getting lighter, her frame is more slender and muscular, and she just looks different.  Even her older brother has noticed it.  When Colemund asks Jolan to go to Turkey with him, some surprising things come to light about who she truly is and why she is changing.  These changes have put Jolan in danger.The book was rather slow for the first half of it.  You get a good look at what Jolan's life is like on a day-to-day basis.  But there are so many mundane details it can be easy to get bogged down.  Some of the details bring out a wonderful picture of Jolan and her loving family.  Other details can be just a bit much.  But enduring is worth it in the book.  The end really starts to bring out the meat of the story.  Jolan's history is very necessary to understand this story, however.  Detail can make or break a story, and the strange thing in this book is that it seems to do a little of both.  At the beginning there is too much detail.  Then when you get closer to the end of the book, details are what make this part of the story so good.  I guess you could say it is balanced in that aspect, but precariously close to being almost too much.Try book 2 after reading this one!  Full of action!