Review: Spellbinding, captivating and an addictive read this story is one that will leave you sat in suspense wanting to read more!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 20, 2012
I am so impressed by Amber Garza whose work is just fantastic, taking the Young Adult genre to new heights with her Christian Thrillers (the Prowl trilogy), her suspense novel Engraved and Delaney's gift that continues in `Dazzle'. This book contains three chapters and is an introduction to Delaney's gift, complete with an extra bonus short story. One discovers the most intriguing, fascinating characters and an inspired plot that afterwards you will be begging to discover in `Dazzle'.  I highly recommend this as a most outstanding read, which keeps you glued to the page lost within the most exciting narrative and fast-paced drama.Beautifully descriptive and atmospheric, one of my favorite lines has to be;"...claw at the frigid liquid, but it slips between my fingers and swirls around me until I'm dizzy."Micah and Delaney are two teenagers harboring a great secret, which defines and shapes their lives as they conceal all to `normal' people. They are Ekloge warriors and followers of the Zerach, bearing a mark upon their neck as a sign of where their loyalties lie and their duty to uphold. There are ten warriors and one event leads them to Ariel, who is one of the missing eight, with her powers removed from her (being the cruelest cut of all). Delaney Scott is an interesting character whom I connected to instantly, with her singular traits and individualistic mannerisms that make her stand-out as a character to drive the story forwards. Everyone has enemies and for them it is the Sarafites, who like the Ekloge warriors are branded with a mark only one that is on their foreheads depicting a flame.She has a crush on a guy called Sam whom she is warned to stay away from and yet there is something almost magnetic about him, as if there is more to him than initially meets the eye (like something sinister lurking beneath the surface).The narrative changes with each section so that you understand each characters point-of-view, such as Delaney's feelings towards Micah. He is her best friend, her comfort and her protection - with his superhuman strength and dependability, it makes one wonder what would happen if he was not there for her? Each warrior has different powers, with Delaney having visions of events before they come to pass, hence allowing her to go to the aid of those in need. This concept I found to be totally inspired and which added to the originality and freshness of the story, turning this teen fiction into something quite magical, mysterious and exciting!What I liked most about this teaser story was the emerging love triangle between Sam and Micah, with Delaney in the centre which almost reminded me of Bella, Edward and Jacob or other distinctive 3 characters within YA fiction.This is a fantastic read and one that I lost myself within instantly, as I grasped the storyline and let it take hold on the first page. It is really easy to plunge strait into Amber Garza's books and connect with the characters in a split second, therefore this is something that you can not only take on holiday but which deserves to be re-read again and again. Her complex, detailed creative storylines are truly remarkable and yet make her stories so readable by all ages that I rank this highly within one of my favorite genres. I loved this and now cannot wait to read more!