Review: Great New Series & Series Cross-over
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 23, 2014
---------------------The Silver Tower  Requested review by author Colee Firman  4 starsI would like to thank author Colee Firman for granting me a copy of this e-book to read in exchange for an honest review. Though I received this e-book for free that in no way impacts my review. If I could I would rate this book at 4.5 stars, but I find myself balking at rounding it up to 5 stars - most likely because it is the first in a series and had to spend time setting up the storyline.<blockquote>Sophie Hayden has spent the last ten years studying at Slatemore Academy. She's at the top of her class with a solid future ahead of her. In three weeks, she’ll graduate and move away from home—away from her controlling parents and spoiled siblings. A perfect plan—at least it was until Leo Emerik came crashing onto the scene.When an incident with a classmate nearly costs Sophie everything—including her life, Leo swoops in and saves the day. Sophie’s ready to thank him and move on. Leo has other plans.The minute Leo set his sights on Sophie she knew she was in trouble. With a simple smile and one glance, he can make her forget everything but him—it’s frightening. He’s the last thing she needs and the only thing she wants.After crossing paths with Leo, a disaster with Sophie’s name on it seems to be –waiting around every corner. Somehow, Leo’s always there to bail her out. Everyone else can see the one thing she can’t—her bad fortune may all lead back to him.*WARNING* CONTAINS MATURE CONTENT, ADULT LANGUAGE, SEXUALITY, VIOLENCE. MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUNGER AND/OR SENSITIVE READ--ERS.</blockquote>This is clearly the start of another exciting series by Ms. Firman. In fact, it has a similar feel to some of the earlier books in her <em>Unbinding Fate</em> series. Not all that surprising given the fact that she's working with a young, female protagonist again, and there is at least one romance involved.Sophie starts out as pretty much a pushover/whipping girl, all depending upon who she's dealing with. Both her parents are members of The Silver Tower, and Sophie is about to finish up her final year of training as well. She's top of her class, always does her homework on time, is class Valedictorian, and has a perfect attendance record for all eight years at the academy. You'd think with all that going for her she wouldn't simply act as the house slave for her siblings, but she does. After an 18 hour day she'll come home to a trashed kitchen and have yo spend hours cleaning it before she can prepare finer for everyone. No one seems to appreciate her. But all that is going to change.Events take place that slowly make Sophie appreciate herself more, and in doing so she forces those around her to start to view her differently. It doesn't hurt that she is her grandparents' sole heir, and they were philanthropists. Not even her controlling father knows how much money they left her. Only Sophie and her trustee know just how much she's worth. But once word gets out that she is an heiress it becomes that much harder to trust anyone new without second-guessing their motives.Leo comes into Sophie's world and the attraction is instant. But things aren't always what they seem, and in this case Sophie is trapped between her head and her heart. Those feelings only intensify when Leo rescues her from a gruesome death. And with each subsequent incident he gets that much closer to her, despite any reservations she might have when they're apart.Luckily, Sophie does some serious growing up and maturing as the story unfolds. Though Leo may swoop in to rescue her, when one looks more closely it seems that each time Sophie is imperiled can also be traced back to Leo. Maybe it's all one scary coincidence, but then again, maybe it's not. While all this is going on Sophie manages to grow up enough that she straightens out her relationship with her siblings, begins to get out from under her father's control, and starts to take control of her own life. Whether or not Leo will continue to play a part of that life remains to be seen.Her trustee is also a mystery to be solved. He has power and contacts that Sophie can only imagine. There is a history between his family and hers, but exactly what it is no one is saying. For a trustee he certainly seems to know an awful lot about her, at least as far as Sophie is concerned. But somehow that doesn't seem to bother her, even though she can't put her finger on why she trusts him so deeply.Given all that's gone on its not surprising that Sophie finally reaches her breaking point, and with one decision everything is going to change. But will the changes be for the better or for the worse? And how many people will be impacted by those changes? I find the fact that this series is going to cross-over with Ms. Firman's prior series very exciting. With the next book coming out being from the <em>Unbinding Fate</em> series, I'm wondering just how much of Sophie and crew we'll see in that book, if anything. Appearance or not, I know I'm looking forward to the continuation of both series!