Review: The Athena Effect - by Derrolyn Anderson
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 19, 2013
I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.It took me longer than I would have liked to read this book - and that was no fault of the book.  Unfortunately life kept getting in the way of my reading time!!  Every opportunity I got I read little bits, keen to learn more about Cal and Cal.  Ordinarily I don't like reading in short bursts, I like to sit and get lost in a story, but it really didn't detract from the Athena Effect, which I think says a lot about how well it is written.I thought both main characters having the same name was going to be confusing, but it really wasn't. They were often referred to as Cali/Caledonia and Calvin, particularly when they were talking to each other and I didn't have trouble working out who was who.I really liked Cali and would love to have her ability to read what people are feeling.  Cal was also a really great character and I liked the way he developed as he got to know Cali better and their relationship grew.  It was also good that there wasn't 'insta-love' between them, that would have been so unrealistic - the way Cali survived in school after a lifetime of really only spending time with her parents in "the wild" was actually believable as was Cal's interest being sparked when she didn't respond to him like all the other girls.The supporting characters also added great value to the story - I loved both Jarod and Crystal and laughed out loud when Crystal 'entertained' Phil to help get the information they needed.  While Layla and Michael only had a small part towards the end of the book I couldn't help but develop a connection with them and I hope they'll feature more in the second book.  Teddy was a psychotic old man and Max is seriously scary - but I do love a good bad guy!!I really enjoyed The Athena Effect and will be watching for book two "The Mackenzie Legacy".