Review: Unique and creative!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 4, 2013
This story is about Kate, a modern day girl who has just moved and has to go to a new school.  It's also about Kali, a young mother living in the nineteenth century.  We alternate between both of them and this works incredibly well because we see there's a connection there, but what is it? As we read we get the perfect amount of clues to take guesses, but nothing ever becomes obvious until later in the story.  When the two stories finally connect everything comes together and makes sense.  While there's still unanswered questions because this is the first in a series, we do get a decent conclusion and aren't left with a cliffhanger.The story is mostly Kate's and in the future books I'm assuming we won't be seeing Kali anymore.  We really saw the conclusion to her part of the story.  Those who might be afraid of the historical setting for Kali's portion, don't be- it's more character driven for those parts and the time period isn't really part of the story.I loved Kali, she was gentle and kind and put others first all the time.  While she wasn't perfect- she made some mistakes in her past, she's a person with a big heart and that's very evident.  It's through Kali that we learn about the paranormal/fantasy elements of the story.  And this paranormal aspect is very, very unique.  I feel like there's so much more to learn, but what I've seen so far is fascinating.Kate was a character that I liked a lot, but she's discovering a lot through the book which allowed for some ups and downs in her personality.  Fortunately enough weird things happen to her that when she's faced with the paranormal stuff she doesn't freak out too much.  I did feel she was a little in denial before it was all laid out, like she was writing things off as being too tired or something, when it clearly was something more, but when it came down to things and she needed to step up, she did.  It took a little to take that final brave step forward, and I actually wondered a bit, but when she did everything finally clicked together.  I can see how the next book will be different, now that she knows things it's all going to change.The romance in this was very, very light, but that's another thing that I think will have to change for the next one. In this it just didn't really have time to go anywhere.  But I do like that the romantic interest is a friend, so there's no insta-love.  However, there's a hint of a love triangle- it never actually happens, and it's resolved, but it's hinted at; just be prepared and keep reading, trust me, it's worth it.I really enjoyed this start to a new series, but I think the next book will be even better and I'm looking forward to reading it!  Also, this is a pretty clean read.  I don't recall any cursing and there's no sex or insinuation. There's some violence, but that's about it.