Review: Great YA paranormal read!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 15, 2012
(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to Derrolyn Anderson.)Cal (Caledonia) is nearly 18 when her parents are killed in a motorcycle accident. Cal is distraught; her parents are the only family she has ever known, and she's been raised in a small house in the middle of some woods, with no electricity and no modern technologies. Her parents always told her that someone was after them, and that they were afraid that whoever it was would track them down. They told Cal to be wary of anybody other than them, and hid her away her entire life.Now Cal is sent to live with her father's adoptive sister, an aunt she has never met, and must learn to cope with living in a modern society, as well as fending off her aunts boyfriends' sexual advances. She also has to hide her strange ability to read people's auras, and her desires' to send them calming energies instead.Things change for the better when Cal meets Cal (no that's not a typo!). Calvin is a boy from school who rides a motorcycle, and as they spend time together, their feelings develop into more than friendship.But who were Cal's parent's so afraid of? How can she keep avoiding her aunt's boyfriend and the disgusting passes he makes at her? And will the people who wanted her parents ever catch up with her?I enjoyed this book. I loved how Cal could see people's emotions, and how she knew what they were really feeling even if they were trying to hide it. I also loved how she didn't abuse her abilities, and didn't try to use them to just get what she wanted.I liked Cal even though she was a little innocent and unsure, especially because she still had real guts, and character, and drive, even when out if her depth. She obviously had no idea about the modern world other than what she had read in books, and had never even eaten pizza before! She was never awe-struck by the new things she saw and learned though, and at times actually wanted to go back to her parent's home in the middle of nowhere, even if it meant not having hot water on tap.I liked the relationship between Cal and Calvin, the romance was so sweet, and it was nice to watch the relationship grow and blossom rather than having the characters instantly fall for one another. It was also nice how Cal had the back-up of her powers so that she knew that when Cal told her that he loved her that he actually really felt that way.Overall; I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to the next in the series `The Mackenzie Legacy' coming in 2013.7.5 out of 10.