Review: Author's YA Debut Was a Great Start
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 12, 2014
I have never read a YA Romantic Suspense so I was eager to give this one a go.  This one wasn't quite what I expected in that it was just the opening number to the rest of the series and only tells the first part of the story.  There isn't a cliff hanger or anything drastic like that.  It literally just ends at a good stopping point.  I like where the story is going and look forward to what comes next.The story is set in Perth, Australia and centers around the life of Jaz Thomas, a seventeen year old girl.  She is in her last year of school, hangs out on the outskirts of the teen scene with her geeky friend Anna and their more popular friend Taylor, keeping up with her fighting skills and yoga at the older gym that is like her second home, and just trying to figure out what she'll do when school is out.  Her worst worries are a snotty rich, popular girl in the school crowd and getting Taylor's attention.  She is a member of a blended family in that her mom married her step-dad when she was a toddler and she has a half-brother.  The family are typical suburban middle class and caring, but for all that, Jaz feels out of sync.  Her mom won't speak of her birth dad though Jaz has the feeling that love wasn't the problem and all she knows of him is a St. Michael's pendant with Salvatore on the back.  Lately, Jaz's focus is getting with Taylor and him asking her to the school ball and running the old gym, The Ring, while the owner, an old friend, is away.Her uncomplicated life is invaded slowly by more exciting things when a guy slightly older than her and edgier comes to the gym to work out.  Later she meets up with him as a bouncer at a bar and he has her do a curious task for him that he claims is part of some mysterious work he does- like undercover stuff.  It is after he sees her fight skills and other similar physical talents with gun and rapier that he lets her in on the secret of a special off the books government organization that works to stop seedy crime by infiltrating the criminals' networks.  Ryan wants Jaz to become the newest recruit, but he doesn't push her.  He shows her what she's in for if she chooses to sign up.  It will involve keeping her job secret from everyone and cause her to live a double life.  Meanwhile, as she dwells on this big decision, her life moves along.The story is told all from Jasmine's point of view.  Her narrative voice and thoughts were interesting and enjoyable.  She is at that cusp of adulthood where she teeters between typical teen worries and new, more mature thinking.  The plot and pacing are more of an easy flow with just a few spikes of dangerous elements.  The book felt like a long intro and set up.  It got slow at times for me, but never quite drifted over the line into boring.  I have a suspicion that several of the little tantalizing things are foreshadowing for what is to come and that is a lot of the reason that I was okay with the less edgy, more laid-back tone of the story.  I've even made a few guesses to where its going based on the clues that were dropped.  There was an emphasis on establishing Jaz's character and history, her relationships with her friends, her abilities, and that tenuous thing she had going with Ryan.  There is enough of Ryan in the story to get a feel for him, but there is a lot left in the shadows too.  I am eager to see where things go with Jaz, Ryan, Taylor and Anna's story.For the non-Australian audience like myself, you will get a slight foreign feel in social culture of Jaz's world, but its in context so it wasn't difficult to follow.  Personally, I enjoyed it and noted all the similarities and differences to my own American teen culture.As to YA warnings, there is mild language use so the book can be read by younger teens through adults.  It's possible things will get a bit grittier in later books as Jaz gets more involved in all the cloak and dagger stuff, but this one isn't that violent.  I also wonder if Jaz's story will drift into more of a New Adult level with each succeeding book.Overall, it was a great read and I would recommend it to those who enjoy YA Romantic Suspense and YA Contemporary Romance lovers who don't mind an intrigue element.My thanks to Escape Publishing and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.