Sunday, March 4, 2012

Book review: The Light of Asteria



Author: Elizabeth Isaacs
              Website
              Blog
 Pages: 386
 Publisher: Self-published by author
 Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy
 First Published: March 2, 2010
 First Line: “Malachi stood at the base of the mountain staring into the chasm of hell”
 Buy it from: Amazon
                   Barnes & Noble
Book Trailer:



The GIST (From Goodreads):
If Nora Johnson hadn't been on campus that day she would have never known her true destiny. Helping her friends move into the dorm that she wanted to call home, Nora accidentally collides with mysterious stranger, Gavin Frey. His very first touch sends flames through her heart. The world seems different-something within her has changed. She tries to resume her mundane life, but she is now consumed with the one whose very presence ignited her soul, the one with eyes of emerald. Nora soon learns that an energy buried deep within has been unleashed. She now wields unimaginable power and has become Gavin's source, his strength. Her newfound joy is shaken when she discovers that Gavin is not who he appears to be and she has been thrust in the middle of a war of mythical proportions. Negativity allows all things evil to flourish, the earth is under siege. The fate of creation hinges on the power within her heart. Will she be strong enough to survive? A gripping tale of unbounded love and ancient power, The Light of Asteria will take you on an epic adventure filled with war, treachery, and demons, as well as unimaginable delights.

OPINION:

I choose this book kind of randomly, hoping it would fill my need for a completely overly romantic sappy novel, nothing too serious. Hey, sometimes I just get in that mood (don't judge me). Well, this book definitely fit that bill.

When I got it in the mail, I read the summary on the back, noting the spelling errors and I thought "Ugh, this is self-published? What was I thinking?" I have never read a self-published book before and this one filled a lot of my assumptions about them right from the beginning. The Prologue was completely unfollowable and I really wanted to put it down after about 3 pages. It sounded like one of those hardcore fantasy novels with names of places like G`o`o`rjij and character names like Zaazettti. You know what I mean?

I re-read the summary to make sure this book was really about a girl meeting a guy on a college campus. Luckily I didn't give up on it and kept going. I'll start with some positive things I got out of the book. Although the instant love was there, I liked the romance between Nora and Gavin. She was just a little too perfect for my liking, but I liked him a lot. He was impulsive, a little snotty, and sometimes pretentious which she balanced and she seemed to make him into a better person. The romance was definitely mushy and exactly what I had been looking for at the moment. I also really liked Nora's grandmother and her saying which were really cute. She was a great character.

Now onto things I didn't like so much. A big problem I have with YA lit. these days is that all these main female characters are "pure" in this case of intent (and she really stretches the definition of intent here) and, of course, in relationships. So many books I read where the girl never had a relationship cause she just never found "the one." HELLO? Dating is all about finding "the one". It's completely idiotic to send the message that "the one" will just fall into your lap. Also, can't a little less innocent girl get a dude in the YA universe? So what if she has had other boyfriends or *gasp* God forbid she's not a virgin. I'm all for wish-fulfillment in literature but let's get real with the criteria of who can't and who can find "the one."

Three things annoyed me more than those previously mentioned. First, was the large amount of connections I've found to Twilight. The instant love everyone had for Nora, from his family to the people of Kailmeyra to the elder, how "special" she is, how all of the people in his clan are paired up, all of them are beautiful and talented, and they don't sleep. Sound like anything else to you? What's with this new phenom of Twilight 2.0s? Second, it was the way a girl growing up in was I can only assume was within ten years of now, suddenly started talking like she was in the eighteenth century. Third, Nora forgets so easily about friends that she's had forever and her whole life for her "mate" (puke every time they said that). Those things really bothered me.

OVERALL:

This book did not help the stereotypes surrounding self-published books, in my eyes, but it did have some good elements which helped me looked past the bad. I would read the sequel; it just never would be on top of my list. If you're into a Twilight like book with a very sappy romance, I recommend it (Hey some people want that!)----6.0