Finding Sky is Joss Stirling's first novel and it is great!
SYNOPSIS:
"When English girl, Sky, catches a glimpse of bad boy Zed in her new American high school, she can't get him out of her head. He talks to her with his thoughts. He reads her mind. He is the boy she will love for ever. Shadows stalk her past but a new evil threatens her future. Sky must face the dark even if it means losing her heart."
REVIEW:
I love the plot. It is a refreshing change to reading about vampires, werewolves and angels. Not that I do not like those, mind you! It is also an interesting take on psychic novels. Another difference is the fact the main romantic pair - Sky and Zed - does not quite see eye-to-eye at the beginning, which makes for some interesting clashes and Sky not quite giving in to Zed's charms. We all know the chase is the best part of any story!
I really enjoyed reading about a girl that comes from "Richmond England", even though the novel actually takes place in the US. Being English, Stirling also adds a real English touch and sense of humor to this book, especially playing on the differences in between England and America:
"'Coffee?' He didn't seem the sort for a cup of PG Tips (English tea)."
"You don't know much about London, do you? We're not exactly beach babes in Richmond."
There are only a couple of things I could possibly fault. Firstly, the story line connected to the villains: not their background or connection to the good guys, but their actions. For some reason, even though I can rationalize why they did what they did, I still think they give their game away too easily. And secondly, the very short resolution: it took 299 pages to climb to the climax and only 4 pages to end it. I also did not quite bought into the stunt excuse, if I was Sky's parents the Benedicts would have some explaining to do. Having said all that, this is a very interesting and easy read and I am really looking forward the second book of the series, Stealing Phoenix, which is due to release in October this year. I read this book more than twice, so I would most definitely recommend it to anyone looking for some action and romance.
OUT OF CURIOSITY: Joss Stirling lives in Oxford, England, and her books are published by Oxford University Press.
Book Rating: ****
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This is Joss - thanks for the review. I think you have a point about the villains - I didn't really explore their psychology enough as I was too interested in my main savant group - I'm working to improve on the next batch in Stealing Phoenix!
ReplyDeletewhat are the differences between finding sky books one is white and the other is black? are they the same or does one have more detail than the other? if so which one?also does stealing phoenix carry on from finding sky.
ReplyDeleteHi! I reckon the white one is the second edition paper back and that it will have an extract from Stealing Phoenix, but I will double check with Joss and get back to you asap.
ReplyDeleteStealing Phoenix does continue the story from Finding Sky, but it's about another of the Benedict brothers. It's a little like Wiked Lovely from Melissa Marr on the sense that it takes other points of view, but you still find out what happens to the original characters. You can read my review of it (there is a link at the bottom of this page)as there is no spoilers.
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteI've received a reply from OUP, Joss' publisher and here it is:
"the black is the limited edition c format size and the white is your normal sized paperback"