Welcome to my tour stop! Scroll on down to read my review and an excerpt from the book...
Broken Skies
(Broken Skies #1)
by Theresa Kay
by Theresa Kay
YA Dystopian, SciFi, Fantasy
March 14th 2014 by Theresa Kay
March 14th 2014 by Theresa Kay
Summary
Thirty years ago, civilization collapsed. Few survived.
Ten years ago, the aliens arrived…and stayed.
One year ago, I killed two men and went a little crazy.
Today, the aliens took my brother and I will do anything to get him back.
In seventeen-year-old Jax Mitchell's world, humans are nearly extinct and alien settlers have arrived.
Until recently, the E’rikon have remained segregated in their city and ignored the few humans who have tried to engage them… but now they have taken Jax’s brother. To rescue him, she forms an uneasy alliance with a teenage E’rikon left stranded in the woods. She agrees to guide him to the city if he sneaks her past the human-proof barrier. Too bad it’s not that simple.
Jax, who cannot stand to be touched, finds that’s she’s drawn to the alien boy with bright green hair and jewel-like scales down his back. And he’s equally affected by her, the courageous redhead with haunted eyes. But she doesn’t know the alien’s true motives and he has no idea that she is much more than she seems.
In this world where alien and human are at odds, the connection forming between the two has consequences. What started off as a rescue mission sets a chain of events in motion which threatens not only the remaining humans and the growing alien society, but Earth itself.
Ten years ago, the aliens arrived…and stayed.
One year ago, I killed two men and went a little crazy.
Today, the aliens took my brother and I will do anything to get him back.
In seventeen-year-old Jax Mitchell's world, humans are nearly extinct and alien settlers have arrived.
Until recently, the E’rikon have remained segregated in their city and ignored the few humans who have tried to engage them… but now they have taken Jax’s brother. To rescue him, she forms an uneasy alliance with a teenage E’rikon left stranded in the woods. She agrees to guide him to the city if he sneaks her past the human-proof barrier. Too bad it’s not that simple.
Jax, who cannot stand to be touched, finds that’s she’s drawn to the alien boy with bright green hair and jewel-like scales down his back. And he’s equally affected by her, the courageous redhead with haunted eyes. But she doesn’t know the alien’s true motives and he has no idea that she is much more than she seems.
In this world where alien and human are at odds, the connection forming between the two has consequences. What started off as a rescue mission sets a chain of events in motion which threatens not only the remaining humans and the growing alien society, but Earth itself.
My Review
I have kind of been in a SciFi mood lately. There have been a few good alien books coming out and they've made me want to read more books like that. I was intrigued by the summary of Broken Skies and so I decided that I wanted to read it.
The writing was fairly fluid and the plot moved at a good pace. There were a few typos here and there, but for an Indie title especially I felt like the book was well edited. There were some calmer moments, such as when the characters are traveling, and then some very intense moments when they're in danger or when the romantic tension spiked. There was also a good mix of humor and friendship. I felt this story had a good balance of everything.
I really liked the two main characters, Jax and Lir, as well as some of the side characters. All of them were well developed and added to the story. Jax is just a little crazy and for good reason. Her life has been tough and she has faced some really serious things that have changed her. She keeps herself pretty isolated. She's got a lot of intensity to her and strength, but can also be compassionate. Lir is somewhat of a puzzle. I pretty much knew exactly what Jax felt and thought, but there wass still a lot that Lir didn't completely disclose. I don't think that we have the full picture on him by the end of this first book in the series. He is definitely cocky and arrogant, but he is also intelligent and compassionate. I definitely did not like Dane or Lir's uncle. They play their parts as villains quite well. Most of the characters were not exactly as they seemed though.
I could have done without some of the content, but overall I really enjoyed the story. I easily got into it and read it fairly quickly. It was somewhat of a page turner. The plot worked for me and I'm definitely curious to know what will happen in the next book.
I would recommend Broken Skies to those who enjoy SciFi, aliens, star-crossed lovers, dystopians, and some action and who won't mind the content.
Content: There is some mild swearing, innuendo, violence, and gay references.
Source: From tour host, which did not affect my review in any way.
The writing was fairly fluid and the plot moved at a good pace. There were a few typos here and there, but for an Indie title especially I felt like the book was well edited. There were some calmer moments, such as when the characters are traveling, and then some very intense moments when they're in danger or when the romantic tension spiked. There was also a good mix of humor and friendship. I felt this story had a good balance of everything.
I really liked the two main characters, Jax and Lir, as well as some of the side characters. All of them were well developed and added to the story. Jax is just a little crazy and for good reason. Her life has been tough and she has faced some really serious things that have changed her. She keeps herself pretty isolated. She's got a lot of intensity to her and strength, but can also be compassionate. Lir is somewhat of a puzzle. I pretty much knew exactly what Jax felt and thought, but there wass still a lot that Lir didn't completely disclose. I don't think that we have the full picture on him by the end of this first book in the series. He is definitely cocky and arrogant, but he is also intelligent and compassionate. I definitely did not like Dane or Lir's uncle. They play their parts as villains quite well. Most of the characters were not exactly as they seemed though.
I could have done without some of the content, but overall I really enjoyed the story. I easily got into it and read it fairly quickly. It was somewhat of a page turner. The plot worked for me and I'm definitely curious to know what will happen in the next book.
I would recommend Broken Skies to those who enjoy SciFi, aliens, star-crossed lovers, dystopians, and some action and who won't mind the content.
Content: There is some mild swearing, innuendo, violence, and gay references.
Source: From tour host, which did not affect my review in any way.
Excerpt
I shoot to my feet as soon as the last stitch is in place. I've managed to hold my hands steady this long and now the only thing I want is to get out of this room and get a few real breaths. "I think you're capable of wrapping it up. I'm going to find you something to wear. Since you can't wear that."
Striding across the kitchen, I go into Jace's room and shut the door behind me. It takes a moment before I feel comfortable enough to continue with my task. If I'm this thrown by sitting next to the alien for a few minutes, how am I ever going to survive traveling with him? It doesn't matter. I have to make it work.
I open Jace's dresser and pick through the clothes, searching for something that will fit alien boy. My heart lurches just a bit as I shuffle through the haphazard pile of shirts. Jace was always the messy one. Is. I mean, Jace is the messy one. I pull out a green t-shirt and drop it on the bed, then I find a pair of faded jeans with a hole in the knee–Jace won't miss those–and put them on the bed with the shirt.
I manage not to jump out of my skin when Lir just walks into the room. Don't aliens know how to knock?
"Change," I say, sending him a dirty look, and then stride back through the doorway. Flopping into the chair in the den, I begin making a mental list of supplies we'll need to the trip.
As I'm tallying the supplies I have on hand and what we may need to trade for, a loud thump draws my eye to Jace's doorway where Lir is standing with his back to me–shirtless. My hand shoots up to cover the sound of my gasp. I'd heard of the green blood, but I'd never heard of anything like this.
Golden scales with green tips extend from the hairline on the back of his neck in a line along his spine and flare out over his hips, disappearing into the top of the dark gray uniform pants. The line of scales, the trail down his back only a few inches wide, is brilliantly colored, almost like jewels. I've never seen anything like it and I want to know what they feel like. Are they soft like a snake's sun warmed skin or hard and jagged like the colored rocks they resemble?
I'm up and almost halfway across the room before I realize what I'm doing and stop in my tacks. Mentally cursing myself, I step back, jostling the table behind me when my hip hits it.
Lir looks back at me over his shoulder and I can feel flames licking at my cheeks. He raises his eyebrow and simply stares at me while I stammer out something about needing to get to the kitchen. "You know, for supplies," I say. "Food. To pack..."
I can almost see the truth hit him as he takes in my red face and almost incoherent phrases. He begins to smile. He knows I was watching him and I'm mortified. "I've just never... I didn't know... the scales..." He only looks at me expectantly and my horrible mouth won't shut up. "They're beautiful." I my face could get any redder, it just did.
"I think this is the first time I have seen you speechless," says Lir with laughing eyes. "Had I only known, I would have removed my shirt sooner."
About the Author
The only person Theresa Kay knows who had a subscription to Writer's Digest at eleven and was always excited to write research papers, Theresa has been putting words to paper since a young age. She writes predominantly in the sci-fi and urban fantasy genres and her first novel, Broken Skies, a YA sci-fi novel, will be published in early 2014. Residing in central Virginia, she juggles two kids, a husband and a full-time job in addition to her writing and in her free time she reads almost anything she can get her hands on.
The only person Theresa Kay knows who had a subscription to Writer's Digest at eleven and was always excited to write research papers, Theresa has been putting words to paper since a young age. She writes predominantly in the sci-fi and urban fantasy genres and her first novel, Broken Skies, a YA sci-fi novel, will be published in early 2014. Residing in central Virginia, she juggles two kids, a husband and a full-time job in addition to her writing and in her free time she reads almost anything she can get her hands on.
Tour-Wide Giveaway
I think it sounds fantastic. I love reading Indie books. Great review as always Tressa :)
ReplyDeleteIt definitely held my interest, that is for sure. I'm very curious to see where the story heads.
DeleteThanks for participating.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Shane
DeleteSounds like an interesting plot-adding it to my tbr list!
ReplyDeleteIt was. :)
DeleteSounds interesting. I'm kind of burned out on science fiction though. It's a genre that I get tired of quickly. But I always love a good villain. If an author can get the bad guy to be bad enough, I'm game.
ReplyDeleteLol! It's all about the villain, huh? :) I've been reading a good mix of books lately, so I'm not really burned out on anything right now, which is good.
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