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Wednesday 14 December 2016

BOOK REVIEW: The Ascension by Lauren Hudson

The Ascension
Author: Lauren Hudson
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
Release Date: October 10th, 2016

Book Description:

Desdemona, Felix and Jinx live as only children in their ordinary houses with their ordinary parents. But on their fifteenth birthdays, at the stroke of midnight, they come to realize nothing is as it seems. Thrown into a world completely unknown, they learn the identity of their biological mother, Jane Anchor, a member of the mysterious Asterian race and a woman whose goal is terror and destruction.

As the Anchor kids enter The House, a group of Asterians who secretly co-exist with us to help mankind, Jane sets a plot in motion to lure her progeny to a fortress atop Truchas Peak. Seven days is all the Anchor kids have to liberate Asterians from Jane's threatened reign of terror. Can three naïve, yet powerful kids confront evil and preserve a community of guardian angels on earth?

Buy Links:
Amazon US ¦ UK






MY REVIEW

Desdemona, Jinx and Felix are triplets brought up separately in a bid to keep them hidden from their birth mother, who went on a rampage prior to their births, stripping people of their powers. The triplets, along with their parents, are Asterians, beings akin to wizards. On their 15th birthday, they all have a vision that unleashes a revelation about their heritage they aren't quite prepared for. Their guardians escort them to The House, an institution for Asterians, where they discover the truth about who they really are.

There isn't much I can say about this one as I didn't get to read it through to the end - not for lack of trying, mind you. The blurb sounded interesting and I loved the cover, so I thought this was going to be a story I would enjoy, but I was wrong. This did not go well for me. I hate starting a book and not being able to finish it, but that's what happened with The Ascension. As I said, the idea is a promising one of three kids discovering they've been living a lie their whole lives and them having to try to bond as a family while also attempting to evade the clutches of their degenerate birth mother. The execution, however, was not a hit for me. The characters' priorities were oftentimes amiss and I just couldn't connect with them or their stories. I often found myself frustrated while reading the book as I could see the potential, and I wanted the story to come alive more and the characters to feel more real but it just never took off.

I fought very hard to love this book. I wanted to give up long before I did but I pushed myself as I was certain it was going to kick into gear and I would get the promising story I hoped for. I got close to the halfway line, but I just couldn't go any further. The story didn't captivate my attention at all. The characters' interactions felt very forced and awkward. They weren't coming across as believable. I just wasn't convinced by the characters or the story and those are vital elements for me, so it wasn't for me. There were too many uneventful moments, and I just couldn't find the urge to continue.

VERDICT:

BRONZE

Award: Bronze
Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars
Source: Review copy via Word Slinger Publicity

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