Review: Perception (EVE #3)

Title: Perception (EVE #3)
Author: A.L. Waddington
Page Count: 264
My Rating: 2 TURTLES: A so-so read. It had some redeeming qualities, but not enough to recommend.

Description:
Questions, questions, and more questions.. they consume Jocelyn Timmons’ life—both of them. Questions that never seem to have an answer. They haunt her, eat at her, and dreams of a normal senior year of high school have finally floated away into nothingness.

Inheriting the gift of EVE (Essence Voyager Era) has become both a gift and a curse. One that Jocelyn doesn’t know if she wants or can accept. The world she once knew and thrived in has all but disappeared in the last two months. And now she wonders if she can ever find her way home again.

Her fiancé, Jackson Chandler, and his family seem to be the only ones who understand what she’s going through besides her uncles, both of which she’s grown very close to. But even they do not fully grasp how turbulent the situation at home has become. Will Jocelyn survive the torments from her mother and brother? Or will she find a hidden key to finally unlock her golden cage?

Review:
I have been sent copies of all of the books from the series up to now by publicists and have been liking them less and less as I go along. The original premise of people leading two different lives at different times was so intriguing that I kept reading, hoping that the story would utilize this unique premise to create a kick butt story, but three books in I think that ship has finally sailed.

There are just so many things that have fallen short in this series for me, so I will try to string my issues together somewhat coherently and try not to rant. I have hopes for the first, less for the latter.

Here it goes....

One thing that bugged me about this story from the beginning was how much Waddington romanticizes "back then". The two times that the characters are living in are present day and the late nineteenth century, and while this book did address social issues of that time, it romanticized that era as much (more, in my opinion) than it criticized it. Present day Jocelyn praises the family values of "back then" and laments of how much we have lost, but this is mostly because her present day family is particularly messed up and her "back then" family is particularly close and put together. Its true that as the veil between the two times comes down and both Jocelyns remember each other, the "back then" Jocelyn gets upset that her family does not support her in going to college, but that's really the biggest one. She's not upset that she can't vote. She's not upset that she will have to depend on Jackson, modern and supportive he may claim to be(though he comes off as pretty patriarchal to me), for the rest of her life. Also, the only time she gets upset about the plight of her life back then is when it affects her specifically. I know if I were transported back then, I might have fun winning bets on who the next president will be or visiting my favorite late authors, but I know seeing the pervasive racism, sexism, homophobia, and other forms of oppression would make me sick. I wouldn't be able to do it. This doesn't bother Jocelyn particularly, though especially seeing as the only people of color in her life are the house staff in her "back then" life, and even though they are servants they are "like family" so it's all good.

Now that I'm down off my activist soap box, the next pressing issue I had with the story has to do with the premise and the plot.
Premise: There are a group of people who have this special genetic gift (I think going magic instead of science fiction would have made more sense with this one, but I digress) that means they live two different lives at two different times. They are born unaware of the other life they live until around adulthood when the barriers come down and they can integrate living two lives at once.

Plot: A young couple in the 1800s are about to get married. The man has this gift, and when he figures out his fiancee does too, even though she has no idea, he and his family scramble to find her in their present day lives. The reason? If she gets pregnant in her "back then" life she gets pregnant in her present life. Yes, pregnancy carries over both lives, though illness and injury does not, go figure. This would cause problems for present life Jocelyn, but "back then" Jocelyn would be irked if her husband didn't want to do it with her once they were married.

You see my problem? We have this cool magic/science fiction premise and the author uses it to pose the question: "what would you do if you knew getting your life pregnant in one life would royally screw up her other life, but still wanted to sleep with her once you were married?" Not exactly like the spine-chilling mirror-of-reality questions that other science fiction novels have sought to shed light on.

The last reason why I didn't like this book that I will address in this review is the fact that I don't like Jocelyn and Jackson very much.

Jocelyn comes off as clingy and disrespectful. She rolls her eyes, smirks, and snickers quite a bit, and maybe the author just wasn't paying to the connotation of the words she was using and meant that Jocelyn looks up with amusement, smiles coyly, and titters a lot. As it is though, Jocelyn comes off as kind of a brat.

Jackson, well, for a guy pursuing law in both of his lives, he is a bit of an idiot. Despite being 22, when he finds out that his 17 initially, but turns 18 by book 3 girlfriend lives in present day too, not just the 1800s, he decides that the best way to re-win her heart would be to fake his age and re-enroll in high school even though his family moved in across the street from her. This, of course, means he and his family have broken a lot of laws to get him to be near his one true love, when a neighborhood barbecue would have done the trick. It is because he has these crimes hanging over his head, not, apparently, because he has grown or matured in anyway, means he cannot partake in the shenanigans he used to with his buddies. Shenanigans that included stealing a bunch of street signs from the road on a drunken stint that caused an accident. But it's okay, because no one died and Jackson's lawyer daddy covered for him so he and his friends didn't get in trouble. Any shred of hope I had for Jackson as a character ended when I read that scene.


I recognize I am just one voice with one opinion, and there are many people who do like these books, but I cannot recommend them. I held out hope, I've had enough, and I will not be continuing with the series. 
Perception on Amazon

Review: Enlightened

Title: Enlightened (The EVE Series #2)
Author: A. L. Waddington
Page count: 250
My rating: 3 TURTLES: An enjoyable read, but I suggest check out if you like the topic before adding it to your to-read list.

Description:
The barrier between Jocelyn Timmons consciousness continues to dissolve as she better understands the two lives she lives and enormity of her newly discovered inherited gift of EVE (Essence Voyager Era) which allows her to fall asleep on one plane of existence and awaken on another as her soul travels nightly.

Present-day Jocelyn uncovers the vast wonderment of the Victorian era but soon learns that life then was not as grand for women as she has read in the classics. Still, she finds comfort in the support of family and friends; a bolstering contrast to her overly hectic, career-oriented family in the twenty-first century. Her love for Jackson Chandler strengthens across time and becomes the light she so desperately needs as the world she has always known no longer makes sense. Yet, the closer she is drawn to Jackson by their mutual ability, the more strain develops amongst those she loves in 2009. 

On the other side of Jocelyn’s consciousness in 1878, she remains ignorant of EVE. Her life is crumbling around her, yet she finds herself anxiously awaiting the images that invade her dreams. Jocelyn longs to be the woman she portrays in that world yet her jealousy is unbearable. Miscommunication, betrayal and hidden agendas make trust near impossible. The clearer the visions become the more she questions motives of her closest confidants and foregoes revealing the images that plague her perception. As her life seems to unravel, Jocelyn’s two worlds collide, and she is enlightened as the pieces start to fall into place. But is she strong enough to survive the truth? Is Jackson really her destiny? And can their love transcend time? Find out in Essence’s highly anticipated sequel, Enlightened, Book 2, EVE series.

Review:

When I finished Essence, the first in the series, I was very excited when I heard that Enlightened was already out. I loved the premise of the book and was excited to find out where Waddington would take it next. Enlightened picks up right where Essence ends as Jocelyn struggles to deal with the barrier between her two worlds coming down. There was a real opportunity for there to be an expansion in the story, and I was really excited for that, but unfortunately, Enlightened falls prey to the ever dreaded Sequel Slump and didn't deliver the goods for me.

The main reason thing that was the problem for me that made me give it a 3 instead of a 3.5 like I did Essence was because what I thought would be a minor trial in the story arc ended up being the main conflict. It felt blown way of proportion to me. I won't give that much away, but it involves an argument between the two main lovers, and while there was a valid reason for them to get into a fight about it, Jocelyn dealt with it very immaturely - she even knows she's being immature - but she's too proud to apologize until it's almost too late. Instead of being very romantic and keeping the reader in anticipation like I think this conflict was supposed to, it made Jocelyn lose heroine points in my book and had me reading to see when the main conflict was coming. When it turned out this was the main conflict for the book I was disappointed, because I didn't feel like the plot developed a whole lot overall.

I will keep reading this series, because I really do love the premise for this story and want to know what happens next. I don't want this review to discourage people from reading the sequel because there are some interesting developments that I think set up some interesting things for future installments. (plus, the book's a quick read). If you haven't checked out Essence yet I definitely recommend you do so, Enlightened won't make a lick of sense if you haven't read the first one!

Check out Enlightened on Amazon

Review: Essence

Title: Essence (The EVE Series #1)

Author: A.L. Waddington

Page Count: 308

My Rating: 3.5 TURTLES: A very enjoyable read, I recommend you check it out.

Description:

Jocelyn Timmons does not believe she is anything special — just an ordinary high school senior, living an ordinary life full of school-work, volleyball and friends. She’s about to find out how wrong she is.

Jackson Chandler moved in to the house across the street. His dark wavy hair, green eyes and charismatic personality draws everyone to him. Everyone, but Jocelyn.

Whenever Jackson gets near Jocelyn she feels ill and dizzy. When he touches her, she blacks out and has visions of another life, in another time. As the odd hallucinations evolve and become clearer, she feels a strong pull towards the people she sees there. Frightened, she watches her once stable life begin to crumble around her and she begins to question her own sanity.

Could it be possible that these episodes are actually her own memories of a life she is living somehow, somewhere, some-when? Maybe this is time-travel or some other paranormal mysticism? Our minds often wander, but can our souls?

Review:

Essence is a YA, paranormal, historical romance that I received from the publicist in exchange for an honest review. I was very intrigued by the original premise and the story did not disappoint.

Waddington did a great job creating plots in both parallel timelines as she slowly starts to bring them together. There was momentum to the story all the way up to the end, where the author left me wanting to know what came next. I did not know (or remember?) off the bat that Essence was part of a series, so I was surprised when I was close to the end and the story was nowhere close to a resolution. I figured it out soon enough though, and now am excited and intrigued to see what direction the rest f the series takes.

I liked the story twelfth well enough to give it a solid four, and it was close, but I needed up giving it 3.5 for several main reasons. On if them being that at times there were really clunky or awkward sentences, and I found that I was rereading parts to see if I had read them right. There were also instances where I felt like there could have been more showing instead of telling. The last major thing for me was that I felt the explanation for why Jocelyn is leading two lives was anticlimactic. Most of the novel is leading up to Jocelyn finding out what is happening to her, and when I read to that point, I felt the explanation of the mechanics itself was an afterthought. Almost just saying, "just accept this because it is the premise of the book". This doesn't always bother me, but it did this time. It's possible that all will be made clear in the next installment, but for now it seems a bit inadequate.

Essence is a YA romance with a twist. I haven't come across a thing quite like it before, and am glad I did. I encourage you to check this one out.

Check Essence (The EVE Series Book 1) out on Amazon