Book Review: Potential (The Potential Series Book 1) by M.L. Ridener

Title: Potential
Author: M.L. Ridener
Series: Potential #1
Pages: 169
My Rating: ❤❤

"It's been three hundred years, now is the time..."

Eighteen year old Aribelle Weever has been on the run for the past two years. She and her cousin are being hunted by a group of crazed panther shifters. Ari is a Potential. It is said that Potentials unlock a great power from within their fated mates. The panthers don't care about fate though, only power. She will not give up her freedom without a fight, but she can't shake her fear. Everything changes when she moves to the little town of Winago Heights...

"...when the time is right, you will find the one that fate has chosen for you."

Connell O'Reilly has been plagued by the death of his parents for the past eight years. The attack was meant to destroy his brothers, but he was able to save them. Because of the total destruction of the pack that night, he was thrown into the roles of father, provider, and Alpha. It wasn't easy for a boy at fifteen, but you play the hand you're dealt. Life has been quiet, that is until his brothers meet the new girl in town...

When I read the description for Potential, I knew that I would like the story. The plot involved shifters, prophecies, and some hot guys, what's not to love? So, of course I had high expectations for this story, and maybe they were a bit too high. The story was a fun, fast read, but I found myself wanting so much more!

I wanted details! The characters had the potential to be great, but I wasn't really able to get to know them very well. Specifically, I wanted to know more about their past and their feelings. I firmly believe that there is so much more to the characters than what this book offered. I would have loved to meet Chloe's mom. She was hardly mentioned, and when she finally appeared in the book she only said a few words, and that was it. In addition, when the characters would mention the terrible things they had went through, it was at random times. The story would be moving along happily, and then all of a sudden someone would hit the brakes and start getting serious. Then, someone would hit the gas and we would be all hunky dory again. This part just needed to flow a lot better for me.

Despite the technical problems with the book (such as grammar), I still thought it was a nice fast read. For the two hours it took for me to read it, it did keep me entertained. My only hope is that the series gets more detailed as it goes on.

Book Review: Blue Violet (Svatura Book 1) by Abigail Owen

Title: Blue Violet
Author: Abigail Owen
Series: Svatura #1
Pages: 260
My Rating: ❤❤❤❤

Book #1 of the Svatura Series

Ellie Aubrey is a centuries-old gypsy princess whose extraordinary abilities once inspired her Roma ancestors' fairytales (or nightmares). Along with her twin-brother, Griffin, Ellie has spent most of her life hiding from the Vyusher, a rival tribe who destroyed their entire powerful family. But after a mysterious dream, Ellie risks discovery in order to find and watch over the Jenners, another group of similarly gifted people. She refuses to let them suffer the same fate.

Alex Jenner has come home to protect his family. His adopted mother can sense danger coming, but not who or when. Suspicious of the new girl in town, Alex challenges Ellie in ways that will spark one of two possible outcomes: they'll spontaneously combust, or she'll lose control of the one power she's fought so hard to contain.

When the Vyusher once again threaten everything she holds dear, Ellie will have to face her worst fear, and Alex will have to face an impossible decision. In this fairytale, the dragon that the prince must slay is also the princess who holds his heart.

* I received a free copy of Blue Violet in exchange for an honest review *

Blue Violet  follows Ellie, a girl who has had only the company of her twin brother Griffin for the majority of her life, and by life I mean over a century. Ellie and her brother are not normal human beings, they instead belong to an ancient mystical race that has almost been completely wiped out.

Although Ellie does enjoy her brother's company, she yearns to be around other people like her. Being around the same person (and no one else) for years on end can get a bit boring. So, when she gets a strange vision showing her that more of her kind does exist, she jumps at the chance to find them. However, she is not the only person searching for them.

Even though Ellie is supposed to be over a century old, she does not act like it at all. Actually, none of the characters do. I don't know if this is correct or not, but I really liked that about this book! The characters were not depressed and brooding around throughout the book, but instead were a lot of fun. They seemed to get themselves into one sticky situation after another, which was super entertaining!

In addition to having these "old" characters not act their age, I also really liked Ellie and Griffin's relationship. They knew each other extremely well, and some of my favorite parts were when Griffin would make comments about Ellie's behavior! The bickering was absolutely perfect!

"She'd read tons of books with female heroines who swooned at the sight of their true love and had thought them to be incredibly wimpy. Now here she stood, barely able to keep herself upright. Not that she was in love...far from it. But a girl could appreciate a bona fide hottie when she saw one, right?"

"I just finished running, and I look and smell like nothing very pleasant. Why, oh, why did he have to bump into me now?"