Borrowing Abby Grace: Girls Steals Guy (Episode 2)

Publisher: Backlit Fiction

Publish Date: October 2011

Version: Kindle e-book

Series: Borrowing Abby Grace

Abby found out in Episode One that she is a Shade.  A Shade is someone who inhabits other people’s bodies in order to help them solve a problem.  She does this with the help of her Guardian, Will.

After Abby has successfully completed her last mission, she wonders what will happen to her.  Is she just “out there” or will she have a new mission?  This is figured out when she finds herself in a bedroom with a crying girl.  Again, she knows nothing of who she “borrowed” or who the crying girl on the bed is.  She soon finds out that she is Michelle and the girl is Heather, her best friend.  This time, Will tells her what her mission is, so she doesn’t have to figure that out for herself.  She is supposed to reunite the lovers.    That shouldn’t be so hard.  Heather was crying because she recently broke up with Sam.  Sam is now dating Cecilia.  So, Sam and Heather must be the lovers she needs to reunite.  Just because she knows her mission this time around, doesn’t make figuring it out any easier.

Smart and sassy Abby Grace is a seventeen-year-old with a talent for getting out of trouble. Sent to repair the lives and loves of teenagers on the edge of disaster, Abby is the perfect girl for the job. She has everything going for her… except one thing: a body.

This fun and exciting episode is the second installment in an ongoing mystery series with a supernatural twist.

Episode 2: Girl Steals Guy

As Abby has learned, she is now a Shadow, sent to inhabit the lives of strangers in trouble. Dropped into the life of a gorgeous senior with a heartbroken best friend, Abby is instructed to “reunite the lovers” by her cute but maddening Guardian, a 19th century ghostly teenager named Will. Now Abby must navigate high school keg parties, football games and power couples, only to discover that love and revenge are sometimes the same thing.

▪ Again, I like the cover.  It reminds us that even though Abby is taking over someone, she is still herself with her own personality.

▪ Will.  I say it again.  I like his character.  You see a little more development in this episode than the last.  But, he has yet to shine.

▪ The whole idea of Abby being a Shade and what they represent.  I like the mystery of the series.

▪ Again, Abby is not always right.  

▪ PDA.  I just don’t like it and I think it is unnecessary.

▪ There was one point in this story that I wasn’t too keen on.  I cannot share this with you without spoiling the book. I will say that it, in no way, hindered or affected the outcome.  It was just a side note and a pet peeve of mine.

Borrowing Abby Grace: The Shadow (Episode 1)

Kelly Green

Publisher: Backlit Fiction

Publish Date: 17 October 2011

Version: Kindle e-book

Series: Borrowing Abby Grace

Episode one is where you are first introduced to Abby Grace and where she learns that she is a Shadow.  This is where she “borrows” people’s bodies in order to help them solve their problems.  The story begins with Abby waking up in the back of a van.  She is confused as to where she is and who she is.  She doesn’t even remember her own name.  She is living the life of Brooke, the girl whose body she has taken over, but when she looks into the mirror, she sees Abby.   After surviving the daring escape, she learns from Wilhelm aka Will, who is her Guardian, about Shadows and that she is supposed to solve a problem.  He doesn’t know much about what her current mission is, but is there to guide her along the way.

Brooke has a brother Paul, who is also missing.  She learns about this when she is brought home by the police.  To Abby, her mission is clear – to find Paul and reunite him with the family.  Since Abby is new at being a Shadow, she doesn’t always know what she is supposed to do and soon learns that there is a time limit to her missions.  If she doesn’t complete them, she will be trapped in Brooke’s life forever.

I really liked this story.  It was a short one and I read it very quickly.  I found myself being mesmerized by this book.  I couldn’t put it down until I was finished with it.  When it was done, I quickly downloaded Episode 2 because I just had to find out what would happen with Abby next.

Smart and sassy Abby Grace is a seventeen-year-old with a talent for getting out of trouble. Sent to repair the lives and loves of teenagers on the edge of disaster, Abby is the perfect girl for the job. She has everything going for her… except one thing: a body.

This fast-paced and exciting episode is the first installment in an ongoing mystery series with a supernatural twist.


Episode 1: The Shadow

When Abby Grace wakes up in the back of a van, she has no idea who she is, how she got there, or why anyone would want to kidnap her. After escaping her masked captors, she hurries home, only to discover that she unknowingly left her younger brother behind in the van. Unable to answer the police’s questions with her memories gone, she retreats to the safety of her bedroom where she tries to reconstruct her life. Just as she is settling into the belief that things will one day return to normal, she looks in the mirror—and sees a stranger’s face.

As Abby learns next, she has become a Shadow, sent to inhabit the lives of strangers in trouble. With nothing to go on except the vague hints of her cute but maddening Guardian, a 19th century ghostly teenager named Will, Abby sets out to rescue the missing brother. But she will need all of her intelligence, fearlessness, and wit, because if she fails to find him in time, she will remain trapped in this unfamiliar body forever.

▪ How this story is different than books I normally read.  Don’t get me wrong, I like books about paranormal beings as much as the next person, but I love it when a books challenges my imagination further than what the mainstream ideas do.

▪ The aspect of figuring out what the real problems are and how Abby is going to fix them in the allotted time.  I’ve always liked crime shows like Law and Order, CSI and NCIS.  This series brings out the investigator in me.

▪ Will.  Even though in the first Episode, Abby seems to be annoyed by him, he still seems like an asset to the books and her operation of being a Shadow.  I imagine we will see more of how he is helping Abby in future episodes of this series.

▪ The cover of the book.  I must credit Backlit Fiction when they came up with the cover.  I love how you see both Abby and Brooke in the cover and it reminds you that even though she inhabits Brooke’s body, she is still Abby.  She has all the traits that come with her.

▪ Abby is not always right.  This makes this more realistic.  (As realistic as being a Shadow can be.)  

▪ Waiting for more episodes of this series.  Other than that, I couldn’t find anything I didn’t like.  As rare as that is, it’s true.  There really isn’t a “bad guy” or love triangle in this book, so there isn’t many characters that you don’t like.

Conflicted

Publisher: Valknut Press

Publish Date: already out

Version: e-book (Thank you Julia Crane!!)

Series: Keegan’s Chronicles

Keegan is an elf.  Elves meet their mate, called “chosen,” when they turn 18.  Ever since Keegan was brought back to life by black magic, her bond to her chosen has been broken.  This is very disturbing to Rourk, who has patiently waited for Keegan to turn 18, so they can begin their life together.  Because of Keegan’s brother, Thaddeus and his gift, she knew who her chosen was and they actually met before they were supposed to.  This was all before the Great War between the light and dark elves.

During that war, Keegan found out that many of her friends are magical creatures.  She corners her two best friends, Anna and Lauren at school and asks them about it.  When Donald, a tiger, finds out that her bond to her chosen is broken, he is happy because he has always liked Keegan.  He asks her out and they begin a relationship as he now stands a chance and doesn’t have to worry about her choosing someone else when she turns 18.   This does not make Rourk happy.  He leaves to join the army to give Keegan time to adjust before her 18^th birthday.

Anna has always been jealous of elves and that they find their soul mate so easily.  She feels terrible that Keegan’s bond to her chosen has been broken.  The fact that it was her mother who performed the black magic that made this happen makes it even worse.  She is sure that there is something she can do as a witch to reverse this.  While Keegan and Donald get closer and Rourk endures basic training in the Army, Anna is busy searching for something she can do to help Keegan regain her bond.

Again, Crane has surpassed my expectations in her writing.  I must say that I love the Keegan’s Chronicles.  I started to read this book with the intention of just reading a little before I went to bed.  I should’ve known better as I couldn’t go to sleep until I finished the book.  I love the characters in this series and cannot wait for the next book in this series to come out.

In the Elfin world, magic and destiny determine who will be together. "Chosen" pairs are fated to meet at the age of 18.

Keegan, however, is an anomaly. Having fallen in the battle between the Light and the Dark, she is only alive now due to Black Magic, and her bond with her Chosen is broken. She cannot remember Rourk at all.

For the first time, she feels like a normal teenager. She is dating Donald, her long-time crush, and everything seems perfect. But Rourk still feels their bond, and despairs for the woman he was always meant to love.

Keegan’s best friend Anna is determined to find a way to use her powers to return Keegan’s bond, no matter what it takes. The question is does Keegan even want it?

▪ The notion that elves meet their chosen mate when they turn 18.  Also that the bond felt between them is so strong.

▪ Rourk.  Even though it makes him miserable, he makes choices that are good for Keegan.  Her gives her the time and space she needs to enjoy her senior year of high school.  I have always liked his character also.  He is a good elf who would be a good mate to anyone.

▪ How loyal Anna and Lauren are to Keegan.  They want her to be happy throughout all of this.

▪ Thaddeus.  I have said before how I like his character.  He is a good little brother who has a lot of stress and responsibility on his shoulders.  I will definitely have to read his story.   This book reminded me of how much I like him.

▪ Calvron and his world.  I’m not going to say any more on him because I don’t want to spoil it for you.

▪ Donald.  He is the underdog in this story.

▪ The fact that Keegan lost her bond to Rourk and he is miserable because of it.  Rourk deserves to be happy.

▪ How Keegan gets over losing her bond so quickly as if it didn’t matter.  I sometimes forget the ages of characters until they do something that will remind me that yes, she is only 17.