BOOK REVIEW: CASSIDY JONES AND THE SECRET FORMULA BY ELISE STOKES

Title: Cassidy Jones and the Secret Formula

Author: Elise Stokes

Genre: Science Fiction, Young Adult

Published on: December 13, 2010 by JACE Publishing LLC

Cassidy Jones is your typical teenager-- that is, until a seemingly harmless accident in the laboratory of a world-renowned geneticist turns her world upside down.

Discovering incredible strength, speed, and enhanced physical senses that defy logic, Cassidy embarks on an action-packed adventure that has her fighting for answers...and for her very life.

Don't miss the other action-packed books in Cassidy Jones Adventures!

Cassidy Jones and Vulcan's Gift, Book Two

Cassidy Jones and the Seventh Attendant, Book Three

Cassidy Jones and the Luminous, Book Four

Cassidy Jones and the Eternal Flame, Book Five

I seriously enjoy fiction (books or movies) about people who can do stuff others can’t. Whether it’s superpowers or tech/genetic enhancements, it fascinates me. That’s what drew me to the Cassidy Jones Adventures series. This first entry introduces the titular character. She’s an average, redheaded, 14-year-old schoolgirl. One day, Cassidy accompanies her father—a famous radio host—and his assistant to an interview. The subject is Dr. Serena Phillips, a prominent geneticist. While in her lab, Cassidy has an accident that gives her extraordinary abilities. It’s over so fast that not even the people in the room realize what happened.

Cassidy’s powers don’t manifest right away. She first notices she can smell what the next-door neighbors are having for breakfast. Cassidy soon discovers she has enhanced strength, speed, senses, and a wicked-fast healing factor. Seeking to understand exactly what happened to her, Cassidy turns to Emery Phillips. He’s the son of Dr. Phillips. Someone kidnapped her the day after Cassidy’s accident. The Joneses offered shelter to Emery for the meantime.

FAVORITE FICTIONAL CHARACTERS FROM BOOKS

Good morning, everyone! I’m back with the first blog post that’s not a book review. I’ve published a bunch of those in the time since my last status update post. That was back in June, a whopping four months ago. I can’t believe time flew by this fast! Today, I’m publishing a special blog post. I've shared lists of my favorite books, both from last decade and from previous years. This time I’m writing about my favorite characters. I’ve read so many books that quite a few characters have stuck with me. Some of these are popular, and others not well-known. This list is in no particular order. I am also including images for some of the characters, at least those that I could find. For others, I fan-cast an actor I think would portray them well. Here it goes:

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BOOK REVIEW: AS DUST DANCES BY SAMANTHA YOUNG

Title: As Dust Dances

Author: Samantha Young

Genre: New Adult, romance

Published on: July 16, 2018, self-published

Once upon a time Skylar Finch was the lead singer of a hugely successful American pop-rock band. But fame made her miserable. When years of living a lie suddenly ended in tragedy, Skylar fell off the map.

Eighteen months later she’s sleeping in a tent in a cemetery in Glasgow, making just enough money to eat by busking on the streets. She manages to avoid recognition, but not the attention of one of Glasgow’s ambitious A&R executives.

Killian O’Dea works at Skyscraper Records, Scotland’s most successful record label. Raised by his uncle and owner of the label, Killian’s upbringing would have been devoid of affection entirely if it wasn’t for his loving sister. Killian is unflinchingly determined to bring the label more success than ever, and the young homeless woman who busks on Buchanan Street is going to help him do that. Her music speaks to him in a way he refuses to over-analyze. All he knows is that if it can touch his dark soul, it’ll set everyone else’s alight.

Skylar makes it clear that she doesn’t want to sign with him. But when she experiences the dangerous reality of a woman sleeping rough, Skylar has no one else but Killian to turn to. An undeniable connection forms between them. But Skylar doesn’t want the career Killian is trying to forge for her, and when her past comes back to haunt her Killian will be faced with a decision that could ruin him. He must either free Skylar from his selfish machinations and destroy everything he’s ever worked for, or lose a woman who has come to mean more to him than he ever thought possible…

I’ve read a few Samantha Young books before. My favorite was On Dublin Street. It was a gripping, steamy romance. I looked forward to reading another novel like it. Then I came across As Dust Dances. The heroine of this book is Skylar Finch. She was the lead singer of a popular American pop-rock band called Tellurian. Skylar vanished overnight after an unspecified tragedy. Over a year later, Sky winds up on the streets of Glasgow, Scotland. She’s been homeless the whole time. Skylar keeps herself alive by busking. She’s halfway across the world, so she figures no one will recognize her.

One day, Skylar’s enthralling music catches the attention of Killian O’Dea. He happens to be an executive at one of Scotland’s biggest record labels. Killian watches Skylar a few times until he approaches her. It’s not clear whether he knows who she is. When Skylar finds out Killian wants to sign her to his label, she refuses. For some reason, Skylar wants nothing more to do with fame. Killian can’t believe Skylar wants to remain homeless willingly. There are thousands of other indigents out there who wish they had another choice. 

BOOK REVIEW: IMITATION BY HEATHER HILDENBRAND

Title: Imitation

Author: Heather Hildenbrand

Genre: Science Fiction, Young Adult

Published on: July 29, 2014 by Alloy Entertainment (Kindle edition)

Everyone is exactly like me. There is no one like me.

Ven wrestles with these contradicting truths every day. A clone of wealthy eighteen-year-old Raven Rogen, Ven knows everything about the girl she was created to serve: the clothes she wears, the boys she loves, the friends she loves to hate. Yet she’s never met the Authentic Raven face-to-face. Imitations like Ven only get to leave the lab when they’re needed—to replace a dead Authentic, donate an organ, or complete a specific mission. And Raven has never needed Ven . . . until now.

When there is an attack on Raven’s life, Ven is thrust into the real world, posing as Raven to draw out the people who tried to harm her. But as Ven dives deeper into Raven’s world, she begins to question everything she was ever told. She exists for Raven, but is she prepared to sacrifice herself for a girl she’s never met?

Fans of Cinder, The Selection and Sara Shepard’s Lying Game series will love Imitation, a thrilling, action-packed novel sure to keep readers guessing until the very last page.

When I came across Imitation in the Kindle store, the premise intrigued me right away. It was the kind of idea I wish I’d had if I were a sci-fi writer. In the book’s world, Imitations are clones made to fulfill various roles for their Authentics. This can include donating organs or even replacing a dead Authentic. The book's protagonist is Ven, the Imitation of rich young socialite Raven Rogen. She lives with other Imitations in a building called Twig City. They only ever leave when their Authentics need them. Ven "woke up" five years ago, but she's physically eighteen—the same age as Raven.

Ven has spent her life training to be Raven's double in every way. She watches videos to learn Raven's mannerisms and personality, and to know her friends. Imitation begins after Raven suffers an attack. Titus, her father, hides her away and brings Ven out. The two meet shortly after. Ven recognizes Titus, but not from her training videos. He turns out to be the creator of the Imitations. As the book progresses, you learn Titus is a secretive, powerful man. Although he had Ven study Raven's family, he seems to have thought Ven didn't need to know about him or his affairs. This is why Ven knows so little about him at first.

BOOK REVIEW: SEEDS OF INIQUITY BY J.A. REDMERSKI

Title: Seeds of Iniquity

Author: J.A. Redmerski

Genre: Thriller, romance

Published on: September 29, 2014, self-published

Victor Faust’s new Order is growing. Business is good as there is no rest for the wicked in an underground world of hardcore criminals and contract killing. Relationships among the operatives have changed little over the past year—but things are about to change now, and all six high-ranking members of the new Order will be blindsided by an unlikely enemy.

Loved ones whose only ties to Victor’s organization are their relationships with its members, are abducted. The price to get them back safely—the six must confess their deepest, darkest secret to this mysterious young woman named Nora, who is as deadly as she is beautiful, and who seems to know more about each of them than they know about each other. And although no one has any clue about who Nora really is, it becomes clear that she also isn’t who she appears to be.

So much more is at stake than secrets and the lives of innocent loved ones; with each member that Nora forces to confess, the truth about their dark pasts and their present objectives will cast suspicion, pit some against each other, and may tear others apart.

Before the game is over everyone will know who this woman is and why she is here, but the damage she will leave in her wake could be the beginning of the new Order’s destruction.

Whose dark secret will be the darkest of all? And can Victor’s Order survive any of them?

The Order is back in another thrilling installment of In the Company of Killers. Unlike the previous book, Seeds of Iniquity does not focus on any single character. Victor Faust's Order (his contract killer organization) has grown in the time since The Swan and the Jackal ended. Izabel Seyfried is also getting better. She’s earning a don’t-mess-with-her kind of reputation. The only one who’s brave enough to tease Izabel now is Niklas, Victor’s brother. Dorian Flynn is also part of the group, as well as another newcomer: James Woodard. He’s a tech expert who claims to be able to find information on anyone.

During a covert mission, the team runs into a beautiful and enigmatic woman. She’s Nora Kessler, and she's abducted loved ones who have ties to the six heads of Victor’s Order. The group attempts to subdue Nora, but she manages to take them all on without help. That’s no mean feat, beating up four professional killers! Nora ends up allowing the Order to capture her. She has a deal to make with them. Nora will free their loved ones if each member confesses their darkest secret. The group debates whether they should play along with her game. Victor agrees, mostly because one of the abducted is Izabel’s grandmother, Dina. She’s the only connection to the normal world that Izabel has left.