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The Origin #1
The Origin
He may have super powers, but his is no hero's story... For someone who has no idea how he acquired his special abilities, all Daniel wants is to live a simple, emotionally detached life. He has a quiet day job, a solo night job and no social life to speak of, and that's just the way he likes it. That is until Olivia King, a woman from a past he'd rather leave behind, talks her way back into his life and he discovers that he is neither strong nor fast enough to fight off the attraction. Just as he finally accepts that she could be a permanent fixture in his life, Olivia disappears and he upends New York City to try and save the day. But when being honorable doesn’t get him results, Daniel yields to the dark pull of his powers, committing unspeakable acts in order to rescue the only person he’s trusted with his secrets. And just when his life could not possibly get more complicated, a psychic delivers some damning news that will pit his own happiness against the safety of those around him. Daniel has never considered himself a hero, but in the end, as he looks at the blood on his hands, he wonders if he isn’t the villain of the story after all. --- For mature audiences only.
295 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2012
7 people are currently reading
218 people want to read
About the author
Wilette Youkey
4 books31 followersWilette Youkey is a daydreamer who was born in the Philippines, raised in Australia, and now calls the United States home. At the age of ten she penned a short story inspired by a Judy Blume novel and has been unable to stop writing since.
She has lived on four different continents and most recently inhabited a 240-year-old castle in rural Germany owned by a Graf. She now resides in California with her husband, two daughters, and a mini schnauzer.
Her stories are drawn from dreams, fantasies, music, and trips through airports. Apart from her lifelong affair with words, she also loves graphic design, singing in the shower, Dunkin Donuts, and working out.
If she were a comic book character, she would be called Shorty Smalls and would have the uncanny ability to grow several inches on command.
She has lived on four different continents and most recently inhabited a 240-year-old castle in rural Germany owned by a Graf. She now resides in California with her husband, two daughters, and a mini schnauzer.
Her stories are drawn from dreams, fantasies, music, and trips through airports. Apart from her lifelong affair with words, she also loves graphic design, singing in the shower, Dunkin Donuts, and working out.
If she were a comic book character, she would be called Shorty Smalls and would have the uncanny ability to grow several inches on command.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 15, 2012
Originally posted at http://smexybooks.com/2012/05/review-...
Favorite Quote: “She had changed, he made sure of that. “
Our hero, Daniel Johnson, is a dark, broody, emotionally tortured young man who views his special powers as a curse. He never asked for the abilities to save the world and struggles to define exactly what he is. Rather like Batman in the Dark Knight-he is not a bright shining beacon of goodness. He doesn’t fight evil because he is inherently good but because he reluctantly feels he should. When a young woman from his past enters his life, he struggles to keep his distance. He fears emotional attachments and that he will inadvertently hurt her. But Olivia is determined to break through his shell and soon Daniel finds himself falling in love and accepting a future with her. That is until Olivia is kidnapped. Daniel crosses all the lines he has drawn for himself in his search for her and is left questioning if he is the hero or the villain.
We learn throughout the book that though Daniel thought he was alone, there are others out there like him. The reasoning behind that are quite unique and I enjoyed the path Ms. Youkey takes with that.
The Origin is an emotionally dark urban fantasy that plays upon the basics of good and evil with a twist. Set up in a comic book/soap opera style, Ms. Youkey build us a dark and philosophical multi-tiered character driven world that asks the basic question-what separates a hero from a villain? If you commit evil deeds for the good of mankind…can you still consider yourself good? Simple and straightforward writing style sets the story at a steady pace as we meet our hero and heroine and watch their lives unfold and intersect. Multiple sub-plots intertwine, giving us background on our characters and leaving us clues to future storylines. Engaging dialogue with injections of dark and snarky humor keeps the story grounded and realistic.
Olivia King, our heroine, comes off at first as being the perfect girlfriend for Daniel, but as you get to know her, you realize that she is fighting her own demons. An intelligent woman who knows what she wants and she wants Daniel. Their courtship is both humorous and very slow as Olivia struggles to understand why Daniel pushes her away. When he finally reveals his secrets, Olivia acts quite realistic with thinking he is insane and/or making up excuses. She eventually accepts he is what he says, though her kidnapping occurs right afterwards, so we never know exactly how well she was dealing with it. I like how Olivia handles herself in the end. No whoa is me or heavy histrionics. I look forward to seeing how she deals with Daniel in the next book. The romance is heavy with chemistry and tension though the physical scenes are few.
The secondary characters are interesting in their own right. Olivia’s father plays a large role as a controlling man whose actions concerning Olivia and others are going to come back and haunt him. We are left with the impression that he knows more about Daniel and his gifts. A bodyguard and ex boyfriend both have storylines that beg for more exploration.
The villain of the piece inspires sympathy as we watch his rise and fall. With his story you start to get the answer to the question The Origin asks. I would have liked to see more development with them. We only got what was exactly needed from them. That was a problem I had with the story. It stays firmly in the present so we are left with a lot of questions of how everyone got to this point. Hopefully this will be addressed as the series progresses.
The path to the end is convoluted as the main conflict wraps itself up but old and new storylines branch out and to lead us into the second book-The Forsaken-set to release in 2013. A mild cliffhanger promises interesting times ahead.
Overall Rating: C+
Favorite Quote: “She had changed, he made sure of that. “
Our hero, Daniel Johnson, is a dark, broody, emotionally tortured young man who views his special powers as a curse. He never asked for the abilities to save the world and struggles to define exactly what he is. Rather like Batman in the Dark Knight-he is not a bright shining beacon of goodness. He doesn’t fight evil because he is inherently good but because he reluctantly feels he should. When a young woman from his past enters his life, he struggles to keep his distance. He fears emotional attachments and that he will inadvertently hurt her. But Olivia is determined to break through his shell and soon Daniel finds himself falling in love and accepting a future with her. That is until Olivia is kidnapped. Daniel crosses all the lines he has drawn for himself in his search for her and is left questioning if he is the hero or the villain.
We learn throughout the book that though Daniel thought he was alone, there are others out there like him. The reasoning behind that are quite unique and I enjoyed the path Ms. Youkey takes with that.
The Origin is an emotionally dark urban fantasy that plays upon the basics of good and evil with a twist. Set up in a comic book/soap opera style, Ms. Youkey build us a dark and philosophical multi-tiered character driven world that asks the basic question-what separates a hero from a villain? If you commit evil deeds for the good of mankind…can you still consider yourself good? Simple and straightforward writing style sets the story at a steady pace as we meet our hero and heroine and watch their lives unfold and intersect. Multiple sub-plots intertwine, giving us background on our characters and leaving us clues to future storylines. Engaging dialogue with injections of dark and snarky humor keeps the story grounded and realistic.
Olivia King, our heroine, comes off at first as being the perfect girlfriend for Daniel, but as you get to know her, you realize that she is fighting her own demons. An intelligent woman who knows what she wants and she wants Daniel. Their courtship is both humorous and very slow as Olivia struggles to understand why Daniel pushes her away. When he finally reveals his secrets, Olivia acts quite realistic with thinking he is insane and/or making up excuses. She eventually accepts he is what he says, though her kidnapping occurs right afterwards, so we never know exactly how well she was dealing with it. I like how Olivia handles herself in the end. No whoa is me or heavy histrionics. I look forward to seeing how she deals with Daniel in the next book. The romance is heavy with chemistry and tension though the physical scenes are few.
The secondary characters are interesting in their own right. Olivia’s father plays a large role as a controlling man whose actions concerning Olivia and others are going to come back and haunt him. We are left with the impression that he knows more about Daniel and his gifts. A bodyguard and ex boyfriend both have storylines that beg for more exploration.
The villain of the piece inspires sympathy as we watch his rise and fall. With his story you start to get the answer to the question The Origin asks. I would have liked to see more development with them. We only got what was exactly needed from them. That was a problem I had with the story. It stays firmly in the present so we are left with a lot of questions of how everyone got to this point. Hopefully this will be addressed as the series progresses.
The path to the end is convoluted as the main conflict wraps itself up but old and new storylines branch out and to lead us into the second book-The Forsaken-set to release in 2013. A mild cliffhanger promises interesting times ahead.
Overall Rating: C+
March 29, 2012
I really enjoyed the rich character development, the intriguing storyline and the multitude of subplots happening which added depth and complexity to the story. In terms of subject matter, I think it hit the right balance between sci-fi, action and romance and the writing style is very readable and entertaining.
December 29, 2014
This had promise in the beginning. I liked that there were multiple relatively good characters (and there was some background information given from the characters even this was fairly short and quick paced read).
Somewhere in the middle started my problems. I understand there are drama but if everything is turned into insecurity problems and fights just because they can´t communicate at all...There were times I just wanted to shout at them to get their shit together and talk and stop sulking like 3 year olds.
I also liked Daniel at first...before he came this I-feel-sorry-for-myself kind of guy.
Other thing (which is not so big deal but still little annoying) was this religious thinking; am I going to hell for killing these bad guys or asking for sign from God etc. I´m not religious so I´m not very fond of these things sprinkled in my reading experience (especially if they have no relevance to the story line).
Somewhere in the middle started my problems. I understand there are drama but if everything is turned into insecurity problems and fights just because they can´t communicate at all...There were times I just wanted to shout at them to get their shit together and talk and stop sulking like 3 year olds.
I also liked Daniel at first...before he came this I-feel-sorry-for-myself kind of guy.
Other thing (which is not so big deal but still little annoying) was this religious thinking; am I going to hell for killing these bad guys or asking for sign from God etc. I´m not religious so I´m not very fond of these things sprinkled in my reading experience (especially if they have no relevance to the story line).
June 25, 2012
I read this rather quickly and it was fairly interesting. I also find it hard to rate books when the story is not over. I felt unsatisfied at the end of it. I will probably read the next one, just to see where she goes with it. I was not a huge fan of the main characters, but there was a minor one or two I would like to know more about.
May 17, 2012
I would've thrown this book across the room if I hadn't been reading it on my iPhone. There were so many problems a (semi)skilled editor could have fixed.
October 31, 2012
very good book
own-under-diff-title-or-anthology
September 17, 2014Holding Out for a Superhero: A Multi-Author Box Set
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews