Found

Penny Black #1

by Stacey Wallace Benefiel

From the author of the Zellie Wells trilogy comes FOUND (Penny Black #1)the first book in a whole new NA trilogy set in the Society world.

Discover what happened to Zellie, Avery, Melody, and Ben!

And meet Penny Black, a girl with a past that can see the future.


Penny Black hasn’t had it easy. Just about everything you’d expect to happen to a harassed foster-kid turned junkie has happened to Penny. Add in the mysterious power to rewind time, conducting events around her, and it’s a wonder she held up on the streets for so many years. Now, at seventeen, the New Society has found her. Finally, Penny is where she belongs. But that doesn’t stop the visions, or the need to protect the victims shown to her.

Wyatt Adams is excited and intrigued when his sister Melody assigns him to be Penny’s Lookout. Being the youngest, and hopelessly ordinary in the family that created the New Society, has left Wyatt feeling like he has a lot to prove -- and Penny is a big deal. She’s got abilities that surpass any he’s seen before…and pretty much every quality he looks for in a girlfriend, but no one needs to know about that, especially Penny.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal, New Adult, Urban Fantasy, Young Adult, Science Fiction

159 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 24, 2013

About the author

Stacey Wallace Benefiel writes paranormal love stories, often with a time-bending twist.
She lives in Beaverton, OR with her husband and their combined five children. Obviously, Stacey drives a minivan.

Reviews

[Magan Vernon · Rating 5 out of 5]

First off, I just have to say that this title is perfect. It invokes the song "You Found Me" by The Fray and that is exactly what Penny was before she was found by Ben, Zellie, Avery, and the rest of the gang "Lost and insecure, you found me, lying on the floor."

That's where Penny was, well lying on the side of the highway, but I'm not about to give any spoilers.

This book is told from the dual POV of Penny, Wyatt, and you get to see a little bit of Ben and the old gang from the Zellie trilogy and what they've been up to. What Stacey does VERY well is give each character their own unique voice without going overboard. She can write an angsty teenage girl that is so real I felt like I was actually in a teen girl's head. The same could be said for Wyatt, he wasn't an overbearing, hypersexualized male voice but sounded like a normal teen boy, that of course did think about the hot pink haired new girl.

I highly recommend this book for fans of the Zellie Wells trilogy and for fans of young adult science fiction books. It has the futuristic technology of BUMPED and that same school for kids with special abilities vibe as X-Men First Class. If you are a fan of either of those, you should definitely check out this book!

[Stormi (StormReads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first book by author Stacey Wallace Benefiel and this book is set I am guessing in the same type of world that her Zellie trilogy was in since it's a companion series to that trilogy. I have not read the Zellie books, but I really didn't find myself that lost. I just realized that the adults in the book were the main characters in that series and now this one is about some older teenagers, one of them is related to Zellie and the others.

Penny Black hasn't had an easy life, she has been shuffled around foster homes since she was little. She has been living on her own mostly since she started running away at age ten. The only thing she has this mysterious power and it throws her into some weird situations and she seems to do this in her sleep and wake up in strange places. Penny has a power to rewind time, but she knows nothing about how she got this power. She sees visions of someone in trouble and she can rewind events so that nothing bad happens to the victims.

Her last rewind lands her on the side of the road and in trouble, but she gets some help from her new relative. Christopher pretends to be her uncle and takes her to the New Society school, it's designed for people just like her. She is really skittish of everyone at first but she finally realizes that this is a place where she can be herself.

Wyatt Adams is normal in a group of unusual people. He is related to all the adults by some weird relationships. (His half brother and half sister are married...don't ask..lol) It was all sort of confusing for me but I just went with the flow. He get's to be Penny's Lookout and it's a job he takes very seriously. He wants to prove to his family that he belongs here even though he has no special powers.
Wyatt and Penny have a growing attraction to each other, but it sort of gets put on the back burner when Penny has a vision and they try to act on it and get in a whole lot of trouble from the adults.

Okay, like I said earlier this is a spin off of another series but I didn't really feel that lost as you can sort of piece things together as the story progresses. I really enjoyed this story it was fast paced and short and could easily be read in an hour or two. I really loved all the characters and I do think it would be fun to go back and read the other series to get to know more about the adults. I am guessing that it might be from a time in the future as they use things called rectech which is sort like a fancy phone and internet system in one. (or that was how I took it)

It's the first New Adult book that I have read and I know that New Adult hasn't really found its footing as a genre yet since it's really new. It seems like most of the NA books that I have seen are really just erotica for older teens and twenty-somethings or an excuse to be able to put sex in a YA novel. Found wasn't really anything like that and I was very excited! It was just a Sci-Fi/Fantasy novel with a little romance and sex towards the end but nothing really hot and heavy.

The ending to this book took me totally by surprise and I am not really sure if I like it but it does make me curious enough to read the next book. It just blind sided me and I was like WHAT!! Some of the language is sort of strange in the book as I don't know why they use the word bueno all the time (I know it means good, so why don't they just say it.) So that was sort of awkward for me and there was another weird word thrown in there, but over all I really liked this book.

I would recommend it for anyone who is into YA/NA books and likes sci-fi/fantasy books. (Oh and I am guessing it's listed as sci-fi because of all the cool gadgets of the future because it didn't seem that much like a sci-fi book because if it did I probably wouldn't have liked it as much since that is not my type of genre. :) )

[Bobbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Firstly, I need to admit that I haven't read the Zellie Wells Trilogy, which is a bit of an oversight on my part. I thought because this was stated as a companion trilogy rather than a follow-on, I'd be okay with not having read the original trilogy. However, I would advise you to read the Zellie Wells books first, because I did spend the first couple of chapters being a bit confused and trying to work out how this world works. To be fair, it wasn't that hard to work out - the author does a good enough job of making it possible to start on this book without the benefit of having read the first trilogy, but I think anyone who hasn't come across Stacey Wallace Benefiel before would do well to start with Glimpse and work your way along from there. Personally, I wish I'd read the Zellie books simply because I really enjoyed Found, and the references to the characters from the Zellie books made me wish I knew them better.

Penny Black is a Retroact - someone who has visions of the future, and can pause and rewind time in order to alter it. That right there is a pretty big thing to get your head around. It's best not to think about it too hard or you'll give yourself a headache. Benefiel handles the complexities of altering time really well in the book - offering just enough detail to make what a Retroact does kind of plausible (in a fiction way!), whilst not getting bogged down in the whole butterfly effect thing.

Penny is a great character. Strong, prickly and sassy, she's someone who's been on her own for most of her life, relying on no-one but herself. She doesn't even realise how special she is - she heals ultra-fast but she assumes it's normal because she's never talked to anyone about it before. There's a great girl/guy role reversal here, as Penny is the one who's had a lot of experience with guys, and love interest Wyatt is the sweet and innocent one. I'm a big fan of dual PoV books, and Found is no exception. Penny and Wyatt are such different characters, even though they seem like they're made for each other, and getting both their sides makes the story that much more interesting. First person writing makes it much easier to get really into the main character, but you often feel like you're missing out on what other characters are thinking, so dual PoV works perfectly.

The story gets a bit Scooby Doo, with a major mystery, a group of kids running around trying to foil the baddies and so on, but it works, it really does. It's fast-paced, fun, exciting, full of brilliant characters and the ending is just crazy. I can't wait to read the next book in the trilogy.

Full review at http://escapeintowords.blogspot.co.uk...

[Athena Freya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Given by the publisher for an honest review

5 stars are not enough to describe how much I loved this book!!!

It's perfect!
>>As the story progresses,more questions are raised..The plot thickens..It lets our imagination run for some time and then,some questions are answered but definitely not in the way we expected..

>>Penny's friends are so different from each other..But they somehow fit..They're so fun to read about..I loved them all...

>>And the ending..wow..Didn't see that coming!..It's an "OMG WTF" moment..

I could babble a lot more about the book,the author's creativity,the characters and the list goes on and on..But I won't do that..

If you like fantasy and romance with supernatural elements,this IS your book..Hands down..

I really like fantasy,but it's hard for me to find series that I love..Until now I love The Mythos Academy series and the Covenant Series,even though I must have read tens of fantasy books/series..

Well,Penny Black you are my new fantasy addiction and I can't wait to read a lot more about you and your adventures!

PS
I haven't read the Zellie Wells Trilogy,but it didn't matter to me..I understood everything that was going on..

[Angela Carlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the Zellie Wells Trilogy, but I love the beginning of the Penny Black series even more! FOUND is full of draw dropping action, suspense, and is just a fun read. One of my favorite parts of the book is Penny's voice--her witty and funny comments. There's even a bit of romance. I can't wait to read the second!

[Linda (un)Conventional Bookworms · Rating 4 out of 5]

*I received a free ARC of Found from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review*

Full review to come soon.

This and other reviews are originally posted on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews

[Becca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wrote the review below before I knew that this was a companion series for the Zellie Wells series. That explains why there were so many characters and why I couldn't keep track of them all. It also probably explains why the enemies story line was in the book. I will definitely read the Zellie Wells series!



3.5 stars

I received a digital ARC of this book.

This is going to be pretty difficult to review. There were things I loved and things that just didn't work.

There were too many characters in this story, and I couldn't keep track of them. Many of which were related to one of the secondary characters, and there was a lot of emphasis on how they were all family, which I didn't really see the point of, and it took up a lot of the story. The only sense I could make out of it was that this runaway was now a part of a family in a way and she cared about them and didn't want to hurt them. Within all the characters, there was a group of teenage friends, and it was really fun to read the dialogue between them. It made the book snappy and was really well-written. Even when the book was sagging, the dialogue made it bearable. The adults also had interesting dialogue. Now for another negative, I really didn't understand the motives of their enemies. In fact, that whole story line could have been left out and replaced with something else, like more character development and the relationships between characters, or just a different story line.

The aforementioned storyline with their enemies was difficult to follow and understand. While a lot of this book was so great, because it excelled at showing instead of telling, that storyline was just the opposite. It was characters trying to explain why those people are enemies and what they're up to. It just didn't work. Too hard to understand why they were actually enemies, because the explanation was meh, too hard to follow all the characters that became involved, and it just wasn't enjoyable. The first half of the story was extremely engaging, up until that enemies story line started. For this reason, I would read the sequel, because that story line ended, and just about everything but that story line, was fantastic. The sequel will focus more on the characters and their relationships, I think.

The story was very unique, and the author did a good job with the world-building. There was a magnificent and amazing cliffhanger at the end, which sucked me right back into the story and makes me anxious to read the sequel. It was a tiny bit predictable, but it still was enjoyable when it happened and surprising.

As I said, it's hard to rate. I loved the characters, dialogue, world-building, and plot (not the enemy story line), but I disliked the amount of characters, all the explanation about how they're connected (which I couldn't keep track of), and I just couldn't stand the enemies plot (telling instead of showing, motivations for it, and too confusing).

[Ruthsic · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Penny Black hasn’t had it easy. Just about everything you’d expect to happen to a harassed foster-kid turned junkie has happened to Penny. Add in the mysterious power to rewind time, conducting events around her, and it’s a wonder she held up on the streets for so many years. Now, at seventeen, the New Society has found her. Finally, Penny is where she belongs. But that doesn’t stop the visions, or the need to protect the victims shown to her.

Wyatt Adams is excited and intrigued when his sister Melody assigns him to be Penny’s Lookout. Being the youngest, and hopelessly ordinary in the family that created the New Society, has left Wyatt feeling like he has a lot to prove -- and Penny is a big deal. She’s got abilities that surpass any he’s seen before…and pretty much every quality he looks for in a girlfriend, but no one needs to know about that, especially Penny.

Having read The Zellie Wells Trilogy, I was excited for this book. The concept of the Society world is that there are people with powers called Retroacts or Seers. Retroacts can rewind moments in time and change the events occuring before them while Seers can see future events. Each Retroact has a Lookout and a Trigger (a person who is like their soulmate and who 'triggers' their retro powers). In this spin off, the original gang of Zellie Wells trilogy are now middle-aged and running a school for the next generation of retroacts, lookouts and seers. We have Wyatt, Zellie's younger brother, born during the events of Zellie Wells trilogy, now a young man. He is training as a Lookout and not being born into the role, he has been assigned to newly recovered Retroact Penny Black, who has had it very rough throughout her life. Old enemies and new ones emerge as they navigate through their powers and their responsibilities.

The plotline was interesting and the writing on the same level as that of Zellie Wells, which was a relief. The Triggers and Lookouts tie into the story much more this time, especially with the ending the book had. The best thing about the plot is the fact that they can rewind time, an awesome ability in my opinion - and Penny shows great promise with her ability to pause and rewind through timelines effortlessly. I must admit, though, I was more interested in the original gang's happenings but maybe that's the curse of a spin-off - you always love the original characters more. The book was interesting and kept me hooked onto the next word so I have great hopes for the sequel.

Received a copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

[Tanja · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is the first part of the Penny Black trilogy, which takes place in the same world like the author’s previous work, Zellie Wells trilogy. I never read Zellie Wells trilogy, but now I feel like I should have, because I probably would have understood this book better. Oh well, it’s too late now.

The story starts with the New Society finding Penny Black. She joins them and gets assigned a Lookout, Wyatt. Penny has had a very difficult life, but I really never felt like that has screwed her up too much. Penny has visions and she can rewind time. The New Society is supposed to help her, and others like her, learn to control their powers. I thought Wyatt was irritating because of “I’m a virgin, my life sucks” attitude. Come on, it’s not the worst thing ever. I couldn't make myself care about any characters in the book, so I couldn't properly enjoy it, either.

The book takes place in the future. There are mentions of iPhone 23 and ‘really old shows’ like Buffy and Firefly. The way people talk is a bit different. That makes sense, because language changes and people in the future won’t talk exactly the way we do now. But the constant use of ‘bueno’ was really annoying. I find it hard to believe that nobody ever uses the word ‘good’.

Everything happens quite fast. I think I would have enjoyed it more if it the pacing was slower. The blurb says that this novel is NA. So I guess the only difference between YA and NA is that the characters in NA get laid more.

The ending was a big surprise and it actually makes me kind of want to know what happens later… but I’m still not curious enough to actually read the second book.

[John Boettcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really excited to read this book. I knew that it was a new series that was a continuation of a previous set of books that Benefiel wrote on the same subject matter.

The premise, about stopping, and even reversing time is very cool. So is the bonding that takes place between two people that cannot be stopped or replaced. That makes for some very interesting dynamics in the story line.

However, I'm not sure if it was simply because I was unfamiliar with the author and needed to read the other books that came before it, or if the book just jumped around alot and was a little disjointed, but I just couldn't get into the book as much as I'd like.

The writing style seemed not to explain as much as the reader needs to get a full grasp on the situation, the surroundings, and the interpersonal dynamics that the main and supporting characters in the book are in and face. I was confused about many things throughout the entire book and still wasn't sure about them at the end. Again, I don't know whether that is due to my ignorance of the previous series, but if I am a new reader for a new series, I would expect to be brought up to speed and have things explained to me from the get go rather than trying to guesswork it out or simply be confused for a large part of the story.

That makes the book hard to read and even harder to maintain a genuine interest in finishing.

The book gets three stars for premise and originality, but only about a star and a half for execution of the story. I think so much more could have been done with the book, with the story, and with the editing.

[Riikka · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free ebook via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Just wow. Wow. That's the first word that comes in mind when I think about this book. I was a little sceptical, when I started this book, but I was so totally wrong! So wrong! This was really amazing book. Found is the first book in Penny Black trilogy that's spin-off of Zellie Wells trilogy. And I'm definally going to read that one too while I'm waiting for next book in this series. One great thing about this series is that it wasn't a problem that I haven't read the previous books. You can understand this story without reading them.

This was a really great story with interesting characters and backstory. This time rewinding thing seems really interesting (even though I noticed some problematics that bugged me after reading and got me pretty confused at times) and it's pretty cool ability. But the plot was great and intriguing and there were just the right amount romance, mystery and action.

And the ending.. WTF? Really. What the hell is going on? It was A SHOCK. I did not see that coming. But it was great. It was fabulous twist. I feel sorry for Wyatt, but oh boy, I just can't help but to love good drama and love triangle. I was so disappointed when this book ended and I can't wait to read the next one too. Can someone tell me when it will be published? I couldn't find the info anywhere.

But if there was anything I didn't like, it was the slang. I think it was annoying. But it was so small thing, that I can get over it. There kinds of books aren't usually my first picks in bookstore, but this was great. I think that if you like movies like X-Men or Jumper, you will love this book.

[Kirsty Bicknell · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I requested Found on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review I had heard of the Zellie Wells trilogy but not read the books. Although I have no prior experience of the characters and the Society world Stacey Wallace Benefiel knew how to hook me in from the first chapter and she gives just enough back-story to clue her new readers in, but not too much for the history to be overwhelming.
Penny is immediately a fascinating character - a girl who can see the future, rewind time and who has lived on the streets long enough that her past is coloured by events she would rather forget.
When Penny is rescued from her current situation by the members of the New Society she is placed under the care of her Lookout, Wyatt. Wyatt and Penny instantly share a connection, but Wyatt is teased by his family because he has never kissed a girl, while Penny has experience because of her past. I like the way in which Stacey Wallace Benefiel allows a trust and understanding to grow between them. Wyatt is protective of Penny and her gifts, thinking completely unselfishly and putting her before his place in the Society.
Stacey Wallace Benefiel develops Found's plot brilliantly, building the anticipation and excitement. The twist at the end is totally unexpected and is a fantastic climax, I hope Book 2 will be ready soon!

[Kelli Killion · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy Crrrrraaaap! I read this in one 4-hour sitting, and I'm dying because I want MOAR!

Penny, the epitome of effed-upedness, has these superpowers that cause her all kinds of grief. She's smart, funny, and speaks fluent sarcasm. Making her perfect for Wyatt, whom she meets after finding out that she's not the only one with time-altering abilities.

Benefiel's writing is brilliantly "future teen," and the plot catches you from the first page and won't let go. The social commentary of the future is transcendent and believable. THIS is great storytelling! Even at the cliffhanger ending, readers will be catching their breath, going "WTF just happened?!" This just became one of my favorite YA sci-fi/rom-com trilogies.... And it isn't even finished yet!

I know other reviewers have complained that they felt the need to have read the Zellie Wells books first, but I haven't (YET!), and I don't feel lost at all. I felt like I was learning about the Society world right along with Penny, giving her a more realistic POV throughout. Even the bits of the past she learns from the others aren't overly in-your-face expository, but I still have a basic idea of what I'll be reading when I get to the other series.

Bravo, SWB! Looking forward to books 2 & 3!

(Review of ARC acquired from NetGalley)

[Aussie bookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had a somewhat original story line, a young homeless woman with amazing abilities has been tracked down and brought to a special school to help her learn how to deal and develop her time stopping and psychic abilities.
Apparently this story is a spin off, I have not read the Zellie chronicles but after seeing a small glimpse of this world that Stacey has created I am looking forward to reading them.

The characters were well developed with lots of action although I thought that the story line sometimes was hard to follow and a bit slow, it wasn’t till I found out that this story is a spin off that it started to make sense. The cover was what originally drew me to found, I loved the simplicity of it and it made me want to know more about who the girl was and what was her story? I loved Penny’s story, how she came from the streets and fended for herself.



Although the whole boarding school story has been done to death, (even though I still enjoy them.) Stacey has managed to bring new dynamics to the story with new elements such as being a school for psychics and their look outs. I am not sure what the depth of the story is or much history of the school, I am assuming all that is talked about in the original stories.

Overall I enjoyed it as a short entertaining read, but I would recommend starting at the original stories first.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really good. The story was really engaging and intriguing. I do have a few complaints, though.
The slang. "Chido" and "bueno" were overused. Whereas I can use context to get the meaning, I have never heard the word "chido."
I could definitely tell that this was a side series. There was something that made me realize that I picked up a book that had characters who were already established somewhere else. As this was my first time reading Stacey Wallace Benefiel, I felt a little lost at first. As time went by, I realized I didn't care. This was Penny's story, whatever came first.
The ending seemed too abrupt. It didn't feel like an ending so much as it just dropped off. I know cliff hangers are popular, to keep you coming back for more, but this just seemed a little unfinished to me.
Overall, though, I really did like this book. And I keep thinking about it. I found the story to fun, fast paced, and action packed.
I know I said this was my first time reading Stacey Wallace Benefiel but it will not be my last. Her Zellie Wells series has made it onto my TBR list.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a spin-off series to the Zellie Wells series. I have not read the previous series yet, though I don't feel you have to read it to understand this story. I am sure if you read it though, it would help with understanding who a lot of the characters were. The only complaint I would have is it felt like so many were introduced so quickly I had a hard time keep straight who was who.

Penny has been in hiding for years until The New Society finally catch up to her. She doesn't trust them though after everything she has experienced. They tell her she has been rewinding time to stop tragic events from happening. She thought she had vivid dreams and was a sleepwalker.

Wyatt has always felt like an outcast in his family since he has no special powers. He is finally given the task of being Penny's lookout but will he be successful or fail and let everyone down.

This was a really great story with a interesting ideas. The characters had a fresh feel and really cool abilities. The ending made me go WHAT IS GOING ON!!! I can't wait to read the next book in this series.

[Elizabeth Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars!!

Woah! Woah. Seriously. This book was great. I must say though, much like some of the other reviewers have mentioned I didnt read the companion trilogy before starting Found. With that I admit, I was confused by the people. But otherwise, I thought the world setting and characters were great. For those that are skeptical because of other reviews, I think what they disliked about this book may have been some of the things that were explained in the companion trilogy Zellie Trilogy. But honestly, I thought the book was awesome! Plenty of action, mystery, sci-fi tech, and romance. Admittedly though this is a shorter book, but I think its worth it. There were a few things I didnt like about the book, primarily, the spanish lingo that felt out of place. Otherwise this is a must read for any technie junkie interested in a mystery with some love. I NEED The next book now!!

See my full review: http://beautysinbreakdown.blogspot.co...

[Janie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actual rating: 2.5 stars
I was gifted an ebook via Netgalley.
While I really wanted to like this book, it disappointed me. I didn't realize it was a spinoff series, but I feel like things should have still been explained even a teeny bit in this first book. I felt that instead of info dumps, there were character dumps. Too many names were introduced too quickly with little-to-no other details about them and it ended up confusing me far too much to enjoy the story. I was not a fan of the random two Spanish words with no explanation (chido/cool, bueno/good). Why is it just two words? Why is it Spanish and not another language? Where is the world building here? It is definitely set in the future as we are on iPhone 23 and pop culture references are mentioned and called old. All the dialogue got on my nerves and most of the characters were also really annoying and strange. I think this story has a lot of potential but it really missed the mark. There just wasn't enough explanation.

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great story for those of us that have A.D.D. There's no way to get bored with it. Even though it's a spin off from another series I didn't get confused except when they were talking about the family and how they were all related. Being set in the future It's pretty funny how it talks about the new technology like the iphone29, auto drive cars, teching instead of texting etc...The way it ends will really surprise you and make you want to buy the next book asap. There were little clues throughout the book about the ending but they were very small clues. The next book "Frayed" should be out in Dec/Jan I'll be looking forward to it. I received this book as an ARC from Net Galley for review.

[Liane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Normally not a fan of the futuristic genre, this book's excerpt caught my attention and I thought I'd give it a try and boy am I glad I did!

The language use make this a very believable first-person narrative and it's refreshing that a teenager sounds like a teenager! I enjoyed the fact that it touches on topics that most other books wouldn't and seriously can't wait for the next one to come out!

The only down part I could find about this book is that it went a bit too fast for my liking. I would've definitely slowed it down a little and delve deeper into Penny and Wyatt's personalities and give us a little more to hang on to.

[Julie (Bookish.Intoxication) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this novel on my Kindle, after doing a thorough clean up, and I am really glad I found it.

This novel is another show stopper by Benefiel, fast paced, intriguing, great plot and that ever exciting notion of time control and glimpsing into the future. The characters are amazing, deep and real, the story line, itself is captivating and evoking and really makes the reader feel as though they are along for the ride, a part of the action.

This novel was a joy to read, and I will definitely be reading the next couple of books, this is a book for any fans of YA, romance, sci-fi, basically anything really, a great novel and I can't wait to read the next installment.

[Cassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a huge Zellie fan, I knew I would love Penny! I was hooked from the beginning, and can't wait for#2 to find out what happens next. My only mild criticism would be everyone used the word bueno a little too much.

[CJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was only partially aware that this story was the beginning of a companion trilogy to another one, so I made the sort-of mistake of reading a preview of Glimpse before jumping into Found. Quite frankly it just made my head spin, whoops! I ended up with far too many questions and definitely not enough answers.

As I lost most of what I had written up for this beforehand, I'm going to try to begin with what I noticed most about this book.

Spoiler-y bits ahead!


The author has very good potential to write very engaging, fascinating, and real characters, and the seeds for those are definitely planted in Found. However, I never truly felt a connection to them, and it wasn't entirely their fault. The 'magic system', per se, used in the story was interesting and clearly had a healthy dollop of work put into it. I wanted to see more development set aside for it, but unfortunately it was my biggest problem when it came to connecting with the characters. Because the Retroacts can alter time (and with little repercussion, aside from needing a monster of a nap afterwards), I never sincerely felt as if any of these characters were ever in any danger, which makes that aspect of the plot very predictable. Problem arises, the team gets in trouble, Protagonist simply reverses time and fixes everything. Rinse and repeat as necessary. I am a total sucker for stories with any sort of time-related abilities involved, but this predictability can be a really common problem with them I find. Because I never felt as if any of these characters could be forever snatched away from me at any moment, I never felt the desire to really get to know them and to savour my time with them.

To follow on with the characters, I really enjoyed that the author clearly is good at writing people, particularly inner dialogue. It's usually a weak point in a lot of stories, and although it wasn't as strong as I felt it could've been in Found, the foundations were definitely there. Despite that, I felt like the characters themselves weren't entirely...all there. I really didn't get to know them all that much throughout the story - yes, we know that Penny has a troubled childhood, but everyone else knows that too. We know she loves a certain band, but everyone else knows too. I feel that's where the knowledge stops for Penny herself. She starts out as some tough, abrasive and smart chick, but that quickly gets wicked away by life at the New Society, which I feel was an enormous shame. Wyatt started taking the lead a lot for her (and being a simple-minded, objectifying jock at times, which was quite shocking), which she was mysteriously okay with most of the time, when I would've expected her to fight for her independence. She fell into life far too comfortably and quickly - the power of influence that some of the characters had felt like a major cheat-code to me, as it would've been really rewarding to read about Penny learning to deal with her troubles in her own time, surrounded by people who were trying to be there for her. Of course she would make some mistakes, and of course everyone else would make some mistakes, but the satisfaction of being there alongside these characters as they developed, especially Penny, would have been terribly fulfilling by the end of the story. It also would have made the very interesting twist at the end hit a hell of a lot harder.

On a lesser note (and possibly a silly one), another reason I had a terribly hard time connecting with Penny is because she has been living off of the streets for some time, yet she owns a head of white and pink hair. It's my understanding that it's very difficult and expensive to achieve (and maintain) white hair, and if she's desperate enough to pay for a burrito with sex, I absolutely can't see her spending $75-100 getting her hair done. That alone broke me out of the story more than anything else. Penny is also described as petite and curvy - if she was spending her days wondering where her next meal would come from, it is highly unlikely she'd still have her curves. Also, I believe that coming off of morphine can cause weight loss (followed by problems with weight control afterwards) - I would've pictured her as someone with greasy hair (with faded, worn out dye at most), no make-up, sallow skin, and unhealthily thin. Not this groomed punk-rock girl Wyatt views her as.

Most of the characters introduced in the story (and there are a lot) are generally described as socially attractive. Penny even makes note at one point that she doubted anyone at the New Society was 'butt ugly' or bland-looking. This is an immediate 'nope' in my books; it's not realistic and the social construct of 'beauty' is false and extremely harmful. Not only that, but nearly all of the characters just seem so nice. They don't really have any bad points, which makes for unbalanced and very 'blank page' characters. Most of the teens ended up having surprisingly mature sides to them, and most of the adults ended up having really quite 'unmature' sides, which I was having trouble seeing past.

The technical side of the writing really threw me for a loop as well. I've been reading so much high fantasy lately that jumping into a book with a very modern, spunky, almost young quality to the writing was like jumping into the deep end! It really felt like listening to modern pop on some ancient radio, which, for the most part, was really refreshing. On the other hand, it did at times strike me as over-the-top and way too excessive to be realistic, which knocked me right out of the story and made it quite difficult to get immersed again. The narrative and dialogue felt a lot smoother and flowed much more easily during serious situations, I felt. The usage of 'bueno' and 'chido' was so frequent I ended up wanting to pull my hair out every time I saw them (do people really speak like that?), but as this is a slightly futuristic story, I ended up assuming it was a natural appropriation of Mexican (the touch of the hat to Firefly really helped this assumption!), and as I am not aware at all of the events in the Zellie Wells trilogy, I tried to let a lot of these things not get to me too much.

As this is something else I was assuming was explained in Zellie Wells, I didn't focus on it too much, but I won't lie, it was pretty confusing. I couldn't for the life of me figure out why only straight females and homosexual males seemed to have access to these powers. I don't recall seeing a single gay girl in the book, even though realistically I imagine there should've been some. The sheer amount of pairing off that was happening got to me as well. I understand that it was to do with the trigger/Retro dealio, but as someone who is asexual, it just ended up seeming kind of silly and contrived to me. I would've loved seeing how an aromantic, non-sexual character would've been handled here, as the setting provided a lot of ample opportunity to really play around with how relationships can work and how it would've affected the abilities. Because of the exclusiveness of the orientation of the characters, I really felt that this part of the story read more like a fan-fiction rather than a book, and I couldn't even connect well with the gay characters, which I've personally always felt much more comfortable with.

As it stands, I finished Found without really knowing anything about any of the characters. I couldn't easily tell anyone who asked things about Penny; her strengths and particularly weaknesses weren't all that clear to me. She also treated her past with an aloofness I found really kind of unusual, as if she was aware that it was serious and damaging to live through what she went through, but didn't feel all that connected to it. There was a lot of missed-out 'oomph' potential there, I feel.

All in all, I'd have to give this a solid 3 stars out of 5. I seriously enjoyed the potential that this world and these characters have, and am looking forward to reading the sequel (I'm hoping more time is spent on the characters then!).

[Julie Witt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't realize this was the first book in an offshoot from another series, but I didn't feel like this kept me from being able to understand and follow the story. I enjoyed it enough that I'm going to go back and read the original series, though. The characters were likeable, especially the teens, and the storyline was interesting, starting with the whole rewinding time power!

All in all, this was an interesting and well written book, and I look forward to continuing with the series.

5/5 stars.

[Stacey Benefiel]

Hey All!
I'm involved in the love tropes paranormal, sci-fi, and fantasy Goodreads book of the month club.

Join the group and you'll get a free PNR book and a chance to chat with the author of the book that month.

For instance, I'm April, and I'll be giving away The Retroact Saga (yes, all six books)!

There will also be giveaways and other fun bookish happenings.

Join us:
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

The club starts in October, but you can jump in anytime.

SWB

[Kasey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was unaware that this was a continuation of Zellie's story. I thought this was going to be a book set in that world that followed a different character and it really changed things for me. I think I would have liked it alot more if I had read the other books first. There were also alot of small phrasing that I found odd and it definitely reminded me of 2012.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whoa! Poor Wyatt! That kid has had a hard life. You'd think being around all those people with powers someone would help make things alittle better.

[Debra Barstad · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book. Very fast read and easy to follow along with the story line. I would recommend

[Books A-Brewin' · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received an e-copy of this book from the publishers at NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is yet another book that I read that seems to be a spin-off of another series. I found out the book I recently read Bad Kitty was also a spin-off of another trilogy. Found seems to be a spin-off of the Zellie Wells trilogy. As much as that causes the perfectionist in my to scream in agony, I still decided to read the book and see what I thought of it in the end. I hoped that the fact that it was set in an already established futuristic world wouldn't cause any problems for me.

Penny is a street urchin of a girl. She has been running from unknown forces since she was a young girl. After witnessing her parents' deaths and being placed into abusive foster homes, she had no choice but to try to make it on the streets. What she didn't count on was having an odd ability that causes her to "dream" tragic occurrences and then "sleepwalk" into rewinding them so the events never happened. This strange talent has the unfortunate drawback of causing her to pass out at random places leaving her vulnerable to animals and bad people in a weakened state.

It is only after Penny comes face-to-face with the leaders of New Society that she is transported into a world of teenagers with talents very similar to her own. In this world she meets her new Lookout (essentially powerless sidekick), Wyatt, who she is instantly attracted to. Wyatt is determined to be the best Lookout Penny could ask for. He is determined to prove himself to his family of powerful individuals. Both Penny and Wyatt have motivation to prove themselves and a hunger for acceptance.

I could not nail down how I felt about this book. One minute something would happen and I would be completely enamored with the world I was being introduced to and the next I would be rolling my eyes and checking the percentage on my Kindle Fire to see how much more I had to suffer through.

One thing I liked was the uniqueness of the world. Sure, we have read or see movies about time travelers and people who could move through time, but this was a big different since it was essentially a complete society of these types of people and not just random mutants.

One thing I did not dig about Found was the use of some of the slang. Maybe it's something that was established in the foundation series (this is why reading a spin-off is sometimes detrimental to the reader), but I just found it annoying. I could understand if they used "bueno" or "chido" in character speech, but it was also being used when the characters were NOT talking. That irked me a bit. Especially since both of those words are Spanish and the main characters are, as far as I know, Caucasian. Odd.

Basically... this book was all over the place for me.

I will say this...

Found is a book that lovers of such movies as X-Men and Jumper will find to be literary gold.

[Katherine Paschal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in a distant future, with complicated gadgets, soon to be 18 year old Penny has been on the run for the last 7 years, living a harsh gritty life on the streets. She ends up being found by the police collapsed on the side of the road, causing her to be taken in to custody. She gets picked up by her "Uncle", a man she has never met before who says he has been looking for her for years. He says she has special powers to rewind time and alter events, making her part of a secret society to protect humanity. Penny believes him after proof, going to California to join a secret underground school for kids like her. She finds a mysterious and unexpected connection to a few kids at the school, causing Penny to question who she really is and what is expected of her.
The book was surprisingly gritty. I really had no idea what I was getting myself into. There were really hard to take topics like abuse, rape, prostitution, self-mutilation, drug addiction...Just to name a few. In the book each kid with special powers finds a trigger, a person who they need, like a soul-mate, regardless of gender. So there were a lot of same sex relationships, as well as sex between the teen characters. I would not recommend this book to a young teen, definitely for a more mature teen due to the subject matter.
This series is loosely based on the Zellie Wells trilogy, with those characters who were teens now as the adults running the school for the special kids. I have not read the Zellie Wells series, and I felt like at times I was a little confused how the world worked, like triggers, and connections...The new characters were well developed in this series, but the world had already been established and I was a few steps behind.
The character of Penny has lived a very hard life, making her a tough, resilient person that has a hard time accepting kindness from others. She has been on her own since she was little, causing her to mature beyond her years. She believed she was not needed with low self worth, most likely a product of her upbringing. She tries to do the right time in every situation,but at times gets backed into a corner. I liked Penny and her stubborn streak as well as her generosity. Love triangle does occur, that's all I'm saying.
Wyatt, the second main character had a strong urge to fit in, wanting to belong, yet straddling 2 worlds he just couldn't completely conform to. To weird to be normal, no powers to be special. He tried to do the right thing, but at times was over his head.
The ending to this book was absolutely shocking! I had no idea that was going to happen and I really want the second book in the series to see what is going to happen next. Seriously, no warning signs, or at least none I saw. It was so abrupt as well as a total twist that it's all I have been thinking about since I finished the story.
The book had its interesting parts, but it was slow for me to get into this new future world. Also, the over use of the words "bueno" and "chido" drove me absolutely crazy. In my head I was replacing them with other words each time I encountered them. Overall it was an ok book, and I will be looking for number two.
I received this book from the publishers in exchange for my honest review.