What do you think?
Rate this book
Strange in Skin #1
Strange in Skin
From the moment Anna James meets the strange prisoner Emry Logan, she becomes instantly obsessed and will stop at nothing to try to get another interaction with him. But going against her family and church aren’t without consequence. She is deemed a traitor as she quickly realizes that there’s more to Emry’s past than just murder. He has a special ability that is far from human that he only shares with her. Feeling this magical connection, Anna has to free her beautiful inmate so that they can be together finally, but someone else knows about Emry’s secret and wants Anna to stop digging for answers as she finds herself in the midst of a modern day witch hunt. The life of an innocent pastor’s kid suddenly is turned upside down in a war between good and evil as Anna begins to wonder which people in her life are on the side of good, and is she one of them.
364 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 24, 2012
7 people are currently reading
353 people want to read
About the author
Sara V. Zook
19 books207 followersSara graduated from Pitt with a degree in creative writing. After a short hiatus of having children, she is back to doing what she loves and has been writing ever since.
She resides in Pittsburgh with her husband, three kids and two Labradors.
She's the author of the Strange in Skin Trilogy: Strange in Skin, Evadere and Solace. She also wrote Clipped, a stand alone novel, The Sempiternal Series: Evanescent and Reminiscence, A Magic Within Series: A Magic Within and A Chaos Within, Six Guns, Six Guns 2, The Pull, The Push, Beautiful Rugged and Take Me.
Sara does not respond to messages through Goodreads. Please contact her via Facebook or her website.
She resides in Pittsburgh with her husband, three kids and two Labradors.
She's the author of the Strange in Skin Trilogy: Strange in Skin, Evadere and Solace. She also wrote Clipped, a stand alone novel, The Sempiternal Series: Evanescent and Reminiscence, A Magic Within Series: A Magic Within and A Chaos Within, Six Guns, Six Guns 2, The Pull, The Push, Beautiful Rugged and Take Me.
Sara does not respond to messages through Goodreads. Please contact her via Facebook or her website.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
August 15, 2018
I loved this book and warning - I will probably say that a lot in this review! This book left me speechless! Going into the first few chapters, I thought I knew what was going to happen, but then it took a left turn and left me reeling from the new revelations for days. I was so surprised and never saw it coming, and I became hooked. Every time I picked up the book, I was excited to read what would happen next.
Anna lives in a small town where everyone knows everyone, and her father is a pastor. Needless to say, she's pretty sheltered from the bad things that are out there in the world; however, a chance meeting with an inmate at the county prison named Emry turns her life completely upside down and opens her eyes to possibilities of a life she never before considered.
At first I wondered why she was still living at home at her age, but I realized since she's so innocent and sheltered that it made sense. Soon though, Anna's personality begins to change almost overnight. She starts lying to her family and sneaking around, things she had never done before. I felt her guilt right along with her as well as her excitement with meeting someone new and mysterious. I stressed out along with her and saw how her lies could very possibly ruin her life.
I was frustrated by just a couple of the changes in her personality - mostly the fixation on Emry that seemed unhealthy to me - but at the same time I could identify with feeling like she couldn't truly be herself, yearning to be free but is trapped, the way she felt she had to act "normal" around her family so they wouldn't notice the changes in her. At the same time, I came close to worrying for her sanity because of the massive transformation she underwent overnight based on a quick meeting with a stranger in a prison. The stress she was under didn't seem worth it to me.
Characters in this novel weren't always who they seemed to be, and that's part of the mystery and awesomeness of this story. I began to think something wasn't quite right with Buck and Anna's father, and I had several different theories while I read. There's a lot of mystery and action, and I was miserable whenever I had to put the book down. I was on the edge of my seat! I needed to know what was going to happen next, and I had to fight myself not to skip ahead. I knew it was best to let the story unfold. It isn't too slow at all - I was just in a hurry!
I had so many questions about Emry. I needed to know if I could figure out what made him tick and what made him so mysterious. I went back and forth with Emry - at times he seemed like he was telling Anna the truth while other times he seemed like there was much that he was hiding from her. The complete trust she placed in him made me nervous. How could she do that when she truly didn't know him? But just when I'd think he was a liar, I'd find out something else that would make me change my mind. I really love characters you can't figure out right away! This was a huge reason I looked forward to picking up the book every time I had a chance to read.
The times I unwillingly had to put the book down, I needed to separate myself from Anna and her life. I had to remind myself this wasn't my life, these things weren't happening to me - my stomach was that twisted up! I really did like Anna though the choices she made at times had me wanting to jump in there and give her some much needed advice!
Overall, I was emotionally invested in the story and the characters. It was an intense and thrilling read with shocking twists and turns I never saw coming. I loved this book and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a unique, emotional, and action packed story!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Anna lives in a small town where everyone knows everyone, and her father is a pastor. Needless to say, she's pretty sheltered from the bad things that are out there in the world; however, a chance meeting with an inmate at the county prison named Emry turns her life completely upside down and opens her eyes to possibilities of a life she never before considered.
At first I wondered why she was still living at home at her age, but I realized since she's so innocent and sheltered that it made sense. Soon though, Anna's personality begins to change almost overnight. She starts lying to her family and sneaking around, things she had never done before. I felt her guilt right along with her as well as her excitement with meeting someone new and mysterious. I stressed out along with her and saw how her lies could very possibly ruin her life.
I was frustrated by just a couple of the changes in her personality - mostly the fixation on Emry that seemed unhealthy to me - but at the same time I could identify with feeling like she couldn't truly be herself, yearning to be free but is trapped, the way she felt she had to act "normal" around her family so they wouldn't notice the changes in her. At the same time, I came close to worrying for her sanity because of the massive transformation she underwent overnight based on a quick meeting with a stranger in a prison. The stress she was under didn't seem worth it to me.
Characters in this novel weren't always who they seemed to be, and that's part of the mystery and awesomeness of this story. I began to think something wasn't quite right with Buck and Anna's father, and I had several different theories while I read. There's a lot of mystery and action, and I was miserable whenever I had to put the book down. I was on the edge of my seat! I needed to know what was going to happen next, and I had to fight myself not to skip ahead. I knew it was best to let the story unfold. It isn't too slow at all - I was just in a hurry!
I had so many questions about Emry. I needed to know if I could figure out what made him tick and what made him so mysterious. I went back and forth with Emry - at times he seemed like he was telling Anna the truth while other times he seemed like there was much that he was hiding from her. The complete trust she placed in him made me nervous. How could she do that when she truly didn't know him? But just when I'd think he was a liar, I'd find out something else that would make me change my mind. I really love characters you can't figure out right away! This was a huge reason I looked forward to picking up the book every time I had a chance to read.
The times I unwillingly had to put the book down, I needed to separate myself from Anna and her life. I had to remind myself this wasn't my life, these things weren't happening to me - my stomach was that twisted up! I really did like Anna though the choices she made at times had me wanting to jump in there and give her some much needed advice!
Overall, I was emotionally invested in the story and the characters. It was an intense and thrilling read with shocking twists and turns I never saw coming. I loved this book and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a unique, emotional, and action packed story!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
February 26, 2013
Also on my blog Chibi Reader
After finishing Strange in Skin I felt a little dizzy and actually had to stop and take a break and think about everything that I had just read. This book touches so many aspects that it kind of overwhelmed me. However, it was so different from what I usually read that I just wanted to jump from joy and meet Sara V. Zook personally and thank her for writing something paranormal that didn’t remind me of other books.
But why would someone write that kind of blurb?! Why?!
First of all, Anna IS NOT a stalker, which is what I thought when I read the blurb. Come on, it even says “she become instantly obsessed”. Wrong! When she meets Emry she talks to him even though she is scared but she isn’t like “I MUST HAVE HIM”. He is the one who starts talking to her and then asks her to continue visiting him. After that she wants, obviously, to free him. The only moment that might be a bit over the top is when she follows his ex-wife. Even I have to admit that that was a tiny weeny crazy. But hey, at least she admits it herself!
“I almost laughed out loud. I was a stalker”
Anna’s family is really devoted to religion and her father is the town’s pastor. One thing that, unfortunately, annoyed me profoundly was Anna’s father power over her and her weakness. Throughout the novel we see how Anna is incapable of standing up for herself and most of the time she does just what her father says. That really made me cringe and want to say some really bad stuff sometimes because I prefer strong heroines and I am of the opinion that we should never just accept everything without fighting for what we stand for. Especially if you’re already 30 years old!
Thankfully, her feelings for Emry start changing her and she grows to be and independent woman who can even snoop around the house of the scariest and craziest woman in town. Yeah, that about sums it up. Kidding, but we can see a drastic character development in this book. She even punches Buck, a policeman who thinks is the best! You go girl. But she can be a bit boring and annoying sometimes…
We actually don’t see a lot of Emry because, well, he is in jail. I just know that he is a romantic and a little weird in my opinion, but that is just me. We don’t get to know a lot about his powers and the place he can go to, Evadere. We don’t even get an explanation about it in this book! That is just mean, a little clue would be nice.
Some things were predictable, other were a bit over the top but it was a nice and different book. I think it might have a little too much and the ending was a bit rushed with many questions unanswered. I was actually confused about what happened in the end but Strange in Skin managed to keep me interested and deserves points for its originality!
After finishing Strange in Skin I felt a little dizzy and actually had to stop and take a break and think about everything that I had just read. This book touches so many aspects that it kind of overwhelmed me. However, it was so different from what I usually read that I just wanted to jump from joy and meet Sara V. Zook personally and thank her for writing something paranormal that didn’t remind me of other books.
But why would someone write that kind of blurb?! Why?!
First of all, Anna IS NOT a stalker, which is what I thought when I read the blurb. Come on, it even says “she become instantly obsessed”. Wrong! When she meets Emry she talks to him even though she is scared but she isn’t like “I MUST HAVE HIM”. He is the one who starts talking to her and then asks her to continue visiting him. After that she wants, obviously, to free him. The only moment that might be a bit over the top is when she follows his ex-wife. Even I have to admit that that was a tiny weeny crazy. But hey, at least she admits it herself!
“I almost laughed out loud. I was a stalker”
Anna’s family is really devoted to religion and her father is the town’s pastor. One thing that, unfortunately, annoyed me profoundly was Anna’s father power over her and her weakness. Throughout the novel we see how Anna is incapable of standing up for herself and most of the time she does just what her father says. That really made me cringe and want to say some really bad stuff sometimes because I prefer strong heroines and I am of the opinion that we should never just accept everything without fighting for what we stand for. Especially if you’re already 30 years old!
Thankfully, her feelings for Emry start changing her and she grows to be and independent woman who can even snoop around the house of the scariest and craziest woman in town. Yeah, that about sums it up. Kidding, but we can see a drastic character development in this book. She even punches Buck, a policeman who thinks is the best! You go girl. But she can be a bit boring and annoying sometimes…
We actually don’t see a lot of Emry because, well, he is in jail. I just know that he is a romantic and a little weird in my opinion, but that is just me. We don’t get to know a lot about his powers and the place he can go to, Evadere. We don’t even get an explanation about it in this book! That is just mean, a little clue would be nice.
Some things were predictable, other were a bit over the top but it was a nice and different book. I think it might have a little too much and the ending was a bit rushed with many questions unanswered. I was actually confused about what happened in the end but Strange in Skin managed to keep me interested and deserves points for its originality!
December 22, 2013
From the blurb you know that Anna and Emry meet while she is visiting the prison and handing out pamphlets regarding saving their soul for her father's church. They are drawn to each other and she fights to try to find out more about why he's there and how she can free him.
There is so much more to Anna's story. Throughout this book, I wanted to learn more about Emry's past and about some of the background of the other townspeople....or should I call them sheeple? The town seems to be full of people who are easily brought under the notion that Emry is the evil one and he should be kept locked up forever....but, none of it really added up for me. Why were they all so gullible?
Anna's inability to stand up for herself coupled with her angsty first love story made me feel that this was more of a YA novel. She definitely did not behave like she was in her 20s and felt more like she was a young 16 or 17 year old. The immaturity was something that I attributed to her sheltered life being raised by her very religious parents in a small town of sheeple that seemed quite devoted to their church.
Emry's special ability that he chooses to only share with the girl he's met all of two times isn't fully explained in this book. I would have liked to know a little more, but I assume that the explanation is to come in the next book. In fact, we don't get to know much about Emry since he is in prison. I did like the fact that Anna hunts down parts of his past in order to learn more in the hopes of helping to free him. Those are both weird and intriguing sections of the story. I'm hoping that both females from his past make appearances in the coming books.
In the beginning, I thought that maybe this took place in a dystopian time or maybe far in the past because there was no mention of cell phones, the internet, etc. But, at some point there is a GPS, so I'm guessing it's modern day.
There are a few inconsistencies, many grammar and/or spelling errors, and at times I felt that chunks of description or narrative could have been left out. Despite all of that, Strange in Skin managed to make me want to keep reading. And, although part of the ending was a little rushed, I am interested to learn more about Evadere.
There is so much more to Anna's story. Throughout this book, I wanted to learn more about Emry's past and about some of the background of the other townspeople....or should I call them sheeple? The town seems to be full of people who are easily brought under the notion that Emry is the evil one and he should be kept locked up forever....but, none of it really added up for me. Why were they all so gullible?
Anna's inability to stand up for herself coupled with her angsty first love story made me feel that this was more of a YA novel. She definitely did not behave like she was in her 20s and felt more like she was a young 16 or 17 year old. The immaturity was something that I attributed to her sheltered life being raised by her very religious parents in a small town of sheeple that seemed quite devoted to their church.
Emry's special ability that he chooses to only share with the girl he's met all of two times isn't fully explained in this book. I would have liked to know a little more, but I assume that the explanation is to come in the next book. In fact, we don't get to know much about Emry since he is in prison. I did like the fact that Anna hunts down parts of his past in order to learn more in the hopes of helping to free him. Those are both weird and intriguing sections of the story. I'm hoping that both females from his past make appearances in the coming books.
In the beginning, I thought that maybe this took place in a dystopian time or maybe far in the past because there was no mention of cell phones, the internet, etc. But, at some point there is a GPS, so I'm guessing it's modern day.
There are a few inconsistencies, many grammar and/or spelling errors, and at times I felt that chunks of description or narrative could have been left out. Despite all of that, Strange in Skin managed to make me want to keep reading. And, although part of the ending was a little rushed, I am interested to learn more about Evadere.
June 26, 2013
I did NOT see that coming!!!!! I love an awesome twist and well, that was AWESOME!!!!!! I really enjoyed this book a lot and I look forward to reading more by this author!
December 19, 2017
Though not exactly my type of story on the surface, Zook crafts characters and prose that pulls you in and forces you to care for her characters and feel invested in the world in which you find them.
Though not a "perfect" work by any stretch, it does what it sets out to do well and establishes Miss Zook as a talented writer and legitimate beacon for the oft crowded and talentless pool of work available from self-published authors.
I'll definitely be reading more of what this talented young writer has in store.
Though not a "perfect" work by any stretch, it does what it sets out to do well and establishes Miss Zook as a talented writer and legitimate beacon for the oft crowded and talentless pool of work available from self-published authors.
I'll definitely be reading more of what this talented young writer has in store.
September 20, 2017
A little wordy.
A little wordy but the plot is good. The heroine is little dense, not a very good betrayal of a Pastor's daugher.
A little wordy but the plot is good. The heroine is little dense, not a very good betrayal of a Pastor's daugher.
November 22, 2013
The "Strange in Skin" Trilogy is a unique and creative blend of the fantasy, suspense and romance genres that are intricately woven together giving us the story of Anna James and Emry Logan. The first book in the series, "Strange in Skin", introduces us to Anna and Emry and their serendipitous meeting at the local prison, where Anna is giving religious pamphlets to the inmates and where Emry is being held on charges of murder. Anna and Emry feel and instant and profound connection, the honesty and sadness that Anna sees in Emry's eyes, instinctively tell her that Emry is innocent. And so, the mission begins for Anna to discover the truth behind Emry's incarceration and who he really is. Anna is astonished to discover that not only does Emry has special abilities but can transport to another world; a stunningly beautiful world that Emry takes her to and shares with her. As Anna delves deeper in her journey to free Emry, she uncovers truths about her family and an ugly evil lurking all around her. The love that grows between Anna and Emry, not only strengthens her resolve to free Emry, but also finds freedom to become more than she ever thought she could be.
The second book in the series, "Evadere", picks up where the first book leaves off. Emry and Anna are finally free to be together, having proven Emry's innocence, he is no longer in prison and the evil that once threatened to destroy their love has been removed as well. Emry and Anna are spending more time on Evadere, the magically beautiful world that Emry has been transporting to during times of duress. Emry has never encountered anyone else or any other living thing on Evadere; Emry and Anna spend their time on Evadere laying on a beautiful white beach, next to crystal clear waters, dreaming of their future, which includes exploring more of Evadere. Unexpectedly, Anna awakens to find herself alone on Evadere, unable to transport back to Earth on her own, and ignorant of the unexplored area of Evadere, Anna panics and becomes lost. Through the help of a young girl, Jo, Anna learns much about the land of Evadere and the people that inhabit it. The people live in different clusters, based upon specific powers that they are born with, and each group are labeled or named for that specif power. The groups or peoples, call themselves "contributors", as their powers give them the ability to contribute to every other group of contributors and to the world of Evadere itself; for example, there are contributors with powers to grow plants & food, contributors with powers of medical skills and so forth. But, as in all things, there are also two groups of extremes, one at each end of the spectrum; the Royalties, have the powers of all the individual contributor groups combined, and the power to transport between worlds, while the Scaves, or Scavengers, are born without any powers at all. Jo, the young girl helping Anna, is a Scav. Anna barely escapes the hostile outlands of Evadere and the violence directed at anyone that isn't a contributor, and with Jo's help, finds her way back to Emry. Anna and Emry once again find themselves torn apart as powerful and dangerous forces surround them and manipulate their love.
The third and final book in the series, "Solace" find Emry and Anna finally overcoming the manipulation and lies that threatened to tear them apart. Whereas book one, "Strange in Skin", focused more on Anna overcoming her inner demons and challenging the restraints placed upon her and book two, "Evadere", gave us insight to Emry's history and growth into himself and that of his powers..."Solace" is a blending of Anna and Emry. This is where everything was leading us...Emry and Anna still have challenges to overcome, but with the first two books, they were physically apart, now they are united and the strength of their love and devotion is almost tangible.
Sara V. Zook has done an excellent job at building the excitment and momentum to bring these two wonderful characters to life...I really enjoyed reading Anna and Emry's story... ~Kathy
3.5 Stars
The second book in the series, "Evadere", picks up where the first book leaves off. Emry and Anna are finally free to be together, having proven Emry's innocence, he is no longer in prison and the evil that once threatened to destroy their love has been removed as well. Emry and Anna are spending more time on Evadere, the magically beautiful world that Emry has been transporting to during times of duress. Emry has never encountered anyone else or any other living thing on Evadere; Emry and Anna spend their time on Evadere laying on a beautiful white beach, next to crystal clear waters, dreaming of their future, which includes exploring more of Evadere. Unexpectedly, Anna awakens to find herself alone on Evadere, unable to transport back to Earth on her own, and ignorant of the unexplored area of Evadere, Anna panics and becomes lost. Through the help of a young girl, Jo, Anna learns much about the land of Evadere and the people that inhabit it. The people live in different clusters, based upon specific powers that they are born with, and each group are labeled or named for that specif power. The groups or peoples, call themselves "contributors", as their powers give them the ability to contribute to every other group of contributors and to the world of Evadere itself; for example, there are contributors with powers to grow plants & food, contributors with powers of medical skills and so forth. But, as in all things, there are also two groups of extremes, one at each end of the spectrum; the Royalties, have the powers of all the individual contributor groups combined, and the power to transport between worlds, while the Scaves, or Scavengers, are born without any powers at all. Jo, the young girl helping Anna, is a Scav. Anna barely escapes the hostile outlands of Evadere and the violence directed at anyone that isn't a contributor, and with Jo's help, finds her way back to Emry. Anna and Emry once again find themselves torn apart as powerful and dangerous forces surround them and manipulate their love.
The third and final book in the series, "Solace" find Emry and Anna finally overcoming the manipulation and lies that threatened to tear them apart. Whereas book one, "Strange in Skin", focused more on Anna overcoming her inner demons and challenging the restraints placed upon her and book two, "Evadere", gave us insight to Emry's history and growth into himself and that of his powers..."Solace" is a blending of Anna and Emry. This is where everything was leading us...Emry and Anna still have challenges to overcome, but with the first two books, they were physically apart, now they are united and the strength of their love and devotion is almost tangible.
Sara V. Zook has done an excellent job at building the excitment and momentum to bring these two wonderful characters to life...I really enjoyed reading Anna and Emry's story... ~Kathy
3.5 Stars
November 27, 2013
Book Review → Strange In Skin by Sara V. Zook
Strange in Skin by Sara V. Zook, was published January 24th 2012, by Imagine Press.
Sara V. Zook new picThe Book
From the moment Anna James meets the strange prisoner Emry Logan, she becomes instantly obsessed and will stop at nothing to try to get another interaction with him. But going against her family and church aren’t without consequence. She is deemed a traitor as she quickly realizes that there’s more to Emry’s past than just murder. He has a special ability that is far from human that he only shares with her. Feeling this magical connection, Anna has to free her beautiful inmate so that they can be together finally, but someone else knows about Emry’s secret and wants Anna to stop digging for answers as she finds herself in the midst of a modern day witch hunt. The life of an innocent pastor’s kid suddenly is turned upside down in a war between good and evil as Anna begins to wonder which people in her life are on the side of good, and is she one of them
The Characters Strange In Skin - New
Anna James & Emry Logan have an instant connection. I find their interactions together were great to read and I loved how Emry helped Anna grow into a more independent woman. I think it’s great that each character helped the other on the their journey. I find Anna helped Emry have hope and believe in things again. It was a nice contrast.
They face a lot of problems together and separate. I won’t spoil anything but it was great to see how Sara tied in smaller story lines into her overall story. I love the family story and how real Anna reacted to a lot of it.
Conclusion:
Strange in Skin by Sara V. Zook was an enjoyable read. I was unsure at first due to my personal preference of genre and how the characters first interacted. It eventually smoothed out and came together nicely. I recommend checking out this book if your into young love, with lots of drama not only between the main characters themselves but their lives.
I’m thankful for getting the chance to read this book in exchange for a review. It was great to read from a new author and I look forward to the sequel. I believe that now that the characters have a base to go from – the second book will be even better.
Strange in Skin by Sara V. Zook, was published January 24th 2012, by Imagine Press.
Sara V. Zook new picThe Book
From the moment Anna James meets the strange prisoner Emry Logan, she becomes instantly obsessed and will stop at nothing to try to get another interaction with him. But going against her family and church aren’t without consequence. She is deemed a traitor as she quickly realizes that there’s more to Emry’s past than just murder. He has a special ability that is far from human that he only shares with her. Feeling this magical connection, Anna has to free her beautiful inmate so that they can be together finally, but someone else knows about Emry’s secret and wants Anna to stop digging for answers as she finds herself in the midst of a modern day witch hunt. The life of an innocent pastor’s kid suddenly is turned upside down in a war between good and evil as Anna begins to wonder which people in her life are on the side of good, and is she one of them
The Characters Strange In Skin - New
Anna James & Emry Logan have an instant connection. I find their interactions together were great to read and I loved how Emry helped Anna grow into a more independent woman. I think it’s great that each character helped the other on the their journey. I find Anna helped Emry have hope and believe in things again. It was a nice contrast.
They face a lot of problems together and separate. I won’t spoil anything but it was great to see how Sara tied in smaller story lines into her overall story. I love the family story and how real Anna reacted to a lot of it.
Conclusion:
Strange in Skin by Sara V. Zook was an enjoyable read. I was unsure at first due to my personal preference of genre and how the characters first interacted. It eventually smoothed out and came together nicely. I recommend checking out this book if your into young love, with lots of drama not only between the main characters themselves but their lives.
I’m thankful for getting the chance to read this book in exchange for a review. It was great to read from a new author and I look forward to the sequel. I believe that now that the characters have a base to go from – the second book will be even better.
December 26, 2013
I was given this book as an ARC for an honest review.
I gave this book 3.5 stars.
Genre- Paranormal/Fantasy
Recommended for YA
Cover- 4
story line- 3.5
This is Anna and Emry's story.
Anna Meets Emry when she is passing out pamphlets for her father the Preacher at the local jail. She is instantly drawn to him and wants to know more about him and why he is where he is. She starts to get information on him from wherever she can.
Emry feels the same way about Anna he is drawn to her and writes her a letter and tries to communicate with her as much as he can.
We learn a lot about Anna in the book, and not so much about Emry, I wish a few times we could have been with him in his cell and had some of his memories and learned more about his past and what he was all about.
Anna's story to me dragged a little bit, there was SO much detail that I caught myself not wanting to read all of it because I wanted to know what was going to happen and kept waiting for it to happen, and it kinda of dragged on for me.
But don't get me wrong I did like the story and it was very well written, and I did like Anna, she felt more like a teenager to me though, but I am sure this is because she was sheltered the way she was growing up.
Not everything is at it seems in this book, there are some twists and things that happen that leave you going hmm.. and wow! I would really recommend this book to YA's who love fantasy books, it does say paranormal but I found myself yet again waiting for paranormal to happen and I was well over half way into the book before I even got a small glimpse of something that was paranormal.
I do have to say though that it did keep my interest that I read the whole book, once i got past 34% I was hooked. I will def be reading book 2 and 3
Thank you for your book< 3
August 1, 2012
"Strange in Skin" is a well-written story, edited to keep out most grammatical/production hiccups, and should appeal to younger audiences, wanting to escape the day-to-day and fantasize about "first" or "true" love along with youthful rebellion. Though the heroine, Anna, acts more like a lovesick puppy of sixteen in the beginning than a dowdy 22-year-old ready to bloom, the author provides a story line that gives her the opportunity to grow. That's the strong upside.
I don't read or review fantasy often, but dipped my fingers into this book because of the mystery aspect. It's almost a shame the fantasy element is there at all. Fantasy really doesn't show up until 40% through the book, and isn't really that central to the overall themes of good over evil and love conquers all. This would have made a solid coming-of-age mystery without the fantasy. Plenty of human evil needs to be overcome (deceit, prejudice, controlling and bad people, etc.). The fantasy element is the stuff of love struck teenagers but has little bearing on solving anything in this story. The fantasy, in my opinion, just messes up the message with should do in reality of doing what's right or following your heart.
Maybe books two and three will be more revealing, but each book needs to stand on its own merit. And in this one, Anna does a lot of moaning, crying, wailing, kvetching, internalizing, and falling in love with some "blue eyes" as she grows. She never attempts to investigate Emry's crime to help him. And some of her other investigative adventures harkens back to Nancy Drew with hot flashes. Two plot holes stopped me cold; however, I read on. To me, this is a 3, average, and that's no bad. But I suspect for the target audience, it's probably a middle-grade 4.
I don't read or review fantasy often, but dipped my fingers into this book because of the mystery aspect. It's almost a shame the fantasy element is there at all. Fantasy really doesn't show up until 40% through the book, and isn't really that central to the overall themes of good over evil and love conquers all. This would have made a solid coming-of-age mystery without the fantasy. Plenty of human evil needs to be overcome (deceit, prejudice, controlling and bad people, etc.). The fantasy element is the stuff of love struck teenagers but has little bearing on solving anything in this story. The fantasy, in my opinion, just messes up the message with should do in reality of doing what's right or following your heart.
Maybe books two and three will be more revealing, but each book needs to stand on its own merit. And in this one, Anna does a lot of moaning, crying, wailing, kvetching, internalizing, and falling in love with some "blue eyes" as she grows. She never attempts to investigate Emry's crime to help him. And some of her other investigative adventures harkens back to Nancy Drew with hot flashes. Two plot holes stopped me cold; however, I read on. To me, this is a 3, average, and that's no bad. But I suspect for the target audience, it's probably a middle-grade 4.
January 1, 2014
I give the book a 4 out of 5
Long story short Anna, the pastor’s daughter, falls in love with Emry, a man in prison for murder. Now, I was thinking as I read the book that this surely isn’t possible. I mean, yes, I guess people could fall in love with inmates, but man! I had one issue after the other with Anna. First she accepts seeing him in prison, giving him a lot of information about herself, then she makes enemies with her own father (with good reason) becomes very sneaky and even sneaks into the prison at one point in a disguise. Granted it makes for a great read. haha
Needless to say, I didn’t know if he was a bad man or not, but clearly Saraknew what she was doing! You’re leading lady finds herself trying to save a man she has fallen in love with and who has the most wonderful ability ever, he can do things a normal person can’t and I will have to leave it at that. With Anna on the hunt to prove his innocence she stumbles on the path of some not so innocent people who end up hurting her, locking her up, and for the most part keeps her in a good condition until this whole thing blows over, but what? What are they talking about? Why can’t she fall in love with Emry? Why is there so many people so determined to see him killed? And what part does her father play in all of this?
When I finished the last page I felt the instant pull to read the next with so many unanswered questions. The good thing is that you could stop if you wanted to; I mean there is an end, but why would you? The books aren’t expensive and I think you’d want to add them to your collection. This is defiantly one I would want to read again and grab as a paperback.
-Brenda Franklin, author of The Pulse Trilogy.
Long story short Anna, the pastor’s daughter, falls in love with Emry, a man in prison for murder. Now, I was thinking as I read the book that this surely isn’t possible. I mean, yes, I guess people could fall in love with inmates, but man! I had one issue after the other with Anna. First she accepts seeing him in prison, giving him a lot of information about herself, then she makes enemies with her own father (with good reason) becomes very sneaky and even sneaks into the prison at one point in a disguise. Granted it makes for a great read. haha
Needless to say, I didn’t know if he was a bad man or not, but clearly Saraknew what she was doing! You’re leading lady finds herself trying to save a man she has fallen in love with and who has the most wonderful ability ever, he can do things a normal person can’t and I will have to leave it at that. With Anna on the hunt to prove his innocence she stumbles on the path of some not so innocent people who end up hurting her, locking her up, and for the most part keeps her in a good condition until this whole thing blows over, but what? What are they talking about? Why can’t she fall in love with Emry? Why is there so many people so determined to see him killed? And what part does her father play in all of this?
When I finished the last page I felt the instant pull to read the next with so many unanswered questions. The good thing is that you could stop if you wanted to; I mean there is an end, but why would you? The books aren’t expensive and I think you’d want to add them to your collection. This is defiantly one I would want to read again and grab as a paperback.
-Brenda Franklin, author of The Pulse Trilogy.
November 6, 2013
Category /Genre: Paranormal Fantasy
Received from: Sara V. Zook (in exchange for an honest review)
Tour by: My Family’s Heart Book Reviews
Recommended for: YA and up
Grammar/editing: B – a few small errors
Book one of the Strange in Skin series. You definitely need to read these in order.
Anna is the preacher’s kid. She still lives at home at the age of 22 and has been sheltered. She has been raised “right” and lives a simple, boring life. That is, until the day her mother sends her to the local prison to hand out pamphlets when her father is busy with other duties. There she meets a young man awaiting trial, Emry Logan. There is the instantaneous intrigue for both of them, but the expectations of her family and church make it problematic for her to return and visit him again. When she does manage a visit, she discovers that he has an unique gift and she soon learns that his gift has him branded by a secret sect in their town.
I really enjoyed this book. The mystery, the fantasy, and the love story are well-developed and beautifully entwined. There is even a moral to the story. I am happy to say that I have also received the second and third books in this series and will be posting them later this week.
Received from: Sara V. Zook (in exchange for an honest review)
Tour by: My Family’s Heart Book Reviews
Recommended for: YA and up
Grammar/editing: B – a few small errors
Book one of the Strange in Skin series. You definitely need to read these in order.
Anna is the preacher’s kid. She still lives at home at the age of 22 and has been sheltered. She has been raised “right” and lives a simple, boring life. That is, until the day her mother sends her to the local prison to hand out pamphlets when her father is busy with other duties. There she meets a young man awaiting trial, Emry Logan. There is the instantaneous intrigue for both of them, but the expectations of her family and church make it problematic for her to return and visit him again. When she does manage a visit, she discovers that he has an unique gift and she soon learns that his gift has him branded by a secret sect in their town.
I really enjoyed this book. The mystery, the fantasy, and the love story are well-developed and beautifully entwined. There is even a moral to the story. I am happy to say that I have also received the second and third books in this series and will be posting them later this week.
August 11, 2016
* I was given this book in exchange for an honest review*
Time Travel, Witches, lies and sneaking around is just part of what goes on in Strange in Skin by Sara V Zook. This is the first of Sara V Zook's books that I have read. Boy, WOW is what I have to say to describe this book. The book started off pretty good but then went to amazing where it was a complete page turner and I didn't want to put it down. Yes it is a short read about 190 pages or so but ACTION packed.
When doing a favor for her mother Anna goes to the prison to fill in for her dad who does prison ministry. Anna then meets inmate Emry. Well from that point on there was so many twists and turns that had me on the edge of my seat. Things I didn't expect that's for sure. I have some questions that I hope are answered in either Evadere or Solace. But then again maybe my questions "suspicions" are just that due to the events that have gone on.
Sara V Zook does know how to keep her readers interested that I do say. I have to say I have never read a book like this and I really can't wait to see what the other two books in the series leads to. I want to read more of Sara V Zook's book.
Time Travel, Witches, lies and sneaking around is just part of what goes on in Strange in Skin by Sara V Zook. This is the first of Sara V Zook's books that I have read. Boy, WOW is what I have to say to describe this book. The book started off pretty good but then went to amazing where it was a complete page turner and I didn't want to put it down. Yes it is a short read about 190 pages or so but ACTION packed.
When doing a favor for her mother Anna goes to the prison to fill in for her dad who does prison ministry. Anna then meets inmate Emry. Well from that point on there was so many twists and turns that had me on the edge of my seat. Things I didn't expect that's for sure. I have some questions that I hope are answered in either Evadere or Solace. But then again maybe my questions "suspicions" are just that due to the events that have gone on.
Sara V Zook does know how to keep her readers interested that I do say. I have to say I have never read a book like this and I really can't wait to see what the other two books in the series leads to. I want to read more of Sara V Zook's book.
February 4, 2014
Wow! This book didn't give anything away.
Anna has live the same old day to day life and never noticed anything out of place. This all changes though the day she visit the jail. She finds herself entranced in a prisoner, Emry Logan. The only thing she knows is she cant let him go.
Emry found himself in jail after he reported his best friend's death. He doesn't know exactly what happened because he blacked out. Anna doesn't believe he could have done it. Little does she know there is a lot going on in her town and family that she has no idea about.
Strange in Skin completely left me guessing. I really didn't see some things coming when they did. Most books I can guess the next move, but in this book even to the end I was left guessing. I absolutely love this book. At times I did wish it would speed up a bit, but the story is amazing. I cannot wait to read the next book!
Anna has live the same old day to day life and never noticed anything out of place. This all changes though the day she visit the jail. She finds herself entranced in a prisoner, Emry Logan. The only thing she knows is she cant let him go.
Emry found himself in jail after he reported his best friend's death. He doesn't know exactly what happened because he blacked out. Anna doesn't believe he could have done it. Little does she know there is a lot going on in her town and family that she has no idea about.
Strange in Skin completely left me guessing. I really didn't see some things coming when they did. Most books I can guess the next move, but in this book even to the end I was left guessing. I absolutely love this book. At times I did wish it would speed up a bit, but the story is amazing. I cannot wait to read the next book!
January 5, 2014
3.5*
Strange In Skin, the first book of the trilogy, the story is good.
The flow of the story is easy to understand and easy to feel the characters.
The characters, they are good and interesting.
The main characters are great.
It's just that sometimes I find some minor characters irritating
(I think it's good, it's just that I'm not that kind of their fan, some of the minor characters)..
The major characters are great, easy to relate with and interesting.
The story, it's good..
At first I thought it's not a paranormal story but as I read more, it showed.
I sometimes find some parts of the story irritating but majority it's interesting.
I'm surprised on how the story went as it comes to an end and some revelations, really great.
I never see that one coming..
~Ms. ME28
Strange In Skin, the first book of the trilogy, the story is good.
The flow of the story is easy to understand and easy to feel the characters.
The characters, they are good and interesting.
The main characters are great.
It's just that sometimes I find some minor characters irritating
(I think it's good, it's just that I'm not that kind of their fan, some of the minor characters)..
The major characters are great, easy to relate with and interesting.
The story, it's good..
At first I thought it's not a paranormal story but as I read more, it showed.
I sometimes find some parts of the story irritating but majority it's interesting.
I'm surprised on how the story went as it comes to an end and some revelations, really great.
I never see that one coming..
~Ms. ME28
August 8, 2016
I love this author's books!!
Just when I thought I had read all of Sara's books, up find this trilogy. Again she draws you in, so you can't put the story down.
Just when growing up is hard enough, to be the daughter of the town pastor, Anna is sent to the local prison to hand out pamphlets about religion. For some reason the last prisoner she sees has an effect on her. She can't stop thinking about the man. When a letter arrives addressed to her, she knows she needs to see him again.
Something is wrong with the stories being told. The more Anna hears the more she knows lies are flying out of mouths she trusts the most. The few things she knows for sure, she's in love with a criminal , said criminal has powers, and finally people want him dead and will stop at nothing to make it happen.
Just when I thought I had read all of Sara's books, up find this trilogy. Again she draws you in, so you can't put the story down.
Just when growing up is hard enough, to be the daughter of the town pastor, Anna is sent to the local prison to hand out pamphlets about religion. For some reason the last prisoner she sees has an effect on her. She can't stop thinking about the man. When a letter arrives addressed to her, she knows she needs to see him again.
Something is wrong with the stories being told. The more Anna hears the more she knows lies are flying out of mouths she trusts the most. The few things she knows for sure, she's in love with a criminal , said criminal has powers, and finally people want him dead and will stop at nothing to make it happen.
February 18, 2014
This book is a capturing piece of art. From the first few pages, the story of Anna (and her many aliases) and Emry Logan capture you. The way the book begins, it makes you want to read more to find out what is going on, what is so special, HOW did that happen. I couldn’t put the book down when I started to read it. There were points that had my heart racing like no tomorrow, wondering what would happen to Emry and Anna. There were parts where I wanted to punch other characters in the face because of how bold and how pushy to me they seemed. I wanted to cry for Anna when her parent’s deep dark secret was released to her. Emry Logan is heaven sent. He is very captivating and his little special power is way awesome. I’m so glad the book ended the way it did.
August 17, 2016
Reviewed by Kota for Kota's Book Kollection
"This story is readable and for some readers it may be considered gripping, enlightening and extremely well told. There are definitely some strong elements to this story – the good versus evil debate being the overpowering message and the importance of following your instinct and revisiting relationships as they progress.. " - Kota
For the full review visit
http://kotasbookkollection.blogspot.c...
"This story is readable and for some readers it may be considered gripping, enlightening and extremely well told. There are definitely some strong elements to this story – the good versus evil debate being the overpowering message and the importance of following your instinct and revisiting relationships as they progress.. " - Kota
For the full review visit
http://kotasbookkollection.blogspot.c...
September 10, 2015
LOVE!!!! My only complaint was that I have the paperback and couldn't take it to bed with me! (Although it's a signed paperback, so I'm really not complaining, how can I?)
Sara V Zook astounds me with her fantasy worlds and characters. I found this book to be well written and enjoyed it immensely. The twists and turns in Anna's life shocked me. She went from being a simple daughter of a well liked preacher, to a girl with guts and a lust for finding out not only who she really was, and fighting for her happily ever after.
I can't wait to read the rest of the series!
Sara V Zook astounds me with her fantasy worlds and characters. I found this book to be well written and enjoyed it immensely. The twists and turns in Anna's life shocked me. She went from being a simple daughter of a well liked preacher, to a girl with guts and a lust for finding out not only who she really was, and fighting for her happily ever after.
I can't wait to read the rest of the series!
June 22, 2013
I wasn't sure what to expect when I started this book. I didn't particularly like how Emry was in jail for murder, and Anna falls so quickly in love. However, then all the chips start falling in place. What unfolded was an intriguing paranormal thriller.
While I did not always like Anna, I saw growth in her character. She is stubborn, immature, and a bit quick to judge; but she has tenacity. I look forward to seeing the next book.
While I did not always like Anna, I saw growth in her character. She is stubborn, immature, and a bit quick to judge; but she has tenacity. I look forward to seeing the next book.
October 27, 2013
I was given this book by author for honest review. Set in Ohio a woman, Anna James, still living at home with her parents meets and falls in love for the first time. Emry Logan’s special escape form the pressures of being on trial for murder is to “warp” to another world. All Anna knows is that he’s in danger and she does all she can to save him. It started out somewhat slow then took off in all kinds of unexpected directions. Interesting read all together.
September 18, 2015
Very touching! A must read.
Thanks Sara!
Thanks Sara!
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews