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Become
After a near-death experience, Abbie Thomas finds herself at the mercy of the olichon — a race of sword-toting energy shifters. Staggered by the news that she can never go home, Abbie is forced to renounce her humanity and take up the sword. Fighting to stay alive by mimicking those around her, Abbie’s mortality is tested yet again when she and two of her mentors are attacked by members of a cult devoted to a malicious goddess. Feelings between Abbie and one of her mentors become the catalyst that unravels a series of revelations about Abbie that neither she nor the olichon are ready to accept.
- GenresFantasy
374 pages, Paperback
First published October 15, 2013
3 people are currently reading
693 people want to read
About the author
Jillian Watts
1 book9 followersJillian Watts grew up in Winnipeg, MB, but currently lives in Kenora, ON. Her husband Steve keeps her supplied with coffee, and her two boys keep her sane with thoughtful chats and game nights. Her cat Truffle works to undo all those thoughtful and sane moments with 3AM zoomies.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 25, 2013
Become follows a young woman, Abbie, as she learns to live among a mysterious and feared race of humanoids in the American wilderness. A pantheon of elemental gods, magic tied to emotion, swordplay and a sexual matriarchy are thrust upon her and just as she seems to be adapting a religious cult takes action to threaten the status quo.
Abbie is easy to identify with (even as an adult male) as she fights the confusion and frustration of being forced to live with foreign social concepts. There is more world building than swordplay but the olichon society seems poised for a violent turn. Jillian Watts give a fresh take on magic and vampirism in Become and I eagerly await the next book in this trilogy.
Abbie is easy to identify with (even as an adult male) as she fights the confusion and frustration of being forced to live with foreign social concepts. There is more world building than swordplay but the olichon society seems poised for a violent turn. Jillian Watts give a fresh take on magic and vampirism in Become and I eagerly await the next book in this trilogy.
January 6, 2014
I read this book in less than a day if I tally all the hours I spent reading over three days. The first day was at lunch at work, where I got about four chapters in, then I started reading it at midnight and couldn’t put it down until three or four chapters towards the end. I would’ve continued but seeing as it was three in the morning, I thought getting some sleep might be a good idea. Then I finished the rest of the book in the morning and was left satisfied but wanting more. Sadly the next book doesn’t come out until October, but on the plus side, I’ll be able to re-read the book and catch all the subtle hints that I missed on my first read through.
As per the back of the book, the main character Abbie finds herself living with another species. Now, I was a little skeptical about how Jillian would meld learning about a new race while dealing with everything else that Abbie needed to face, but was pleasantly surprised to learn that the humans already know a little about this other species – the Olichon. A little back story is given, but humans don’t know a lot about the Olichon, so we get to learn more about them through Abbie, without being put in the situation of “A new race? Holy shit. What do you means humans aren’t alone in this world?”
The characters are solid and although they grow throughout the book, they maintain their ideals. This was pleasant to read as there have been far too many books where characters say one thing then do another. Especially females, and especially female protagonists. Abbie, although confused about herself, the Olichon, and her lives (old and new), grows and sticks with whatever choices she makes, even if the consequences are dire.
There are a large variety of characters and personalities that keeps the story fresh and interesting and more than once there is a conflict between views. We have a silent yet caring leader, a quiet, loyal and rational companion, a brash antagonist, a silent yet strong confidant, a struggling newbie (yes that’s right, I said newbie), and a wide range of characters in between. The only issue I had with Jillian’s characters is that I didn’t get to see as much of some of them as I would have liked.
The book has two prominent themes: death and sex. Death, as a thought or experienced, is one thing, but Jillian also takes on suicide in conjunction. Abbie has a few moments where suicide enters her mind, and one or two times I thought it was a little much as she had already made her decision on the issue. However, it was not so overt that it was annoying or pulled away from the story in any fashion. As for the sex, it surrounds the book as an undertone because a large part of Olichon society has to do with sex and mating, but it is not so in your face that you wouldn’t let your teenage daughter read the story. Jillian eases into how much sex and mating influence the society so that when she finally makes it a blunt statement it becomes more of an understanding of character choices and not something just thrown in your face.
As for the plot itself, it is compelling, realistic, and moves at a fair pace. It is full of plot twists, and even when I thought I had the ulterior motives figured out and the masterminds behind it, I was completely thrown for a loop. Some of my guesses had been correct, but for the large twist, I had no idea. The writing is solid and intended for a more mature audience. Categorized as “new adult”, it has story elements from young adult, but is written for an older and more mature audience.
In summary, I suggest that you pick up a copy of Jillian’s book to support this wonderful new author.
As per the back of the book, the main character Abbie finds herself living with another species. Now, I was a little skeptical about how Jillian would meld learning about a new race while dealing with everything else that Abbie needed to face, but was pleasantly surprised to learn that the humans already know a little about this other species – the Olichon. A little back story is given, but humans don’t know a lot about the Olichon, so we get to learn more about them through Abbie, without being put in the situation of “A new race? Holy shit. What do you means humans aren’t alone in this world?”
The characters are solid and although they grow throughout the book, they maintain their ideals. This was pleasant to read as there have been far too many books where characters say one thing then do another. Especially females, and especially female protagonists. Abbie, although confused about herself, the Olichon, and her lives (old and new), grows and sticks with whatever choices she makes, even if the consequences are dire.
There are a large variety of characters and personalities that keeps the story fresh and interesting and more than once there is a conflict between views. We have a silent yet caring leader, a quiet, loyal and rational companion, a brash antagonist, a silent yet strong confidant, a struggling newbie (yes that’s right, I said newbie), and a wide range of characters in between. The only issue I had with Jillian’s characters is that I didn’t get to see as much of some of them as I would have liked.
The book has two prominent themes: death and sex. Death, as a thought or experienced, is one thing, but Jillian also takes on suicide in conjunction. Abbie has a few moments where suicide enters her mind, and one or two times I thought it was a little much as she had already made her decision on the issue. However, it was not so overt that it was annoying or pulled away from the story in any fashion. As for the sex, it surrounds the book as an undertone because a large part of Olichon society has to do with sex and mating, but it is not so in your face that you wouldn’t let your teenage daughter read the story. Jillian eases into how much sex and mating influence the society so that when she finally makes it a blunt statement it becomes more of an understanding of character choices and not something just thrown in your face.
As for the plot itself, it is compelling, realistic, and moves at a fair pace. It is full of plot twists, and even when I thought I had the ulterior motives figured out and the masterminds behind it, I was completely thrown for a loop. Some of my guesses had been correct, but for the large twist, I had no idea. The writing is solid and intended for a more mature audience. Categorized as “new adult”, it has story elements from young adult, but is written for an older and more mature audience.
In summary, I suggest that you pick up a copy of Jillian’s book to support this wonderful new author.
February 19, 2014
Become by Jillian Watts is a terrific book. I was unaware when I started that it is book one in a trilogy, so I felt it was a bit slow in the beginning. there are so many characters and so much to learn about the new lands. But by chapter 3, I was hooked. The author created an entirely new world co-existing in North America, and she did it extremely well. She didn't miss anything and I was left without questions and the surroundings and beliefs of the people. I was, of course, left with many questions for the future and cannot wait for book 2. Well done indeed.
March 19, 2014
This book is full of adventures and action. I really loved this book because it was full of creatures that don't live on Earth. This is book is out of this world which is why it is written so well. This book is very interesting because it is like a girl is on a different planet because there are creatures that have not been discovered on Earth. This author is a great writer and is very creative.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews