Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Scintillate #1

Scintillate

Rate this book
Kate Archer is instantly drawn to Nick, the new boy at school. He's handsome, smart, and interested in her - perhaps a little too interested according to Kate's brother. And it's a good thing Nick is interested, or Kate would have died the night of the football game. Sure, Nick rescued Kate, but he can't stop the inevitable. Kate is changing; she just doesn't know it. She can't explain the visions and sensations affecting her body, but she can enjoy the pleasure of Nick's kiss - that is, until she learns the real reason he is with her. Betrayed by her genetics, Kate begins a metamorphosis that forces her to confront an unseen reality and claim her true destiny.

290 pages, Paperback

First published September 4, 2013

25 people are currently reading
1166 people want to read

About the author

Karen Tjebben

16 books97 followers
Karen shares audiobooks in her My Secret Obsession Podcast (with Cherish Lively). Stop by for a book or two. https://sites.google.com/tjebben.com/...

Karen Tjebben lives in central North Carolina with her wonderful husband and twin daughters. She loves traveling the world. Whether it’s to the heights of Yosemite, the white sands of the Caribbean, or even Down Under, she’s always ready to pack a bag in search of inspiration. She enjoys creating worlds filled with unique characters that will delight and raise goose bumps on her readers.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
19 (29%)
4 stars
21 (32%)
3 stars
15 (23%)
2 stars
5 (7%)
1 star
4 (6%)
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
35 reviews
December 30, 2013
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

To start, I really like the cover and the title quickly caught my interest. All of this coupled with the synopsis made me very excited to read this book.

I think that this book has a good premise, but failed to deliver in many ways. I was 80% through the book before Kate’s “big change” is addressed in any significant way. A few strange things happen to her throughout the book, but nothing that really indicates that she is becoming something other than human. As soon as the change is finally addressed, a love triangle is introduced and the story abruptly ends. I really wanted to read more about the changes that Kate is going through and what it means for her. This book read more as a teenage romance than a paranormal romance, which is what I believe the author was going for.

The dialogue in this book was a bit awkward and got quite cheesy at times. Nick, Kate’s love interest, used a lot of over the top lines that I have a hard time picturing a high school student saying. I also feel like the romance played out too fast. This may be a personal preference, but I really dislike when characters start professing their love for each other after only dating for a few weeks. Conversely, the character’s physical relationship was appropriate for their age, which I appreciate.
Profile Image for Karen Tjebben.
Author 16 books97 followers
September 24, 2013
Okay, so you may have noticed that I'm the author, so of course I gave the book 5 stars. ;)So maybe instead of reviewing the book, I'll just give you a quick synopsis. Scintillate is a fun read that begins as a paranormal romance but then becomes a paranormal thriller. The beginning of the book focuses on the love story between Kate and Nick, but it quickly turns into a paranormal thriller as bizarre events begin to haunt Kate. What makes this book different from so many other paranormal books is that the paranormal aspect is obscured - which adds a little mystery to the storyline. As the story progresses, the reader can mill about theories that would explain the paranormal, but don't worry, everything is explained by the end of the book. I hope you enjoy Scintillate.
Profile Image for Sandra Verruso.
1 review
February 9, 2014
I am reviewing this book under my Moms account . I am a 16 yr old high school student in the Cary NC area. I liked this book a lot , I do find it a super easy read, but I believe it's better suited for middle school aged. I enjoyed that the setting is very descriptive of my area here in NC . I would recommend this book for female tweens looking for a supernatural book to read. A good summer book !
Profile Image for Claire - The Coffeeholic Bookworm.
1,257 reviews109 followers
July 3, 2015
Kate had a crush on her brother’s friend but when she finally met newcomer, Nick, suddenly her eyes could only see him and no one else. She was instantly captivated, and so was Nick. He happened to always appear by her side whenever she was in danger or needed protection. And then a very drastic change happened to her, something that would have made her a whole lot better, stronger, more kick-ass than ever. But because she was new to all this, she was kind of wary and leery about it. Nick, on the other hand, also had a secret of his own. Something tells me there is more to him than what he was letting on.

I enjoyed reading Scintillate. It has a YA touch that makes the reader feel giddy and entranced. I liked that it is quick-paced and the characters are very interesting. I liked that it has kept me guessing and craving for more. I liked that the author has a wild and vivid imagination, making it easy for me to imagine what goes around Nick and Kate. Seriously, what’s not to like about this book?
Profile Image for Tessa.
513 reviews41 followers
December 28, 2015
There was a few things that kept me involved with this book, but there were some majorly missed points. The romance felt very teen-like, which I appreciated, though the insta-attraction moment was silly. The description of the bad guy was there.

However, it took until the end of the book for more than a few paranormal incidents to happen. Even then, it seemed ridiculous. For instance, when she found out what she was, she fainted multiple times. Another thing was the language Nick used. It seemed flowery and silly. The only time he sounded real was talking to someone else. That seemed more like who he is over the fluffy stuff.

In the end, I liked the romance of it, but it got boring and slow too fast. The paranormal aspect took so long I almost DNF'd it and cheated to see what she was. I think I'd have rather the book been about her brother because at least he felt real.
Profile Image for Jennifer Andersen.
2 reviews
September 28, 2013
Very fun, fast-paced, new concept YA. Scintillate stands strong among the rest of today's YA paranormal romance; something I would feel comfortable with my girls reading. Looking forward to what comes next!
Profile Image for Summer.
31 reviews2 followers
January 3, 2018
Kate Archer is instantly drawn to Nick, the new boy at school. He’s handsome, smart, and interested in her — perhaps a little too much, at least according to just about everyone in Kate’s life. Even her parents think he’s creepy, but Kate instantly falls in love with Nick after he rescues her from a random, mysterious attacker. Romance blossoms — in epic teen-puppy-love fashion — so despite all of the warnings from family and friends, and in spite of the nagging feelings of déjà vu that Kate experiences, Kate and Nick’s relationship continues to grow.

All is gushingly perfect between the two until Kate accidentally eavesdrops on a conversation that changes her life forever. Nick, as it turns out, isn’t just the boy next door, and Kate is just beginning her transformation into something that is both fascinating and horrifying.

On a personal note, this book reminded me that there are two types of young adult books. There are those that are universal — adventures for everyone, both young and old, to happily partake in with glee. Then there are those, like Scintillate, that are truly meant for teenagers. They’re mushy and so involved in the teenage experience that, for an adult, it’s like being forced to finish an overly sweetened dessert — you know, the one that tastes good, but after a few bites, is just so sweet you want to push it aside. So while I couldn’t wait to reach the end of this diabetic-inducing tale, I did enjoy the random factoids that were scattered throughout the book, and I would absolutely recommend it to any teenage girl interested in paranormal romance novels.
Profile Image for Ashley.
576 reviews39 followers
July 30, 2018
Scintillate was a very interesting read from the very beginning to the end where my jaw dropped as I was expecting this to be a stand-alone novel. I keep getting surprised by these duologies and trilogies :D The story opens with Katherine, also known as Kate, as she daydreams about her crush Matthew in history class. Soon, the new boy in school Nick arrives and has all the girls' heads turning. But he only has eyes for Kate. Their relationship quickly develops, much to the chagrin of her older brother and increasingly suspicious mother and father. Nick seems too perfect, too focused on Kate, and utterly in love with her to be anything but real. Kate starts to have these terrifying run-in's with what appear to be creatures, but she tries to explain them away as if she has an over active imagination. As her relationship with Nick intensifies and so do the runs on her life, she uncovers a very important secret about her own life and the future in front of her. This revelation will change her entire life, and the lives of her new friends.


The characters in this story were well written and age appropriate. The romance that takes place between Kate and Nick is captivating and clean, considering we're reading about teenagers and young love. I enjoyed how strong Kate's character was. As she is continuously faced with adversities, she challenges herself to be strong and find reasoning in the things that are happening. Her strength mixed with the romance, adventure and thrilling aspects of this young adult novel make for a great story and enjoying read.
Profile Image for Christine Antosca.
Author 2 books20 followers
January 7, 2019

The cover alone, a beautiful butterfly with eyes peering at the reader, really captured what the book was going to be about. Kate doesn't know it at first, but soon she would have not one but two guys watching her every move. I felt that Tjebben has the eyes on the cover to show us as the reader the protection Kate would have throughout the book.





Tjebben gave us an original plot, engaging us from the beginning. Kate, at first, seems like a normal teenage girl with common problems every teenager has. But that doesn't last for long. Soon into the story, we find out that one stranger who joins her school is more than just her boyfriend. I really loved the dialogue, especially between Kate and Reese. Tjebben wrote it realistically, having the two fight as brother and sisters often do. The chapters were well written, keeping the flow going at a steady pace.





I would recommend this book for anyone who loves a thriller with some fantasy thrown in.


Profile Image for Gina Stamper.
786 reviews35 followers
August 10, 2018
I liked the diversity of the novel. It pulls together Paranormal along with Action/Suspense and Romance, all of which are executed well and come together seamlessly.
I really enjoyed the fact that Karen Tjebben manages to always pen a novel in which the readers will be on the edge of their seats, but not completely lost.
I wasn’t always on board with all of these characters, but their actions kept me guessing, that’s for sure.
This is a great Young Adult offering and I am interested to read more soon!
Profile Image for Meya o_O.
118 reviews9 followers
November 3, 2019
The romance is to fast paced and the quality of the writing is not that good. It seems more of a wattpad story then a published book.
2 reviews
Read
August 2, 2020
Great to read on a sressful day

This book keep me hooked, it was very hard to put down. The story is excellent and the characters are the best.
22 reviews1 follower
June 29, 2015
Kate is your average teenager girl with an unrequited crush on her brother’s friend. While daydreaming in class about her love that would never come true, she meets the new guy in town, Nick, and he’s gorgeous enough to make her forget all about her troubles and think nothing but him. Kate feels drawn to him, and it shocks and pleases her that Nick feels just as drawn to her. After meeting him, a lot of strange things start to happen to Kate and Nick seems to be there to protect her out of nowhere, which only attracts him more to her. As they get closer, more strange things occur to Kate, things that she can’t even explain to appease her own brain. Eventually, she is forced to come face to face with a reality she never knew existed, something that explains Nick’s true reason for being in her life and also explain who or what she really is.

Kate, being a seventeen year old girl, was a bit naïve, maybe even a little more naïve than I would have liked her to be. She annoyed me a lot of the times with her immaturity, and it surprised me because neither my friends nor me acted or thought as childish as she and her friends seemed to do. In high school, everyone goes through a progression, with them still being a little immature entering as freshmen, but gradually maturing in to young men and women who are about to enter into society with every grade. Kate was a junior, and she acted like an eighth grader, making me face-palm at some of the things she said or did throughout the book. I hoped that as I read along, I would see her mature, especially from all the things she’s been through, but sadly that didn’t happen. As the protagonist of the story, I was disappointed in her character. Nothing about her made me want to sympathize, relate, or connect with her.

Also, Scintillate is supposed to be about Kate’s transformation from being a normal teenager girl into another being that is smarter, stronger, and all around better than the human race, but we didn’t get to see that at all. In fact, Kate’s transformation and the mention of the Asteri, the super being, wasn’t even introduced until about ninety percent of the book was through, which irritated me when I wanted things to be explained about all the weird stuff that was happening to her. Like I said, I wanted to see her change, but the plot just took it’s time getting around to things and mainly focused on Kate and Nick crushing on each other. I guess we have to read the rest of the series to see if she will mature and become the super being she was born to be.

Another thing that kind of through me off with the book was the use of the word ‘scintillate’. This is probably not that much of a big deal to some people, but it bothered me that the word was used in every chapter. Yes, the book is called Scintillate, but that doesn’t mean that it needs to be used as a descriptive word all the time. It made me think that the author didn’t know any other word to describe when something sparkled, glistened, twinkled, brightened, glittered, dazzled, shined, or gleamed. Every time I saw the word, I couldn’t help think, “Ugh, seriously? What seventeen year old girl uses ‘scintillate’ all the time? Isn’t she an AP student? Didn’t her English teacher teach her more adjectives?”

Other than that, the concept seemed interesting. The only problem is that you will not get that concept in the first book of the series. You will not get any real background information to what is going on, so keep reading the rest of the series to get filled in. Unfortunately, I probably would not continue the series because it was a little too tween romantic for me than it was a paranormal romance book, and who knows it might get better as it moves along, but it really isn’t to my tastes. I give this book 3 fangs! If you love YA books that heavily focuses on teenage love, then I recommend this book to you.

Reviewer for Paranormal Romance and Authors That Rock!
Profile Image for Jessica Bronder.
2,015 reviews31 followers
July 6, 2015
Kate is your typical high school girl. She has a super crush on her best friend’s brother. Then a new guy, Nick comes to school and she is instantly fascinated with him. But when she is around him strange things happen. She finds herself in different situations and Nick just seems to be around to save her causing her to just like him more. But Kate is not your ordinary girl and once she learns the truth, doesn’t really want to accept it or Nick.

I have to say that I have mixed feelings about this book. I like the concept of the story, I am interesting I seeing how this series is going to progress. Kate was interesting. There are some of her behaviors that are irritating and naïve, but I could understand that she has no real experience to draw from. Of course you have to have a love triangle. I’m sorry; I admit that I’m not really a fan of love triangles and insta-love.

It is a good story and will draw you in. I couldn’t wait to find out what was going on with Kate. But, you don’t find out until close to the end of the book. It was a bit disappointing that the book moved so slowly. You will also have a lot of questions that will not be answered with the first book.

Now, just because I seem to be complaining about the whole book, I’m not really doing so. This was a good story. I did want to know what was going to happen next and I did like the relationship between Nick and Kate. In the end I think I will be reading the next book in the series, mainly for more information about Kate and the Asteri.

For more information on Scintillate or to purchase the book make sure to check out Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads, and Karen Tjebben Facebook page.

I received this book for free from Reading Addiction Virtual Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Kina.
155 reviews1 follower
September 11, 2015
I give this book 4 fangs

I wasn't sure what to expect with this book being a reviewer I'm often sent books with no idea what I'm going to be reading. I actually thought this was going to be an adult romance from the title!
However it is not that it is a very sweet YA romance with a very cool twist thrown in.
Kate is just trying to get by in High School she has good grades great friends, but she also happens to be infatuated with her best friends brother (Sounds like a lot of girls from my teenage days). Everything changes when Nick arrives, the new guy is handsome, funny kind and wants to get to know Kate better. Nick even rescues her from an attacker at a football game he's her own personal hero and soon they are inseparable. They are perfect together, but ever since he showed up some strange things are happening to Kate she's seeing shadows with red eyes and her attacker from the game keeps returning. Nick seems to be the perfect boyfriend but maybe he's a little to perfect, as she try's to figure out what's going on there is betrayal and some big secrets are revealed. When the man you love turns out to have a huge secret what's a girl to do. Her whole life is flipped upside down when she overhears a conversation, nothing will ever be the same.
I appreciated the real language and scenarios of the book the way everyone interacted was realistic. I found the story intriguing, fun and easy to read, I couldn't put the book down.
I can't wait to read the second book.

**** reviewer for paranormal romance and authors that rock
Profile Image for Megan.
485 reviews6 followers
January 20, 2016
2.5 stars. *long sigh* I really wanted to like this book more. I almost feel like it was two separate books to be honest. The first part was cutesy high school romance (that seemed more like what tweens think high school romance would be not what high school romance actually is. I just don't see high school boys saying the things they did to their girlfriends all the time. Or high school girls saying them to their boyfriends for that matter.) and there was very little paranormal going on. Then Alex and Zoe came (75% of the way through the book!) and Kate dropped all her other friends and the paranormal started. I really think this two book series would have been better as one stand alone book. So much could have been eliminated and it would have been just fine.

Please do not get me started on the editing. Urg. I'm not so sure there even was any editing... And I get that scintillate is the name of the book, but that does not mean it should be used in nearly every chapter. It's too unique of a word and stands out way too much. Although any word would stand out if it's used that much in 300 pages.

I considered not reading the second book, but Kindle Unlimited made it so easy to download it really fast. So I am reading book 2. And I have hopes it will all come together and be awesome. {"I'm not a love triangle kind of girl." my eye. I smell one coming. But I am hoping she sticks to that belief and there isn't one.}
Profile Image for Book Junky Girls.
840 reviews33 followers
June 29, 2015
Kate is captivated by the new guy and what makes it great is he seems to be just as interested in her! Nick is there when allot of strange things begin to happen to Kate and he's always there at just the right time to protect her. As the two get closer things continue to get more and more strange until Kate is forced to see a truth most people don't see and it makes her life all the more crazy as she tries to figure it all out.

Kate is 17 and a bit naive as to wanting to not see the truth of situations going on around her, but as more and more strange things happen the box she tries to put them in gets harder and harder to keep shut. What I would have liked to see is a little more maturity from Kate but after all she was just a teenage girl trying to understand things that were beyond her.

Nick is a sweetie always there to help her, but sometimes I just wanted to strangle him into telling more about what was really going on.

To me this was mostly an intro into what I'm sure will be an exciting series, but it just seemed to drag out as I waited and waited to finally find out just who and what the characters were. Once that happened though I enjoyed the story all the more because it felt like I was finally on the inside track as to what was going on.

You go on this journey with Kate never seeing or knowing more than she does and I'm excited to see more of her story!
Profile Image for Emily Redman.
1 review1 follower
October 10, 2013
Scintillate is a must read for young adults and adults of all ages. Its characters will pull you in with their endearing and mysterious qualities! It will keep you guessing to the very end and past! It even adds a dash of humor with Kate's lovable brother Reese. I love this book, and I can't wait for the next in the series!
1 review
September 8, 2016
Scintillate is a YA book that holds the interest of any age with its adventure, drama, and intrigue occurring throughout the book. Kate, the heroine, belongs to a typical, normal family, but as the story progresses she begins to realize that she is anything but normal. Nick and Alex bring a new dimension to Kate's life.
Profile Image for Jen McConnel.
Author 26 books270 followers
March 21, 2014
Kate's average life is turned upside down with the arrival of Nick. The new boy in town seems smitten with her, but could his affection be too good to be true? Nick is more than he seems, and it turns out, Kate is, too. I'm looking forward to the next book in this series!
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.