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Shared Skies
What if?
What if your hair grew to your waist every night?
What if people did things simply because you thought of it?
What if your grandparents disappeared eleven years ago, so completely that not even their house remained?
What if they now want you to live with them, and no-one, except you, remembers they were ever gone?
What if the first time you fell in love, you weren't even sure he was human?
What if Parallel Worlds exist?
What if your hair grew to your waist every night?
What if people did things simply because you thought of it?
What if your grandparents disappeared eleven years ago, so completely that not even their house remained?
What if they now want you to live with them, and no-one, except you, remembers they were ever gone?
What if the first time you fell in love, you weren't even sure he was human?
What if Parallel Worlds exist?
- GenresFantasyYoung Adult
195 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 22, 2014
1 person is currently reading
52 people want to read
About the author
Josephine O'Brien
4 books47 followersEven at this age, I still half hope/expect to find a magic lamp or save a magical creature and be given three wishes.
My first series Shared Skies and now The Ibiza Crone Club are both informed by this feeling that magic, other worlds, or mystical powers are just an invisible fingertip away.
I am an Irish writer, artist, and teacher. Married with five children and a growing number of grandchildren, I move between Ireland, Scotland, Spain, and Ibiza.
My first series Shared Skies and now The Ibiza Crone Club are both informed by this feeling that magic, other worlds, or mystical powers are just an invisible fingertip away.
I am an Irish writer, artist, and teacher. Married with five children and a growing number of grandchildren, I move between Ireland, Scotland, Spain, and Ibiza.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
May 29, 2014
Review also on www.jolasbookshelf.wordpress.com
This book hooks the reader right from the start. There's an interesting main character, Gaiah. There's an interesting plot that have many twists and turns. You can't put the book down.
I liked the writing style, as other reviewers observed, the flow of the story is amazing and makes you want to read more. Hope the book 2 will be out soon!
Thanks to Josephine O'Brien for sending me an ecopy of her book!
This book hooks the reader right from the start. There's an interesting main character, Gaiah. There's an interesting plot that have many twists and turns. You can't put the book down.
I liked the writing style, as other reviewers observed, the flow of the story is amazing and makes you want to read more. Hope the book 2 will be out soon!
Thanks to Josephine O'Brien for sending me an ecopy of her book!
July 31, 2014
Thank you so much Josephine O'Brien (the author) for gifting me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
I really like the idea of this book and especially how the title ties into it so perfectly. I've read so many dystopian and alien books but none about the possible parallel universes. The way that idea was addressed in this book had me interested right away. I'm really glad this is only book one because I would have loved to have a bit more information on the two other worlds.
That was my main problem with this book - everything seemed a bit rushed. I didn't understand why until I looked at the page count and thought "wow that's why that went by so fast!". Ms. O'Brien could definitely have lengthened the second part of the novel where Gaiah is discovering who she is and the whole soulmate thing. That in particular actually... I didn't like how it took only about 20-30ish pages for them to totally accept that they are soulmates and they're going to be together forever and all that jazz.
Other than the time thing, I absolutely loved it! All the characters were well done for the first book. Gaiah especially has potential. I especially loved how Ms. O'Brien made the connections to history to tie in the parallel worlds.
The Final Verdict:
An amazing parallel worlds concept with good characters and amazing connections to real world history. However, it would have been better if the second part of the book was lengthened a bit.
3.5 stars!
I really like the idea of this book and especially how the title ties into it so perfectly. I've read so many dystopian and alien books but none about the possible parallel universes. The way that idea was addressed in this book had me interested right away. I'm really glad this is only book one because I would have loved to have a bit more information on the two other worlds.
That was my main problem with this book - everything seemed a bit rushed. I didn't understand why until I looked at the page count and thought "wow that's why that went by so fast!". Ms. O'Brien could definitely have lengthened the second part of the novel where Gaiah is discovering who she is and the whole soulmate thing. That in particular actually... I didn't like how it took only about 20-30ish pages for them to totally accept that they are soulmates and they're going to be together forever and all that jazz.
Other than the time thing, I absolutely loved it! All the characters were well done for the first book. Gaiah especially has potential. I especially loved how Ms. O'Brien made the connections to history to tie in the parallel worlds.
The Final Verdict:
An amazing parallel worlds concept with good characters and amazing connections to real world history. However, it would have been better if the second part of the book was lengthened a bit.
3.5 stars!
March 1, 2014
Unless you're one of those people who prefer your food a little bit on the charred side, don't sit down to read this book and try to cook at the same time. Shared Skies hooks you in and holds your attention from page one. This is a tale that flows along at a steady pace and has many twists and turns. Josephine O'Brien is a hugely talented author who makes it easy to slip into Gaiah's world. She paints a vivid picture with every scene and the storyline is so unique. By the time I'd finished reading the first chapter I realized that I'd never come across a story quite like this. Gaiah and the rest of the cast of characters are all memorable and well drawn/developed. I like the idea of parallel worlds and of people who have such unique abilities as Gaiah. Basically, reading this book is a lot like watching a really awesome, on-the-edge-of-your-seat movie, with a little romance thrown in, a lot of warmth and humor, and people who are easy to relate to. You literally feel like you're right there. Loved it. Can't wait for the sequel, and will definitely read this one again later. Yeah. It's that good.
April 27, 2014
I am grateful to Josephine O'Brien for letting me read this book. She asked for an honest review and I'll try giving one:
When I start reading a book the pacing has to be just right for me to stay captivated. Shared Skies has just that kind of pacing.
Then there are the characters. They have to be relatable in some way, interesting, captivating even. Well, Gaiah is that kind of a character.
And of course there's the story. This being the first book of many, we only get a glimps of what the author prepared for us. It's like looking through a keyhole, we only see a little part of the room. But from that little part we can guess that the rest of the room looks just as exciting.
This is how I feel about the first book. It's a great start to something even greater.
Now why I gave only four stars instead of five:
I'm a great fan of dimension theories, parallel universes and multiverses. And I found it a little dissaponting the way the whole Trinity thing was explained. Not that I didn't understand the concept, I did, it's just that it could have been explained a little more thoroughly.
With all that said, I'll be waiting for the second book to come out with great enthusiasm.
When I start reading a book the pacing has to be just right for me to stay captivated. Shared Skies has just that kind of pacing.
Then there are the characters. They have to be relatable in some way, interesting, captivating even. Well, Gaiah is that kind of a character.
And of course there's the story. This being the first book of many, we only get a glimps of what the author prepared for us. It's like looking through a keyhole, we only see a little part of the room. But from that little part we can guess that the rest of the room looks just as exciting.
This is how I feel about the first book. It's a great start to something even greater.
Now why I gave only four stars instead of five:
I'm a great fan of dimension theories, parallel universes and multiverses. And I found it a little dissaponting the way the whole Trinity thing was explained. Not that I didn't understand the concept, I did, it's just that it could have been explained a little more thoroughly.
With all that said, I'll be waiting for the second book to come out with great enthusiasm.
March 7, 2014
Shared skies is an amazing start to what looks to be a great series. Josephine O'Brien's ability to create a unique world in her story is brilliant. She was able to perfectly meld fantasy into a believable modern day story. Her writing is clear and the story flow is perfect. There is always a sense of urgency in the story that keeps it from ever being boring. The characters were great and each one has their strengths as well as secrets. The plot is amazing and you won't know what hit you with the awesome twist. Be prepares to lose sleep to finish this book.
For a more in depth review go to www.th3bookworm.wordpress.com.
For a more in depth review go to www.th3bookworm.wordpress.com.
December 7, 2014
It is clear from the beginning of her story that Josephine O’Brien writes well. The opening paragraph pulls you in: “The faces just didn’t match.” The descriptive detail is mood-sensitive, rhythmical and perceptive: “Sunlight forced its way off the London streets through the Venetian blinds, painting the room with dull yellow bands of dancing dust.” Any reader will feel in safe hands, even if they aren’t conscious of the craft behind the art – assonance, alliteration, 2.9 blank verse lines masked as effective prose – which to me means there is magic in the air.
I am not a reviewer who plods you ponderously through a story much better told by the author, but perhaps some context is permissible to whet the appetite. Gaiah Hansfort has recently turned 18, and is understandably troubled by certain circumstances in her life to date: some of them identifiably, sadly, predictably human, and some of them not. She is an interesting character, and I was conscious of my own desire to read quickly in order to discover more about her.
The story develops rapidly, and she finds herself heading north to re-establish contact with grandparents who vanished from her life and the life of her still grieving father shortly after her mother died eleven years ago. They had all been so close, and then her grandparents simply weren’t there any more, adding to the terrible loss of her mother. Her father hadn’t even been able to find their house. Now, however, suddenly and apparently inexplicably, the grandparents are easily contactable by a female police officer on Gaiah’s case. They tell her they have always been there, but were denied access to their granddaughter by her father, who had “gone off the rails” after their daughter died. The plot thickens...
The number three has always had magical connotations: trinities abound in religions and mythologies, and are central to this story. Gaiah’s father actually describes himself and his wife and daughter as more than just a family: they were “a trinity”. We learn that Earth is but one part of a trinity of universes in parallel dimensions. The other two have some of the connotations of Heaven and Hell: occupied by beings constructed of energy but able to manipulate matter in order to assume human shape. Inhabitants of these universes can shift between the dimensions and have sojourns on Earth in human shape with the power to influence events. Humans, as you well know, do not have the power to shift, and most are only aware of the influence of these dimensions in story form: myths and legends, ghosts and spirits, Gods and wizards, and apparently inexplicable phenomena like the Bermuda Triangle and the large number of vitrified stone forts in Scotland.
Or’ka is a dimension dominated by evil, and those who shift from it to Earth are bent on world-domination by wicked means. Those who shift from Gaiana – a dimension entirely dominated by good - are bent on preventing the Or’kans from succeeding in blighting the whole world with wickedness. Gaia, now she has reached the age of her maturity, has a special (though as yet undefined) significance in this chain of events. She is the melding’s child of Nia Shaman of Gaiana and Andrew Hansfort of Earth. Such children have extraordinary powers...
There are some editing and formatting issues that can easily be put right, and I will contact the author directly and privately to point those out; but I was also left with some questions about the way the story and the characters unfolded. Some of them may be age-related, as I identified most closely with the grandparents in this story, and was more interested in the progress of the mission than I was with which choice hunk of boy in her new school Gaia was going to be sidling up to first. I’m sure the YA readers will lap all that up; and to be fair, the boys involved ARE an integral part of the plot.
However, I was puzzled by the sideways-shifting into this amazing parallel dimension where there is no evil and all kinds of fascinating utopian possibilities to contrast with the dystopian Or’ka in order to sample a Gaianan take on a fruit sorbet currently being marketed by a friend of the grandparents in his new shop. Is the point that beings occupying a planet where there is no evil to be fought simply have a different sense of priorities?
The Gaianan girl Renny – who has been shifted earthwards to provide some sort of extra protection for Gaia while she was in school – appears similarly unfocused in that she also seems much more interested in which Earth boys they were both going to be getting up close and personal with. “Our world is at stake here girls,” I heard myself cry in frustration. “Get those hormones in check and some kind of a grip on the mission to protect humanity from despotic domination by psychos.” I heard an echo of Dale Arden reminding Flash Gordon: “...we only have 24 hours to save the Earth!”
Gaiah and Renny are – it appeared to me - frustratingly crap at communicating their several concerns to those who matter, which means they go haring off in different directions with different bits of the puzzle. This eventually results in the spaced-out, well-meaning grandparents - with whom I had initially identified - accepting the ill-informed opinions and fears of dippy teenager Renny as enough reason to get together a lynch party and go out and murder someone.
Of course they’re dreadfully sorry when they find out what a monumental booboo they would actually have committed had not our hero been fortuitously clad in shotgun pellet-deflecting metal sheeting: the whole future of the Earth could have gone up in flames right there! ‘These are the people on whom the future of my planet depends,’ I found myself thinking. ‘I do hope they get a better grip on the mission in Book 2.’
Does the author have something deeper going on here that will be more clearly revealed in Book 2? Since the death of her mother, Gaiah’s father is also frustratingly crap at being a decent dad. It’s as though contact with one of these utterly good bundles of energy made flesh is sublime while it lasts, but once lost it robs you of the strength and resolve to fulfil your basic parenting obligations towards your similarly devastated child. Gaiah so needed a cuddle and all she got was this grieving father wrapped up in his art, so depressed by how much Gaiah reminds him of his dead wife that he shuts himself away for two weeks at a time:
“Dad, can we talk?” He shook his head. “I’m sorry Gaiah, I just can’t... I don’t know what’s happening.”
No, neither did I.
None of which seems to have bothered any other reviewer; so it is almost definitely curmudgeonly, septuagenarian me! I strongly recommend that you buy it, read it for yourself and make up your own mind. Rather like my own series, this is but Book 1, and a very promising, very well-written story is only just out of the blocks...
I am not a reviewer who plods you ponderously through a story much better told by the author, but perhaps some context is permissible to whet the appetite. Gaiah Hansfort has recently turned 18, and is understandably troubled by certain circumstances in her life to date: some of them identifiably, sadly, predictably human, and some of them not. She is an interesting character, and I was conscious of my own desire to read quickly in order to discover more about her.
The story develops rapidly, and she finds herself heading north to re-establish contact with grandparents who vanished from her life and the life of her still grieving father shortly after her mother died eleven years ago. They had all been so close, and then her grandparents simply weren’t there any more, adding to the terrible loss of her mother. Her father hadn’t even been able to find their house. Now, however, suddenly and apparently inexplicably, the grandparents are easily contactable by a female police officer on Gaiah’s case. They tell her they have always been there, but were denied access to their granddaughter by her father, who had “gone off the rails” after their daughter died. The plot thickens...
The number three has always had magical connotations: trinities abound in religions and mythologies, and are central to this story. Gaiah’s father actually describes himself and his wife and daughter as more than just a family: they were “a trinity”. We learn that Earth is but one part of a trinity of universes in parallel dimensions. The other two have some of the connotations of Heaven and Hell: occupied by beings constructed of energy but able to manipulate matter in order to assume human shape. Inhabitants of these universes can shift between the dimensions and have sojourns on Earth in human shape with the power to influence events. Humans, as you well know, do not have the power to shift, and most are only aware of the influence of these dimensions in story form: myths and legends, ghosts and spirits, Gods and wizards, and apparently inexplicable phenomena like the Bermuda Triangle and the large number of vitrified stone forts in Scotland.
Or’ka is a dimension dominated by evil, and those who shift from it to Earth are bent on world-domination by wicked means. Those who shift from Gaiana – a dimension entirely dominated by good - are bent on preventing the Or’kans from succeeding in blighting the whole world with wickedness. Gaia, now she has reached the age of her maturity, has a special (though as yet undefined) significance in this chain of events. She is the melding’s child of Nia Shaman of Gaiana and Andrew Hansfort of Earth. Such children have extraordinary powers...
There are some editing and formatting issues that can easily be put right, and I will contact the author directly and privately to point those out; but I was also left with some questions about the way the story and the characters unfolded. Some of them may be age-related, as I identified most closely with the grandparents in this story, and was more interested in the progress of the mission than I was with which choice hunk of boy in her new school Gaia was going to be sidling up to first. I’m sure the YA readers will lap all that up; and to be fair, the boys involved ARE an integral part of the plot.
However, I was puzzled by the sideways-shifting into this amazing parallel dimension where there is no evil and all kinds of fascinating utopian possibilities to contrast with the dystopian Or’ka in order to sample a Gaianan take on a fruit sorbet currently being marketed by a friend of the grandparents in his new shop. Is the point that beings occupying a planet where there is no evil to be fought simply have a different sense of priorities?
The Gaianan girl Renny – who has been shifted earthwards to provide some sort of extra protection for Gaia while she was in school – appears similarly unfocused in that she also seems much more interested in which Earth boys they were both going to be getting up close and personal with. “Our world is at stake here girls,” I heard myself cry in frustration. “Get those hormones in check and some kind of a grip on the mission to protect humanity from despotic domination by psychos.” I heard an echo of Dale Arden reminding Flash Gordon: “...we only have 24 hours to save the Earth!”
Gaiah and Renny are – it appeared to me - frustratingly crap at communicating their several concerns to those who matter, which means they go haring off in different directions with different bits of the puzzle. This eventually results in the spaced-out, well-meaning grandparents - with whom I had initially identified - accepting the ill-informed opinions and fears of dippy teenager Renny as enough reason to get together a lynch party and go out and murder someone.
Of course they’re dreadfully sorry when they find out what a monumental booboo they would actually have committed had not our hero been fortuitously clad in shotgun pellet-deflecting metal sheeting: the whole future of the Earth could have gone up in flames right there! ‘These are the people on whom the future of my planet depends,’ I found myself thinking. ‘I do hope they get a better grip on the mission in Book 2.’
Does the author have something deeper going on here that will be more clearly revealed in Book 2? Since the death of her mother, Gaiah’s father is also frustratingly crap at being a decent dad. It’s as though contact with one of these utterly good bundles of energy made flesh is sublime while it lasts, but once lost it robs you of the strength and resolve to fulfil your basic parenting obligations towards your similarly devastated child. Gaiah so needed a cuddle and all she got was this grieving father wrapped up in his art, so depressed by how much Gaiah reminds him of his dead wife that he shuts himself away for two weeks at a time:
“Dad, can we talk?” He shook his head. “I’m sorry Gaiah, I just can’t... I don’t know what’s happening.”
No, neither did I.
None of which seems to have bothered any other reviewer; so it is almost definitely curmudgeonly, septuagenarian me! I strongly recommend that you buy it, read it for yourself and make up your own mind. Rather like my own series, this is but Book 1, and a very promising, very well-written story is only just out of the blocks...
October 12, 2014
Shared Skies is a YA fantasy novel and the first book in a series. We meet Gaiah Hansfort aged 18 and straight away she is in trouble at school. A loner she has trouble from the "Popular Set" who like to bully her, but her reactions have now led her into big trouble. She's found that sometimes, just by thinking, she can change a person's thoughts. But now the police have been called.
Officer Bryant wants to talk to Gaiah's father, but he's a recluse artist, who has never got over the death of his wife. Gaiah is left feeling alone most of the time in a big house, desperate to share the loss of her mother and then the departure of her Grandparents with her father.
Gaiah has another problem too, her hair. Every day it grows to waste length, and every day she cuts it off, she feels like a freak of nature. Gaiah's mother died when she was six years old, they used to live in Scotland with her Grandparents, but, her father moved them to London in an attempt to make a new start.
Officer Bryant reveals the lies that Gaiah has been feeding her Dad about school and from it she finds a way to help. She contacts Gaiah's Grandparents and arranges for Gaiah to go and live with them and make a new start. Strange circumstances follow Gaiah on her trip north and a chance meeting with a green eyed stranger is just the beginning of a new chapter in Gaiah's life.
Gaiah will learn that she is a precious child of a melded love between people from parallel universes. Her mystery power of suggestion is called encognating and her people need her to help protect the earth from the Or'ka.
I liked this book and read it in a day, eager to follow Gaiah's path, I soon realised that the story was not going to end in just this one book, but I was quite hooked by the storyline. It will be interesting to see how the Or'Ka respond to Gaiah's own melding.
Officer Bryant wants to talk to Gaiah's father, but he's a recluse artist, who has never got over the death of his wife. Gaiah is left feeling alone most of the time in a big house, desperate to share the loss of her mother and then the departure of her Grandparents with her father.
Gaiah has another problem too, her hair. Every day it grows to waste length, and every day she cuts it off, she feels like a freak of nature. Gaiah's mother died when she was six years old, they used to live in Scotland with her Grandparents, but, her father moved them to London in an attempt to make a new start.
Officer Bryant reveals the lies that Gaiah has been feeding her Dad about school and from it she finds a way to help. She contacts Gaiah's Grandparents and arranges for Gaiah to go and live with them and make a new start. Strange circumstances follow Gaiah on her trip north and a chance meeting with a green eyed stranger is just the beginning of a new chapter in Gaiah's life.
Gaiah will learn that she is a precious child of a melded love between people from parallel universes. Her mystery power of suggestion is called encognating and her people need her to help protect the earth from the Or'ka.
I liked this book and read it in a day, eager to follow Gaiah's path, I soon realised that the story was not going to end in just this one book, but I was quite hooked by the storyline. It will be interesting to see how the Or'Ka respond to Gaiah's own melding.
August 11, 2016
To have super power to influence people and grow hair to your waist in mere hours? how cool is that? but our heroine didn't think so. She lost her mother, her father is living through his work, her grandparents had vanished. she doesn't need all this hair-growing-super-fast and influencing-people-without-meaning-to to add to chaos that became her life. then her grandparents reappear and she gets answers to her questions but now nothing makes sense. and of course there is great deal of romance too.
This book hooked me from the start and didn't let go till the end. through out the story I felt like I was there with characters. I was smiling huge during romantic parts,calling them to hurry when they were running through the woods, listening with great interest when they were talking about parallel words. Characters were quite good, likable. Villains were believable, there was great romance, humor and the story in whole was really captivating.
Ending was good. It doesn't leaves you hanging, more like leaves you with promise for more. So now all I have left do is wait for the next book and hope it will come out soon.
This book hooked me from the start and didn't let go till the end. through out the story I felt like I was there with characters. I was smiling huge during romantic parts,calling them to hurry when they were running through the woods, listening with great interest when they were talking about parallel words. Characters were quite good, likable. Villains were believable, there was great romance, humor and the story in whole was really captivating.
Ending was good. It doesn't leaves you hanging, more like leaves you with promise for more. So now all I have left do is wait for the next book and hope it will come out soon.
June 14, 2015
Getting through high school is hard enough, but for Gaiah, transferring to a new school after learning your mother is in fact from another planet, is even harder.
Shared Skies is the story of Gaiah, half human, half Gaianian. After losing her mother at a young age, Gaiah has no idea why she seems to have certain powers. Sent to live with her grandparents, Gaiah learns that her mother was in fact a Gainian doctor and that Earth time moves extremely slow.
Gaiah faces the normal trials and tribulations of trust and friendship while learning of other planets and species. However, fighting for who she connects with on a higher level than love, is her biggest turning point and the cliff hanger for Book #2.
Read my full review here: http://gcmacquarie.weebly.com/reviews...
Shared Skies is the story of Gaiah, half human, half Gaianian. After losing her mother at a young age, Gaiah has no idea why she seems to have certain powers. Sent to live with her grandparents, Gaiah learns that her mother was in fact a Gainian doctor and that Earth time moves extremely slow.
Gaiah faces the normal trials and tribulations of trust and friendship while learning of other planets and species. However, fighting for who she connects with on a higher level than love, is her biggest turning point and the cliff hanger for Book #2.
Read my full review here: http://gcmacquarie.weebly.com/reviews...
June 18, 2015
Shared Skies is a YA sci-fi series centred around Gaiah, descendant of a Gaianian mother and human father. Book #1 of the series was an exciting beginning to Gaiah's story, and Book #2 is just as pleasing.
Gaiah is a strong female lead who grows in maturity as the story moves forward. She and love interest, Neal, meld to become a couple that live through one another. They connect on a deeper level than love, and are welcomed into the Gaianian world with open arms as the planet's future hope for peace.
Read my full review here: http://gcmacquarie.weebly.com/reviews...
Gaiah is a strong female lead who grows in maturity as the story moves forward. She and love interest, Neal, meld to become a couple that live through one another. They connect on a deeper level than love, and are welcomed into the Gaianian world with open arms as the planet's future hope for peace.
Read my full review here: http://gcmacquarie.weebly.com/reviews...
October 24, 2014
Of course, what can I say about this !! : )
It's a good story. Not literary fiction, just a good story that readers don't want to put down until they are finished, and their first question has been..'When's part two coming out?'
It's a good story. Not literary fiction, just a good story that readers don't want to put down until they are finished, and their first question has been..'When's part two coming out?'
Want to read
July 7, 2014I really loved this book - very clever idea and plausible too. I am not a fan of fantasy novels, but this was different and intriguing - really looking forward to second, which I understand is now completed, and then the third. Fully recommended reading
September 2, 2014
This story is a YA romance that shouldn't offend the senses of YA readers or their parents. Based on 3 parallel worlds, that include earth, the reader gets a bit of the 3rd world involved, and will probably get even more in the sequel.
June 2, 2014
Review to come soon.
February 23, 2016
Okay, I have to say it's amazing!! I mean, if I don't who will? It does get a bit darker than book one, Gaiah is growing up, and there's a a truly evil world to deal with. With her bubbly friend Renny, and her soul mate Neal, life in all three worlds will never be the same again.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews