Ascendant

Ascendant Trilogy #1

by Rebecca Taylor

When I was twelve, my mother disappeared. I was the first person to never find her. I'm sixteen now and she has never been found, alive or dead. I'm not the girl I should have been. When Charlotte Stevens, bright but failing, is sent to stay at her mother's childhood home in Somerset England her life is changed forever. While exploring the lavish family manor, Gaersum Aern, Charlotte discovers a stone puzzle box that contains a pentagram necklace and a note from her mother-clues to her family's strange past and her mother's disappearance. Charlotte must try to solve the puzzle box, decipher her mother's old journals, and figure out who is working to derail her efforts-and why. The family manor contains many secrets and hidden histories, keys to the elegant mystery Charlotte called mom and hopefully, a trail to finding her.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Paranormal, Mystery, Fiction, Audiobook, Magic

350 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 4, 2013

About the author

Rebecca Taylor is a licensed psychologist and author of bestselling women's psychological fiction. Her book The Secret Next Door was a bestselling title in Target stores throughout the USA, a #1 bestselling book on Amazon, and a Book of the Month selection on Apple Books. Her book Her Perfect Life was the winner of the Women's Fiction Writer's STAR award. Her previous titles have won the Colorado Book Award and been nominated for the RWA RITA award. She lives in Colorado but currently spends most of her time on airplanes, writing and traveling all over the world.

Learn more at:
www.rebeccataylorbooks.com
@RebeccaTaylorPage (Facebook)
@RebeccaTaylorBooks (Instagram)

Reviews

[Amanda Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before I began reading Ascendant, I was expecting your typical Young Adult paranormal romance. However after reading a couple of chapters I realized that this novel had so much more to it. There is nothing “typical” about this story. I was beyond excited that romance took more of a back seat which allowed me to be sucked into the mystery surrounding the disappearance of the main character’s mother. I found myself trying to piece together the clues and try to guess what would happen next. Most YA paranormal books that I have read in the past have somewhat predictable twists and turns but I was not prepared for some of the things that happened in this book. Author, Rebecca Taylor was successful at keeping me on my toes.

Charlotte, the main character of Ascendant is both heartbroken over and obsessed with her mother’s disappearance. But don’t let this fool you. She is smart, sassy, and determined to piece together the clues to find out what happened to her mother. Charlotte delves into some dark and dangerous territory that she has to use her brains and bravery to get out of. As a main character, I felt Charlotte was extremely likeable. I loved her and was rooting for her as the novel progressed.

Ascendant’s plot moved quickly enough to keep me on the edge of my seat and wanting more, but not so fast that I was left in the dust, confused. There were only a couple of spots where I feel that the action dragged a bit, but the plot was quick to pick back up again. I found everything about the novel fascinating; from the characters and the dangerous secrets they keep to their motives for keeping them.

If you are looking for an exciting and entertaining book to read this Summer I highly recommend Ascendant. Rebecca Taylor’s debut novel is an original, fun, and suspenseful paranormal mystery and it will definitely leave you wanting more.

[Danyiel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing. I sat down and read it in a weekend. It kept me guessing all the way till the end and left me wanting more. The main character, Charlotte, smart and determined to figure out what happened to her mother and willing to go to great lengths to get answers. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a great read and a great mystery.

[Biz Jaust · Rating 5 out of 5]

There was suspense and a great love story. I highly recommend this for all YA lovers. I can't wait for the next one, but she isn't done writing it yet!

[Tia Toennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! I couldn't put it down, I just finished it and I want to read it again because I miss the characters and the suspense of the mystery the main character is trying to solve.

[Ilonita50 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was great, incredibly interesting, dark and scary mystery/crime - I don't even know what genre I would better place it! Somehow at the beginning I missed the point this is a YA and was surprised...The suspense gets built very fast, not explored fully, I mean, the characters could have more depth and developed - the story moves on very fast. I was hoping to get to know what happens and I could not guess ..., I was hoping for Charlotte to be a little bit more sensible, hahaha!
But it was UNIQUE, I have not read anything on this topic before. It also draws the sense how world, one country may be controlled and is a piece of spider's web. How sects work underneath and how influential they are for the rest of the society and one may never know...plus Charlotte wants to find the truth about her mum's disappearance...which makes it so complex. All the findings bring so many loose ends and creates a complex truth at the end.

Four stars because main character at around mid-of the book start to become so annoying at times, throwing herself at the danger, falling right into the trap and aiming for it. I mean, if she knew the family has stolen her belongings and will do everything to kill her if they got a chance - why would you drag yourself there?
Why would you deny any help and crush to the 1st guy you have if you know he is the one you want to be with and LIKE to be with..?
What was it about going for the one who took you away without even asking your opinion, without letting you to express yourself???
These were the faulty parts why I was getting angry at Charlotte and I am looking forward for the next books to seek the explanation I was hoping for, but obviously this is trilogy...and first book can't solve it all, can it?

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charlotte Stephens is an orphan. Sort of. Her mother’s been missing since she was twelve, and because her father, Simon Stevens, is a best-selling author 17 times over, Elizabeth’s disappearance was a tabloid-worthy mystery. Four years later, Charlotte plagiarizes a final paper on Richard II, a play she’s read four times, because she just doesn’t care. This sets into motion a chain of events a teenager wouldn’t anticipate. Her principal notifies Charlotte’s emergency contact, her father’s literary agent, that Simon has shown up to a disciplinary meeting sloppy drunk. Twenty-four hours later, Charlotte is on plane for England to stay with an uncle she’s never met while her father dries out at a detox facility.

There, Charlotte is met at the airport by Gaersum Aern’s caretaker’s children. Caleb is seventeen, and she vaguely recalls him as the boy she kissed behind the dining room curtains when she was seven. Along for the ride is fifteen-year-old, Sophie, a “material girl” who’s recently gotten the pair’s Internet privileges revoked.

Caleb is still in love with Charlotte nine years later, an infatuation that she reciprocates easily once they reconnect in Gaersum Aern’s library. Unfortunately for him, another boy has his sights set on Charlotte. Hayden Wriothesley is sixteen and a second cousin of the king of England. He’s filthy rich, absurdly gorgeous, and very accustomed to getting everything he wants from everyone. He’s arrogant and chauvinistic, and Charlotte despises him. Here she is torn in three directions. Her heart wants Caleb. Her mind wants to figure out her mother’s mysteries. And, her body responds to Hayden’s advances, making it very hard to say no when she should.

I suppose now is a good time to mention that’s she’s stumbled ass-over-teakettle into a conflict between orders of Freemasons. By the time she realizes the role she plays, it’s far too late to turn tail and run.

Ascendant is a wonderful YA paranormal tale set in the tapestry of rural England, among old wealth estates, and includes ancient symbols, secret societies. It is driven by naiveté and teen angst on the surface, ancient tradition beneath, and between the two, the consequences of one family’s choice to save face at the expense of an illegitimate child ripple across decades, leaving tragedy in their wake.

Ascendant would fit at home on a shelf with Rebecca Hamilton’s The Forever Girl series, Rebecca Trogner’s The Last Keeper’s Daughter. There are some sexual situations, including kissing and partial nudity. I would recommend it readers over the age of 13 who are fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Twilight, and/or the YA Paranormal Romance.

I was given an e-book copy of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion.

[Richard Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A month ago if you'd have have said, careful you could get hooked on YA novels I'd have said, right, not really likely. Color me wrong. I purchased and read 'Ascendant,' as a return of a favor from Rebecca Taylor, the author. Our paths had crossed through social media and she'd referred me to a research source. It seemed like an equitable exchange to acquire and read 'Ascendant. It was a rewarding decision to be sure. The plot is well drawn and clever, the characters are without question, sympathetic, rich, fascinating and some of them downright menacing.

The story line swirls around sixteen year old female protagonist, Charlotte Stevens and the disappearance of her mother, Elizabeth, four years previous, without a trace, a clue or a shred of evidence. After striving mightily to eek by day to day over those intervening years, Charlotte and her author-father are separated by dark necessity for the duration of the summer. She is swallowed up in series of sad and painful events that will propel her to Somerset, outside London, to the Spencer family ancestral home, Gaersum Aern. It is where her mother was raised and Charlotte once visited at the tender age of seven. It is here in England that the story assumes velocity, involving spectral images, magic, astral planes, pentagrams, Ouroboros Dragons, puzzle boxes, personal challenges, secret texts and strange rites of initiation to the occult.

I genuinely, against long odds, loved this story. It is the clever work of a gifted imagination. Rebecca Taylor's prose, not only advanced for a first novel, is at times truly elegant. I am anxiously awaiting the next episode in what promises to be a cracking trilogy.

[Fede Valotta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reseña de / Review from: http://www.atrapadoenlalectura.com.ar...

REVIEW IN BOTH SPANISH AND ENGLISH
3.5/5


Ascendant es un libro de Rebecca Taylor publicado por Crescent Moon Press. Para todos los que no vivan en Estados Unidos y lo quieran comprar, lo pueden conseguir por Amazon (el libro está en ingles).
Sinopsis:
Ascendant trata de una chica llamada Charlotte, cuya madre a desaparecido hace ya 4 años. Nunca encontraron el cuerpo de su madre (ni vivo ni muerto). Un día Charlotte decide copiar un trabajo práctico de Internet, la descubren y llaman al padre. El padre es escritor y alcohólico, por lo que se decide que el padre ira a un centro de rehabilitación y Charlotte a Inglaterra junto a su tío (el hermano de la madre).
Una vez en Inglaterra, se encuentra con el ama de llaves y sus hijos: Caleb y Sophie. Tiene pocos recuerdos de cuando estuvo en Inglaterra junto a su madre cuando era pequeña, pero si recuerda que ahí fue su primer beso con Caleb. En la habitación donde va a hospedarse (la habitación de su madre de pequeña) encuentra unos diarios íntimos de la madre. Estos diarios no son muy “normales” que digamos, ya que están escritos violentamente, y Charlotte comienza a dudar si realmente su madre está viva o no.
Pero, no toda la vida de Charlotte es sencilla. De repente aparece Hayden en su casa, el hijo de un amigo del tío. Básicamente Hayden es el típico chico con un ego grande como una casa, e intentará gustarle a Charlotte bajo cualquier costo. Cuando Charlotte va a su casa, la ama de llaves le advierte que no confíe en nadie, y cuando abandona la casa, su pasaporte y los diarios de su madre desaparecen. Charlotte descubre que su madre formaba parte de una logia, y ahora más que nunca quiere saber si su madre está viva o no.
Opinión:
Si bien el libro tiene fallas técnicas editoriales (fuente muy chica, sin un interlineado normal, y sin texto justificado), no puedo decir que el libro es malo. El libro tiene una trama muy atrapante, aunque de a momentos se vuelve un poco confusa (puede ser porque no estoy acostumbrado a leer en ingles). Creo que el libro tendría un mejor puntaje si estas fallas editoriales no estuvieran, la sencilla razón es la siguiente: de a momentos cuesta mantener la lectura con todo junto, y sin justificado.
La trama no es algo que se vea todos los días, y la verdad es que me parece muy interesante. El final del libro es un final abierto, por lo cual (y… confirmado por la autora) tendrá una segunda parte.
A Charlotte se nos presenta como la chica que va a intentar conseguir todo lo que quiere para saber más sobre su madre, y aunque es un buen personaje, me hubiera gustado que tenga una decisión más firme en cuanto a Hayden y Caleb. No puedo negar que se vuelve interesante el triángulo amoroso, pero de a momentos resulta un poco agotador.
El misterio que encierra esta historia, todas las pistas que va acumulando Charlotte, y toda la diferente simbología que tiene el libro, le otorgan puntos extras al libro. En esto tengo que felicitar a la autora, los símbolos son fáciles de recordar ya que se los nombra bastante.
En conclusión, creo que si el libro obtiene una re-edición con los cambios editoriales que menciono arriba, podría ser un gran libro, y porque no, traducir a diferentes idiomas.



"Cuando tenía 12 años, mi madre desapareció. Fui la primer persona que nunca la encontró.
En este momento tengo 16 años y ella nunca ha sido encontrada, viva o muerta. No soy la chica que debería ser."
La vida de Charlotte Stevens, una chica brillante pero que esta fallando, cambiará para siempre cuando es enviada a quedarse en la casa de la niñez de su madre en Inglaterra. Mientras explora la mansión familiar de lujo, Gaersum Aern, Charlotte descubre una caja con una rompecabezas de piedra que contiene un collar con un pentagrama y una nota de su madre, con pistas para entender el pasado extraño de su familia y la desaparición de su madre. Charlotte debe intentar resolver el acertijo, descifrar los viejos diarios de su madre, y darse cuenta quien intenta descarrillar sus esfuerzos y por qué. La mansión de la familia contiene muchos secretos e historias escondidas, llaves para el elegante misterio que Charlotte llama Mamá y con suerte, un camino a encontrar a su madre.
Traducción a cargo de Federico Valotta (puede tener varios erorres).

ENGLISH


Federico's Rating:

Good morning everyone, I normally don’t post reviews in English, but the author herself sent me the book from the USA, and I think she deserved it. I may have grammar mistakes, since my language is Spanish, not English.
Ascendant is a book from Rebecca Taylor published by Crescent Moon Press. For all the ones who don’t live in the USA and want to buy it, you can get it on Amazon (book is in English).
You may notice that the Spanish review is bigger, and that is because I offered synopsis, since we don’t have the book on Spanish. I will put the book synopsis here, to avoid grammar mistakes

Opinion:
Although the book has some editorial mistakes (the Font is too short, the line spacing was too small, and the text was not justified), I can’t say that the book was bad.
The book has a really good story, but on some moments it gets a bit confusing (maybe because I am not used to read in English). I think that this book would have more star rating if those editorial mistakes wouldn’t be there. The reason why I say this, is because on some moments it gets too hard to read it.
About the story, we don’t see this kind of stories everyday, which I think is unique. The book is open-ended, so (and confirmed by the author) it will have a second part.
We see Charlotte as a girl who tries to get everything she wants to know more about her mother, and, although she is a great character, I would her to be more determined when we refer to Hayden and Caleb. I can’t deny that on some moments this love triangle is great, but on some other moments it gets too tiring.
On this story we will see a lot of mystery, and all the hints that Charlotte gets, and all the symbols that this book has, give this book extra points. In this I have to congrats the author, because the symbols are easy to remember because they are named a lot.
In conclusion, I think that this book should get a re-edition with the editorial changes I said before, and it could be a great book, and why not, translate it to other languages.




When I was twelve, my mother disappeared. I was the first person to never find her.
I’m sixteen now and she has never been found, alive or dead. I’m not the girl I should have been.
When Charlotte Stevens, bright but failing, is sent to stay at her mother’s childhood home in Somerset England her life is changed forever. While exploring the lavish family manor, Gaersum Aern, Charlotte discovers a stone puzzle box that contains apentagram necklace and a note from her mother—clues to her family’s strange past and her mother’s disappearance. Charlotte must try to solve the puzzle box, decipher her mother’s old journals, and figure out who is working to derail her efforts—and why. The family manor contains many secrets and hidden histories, keys to the elegant mystery Charlotte called mom and hopefully, a trail to finding her.

I hope you can all understand what I tried to say, and please forgive me if I made a big grammar mistake, or you didn’t understood something. See you soon.

[Kristin · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

This was a Goodreads win for me and I really wanted to like this book, the premise sounded interesting and I love stories set in London. Unfortunately the unlikeability of the characters, lack of character development of the secondary characters and a ridiculously unbelievable love triangle ruined what might have been a good story.

While this wasn’t self-published, it certainly seemed like it was. Usually I can overlook grammatical and other errors, particularly if it is a self-pub book, but since there was ostensibly an editor, the errors in this book, of which there were many, were too glaring to ignore. The number of words that were used incorrectly (tomb instead of tome, for instance), grammatical errors and even plot errors (at one point Charlotte reaches up and touches her cross, which has supposedly been missing for quite a while and which she gets back at the end of the book) were totally unacceptable and grated on me more and more as I read the book.

Charlotte Stevens is a sixteen-year-old girl who, after having been caught turning in a paper that she downloaded from the Internet, even though she was perfectly capable of writing the paper herself, is being sent to England to stay with her mother’s brother, a man she’s never even met. This is happening not because she cheated, but because when her father, a famous author of popular fiction, came in to meet with the vice principal, he was drunk and ended up having to check himself into rehab, and she has nobody else to stay with because her mother disappeared without a trace years earlier. While in England, Charlotte finds diaries her mother wrote before she was born, diaries that start to clue her in on what might have happened to her mother. She also reconnects with Caleb, her uncle’s housekeeper’s son, who she met when she was seven and he nine, when she visited nine years earlier.

Unfortunately, I just couldn’t connect with Charlotte on any level. She was overly dramatic at times and cold and bitchy at others, particularly when it came to Caleb, and she really didn’t have any reason to be yeah, he hid the diaries from her and should’ve given them back once he knew what they were, but she got all skanky with Hayden so she really didn’t have a leg to stand on in that argument. She also came across as very weak and immature, though I think we’re meant to believe she’s strong and independent. Also, her actions, especially regarding sneaking around a certain character’s house, were stupid and, given all of the cameras, there’s no way she’d actually get away with half of the stuff she did.

And neither of the guys she was supposed to be involved with, the aforementioned Caleb, and the son of a rich acquaintance of her uncle’s named Hayden, were interesting in the least. First of all, both of them are older than Charlotte yet you never would have known it by the way they acted. Caleb had met Charlotte for two weeks when they were both children yet over and over again we hear how he’s loved her all this time, there’s been no one else and will never be anyone else for him but her and on and on and on. His ridiculous overreaction to Hayden was nearly as absurd, as he see-sawed from practically tearful pleading (and, ugh, he did cry a couple of times in the book) to overblown forceful proclamations of Hayden being a monster, without any explanation for his hatred, perhaps just because Hayden was a spoiled brat and hooked up with a bunch of girls so Caleb feared Charlotte would fall into his bed. Caleb could’ve been a good character and is far better suited to Charlotte but he didn’t get quite enough character development and the insta-love aspect was laughable.

Hayden was much worse than Caleb. I’m not sure if we were to look at him as the hot bad boy but he was a clichéd, one-dimensional train wreck of a character. He, of course, is drawn to Charlotte, and she to him, and their attraction is just too strong to be ignored. And trust me, I wish I could’ve ignored it. Hayden is such a dick, constantly goading Caleb, who, unfortunately doesn’t disappoint by rising to the challenge, and practically forcing himself on Charlotte the second he meets her and every other time thereafter (and though she says she hates him, as I said, the attraction’s too strong so she always gives in). The rare moments he acts nice or concerned, she thinks to herself, if he were only like this all the time…and it’s just stupid because the “nice” moments seemed fake and out of the blue, nothing he did seemed honest or believable. Neither love interest had even the slightest hint of any build up to a relationship, it was just the dreaded insta-love on both counts.

And could someone please tell me why in the hell each time after she pukes (lucky us, she does it twice), she kisses a guy. I mean, seriously?! It’s been a while since I’ve been that sick, but I distinctly remember running to the sink, rinsing out my mouth and brushing my teeth as fast as I can afterwards. Which brings me to Charlotte’s illness. It comes on so quickly, and her fever is so high but after a couple of ibuprofen she’s sitting up, watching a movie, doing research and soon to be involved in one of her two after-barfing make out sessions.

I don’t even feel like discussing any of the other characters because to do so might give some of the plot away and I really didn’t care for any of them either mostly because of their lack of development. Actually, the villain in the book is probably one of the more fleshed out characters, at least in the past. Sophie, Caleb’s sister, was fine and probably my favorite character in the book simply because the other one’s were so stupid and/or annoying.

Finally, am I honestly meant to believe that the diaries that were the focal point of Charlotte’s search went undiscovered by her uncle and others who might have been interested in them when they were right in her mom’s freaking dresser the whole time?!

I’d planned to say that younger readers might like this story better as the goofy love triangle and over-the-top feelings and actions may not seem too, well, goofy and over-the-top to them, but then the author threw in a scene that, while not graphic, wouldn’t necessarily be suitable for younger readers. The fact that Charlotte did what she did with whom she did it, and her reasoning for doing so, was yet another ludicrous facet to the story.

And the story might as well have been set in America because aside from the occasional word like “bloody” thrown in, I would never have known any of the characters were actually English or that the action took place in England.

As I said, the story, though not the type of paranormal story I’d usually read I’m not really into occult-themed books and tend to roll my eyes at all of that astral projection crap could’ve been decent, particularly given a couple of twists at the end, but the other problems really detracted from any enjoyment I might’ve gotten from reading the story. Not to say that I’m not slightly curious to find out what happens to the characters and how the story plays out, but I’m not interested enough to go through another sitting with these characters and more awful errors. I really think that with a more competent or experienced editor, the story could have been much better.

[Bookfan36 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brief synopsis from the book cover:
When I was twelve, my mother disappeared. I was the first person to never find her.

I’m sixteen now and she has never been found, alive or dead. I’m not the girl I should have been.

When Charlotte Stevens, bright but failing, is sent to stay at her mother’s childhood home in Somerset England her life is changed forever. While exploring the lavish family manor, Gaersum Aern, Charlotte discovers a stone puzzle box that contains a pentagram necklace and a note from her mother—clues to her family’s strange past and her mother’s disappearance. Charlotte must try to solve the puzzle box, decipher her mother’s old journals, and figure out who is working to derail her efforts—and why. The family manor contains many secrets and hidden histories, keys to the elegant mystery Charlotte called mom and hopefully, a trail to finding her.

My rating:
Story: 3 out of 5 stars
Writing: 3 out of 5 stars
Character development: 3 out of 5 stars
Overall: 3 out of 5 stars

Review:

I thought the concept of the book was intriguing and there was plenty of mystery which made the story interesting. Despite the fact the plot develops slowly the story was original and captivating this is what kept me going till the end. At times it was difficult to understand what was happening and where the story was going. The book is the first installment in a Trilogy and feels more like an introduction that sets it up for the remaining books in the series as not a lot is happening in this particular book. The characters were depicted realistically. It was not difficult to put yourself in their shoes and feeling just as confused as they are, trying to figure out what is really happening and who can be trusted. Overall this is an interesting book. To fully understand the story line and to do it justice you will need to read the complete trilogy. I wouldn’t recommend reading this book as a standalone.

[Meredith Schindehette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a hard time sinking into Ascendant at first, but once I did, the book left me wanting to read more. I'll have to get the second one in the series, "Midheaven." The 16 yo protagonist, Charlotte, is relatively relatable; although, she definitely made some poor choices in this story that left me scratching my head.

[No Dammit · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I am not the biggest fan of YA novels. However, this one blew me away. There is so much going on, it's intense.
This book reminds me of national treasure and hunger games, mixed in with some serious mind games. Hope book 2 is just a thrilling! I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a free copy

[TheReadingKnitter/ Kasey · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I kept guessing every little bit what the twist was and I was never right. Sometimes this book would have me sucked in and I couldn’t put it down. But then there were other times when I honestly didn’t care to finish it. Going to give the second book a try.

[Namrata Ganti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since I read these books continuously, one after the other, I decided to post a combined review. In general, I enjoyed the premise of the story and the events that occurred to take it forward. The story is written decently and will ensure the reader continues on until the end. The author manages to build up some amount of mystery and intrigue.

However, the protagonist is decent at best, but she gets rather whiny and annoying. Her attentions are directed towards the two guys showering her with attention and she is torn between them in the usual cliched style. At times she comes across as shallow, and at others, someone with a strong mind. She sets out to find the meaning to the clues left behind by her parents. As the story unfolds, the reader is drawn into a world of drama, secrets, betrayal.

The story lacked in precise character development and a deeper premise than was there. It was easy to figure out what might happen next and the books did not have me wanting to keep turning the pages. Having said this, there are parts that are interesting and had potential. A stronger focus on the characters, with more complex personalities and a slightly more interesting twist to the plot would have made it gripping. Though there was some adventure and mystery thrown in, it just made the story more confusing. It was just another book in the usual style of having a clue and trying to decipher it while also trying to keep it away from the bad guys.

Bottom-line: Read the book. You may or may not like it, but you can form an opinion by yourself.

[Eveline · Rating 3 out of 5]

From: evelinesbooks.blogspot.nl


This book is a good YA debut of author Rebecca Taylor. It has some flaws, but overall it's an entertaining read.

The book is about Charlotte, who has to go live with her uncle in England because of her father's alchol problems. Her mother has been missing for quite a few years. In the house also live Caleb, her childhood crush who still has a crush on her and Sophie, his sister. Charlotte discovers her mother's diaries in a closet and with that stumbles upon clues that could lead to her mother. It has all to do with the Wriothesley family, whose son Hayden now has developed a crush on Charlotte, but she can't stand him. But this family is very powerful and messing with them is dangerous. But Charlotte wants to solve the mystery, at all costs, even if it means dating Hayden.

I really loved the mystery and the way it was developed. It started with Charlotte's mother's diaries and slowly there came more questions. This built up the tension and made me excited to read along. In the last part most of these questions were answered, some were left for the sequel. There was no information dump and everything was gradually explained, this was well-done. I won't spoil anything, but the explanation of the mystery was pretty unexpected and most things I had not predicted at all, which is a good thing of course.
I also liked the symbology part of the mystery. You can see the writer has spent time researching symbols, all symbols used are well incorporated in the story.

The writing was good most of the time, but you could still see it was written by an author with not much experience. The writing sometimes felt unnatural to me and there were several spelling mistakes in the book, but the last could be helped by good editing. This was mainly in the beginning though, it improved throughout the book.

I was pretty disappointed by both love interests of Charlotte. At the end of the book none of them are very likeable and I don't root for any of them being with Charlotte.

Caleb seemed sweet at first. He was Charlotte's childhood crush when she was in England one vacation. He was kind to her and helped her with the mystery of her mom. But he also seemed a bit overly attached, they had spent a summer together as children and he acted like she was his soulmate who he had been waiting for since that summer. And when he turned out to be a liar too, I was kind of done with him. I never really understood their relationship, it seemed one-sided, I can't remember Charlotte saying once she was attracted to him..

Hayden was just a massive jerk. He was mean, controlling and a player. I know Charlotte only started dating him to find out more about his family and the mystery, but she still felt attracted to him. I never like YA protagonists who fall for the mean, but hot guy, they make it seem like appearance is more important than character.

The fantasy part of the book was almost non-existent. Yes, Charlotte's mother was in a witch order and the Wriothesley family still is. Charlotte's father also turned out to be an indepent 'sorcerer', not member of an order. But those were also references to magic, just like all the symbols in the book. I would have really liked to see some real magic, or let Charlotte find out her own magic. I hope this will be the case in the next book.

So, a little less romance and a little more magic would have been better.

I would still recommend this book. The mystery part of the book is very well written and really made me excited to finish the book. This debut is promising and I can't wait to read the next book in the series!

[Desislava Pavlova · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yeah, I just got the message I have won a copy from the First Read giveaway. Can't wait for it to arrive! Yeapeeee! * does a happy dance*

P.S. Real review when I read it of course. :D

08.12.2013 Got my book yesterday! :) *runs off to read *

18.03.2014 So life got in the way, but here I am finally writing my review.

Warning: The following review may contain spoilers.

I loved the book! I want to thank very much Mrs. Taylor for sending it to me. I have read it 3 times by now. It's interesting and very capturing. Read it on one sitting the first time.
I loved the idea of Twin flames. And the identity of Charlotte's mother thin flame? Wow, I totally didn't saw that coming. It kept me guessing the whole time.
I didn't really liked Charlotte, I admit. Nor I disliked her. She was sort of nice but made some really stupid decisions. Caleb's love for her seemed a little obsessive to me, so my opinion of him was left a bit neutral, too.
I didn't believed Hayden that he had fallen for Charlotte. He is a class one jerk. And the time was too short so....
So who is my favorite character in the book? Guess!

Sophie, of course. I loved her. She kind and funny, very vibrant character and extremely likable. Did I mentioned that she is also loyal? If the is another installment I really want to see more of her. That girl have a potential.

Mentioning another installment leads me to the fact that I would love to see one. Everything in the book was nicely wrapped and mysteries solved but the ending was open enough to suggest it's a possibility so I am hopeful.

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book left off in such a way that a second book is inevitable. It left a lot of questions unanswered. The characters were great. The storyline was creative. I expected it to be witchcraft, but was, again, delighted that the author thought outside the box.

The only drawbacks were the numerous grammatical errors, spelling errors, and missing words. I realize that no one is perfect. People make mistakes. However, when paying for a published book, I kind of expect that the publisher would take the extra time to proofread their product before actually releasing to the public. If you can't afford to pay for a proofreader, then ask for volunteers. I know many people who would jump at the chance to read books before public release in exchange for catching these errors. I guess this is a pet peeve of mine because I have found it happening SOOOO often.

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were many parts where it became very confusing and you had to keep reading parts over and over again to try and make sense of it.

As for the romance, both Hayden and Caleb seemed to get very clingy and desperate and I think they were both too 'in love' with get very quickly when they both barely knew her. Caleb knew who she was all those years ago and Hayden, really, just wanted a physical relationship. Both of them didn't actually know her properly.

Despite this, I did like the plot line, or at least most of it but I'm not sure of the sequel would just drag on or if it would have a good plot.

[Andrea Makey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the book. I would found myself sneaking times to read it. Would head to bed and say just a couple or two and would find myself at 12:30 1 in the morning reading. I highly recommend this book to every one who enjoys a good mystery. Each chapter I read, kept me intrigued, not sure what was going to happen next. Rebecca kept up the great work. Looking forward to reading more of your books. Thank you

[Kate Lansing · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an unexpected and fun read! I'm a sucker for settings in England, and this book was no exception. I really enjoyed the mystery, especially the symbols and references to alchemy, and the unpredictable conclusion. At times I wished I knew more about how Charlotte was feeling, specifically in regard to her relationships with Caleb and Hayden. Overall, a well written, unique YA read with a strong female lead!

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entranced from page one

I'm surprisingly dumbstruck by this brilliant story & anxiously anticipating reading the next book in the trilogy. A suspenseful storyline full of love triangles, unexpected plot twists & characters that engulfed every heart-wrenching emotion. I'm truly hooked on this new author I found while searching for a new book to read on www.ohfb.com (One Hundred Free Books). On to read the next in the series, Midheaven.

[Satu (azileea) · Rating 2 out of 5]

More thriller-like than I expected which gave the two stars.
Started slow, more interesting about halfway through.

What annoyed me the most was that there were LOTS of grammatical mistakes, like "Where there" instead of "Were there".

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought the beginning was pretty slow, but I'm glad I stuck with it. I liked that the main characters weren't perfect like they are in many novels. I was disappointed by the ending, but I didn't realize she was working on a second one, which I am looking forward to reading.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book full of mystery and romance. What happens to Charlotte now that she knows? Does she get back with Caleb? What does Emerick try next. To much left not answered. Can't wait for the next one.

[Druscilla831 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it so much I didn't put it down until I finished it

[Gigi · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

[Shivani · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved the storyline... i really like reading books such as this ... i'd love to read it..

[Isabella Gogna · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's an amazing book! The way it is written is great. You fall in love with the characters so fast! It was sort of confusing I must admit

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved this compelling story. a page turner that was difficult to put down! already downloading book 2!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

What could be more perfect on a cold winter's day than a good book and a hot cup of tea. Couldn't put this down and can't wait to read what will happen next.