Veiled Virtues

by Jan Fischer Wade

Yes, modern day English knights do exist... and Paige desperately needs their protection to survive! When Paige Stewart left America to house-sit in England, her only thoughts were to get away from her controlling mother and to have fun. Little did she know that her working holiday would find her hearing eerie voices, experiencing alarming dreams and bleeding from old scars. Although Paige's differences confuse and disgust her, she opens up to the shopkeeper of a strange metaphysical store in town, where she finds much more than tarot cards and crystals. Soon, Paige is stalked like prized game. Relentlessly pursued, her holiday takes a turn for the eerie and dangerous. Her only saving grace may be a modern-day English knight who sweeps her off her feet and recognizes the true virtues the American teen unknowingly possesses.

256 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2012

Reviews

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved this book and could not put it down! This is the story of an American girl named Paige who visits England the summer she graduates from high school to house sit. She thinks it will be a summer to have fun and get away from her mother. For the most part, it does not turn out that way. While there mysterious things begin to happen to her such as having visions, seeing ghosts and bleeding from old scars. She enters a shop in the town owned by Nathaniel Brightwater where she learns about things such as readings and crystals. At the time she enters the shop, she has no idea she will end up being the target of evil, that the people she meets in the shop will be there to help her fight it, or that there is a special connection between Nathaniel and her. While preparing to fight this evil, she discovers things about her birth, past and about special abilities.
I loved all of the characters in this book especially Paige and Nathaniel. Paige is a strong girl who handles all she is dealt with courage. She is down to earth and you cannot help but like her. From the beginning of the book you wonder about Nathaniel- is he good or bad; what is his role in things. This book has romance in it, a lot of adventure and the writing style makes it a fast, great read. I cannot wait to read the sequel, Latent Legacy, when it comes out.


http://youngadultbookaddict.blogspot....

[Marva · Rating 4 out of 5]

I groaned when I read the first page. Oh, no! Another angsty teenager whose mother hates her, blah blah blah.

Ms. Wade laid my fears to rest soon enough and kept me glued to the story before the end of chapter 1.

Paige is a high school graduate who's lucky enough to get a gig as a house sitter in England. What 18-year-old wouldn't be delighted at the prospect? On her own, a great place to live, a quaint village in the hinterlands. And even better, she meets Nathaniel, a too-hot-to-be-true real live knight. But it's a little unsettling that he owns a curiosity shop called Magog. Paige wonders if the guy is into something sinister, even though she was attracted to him.

We learn that Paige has disturbing visions on occasion which seem prescient. This ability is not something she wants to have, particularly when it causes the old scars on her forehead and hands to bleed. Messy, and people do start to wonder.

As it turns out, though, Nathaniel and his family are all members of a long-standing group called the Rosetta Guard. Many of them have greater or lesser psychic talents, so Paige's visions and stigmata (hysterically induced bleeding matching Jesus's wounds) are not outside the realm of their understanding. But, Paige shows signs of having a lot more psychic power than even she believed.

Now we're into a nice paranormal romance, and there's some evil lurking in the background. The Brotherhood of Cerberus are the dark rivals of the Guard. They have sussed out Paige's talents, and they want her in their group. A variety of attacks bring to light the purpose of the Guardians when they protect Paige from the evil Cerbs.

Lots of romance, evil bad guys, a bit of a question where loyalties lie all adds up to a rousing tale. It ends without a cliffhanger, but clearly open to a sequel. I believe the second book is already in the production line.

One nitpick. I thought the second part of the book which is in Nathaniel's point of view was not as strong as parts 1 and 3 where Paige is the focus. I think the author is more comfortable in the female voice. I can't quite say why, except the tone didn't ring as true as in Paige's voice.

Overall, a nice read. If you're a fan of YA contemporary paranormal, then you won't be disappointed with Veiled Virtues.

[Olga Godim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t often read YA, but this little book was worth the deviation from my reading routine. It reads easy and fast. The protagonist, an American girl Paige, graduated from high school and took a job house-sitting in England. Torn from her comfortable, familiar environment, she is faced with strange and frightening events. Unexplained bleeding from her long-healed, childhood scars, ghostly apparitions in her bedroom, voices in her head – everything leads Paige to confusion and uncertainty, serving as a metaphor for the heroine’s teenage angst. A practical, no-nonsense girl, she doesn’t know how to interpret the weird incidents around her or the feelings in her heart.
When she encounters Nathaniel, an owner of a New Age shop, Paige’s life becomes even more complicated but in a good way. Nathaniel adds an element of romance to her mix of unexplored emotions. As the tension mounts, the mysterious bad guys try to establish their domination over Paige, but they can’t compete with the forces of good, not while those are personified by Nathaniel, the all-around Mr. Gorgeous. Maybe too gorgeous: handsome, athletic, sweet, polite, and in love with Paige. A veritable eye-candy and rich into the bargain. He is a modern day knight in shining armor, and as such doesn’t seem real. Rather he reads like a symbol – an embodiment of every girl’s dream. I want one too.
The pacing of the plot is a bit slow in the beginning but picks up towards the end. The only problem I have with this novel is its heightened sense of secrecy. Paige doesn’t know what’s happening to her but Nathaniel does, and he withholds the information, both from Paige and from the readers, until very late into the story. And the reader in me is irritated by the enforced ignorance.
The overall impression: I wish this book was published when I was in high school. I’d have enjoyed it tremendously then, but even now, many years later, it’s still not a bad read.

[Berenice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paige was happy, this summer she would finally be free to experience life away from her over protective mother while getting to house-sit in England. What Paige never suspected was that the summer job all her friends where dying for would turn out to be well... not what she expected, hearing voices, weird dreams and her old scars start bleeding, where obviously not on her agenda.
Things start to look up when she meets the shopkeeper from what seems to be a new age store, who seems to be close by when trouble arises.

I really like this story, Paige is an interesting girl who deals whit the situation in hand the best she can. The originality of this story was another thing I liked, modern day knight meet supernatural forces, also the reason and the mystery behind Paige'g vision caught me off guard and made the hook you on.
The story is divided in to two points out view, Paige's and Natalie's, I found Nathaniel's point of view in the story to be dry and to the point at times, I didn't feel I could empathize with him, it seems like the force of this story comes from Paige's narration. The story would have been better if it had either been a one point of view story or if the connection with Nathaniel was possible and not rushed at all.
I can't wait to see what happens next and see what family secrets Paige hasn't uncover yet, and see how good versus evil clash again and how this universe expands.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Getting a chance to stay in a beautiful house in England was a dream come true for Paige Stewart. Until she found that things would not be as peaceful as she had hoped.
This story was filled with adventure and romance that will have you captivated from the very first page. England was a great setting for Paige to meet these modern day knights. The setting was beautiful and really helped to set the mood for the story.
The characters were interesting and somewhat mysterious making me want to get to know them even more. I was completely engrossed with these characters and had a great time figuring out about these knights and how they came to be right along with Paige.
Paige was a sweet girl who was easy to love. She wasn’t always sure of what she was doing especially after all of the strange events that kept happening, but she stuck by those she loved and did what she believed was best which I really admired about her.
Move over Werewolves, look out Vampires the knights are back and they are here to stay!

[Mareena · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Paige Stewart left America to house-sit for family friends in England for the summer, her only thoughts were to escape her controlling mother and to have fun. Little did she know that her working holiday would find her hearing eerie voices, experiencing alarming dreams and bleeding from old scars. Although Paige's differences confuse and disgust her, she eventually opens up to the owner of a strange metaphysical store in town, where she finds much more than tarot cards and crystals.

Soon Paige is stalked like prized game, becoming a pawn in the ancient battle that constantly rages between good and evil. Relentlessly pursued, her holiday takes a turn for the eerie and dangerous. Her only saving grace may be the modern-day English knight who sweeps her off her feet and recognizes the hidden virtues that the American teenager unknowingly possesses.

I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book as I always enjoy stories that are full of intrigue and elements of the paranormal and supernatural. I give this book an A+! and am eagerly awaiting the sequel, Latent Legacy.

[Jeanie Loiacono · Rating 5 out of 5]

Veiled Virtues by Jan Fischer-Wade
When Paige Stewart left America to house-sit in England, her only thoughts were to get away from her controlling mother and to have fun. Little did she know that her working holiday would turn into a battle between good and evil, or that she would be the epicenter of that battle. She certainly didn’t expect to be swept off her feet by a modern-day English knight. But when blood appeared on her keyboard and she discovered her childhood scars bleeding, her holiday took a turn for the eerie and dangerous, and when she ventured into the metaphysical shop run by Nathaniel Brightmore, she found much more than tarot cards and crystals.

http://www.amazon.com/Veiled-Virtues-...

[Gabby (What's Beyond Forks?) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full Review at: What's Beyond Forks?

Veiled Virtues is the first book in a new series by Jan Fischer Wade. It is a quick and entertaining read that's perfect for an escape from reality and places you into an almost modern day fairytale. The main characters were likeable, and they all had a purspose within the story. The romance was fun, flirty, and I look forward to watching it grow. Who doesn't want their own English Knight? I was hoping for a little something more from the ending, but the story kept me intrugied, and I am anxiously waiting for the release of the sequel, Latent Legacy.

[Franjessca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full Review posted on Book Lovin' Mamas

I loved reading about English Knights though and how they fight with no guns in this book. I recommend this book to YA lovers out there who like this kind of genre. I will tell you this when I was reading Nathaniel’s part and a few other characters, I was reading their parts in a British accent in my head. It’s a just a habit I guess to feel the actual effect of the book being based in English. I found it more addicting that way, I guess. I have a huge thing for men and British accents. You have to admit; it is a sexy accent. =)

[Louann · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I enjoyed this book a great deal, I had a hard time buying the romance between Nathaniel and Paige. I didn’t feel their chemistry sizzled very much at all. I found the storyline to be otherwise very engaging and unique, but much of what was set up never came to any real conclusion. The ending fell flat to me, and dragged after what I had thought was building up to something big. It does feel like the first book in a series. While I understand that the first book often sets the stage for things to come later, I also feel a book should be able to stand well on its own.

[Robbi Perna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Veiled Virtues Jan Fischer-Wade
Author Jan Fischer-Wade spins a young adult tale with adult crossover appeal. Veiled Virtues captures all the angst of its teenaged heroine yet keeps the adult reader engaged in the story line. I particularly like the educational value of the stigmata aspect--something I doubt is taught in education these days. Well, done! I can hardly wait for the sequel

[Krazybooklady]

(Review coming soon.)