Thursday, October 3, 2013

The Athena Effect by Derrolyn Anderson [Review]

The Athena Effect (The Athena Effect #1) by Derrolyn Anderson
Format: ebook
Source: provided for review
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: August 7, 2013

The Athena Effect
1. The Athena Effect - Kindle
2. The Mackenzie Legacy
3. The Caledonian Inheritance
4. The Redcastle Redemption

Derrolyn Anderson
| Website | Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):
Caledonia has been kept a secret her entire life, raised in isolation by two very troubled people. Despite her parent’s disturbing fits, Cal is perfectly content, living at one with the nature that surrounds her, and finding adventure inside the pages of her beloved books. When an awful tragedy tears her away from her remote cabin in the woods, nothing she’s ever read has prepared her for a world that she knows very little about.

Girls and motorcycles are what bad-boy Calvin’s life is all about. Brought up in a raucous party house by his biker brother, he’s free to do as he pleases, going through the motions on his final days of high school. Aimless, Cal stopped thinking about his future a long time ago.

Attacked by a gang of thugs while running an errand for his brother, Cal is in serious trouble until a fierce girl appears out of nowhere to intervene. She chases off three grown men, sparing Cal a brutal beating before disappearing into the night like a spirit. He can’t stop thinking about his mysterious rescuer, and when she turns out to be the weird new girl at school who goes out of her way to avoid him, he can’t contain his curiosity.

He’s never met anyone like her before, and the more he learns about the unusual girl who shares his nickname, the more he wants to know. Cal can’t help falling for Cal, but can he keep her from falling victim to a dangerous enemy from her parent’s tragic past?
Thoughts on The Athena Effect: This book ended up being a lot more emotional than I was expecting it to be. Cali's differences combined with her isolated upbringing set her apart from everyone around her. She has so little in common with her classmates and her aunt that it's painful to watch. Throw in a skeevy adult who wants to do bad, bad things to poor Cali and life is not fun for this gifted girl.

Sadly, that's not even the worst of her troubles. The man who helped make her what she is -- the man who her parents ran from years ago -- wants to use her abilities for his own. Frankly, his utter dedication to his experiments is creepy beyond belief. He doesn't see that what he's doing is wrong because he's so caught up in what *might* be accomplished is he could just go one step further.

*shudder*

And then there's Cal. I liked the guy. He doesn't have the best home life (although it could honestly be A LOT worse) and he has no drive to do more than skate along. Cali's reluctant appearance in his life is a blessing because she makes him take a step back and look at what's going on around him.

I think the thing that got to me with this book is how alone Cali is before Cal pokes and prods her to accept his friendship. She's just waiting for the time she can leave and disappear into the wilderness again. It's more than a little heartbreaking.

Romance, danger, and heartache. Things that work nicely together and make you wonder how everything is going to work out for these crazy kids.

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