Welcome to my tour stop! Check out my review and enter the giveaway below...
Mortal SightBy Sandra Fernandez Rhoads
YA Urban Fantasy, Paranormal
Paperback & ebook, 304 Pages
April 14th 2020 by Enclave Publishing
Summary
When Worlds Collide, Shadow Wrestles Light
Seventeen-year-old Cera Marlowe wants a normal life; one where she and her mom can stop skipping town every time a disturbing vision strikes. But when a girl she knows is murdered by a monster she can’t explain, Cera’s world turns upside down.
Suddenly thrown into an ancient supernatural battle, Cera discovers she’s not alone in her gifting and vows to use her visions to save lives. But why does John Milton’s poem Paradise Lost keep interrupting her thoughts?
In a race against time and a war against unearthly creatures, will decoding messages embedded in the works of classic literature be enough to stop the bloodshed and protect those she loves?
My Review
MORTAL SIGHT is a thrilling ride from beginning to end! A teen comes into her own and awakens to a world full of demons and a battle against darkness that she is unknowingly right in the middle of. Recommended to YA paranormal fantasy fans.
I really liked Cera at the beginning. She just wants a normal life with friends, a job, and to stay in the same place longer than a year. Her mom has moved them every year around her birthday since she was seven years old and at the beginning of this story she's approaching her 17th birthday. She also has what she calls panic attacks around her birthday and once she has one, they always move. You can tell there's something going on, something that moves in the shadows out of the corners of Cera's eyes, but she doesn't find out what until a bit later in the story. I also really liked Maddox as well as some of the other characters.
The world is a bit like other stories in the sense that it feels like demons battling angels, except this world is also a little different. There's a second plane that regular humans, or "Commons," can's see but the "Awakened" can. I thought this aspect of the storybook world, and having individuals with different talents in five main areas (healing, fighting, protecting, seeing, and caring) was interesting. I liked that the author made it her own so I didn't feel like I was reading something I'd read before—there was enough of a twist that it worked. There was definitely a lot of learning about the world and about the awakened while the intensity ramps up to the climatic end.
There were also some things that didn't work for me. One of my pet peeves is when a parent doesn't tell their child about anything, leaving them in the dark thinking they're protecting them. It's used too much and it's a hard sell when I feel it is so unrealistic since when demons and others are possibly out to kill your child I feel having them informed is better than blindly sending them out to face it all on their own, which is the case here. That didn't really work for me. I also had issues with the love triangle (or maybe more of a square?) that was going on. One guy supposedly liked a girl who was with another guy, but I got no inkling of that until another character states it. I should have seen something of that without the author having to blatantly spell it out for readers. It also felt a bit unnecessary. Then Cera started to annoy me because she just rushes into everything without thought of her actions and she became a bit one-dimensional. Then supposedly most of the characters are all about the same age, but they act like they're different ages... and then they don't. I just didn't feel like they were completely consistent. I felt like the characters needed more fleshing out and the story needed more development. Having said all that, I am intrigued to see what happens next. I was worried this would be too much allegory and not enough fantasy and that wasn't the case.
In the end, was it what I wished for? Overall, I enjoyed reading this story. If you like motley crews, a bit of romance, some teen drama, and good versus evil in an interesting paranormal fantasy way, then give this one a try.
Content: Some violence, but would consider this clean.
Source: I received a complimentary ARC from the publisher through Celebrate Lit, which did not require a positive review. All opinions are my own.
About the Author
Sandra Fernandez Rhoads is a Cuban-Colombian born in Queens, New York but currently lives in Dallas, Texas. Her previous experience includes earning a M.A. in her 17th century crush, John Milton, writing scripts and performance pieces, directing theater, acting, and running an employment consulting and marketing company. As an AFA-NIET National Finalist in Public Speaking, she welcomes an audience and dreams of playing the theme to Jurassic Park on her cello, named Lysander. Mortal Sight is her debut novel.More from Sandra
I am so excited to share this story. The original story seed for Mortal Sight came from the premise: what if someone never felt like they belonged in this world because they really didn’t? They were born for a place they didn’t know existed, an unseen realm. And if so, what things in our everyday world would shout out this truth, point to this other world, and try to get their attention to let them know that the restlessness is intentional and they were called to something bigger than themselves. The use of art and literature throughout the story comes from my own love for art and the artist community. The unique way artists look at the world could point to this other realm. I chose Milton’s Paradise Lost, in particular because the poem speaks of things invisible and unseen wars. I have a deep love for artists and the creative community and love encouraging others to tell stories through art, whether it’s visual, music, poetry, dance, writing, etc. It’s in art’s narrative that we see broken pieces of ourselves. This story came from the idea that art could create common ground, kickstart community, and maybe even change the way we see ourselves, others or even the world.
Tour Schedule
deb’s Book Review, April 30
Rebecca Tews, April 30
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, May 1
A Reader’s Brain, May 2
Blogging With Carol, May 2
For the Love of Literature, May 4
Wishful Endings, May 4
Texas Book-aholic, May 5
Inklings and notions, May 6
April Hayman, Author, May 6
For Him and My Family, May 7
Pause for Tales, May 8
Mia Reads, May 8
Through the Fire Blogs, May 9
Genesis 5020, May 11
Artistic Nobody, May 12
Emily Yager, May 13
Tour-Wide Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Sandra is giving away the grand prize package of Mortal Sight hardback with exclusive signed bookplate, plus bookmark/Sticker/Button, $30 Amazon gift card, hardback copy of Paradise Lost, and writing Journal of Pierre Auguste Cot’s The Storm!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
Do you enjoy stories like this or similar where the characters fight demons?
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