Haven by Kristi Cook
10:00 AM
Author: Kristi Cook
Release Date: February 22, 2011 (hardcover)
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pages: 416
Source: Bought
Overall: 4 Stars
Summary:
Violet McKenna isn’t a normal girl with normal teenage issues; she has more to contend with than most people could handle. Violet thought she was just crazy when she had a vivid vision of her dad’s murder. Her life started falling apart when her premonition came true. She’s had flashes of other events too. The problem was nobody believed her until she found a new school: Winterhaven.
At Winterhaven, Violet finally feels like she belongs. She quickly finds a close group friends and discovers that they too have psychic ‘gifts’—as do all the students at Winterhaven. But as soon as she feels settled she discovers the most intriguing and alluring boy she has ever met, and things quickly go awry. As the attraction between them grows, intense visions of the boy’s death start to haunt her. In her premonitions the secret he is unwilling to share begins to reveal itself. And to Violet's horror, she learns that their destinies are intertwined in a critical--and deadly--way.
My Thoughts:
I've been looking forward to reading Haven for awhile now and was so glad to see that it met most of my expectations! The writing was so easy to immerse myself into that I lost track of time... and before I knew it, I was already halfway finished the novel!
I really did love the beautiful setting described for Winterhaven! There were times when I had to remind myself that it was still a boarding school set in modern day New York, yet the way the faculty address their students with such formal grace left me feeling like I was in another era. The intrigue of learning more about Violet's visions and the kindness of her new friends who take her under their wing further propelled me along to see what would happen next.
For the most part, I did become a victim of the "Aidan effect" but there were times when I found the romance between himself and Violet rather frustrating. Aidan is gorgeous, brooding and so utterly mysterious that you're eagerly flipping the pages to see what he's obviously trying to hide... but his hot and cold behaviour was kind of a turn off at times. I thought more tension and development in the romance between Aidan and Violet would have provided more of an impact to give it a swoon-worthy edge instead of what felt like instant feelings at first sight.
Did I think Haven offered anything new to the genre? No, not necessarily... yet, there is something I can't quite put my finger on that made the novel irresistible! Kristi Cook does a wonderful job laying down the foundations and giving you the background mechanics so you're not confused about this world she has envisioned. It's with these careful explanations that you discover more about the psychic gifts of the students and staff along with the limitations and responsibility that comes along with having them.
I'm just going to add one more thing now. There is a twist in the novel regarding a certain character which afterwards really helps to push the storyline forward. And I think for some readers, it's a discovery with the potential to leave mixed feelings as to the direction the novel will be taking because of it. But, of course, I'm leaving it to you to find out what it is!
Kristi Cook's debut novel will surely appeal to those in need of their latest paranormal fix with some romance thrown in as well! The novel doesn't really end on a cliffhanger note, yet there are still questions to be answered... so I'll be definitely looking forward to hopefully learning them in the second novel!
9 comments
This sounds like a pretty decent read. Not necessarily a 'must read' but worth checking out. Thanks for your honest thoughts!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad it lived up to your expectations! I'm really looking forward to reading this book as well :)
ReplyDeleteThe twist sounds intriguing! Thanks for the review :)
So glad you liked it! I loved this book *O* And the story did have some kind of twist to it, it was quite interesting >3
ReplyDeleteSo glad to hear that you enjoyed it! I'm looking forward to reading it and knowing what the twist is! =)
ReplyDeleteGreat review! Haha, I lose time like that all the time. And I definitely know what you mean by something inexplicably good about some books... I'll have to look more into this one, thanks! :)
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your review. You really described Winterhaven well.
ReplyDeleteMike
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I bought this one because I was curious about the Aidan effect but haven't gotten around to reading it. I'll move it up in my TBR pile though since it has no cliffhangers and is easy to get lost in.
ReplyDeleteThank you for a great review. Loved the book. Can't wait for the next one.
ReplyDeletewrite the book fast for peole who love might move on to somethig else
ReplyDelete