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Morning Rising

by Samantha Boyette (Goodreads Author)

3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 · rating details · 24 ratings · 15 reviews

In the ever present dusk of Inbetween, Kara Hart wakes up dirty and alone with the memory of a girl named Dylan. She remembers meeting Dylan and how her heart beat when Dylan touched her face, but nothing else. When Kara is sent to Demitar, the evil ruler of Inbetween, the truth is revealed. She is Dylan's Guardian and neither of them are who they thought they were.

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ebook, 205 pages

Published July 4th 2011 by Samantha boyette (first published June 28th 2011)

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Keeping You a Secret by Julie Anne Peters

Lesbian teen fiction

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Nov 06, 2012 S.J. Drum rated it 5 of 5 stars

I loved how this story was set in a Fantasy world yet true to life. The relationship between Kara and Dylan felt like so many teenage relationships I've witnessed and experienced myself as a teen.

Morning Rising captured the torment of Kara perfectly. The heartbreak of loving someone who doesn't outwardly return the same type of love. Trying to help and guide someone who doesn't want either. Watching someone you yearn to make your own freely giving their attention and body to others. I wanted to...more

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Aug 10, 2011 Jodie Atkinson rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: lesbian-fiction

Morning Rising by Samantha Boyette (www.samanthaboyette.com), is an interesting mix of quest and fantasy set in a fantastical world, that though similar to ours, it is oh so different.

Teenager Kara Hart wakes up in the dark, confused. Confused because she has no idea where she is and the only memories she seems to have are fleeting ones of a girl named Dylan. She discovers she is no longer in her world, but in the world of Inbetween and that she must find Dylan and save her from the evil ruler....more

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Jul 20, 2011 Annette M Guerriero Nishimoto rated it 3 of 5 stars

Today's review is on Morning Rising by Samantha Boyette

When I first began reading Morning Rising I was hesitant because I thought it would be to much like a lesbian love story. Though the two main character's; Dylan and Kara, do love each other and become a couple, it was far from what I had expected.

Dylan is a Princess in the Dayworld, and Kara is her Guardian. They were both sent to live in the human world for their protection, only now Kara has somehow traveled to the Inbetween without many m...more

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Mar 13, 2013 Selina Liaw rated it 4 of 5 stars

Its a new, refreshing twist to a young adult romance novel.
Perks of reading Morning Rising:
-There's girl-on-girl action. (Hehehehe. This is for those who like that stuff. Nothing too hardcore. =D)
-There's war and destruction.
-There's superpowers.
-Its in another dimension/world where the egg yolks are purple.
-Yes, PURPLE.

Its great to see more female characters taking up the role of heroine.
GIRL POWER! Yay!
Morning Rising took me on a journey filled with heartbreak, curses, laughter and fun.
Who kne...more

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Nov 13, 2011 (G)Emma rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-books

Characters: It took me a little while, but ultimately I ended up loving not only Dylan and Kara's relationship, but who they are as separate individuals. Kara is not only incredibly loyal and trustworthy, but she's brave and intelligent. Her love for Dylan is all encompassing and the lengths she goes to ensure Dylan is safe makes her interesting and admirable. Dylan is the epitome of a "bad girl". She's wild, free, charismatic and hard to ignore. At first I was a bit concerned that Dylan was goi...more Characters: It took me a little while, but ultimately I ended up loving not only Dylan and Kara's relationship, but who they are as separate individuals. Kara is not only incredibly loyal and trustworthy, but she's brave and intelligent. Her love for Dylan is all encompassing and the lengths she goes to ensure Dylan is safe makes her interesting and admirable. Dylan is the epitome of a "bad girl". She's wild, free, charismatic and hard to ignore. At first I was a bit concerned that Dylan was going to appear a victim and damsel in distress for the entire novel, but towards the end she became just as strong and capable as I had hoped. The romance between these two is so sweet, true and full of chemistry that is makes a great read just to see how everything evolves.

The side characters didn't get a lot of page time. But I did enjoy them, especially Baron, and I hope I get to see more of them in future novels. And boy do I hope there are future novels. It's really worth reading. 4 and a half flowers.

Writing: This book really does make you feel like you're suddenly surrounded by a whole new world. The story starts fast but still gives you time to stop being confused. Boyette does really well with tone, and it was one of my favourite aspects of this book. It makes it feel very fantasy and also provides needed immediacy and high stakes to the story. 5 flowers.

Plot: The world seems to be a bit simplified, but I hope to learn more in future books and the structure is great. Pacing was well done and I'm excited to read more. 4 and a half flowers.

End: I was very freaked out with how Boyette faked me out! But I felt much better at the end once everything happened wonderfully. 5 flowers.

Dust Jacket Description: I think it serves its purpose very well, and piques my interest with the lesbian romance! 5 flowers.

Cover: Not really my favourite, as it doesn't visualize anything from the story. However, it does look professional and very YA. 3 flowers.

Overall: This is a great book for anyone interested in seeing a great fantasy world, awesome characters with strong personalities and a wonderful lesbian romance that is a big part, but not the entirety, of the novel, pick this up! It's 99 cents on the Kindle and Nook! 4 and a half flowers.(less)

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Jan 01, 2013 Jessica McQuay rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc-review

I really enjoyed this story. It was much darker than I anticipated going into it and I really enjoyed that aspect. Boyette is very creative and her world building is fantastic. The descriptions were so vivid that I could picture everything and for me, as a reader, that is so important. I have to be able to see what I am reading to enjoy the experience. Not once did I have to worry about not being able to "see" what the author was creating.

My favorite part of Morning Rising, and where I believe B...more

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Jul 02, 2012 James Femmer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Samantha has shown herself to be a really good storyteller with this debut novel. Her characters are vivid, and the world of Inbetween is real and vibrant. The plot runs smoothly and the action was well paced. I was never bored and I look forward to the next installment in this series.

My favourite aspect of Inbetween was how it truly is a modern city, but unlike the cities we know, this is an otherworldly place as well. It is the realm of the fae, so modern technology and culture are just slight...more

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Mar 02, 2013 Alyssia rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: faeries, awww-love, read-and-review, glbt, trauma

This was teetering between a three and a four for me until the end. The last chapter really bothered me, and while I think I understand the purpose (can anyone say 'sequel'?), I thought it was to the detriment of the overall story.

more coming. Alas, work requires me to do work things.
Oops. I forgot about coming back to this.

Alright, so...
here's the story of Kara who loves Dylan with all of her being. It's not really a novel about lesbianism ... which is nice. Although I enjoy GLBT books, I thin...more This was teetering between a three and a four for me until the end. The last chapter really bothered me, and while I think I understand the purpose (can anyone say 'sequel'?), I thought it was to the detriment of the overall story.

more coming. Alas, work requires me to do work things.
Oops. I forgot about coming back to this.

Alright, so...
here's the story of Kara who loves Dylan with all of her being. It's not really a novel about lesbianism ... which is nice. Although I enjoy GLBT books, I think it is good to have some books where sexuality between GLBT characters is not really the focus. In this case, kara's love for Dylan occasionally take center stage, mostly when she's feeling awkward about how Dylan feels or when she is reacting to new people. (There's this ... so you know, right? scene and the person she is asking is like .. uh, yeah. totes obvious. And that's the end of it. Isn't that NICE?)
More than being the story of Kara though, this is Dylan's story. Or rather, it is the story of trying to rescue Dylan. You know those books where the damsel is in distress and only the man can save her? Like that, but with a woman.
Dylan gets into a lot of trouble, some because the world is cruel and some because she makes poor decisions. She has been raped and the rape is described in the book with such heartbreaking carelessness that anyone who has suffered sexual assault (and maybe those who have not) feel for her despite the fact that she's, well ... not the most likeable character ever, let's say. Both of the girls come from broken homes. Dylan is incredibly sexually promiscuous and Kara suffers from intense low self-esteem and low self-worth. Both do drugs, but Dylan does harder drugs, mroe frequently and in more destructive ways. Both smoke, although, again this is largely Dylan's area. And both run around without guidance from any helpful adult character.

I get really angry with YA books where all adults are incompetent, but the author covers this quite nicely, and it makes sense (always a plus). Also, although this is YA in terms of the characters, readers should be aware that there is some casually covered heavy issues here.

So, Dylan and Kara are both actually faeries and Kara needs to rescue Dylan from herself and from the pull of her own self-destructiveness. What happens in faerie is largely metaphor, but it is not intended to be a "dream sequence" or anything like that - just a deeper level or a source of what exists elsewhere (which is how the author covcers herself with those adult figures).

It's interesting and fun, and an easy read.

But then there's the end. It doesn't really make sense with the whole of the story, for a variety of reasons that should be apparent to anyone who's been paying attention to the plot. It's rushed and clumsy and seems entirely different from the rest of the book. I don't know why, other than to set up another book and another adventure, this time with a new villain and a third wheel.

The end soured things for me a little, but overall, I really liked this novel. I especially liked the way it dealt with serious issues and the level of metaphor that ran all along the fantasy plot. The relationship between Dylan and Kara was cute, but not overdone. It was the source of the story, but not the center of it. That was nice as well. (less)

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Feb 10, 2012 Kaitlyn Francis rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: x, arr, ax, reviewed

Ever wonder why you didn't feel wanted and that the world you lived in didn't seem right to you. For Kara Hart life wasn't always a joy until that is she meet Dylan. She knew the feelings she had for the strange girl wasn't right, but love isn't always so easy. But when you wake up with no recollection of where you are and how you got there, just that you remember a girl named Dylan what was she supposed to do stand around and do nothing. Kara needed answers and with vague memories of Dylan she...more Ever wonder why you didn't feel wanted and that the world you lived in didn't seem right to you. For Kara Hart life wasn't always a joy until that is she meet Dylan. She knew the feelings she had for the strange girl wasn't right, but love isn't always so easy. But when you wake up with no recollection of where you are and how you got there, just that you remember a girl named Dylan what was she supposed to do stand around and do nothing. Kara needed answers and with vague memories of Dylan she knew what she had to do, go to the one that took her and hope that Dylan is there safe and sound. With nothing to lose Dylan sets off into the unknown, only to find out that yes she was taken and no she couldn't have Dylan. Demitar is the one man everyone is scared of and with his influence on Dylan he can have any world he wants and since he has her already his gives Kara three days to try and get her to the Daylands, the thing is Kara didn't even know what the Daylands were and where she was which was Inbetween, with time of the essence and a ring to let her know when time runs out she must put all her faith that Dylan isn't lost to her just needs to see Kara. Because Kara knows that they must have a connection that is unbreakable.

Along her journey Kara puts her trust in two men willing to put their own lives on the line, but with a warning that she will be betrayed she must follow her gut instinct and not allow those to get too close. With her own memories coming back to her and her old memories of earth vanishing Kara knows that life isn't always what it seems it just the people willing to help you along the way. With some help the battle has just begun and the war isn't over. Kara must be the guardian she was born to be and protect Dylan at all costs.

I really loved this, the whole thing was exciting and even though both Dylan and Kara are women it didn't bother me at all love is love and with their connection it was inevitable, and plus seeing things through Kara prospective was nice because you knew how much she was willing to sacrifice for her best friend and also how much one event can lead to another so quickly. My hope is that this isn't over and that the story just begun, because with Kara anything can happen. The loved shared by both Kara and Dylan was so beautifully written that when Dylan hurt Kara I would feel for Kara so much but knew in my heart they were it, I loved every aspect of this idea and I can't wait for more readers to enjoy what was given to us all. This was precious, and I am so glad to have been given the chance to read it.

5/5 stars because it was well worth the journey

my post is here http://silenttbookblog.blogspot.com/2...(less)

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Dec 12, 2011 Bonnie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: my-library-ebooks, lgbt, fantasy, young-adult, review-request, favourites, owned-read-ebooks, my-whole-library

You can find this review, along with others, at Bookish Ardour.

I love books! If you love books you usually know you love reading all the time, but you know how sometimes when you finish reading a book and at that moment you know just how much you love books and reading? I was having that experience as I finished reading Morning Rising by Samantha Boyette and whispers of that feeling while I was reading her novel. I find it hard these days to have that pull a book creates, where you think about i...more You can find this review, along with others, at Bookish Ardour.

I love books! If you love books you usually know you love reading all the time, but you know how sometimes when you finish reading a book and at that moment you know just how much you love books and reading? I was having that experience as I finished reading Morning Rising by Samantha Boyette and whispers of that feeling while I was reading her novel. I find it hard these days to have that pull a book creates, where you think about it when you’re not reading it, you feel you won’t be able to concentrate on anything else without knowing what happens next, and when it finally ends it’s a bittersweet mix of feeling elated and sad. Morning Rising created that pull for me and after not feeling it so strongly for some time I appreciated the reading experience even more.

I believe this may be a new favourite of mine. Why? So many reasons. The first reason, so I can get this out of the way because I think this may be a big chunk of my love for it, is the LGBT concept. And I’ll just add here, this book is not necessarily about the LGBT community and I feel I must say it should not be the main focus. I can’t help but pay attention to it because I’m irked by so many things and being bisexual and all… So it’s not the focus, but I feel I must comment on it for those who are of the same mindset as me. That of not wanting to deal with stereotypes or the other things I will list further.

Of course it’s not just the LGBT concept on it’s own, that wouldn’t make me express all this love, but what the concept is coupled with. My experience of reading and watching the LGBT genre isn’t always a good one. For the most part, the media is tinged with erotica, or the community is misrepresented and stereotyped, or makes a big deal of there being gay characters. Coming across that enough kind of turns you off wanting to experience LGBT media all together.

Morning Rising isn’t erotica, there’s no stereotyping, I don’t get the impression of the author giving herself a pat on the back (I’ve read books like that before and it was painful) and my favourite is there’s no singling out anyone’s sexuality. It’s all just normal really, which is great because it is normal, but it’s lovely to be able to read a story where it isn’t made into a big deal (like I seem to be doing at the moment…). Can you tell I read mostly straight fiction? Probably. My point is the love interest isn’t a cliché in that boy meets girl way thanks to so much media expecting women to end up with men. At the same time I don’t think the whole girl ends up with girl scenario was overpowering either. It’s more of a this-person-loves-this-person scenario and gender doesn’t come into it.

I love that it’s also a YA novel. I think it’s important for there to be stories young adults can read and enjoy, both straight and LGBT, where they can relate to the characters regardless of their sexuality. And not have it geared towards one side of sexual orientation. My view may be clouded because I am bisexual, but I do feel the focus was far more on the characters and their connection to each other to the point where straight readers could read Morning Rising and not only enjoy it, but relate.

As for the characters and story itself – I’m not big on fairy even though I’ve read it a few times, but I really liked the idea of Inbetween. I would have loved to experience the world some more, but the glimpses you’re afforded while you’re reading is enough to paint a picture and give you a feel for what this place is like. There’s a great mix of fey creatures, some we know, some we’d recognise yet they’re not the generally perceived view, and others that come across as original creations. There really is motley there, but they all fit in with the fey setting.

It was also interesting having the characters have individual powers. While that could have given the story a lacklustre feel by giving the characters too easy an out, I felt they had enough limitations to not always tip the plot in their favour. However, I would have liked one of the battle scenes to include more of what was going on around them rather than centring mostly on the girls. For the length of the book though, I think the detail of the battle scenes was acceptable and it helped those scenes still had plenty of action coupled with fast-paced writing.

I enjoyed all of the characters, even Dylan. Although when it came to Dylan I found the like took some time to develop, but I think that was mainly due to her spending a lot of time under the influence of drugs. The girl has some issues to start with and then there is another reason why there are so many drugs. Getting to know her, unlike with Kara, was sketchy in the sense of her having to recover memories. I don’t feel this gave a fragmented view of her character, but I do feel it played a big role in warming up to her.

The other characters on the other hand, especially Kara and those she comes across, I found much easier to get to know and warm up to. I can’t wait to discover what happens with them and this is one of those times I’m delighted to know this is not a stand-alone novel.(less)

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Nov 16, 2011 Sally rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: lesbian, young-adult

There’s a lot going on here – a fantasy adventure, set in alternate-reality dystopia, with a lesbian romance – but it works remarkably well. Kara captured my imagination right from the start. I loved her single-minded drive, her bold heroism, and her sweetly romantic nature. She not only stands out from her surroundings, she seems to brighten the world around her. Dylan was harder to warm up to as a character, but her relationship with Kara brought her to life, and set her up for a much stronger...more

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Feb 24, 2013 Jojobean rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal, owned-on-kindle

Note: The author generously gifted this book to me in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed 'Morning Rising'. The world the author has created was interesting, and enough was revealed to keep the story going, but not so much that there is no mystery left. I enjoyed the side characters very much. They were all very likable, and each had a unique personality.

I quickly grew to love the two main characters, Dylan and Kara. I loved watching their relationship evolve, and their emotions felt very re...more

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Jul 30, 2012 Maggie Desmond-O'Brien rated it 4 of 5 stars

A fun, rollicking adventure-romance that's in need of a good editing, but still well worth the 99-cent price. Boyette is an exciting and fresh new voice, and I can't wait to see what she does next.

Find my full review here: http://maggiesbookshelf.blogspot.com/...

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Jul 02, 2012 Amanda rated it 3 of 5 stars

Good book with an exciting storyline that was paced well.

Read my full review at:
http://appraisingpages.com/2012/07/02...

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Apr 14, 2013 Heather rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own-on-kindle, read-in-2013

Fantastically well written story. Interesting world building, and a range of great characters.

I loved Kara's character right away, though I did not like the character Dylan at all and kept wondering why Kara would go through so much to put up with someone like that. Throughout the story though, its explained and makes sense and towards the end of the book Dylan did redeem herself and become much more likeable.

Left at a good cliffhangery ending, looking forward to the next book in the series.

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May 27, 2013 Teal marked it as to-read

Shelves: lgbt-to-read

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Shelves: fantasy

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Making Connection...: ARR # 138 - MORNING RISING by Samantha Boyette	14	73	Apr 19, 2013 03:15pm
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About Samantha Boyette

I live in Upstate New York and when I am not writing I work in the wine industry. My short stories have been featured on various websites and one appeared in "The Last Man Anthology". I was the Co-winner of the 2010 Textnovel.com contest. My books Morning Rising and Darkness of Morning are available on multiple formats while my Novella Voodoo is only available on the Kindle at this time.

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