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The Touchstone Trilogy (Touchstone #1-3)

by Andrea K. Höst (Goodreads Author)

4.47 of 5 stars 4.47 · rating details · 107 ratings · 24 reviews

The complete Touchstone Trilogy, containing "Stray", "Lab Rat One" and "Caszandra". Rescue is only the beginning...

On her last day of high school, Cassandra Devlin walked out of exams and into a forest. Surrounded by the wrong sort of trees, and animals never featured in any nature documentary, Cass is only sure of one thing: alone, she will be lucky to survive.

The sprawl...more

ebook, 850 pages

Published November 26th 2011 by Andrea K. Hösth (first published November 25th 2011)

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Jan 19, 2013 Estara rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of quiet, bookish ya heroines and sf opera/ planetary romance

Recommended to Estara by: I liked Champion of the Rose

Shelves: ebook, read-in-2012, favorites, re-read, read-in-2013

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. There is no way I can even begin to review this objectively because the book hit so many of my personal kink buttons ^^ - if I were in my teens or twenties I would have started hogging the author's back-list as obsessively as I did Mercedes Lackey when I discovered Arrows of the Queen for the first time. For me this book is a 4.5 stars on first read. It might become a favourite reread.

In some way this trilogy reminded me of that experience. First of all you need to like quiet and shy heroines wh...more

5 likes · like · see review

Mar 23, 2012 Li rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, read-in-2012, sf, favorites

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Andrea Höst’s books have been the sort that lingered in my mind for days afterwards, with the characters and their world feeling almost real. There’s been passages I’ve re-read several times because, well, just because. And what I love is that each and every one of her stories has been refreshingly different from other books out there.

The Touchstone books would probably be shelved under YA SF, methinks – the protagonist, an Australian teen named Cass, stumbles into a portal to another universe a...more

1 like · like · see review

Jun 21, 2012 Jet rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: won, favourites

I don't normally like Sci Fi Fantasy but this book was a wow for me.

I'm not going to give too much away for I do not want to spoil :)

The story is about a teenager named Cassandra Devlin(Cass) She walks into another world. No warnings, no worm holes.

This new world is very strange with weird cat, dog, sheep like animals, There is also a strange Mist.

She faces tough challanges such as survial, coping on her own with no other fellow humans.

She eventually meets the Setari. Human like beings who a...more

1 like · like · see review

May 04, 2013 Jess elise rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: physic-powers-psy-psi, alternate-worlds, aliens

Honestly amazing. I cannot convey my love of this book. The first third was my favourite and Cassandra's thoughts and feelings were so realistic. The last third, while still good was a bit slow- pace wise but still engaging. I loved the way the author shows Cassandra, it was just really realistic. Read the last page while crying- I only do that for the good books. :)

1 like · like · see review

Apr 07, 2013 Suralxiong rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: YA-Sci-fi-Fantasy/Paranormal Romantics

Shelves: current-001

Touchstone Trilogy by Andrea K Host.

I began reading the Stray which hooked me because it reminded me of some of Robert Heinlein's later works where people could take a a left turn in just the right way and end up in another dimension. Maybe even get lost as his character JOB did. And Cassandra is such a dear character- reminding me of one of my favorite book critics whose not afraid to use the f**k word.

I could see her as this character when she discovers she's lost F**Kity F**K. Sort of jarring...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 17, 2013 Paradoxical rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013-reading-list, books-otherwise

I spent a good chunk of my life this past week reading this book. In between my classes and life in general, I was sneaking in pages and sometimes clutching the book to me going "Eeeee~" in a soft little voice. Sometimes in public. It is only mildly embarrassing.

The Touchstone Trilogy is, as is fairly obvious, three books in one. It's in diary format, which isn't my preferred sort of format, but it works here and I didn't mind it so much (well, until the end, where I thought that any sense of im...more I spent a good chunk of my life this past week reading this book. In between my classes and life in general, I was sneaking in pages and sometimes clutching the book to me going "Eeeee~" in a soft little voice. Sometimes in public. It is only mildly embarrassing.

The Touchstone Trilogy is, as is fairly obvious, three books in one. It's in diary format, which isn't my preferred sort of format, but it works here and I didn't mind it so much (well, until the end, where I thought that any sense of immediacy is lost when you know that the main character is writing the entry so obviously she is all right). It takes Cassandra, a girl from Australia, and lands her right dab in the middle of an alien world. Why? How? She has no idea. One second she was on earth, the next she was... well, somewhere else. These books detail her adventures, how she acclimates to her new environment and the people she finds herself with, and the looming threat of creatures that the people around her fight against.

Cassandra is a special person, and I happen to like her. She's brave and tries her best. She's not very strong and she can't fight her way out of a wet paper bag, really, but she doesn't need that to be special or to help. And she is, special. Her abilities give her more than a leg up and it gets to the point where it's almost silly, how important she is (I end up loving this anyway, go figure). Not to mention how in danger she is all the time and how hurt she gets. All the time. It kind of gets rather predictable. Cassandra discovers power! She gets hurt using said power! Cue angst and people panicking! Rinse and repeat. It does get a little old after a while, but she somehow manages to endear herself to you anyway. She is, however, a Mary Sue. No matter how much she gets scratched up you can't really escape this fact.

There's a fantastic amount of characters in the books. Each one is given their own little spin and circumstances that you may or may not find out completely. They're all just fun and you feel that as you read.

The plot is... well, a bit confusing. It might be because I sped along in reading it, but it's rather slow going and the entire premise is rather fantastical. In the end, I didn't get a few answers that I wanted to know, and I had to be content with that, because the scale of the plot made it so that getting answers right away would be impossible. It doesn't mean that I didn't wish for all the answers to fall right in my lap though, aha.

I would have to say that the second book is my favorite, for all that it concentrated a lot on Cassandra pining (eh heh). I apparently ate that up with a spoon because the middle made me race along like a greyhound after a mechanical rabbit. My least favorite would have to be the third book, which is a pity because I would want the ending to make me happiest. But, unfortunately, my love of the book waned at that point (view spoiler)

They were solid books. There were a few things I thought suspect. There were other things I found suspect but I liked anyway (the romance, for example. It developed at a snail pace and suddenly it hurtled forward like a meteor). The plot is fairly slow, though, and the end just kind of seemed anti climatic, which is a pity. The books are more an evolution of Cassandra and her finding her own place in this brand new world than anything else. Overall, I did enjoy reading this. 4 stars.(less)

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Feb 08, 2013 Becky rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: angsty-love, space-aliens, such-a-badass-hero, not-a-doormat-but-can-t-kick-every, favorites, lick-his-abs-hot, now-that-s-what-i-call-writing, poor-girl-needs-help, romance, sci-fi, series

Oh she did it again! I mean I have been in a real reading slump the past year. Nothing but craptastic crap out there, such as Beautiful Disaster and Fifty Shades. You know what I hate about Insta-love? Everything. But our most brilliant author Host has jerked (I mean jerked) me out of that slump of never finding anything good! I hit the jackpot!

I haven't been this obsessed with something since the Fever series and as my tastes change I can tell I find the Fever series just a tad cheesy now (a n...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jul 27, 2012 J.L. Dobias rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: everyone

Recommended to J.L. by: no one

Touchstone Trilogy by Andrea K Host.
I purchased this book after reading a sample of Andrea K Host's -And all the Stars-. I had already put the three books in my wish list prior to that. But after reading that sample I had a feeling I should just buy the whole and totally unrelated trilogy. I read through them in three days.

People have told me that writing in first person is hard to do. They have given various reasons why it does not work and sometimes those reasons are conflicted. Some even su...more Touchstone Trilogy by Andrea K Host.
I purchased this book after reading a sample of Andrea K Host's -And all the Stars-. I had already put the three books in my wish list prior to that. But after reading that sample I had a feeling I should just buy the whole and totally unrelated trilogy. I read through them in three days.

People have told me that writing in first person is hard to do. They have given various reasons why it does not work and sometimes those reasons are conflicted. Some even suggest that it's this decades fad to write in first person. Because this is written as a diary it's naturally in first person. Andrea nails first person right on the head, and right out of the box.

Cass is such an engaging character in Stray that she sucks you right into her story at the beginning. There is not doubt of Andrea's world building abilities and her strong characterization. But what really got me in this story is in the chapter February when Cass's birthday arrives. And I'm not giving anything away, other than to honestly say I was so into Cass by then that I nearly cried. It's not often a book does that.

And then there was Lab Rat One. And by now this series is peopled with a couple of handfuls of characters that you would think you'd need a score card but there are more to come and Cass has a way of making sure we don't lose track of who is who. Or maybe I should say that Andrea does.

It doesn't take long before Andrea does it to me again. Even though Cass sometimes begins to sound a bit whinny I just get so into her whole dilemma that I can't help but feel what she must be feeling.

So by Caszandra the third installment, you would think I was steeled and ready to handle it. But, Andrea through Cass has a way of now drawing you into her life and the extended family of people around her.

This series of books is one powerhouse. Well told tightly packed. Emotionally charged.

But what really got me was how it all touched me. I would need more stars if I gave a star for every time I was greatly affected by this story.

(less)

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Feb 03, 2012 Sheridan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: good-alians, fantasy, good-aliens

Wow I LOVED this series so much and I have read it over and over again so many time, but I always wanted to know what happened next, then I stumbled upon... Gratuitous Epilogue.... this is what it sounds like it is the real epilogue to the whole story and series and I loved that this tied all the loose ends up.

Gratuitous Epilogue...

is a bonus freebi written by the author and can be found at:

https://sites.google.com/a/andreakhos...

so enjoy finding out how it ends, I know I did!

"What happens when...more

1 like · like · see review

Jul 06, 2012 ala rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: indie, refreshingly-original, great-protagonist, scifi

Let me start by saying that I really, really love this author -- her characters are fresh and compelling, her writing is witty, her story ideas are original and her worlds are creative. That being said, I wish she wasn't a self-pub, because I think a good editor could help tighten up her plot-lines, suggest cuts to scenes that slow down the story and catch loose ends... I really enjoyed the first two books in the trilogy, but in my opinion the third book dragged and suffered from the first perso...more

3 likes · like · see review

Feb 26, 2013 Sho rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, romance

Oh what a fun read this was! It had a very interesting storyline with deep space travel, space ninjas (sort of) and romance as well as the growth of the main character Cassandra whose diary IS the story. She sort of falls into a rabbit hole and comes out in an Alien planet where she meets people very similar to human yet different in how the civilization developed. This is the story of her struggle to find home and family and unravel the mystery of the Alien world and her powers.
The monsters and...more

1 like · like · see review

Jul 11, 2012 Dhian rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I love this trilogy. It's a light young adult science fiction about Cassandra adventure in another world (plane). The main point is the adventure, with some romance along the way. Cassandra stumble accidentally to a new world where later she develop some unknown powers. The books are about understanding Cassandra powers and about Muina exploration.
I think the romance is a bit jumpy...but still love it...can't help to cheer on it. Where nowadays romance novels have a tendency to triangle love etc...more

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Sep 18, 2012 Sherwood Smith added it · review of another edition

Recommended to Sherwood by: Estara Swanberg

Shelves: sf

Normally I am not a fan of 'survival in the wilderness' stories--I like stories about people, preferably in lovely surroundings. But from the first page, when teenager Cassandra Devlin walks around a corner and finds herself in a deserted landscape, I was riveted, entirely due to the terrific voice, which I found engaging and witty as well as vivid.

The first two books were steal-moments-from-other-stuff page turners for me. The third was a bit more problematical; I felt that the diary format tha...more

4 likes · like · see review

Apr 16, 2013 Beth rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Really amazing. Highly recommended! Warning in the style of a journal (which segues into "normal" style first person during action scenes) but is not at all off putting.

1 like · like · see review

Feb 18, 2013 Charlotte rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: genre-sci-fi, genre-romance, genre-ya

This was a compelling story, but there were some flaws.

The story is told via diary entries, and I didn't think that conceit was entirely successful. It inserts another step between the reader and the story and makes it less immediate. I became really frustrated when there actually was a way around it built into the story. Cass can record what she sees, and why some of her entries - some of the important scenes - weren't transcripts rather than retelling, I don't know. So I docked a star for that...more

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Apr 25, 2013 Tiff rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013, e-book

I love this series. I've reread it multiple times and each and every time I don't want to put it down. The writing isn't perfect but the story grabs you so completely it doesn't even matter. I'll gobble up anything and everything Andrea K. Höst writes. She's wonderful at world building and details.

1 like · like · see review

Dec 11, 2012 Claudia rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I liked the first two books (Stray and Lab Rat One) even if they are supposed to be aimed at young adults (and I am well beyond that age). The characters are well built, there's quite a bit of action and the story flows pretty nicely. I admit I really had a hard time putting them down, especially the second one. The reason for the 3 stars is due to the last book in the trilogy: Caszandra.I found it pretty boring and kept skipping pages. The story goes on and on without a real plot and then it is...more

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Mar 20, 2013 Jenni rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favourites

One of my favourite series of books. They hold up well to a re-read - there aren't many books that I bother to re-read, but these ones definitely join that club! Convinced my husband to read them too, he isn't really one for YA but he does love Sci-Fi, and he really enjoyed the books too :)

1 like · like · see review

Aug 04, 2012 Jennifer Berger rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

loved loved LOVED this!

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Nov 14, 2012 Angelique rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was tough to get into, but all in all the story was unique and intriguing. It is always a little tough getting used to the language of a story when they have their own names for things, but they were creative for sure. The entire book is told mainly through a journal style format, but it is very suspenseful and eventful. Would I recommend it? Depends on if the person asking is into this sort of paranormal/sci-fi type read. If so, probably!

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Apr 15, 2013 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Amazingly creative. This book contains a plethora of worlds, people, and dimensions. There's also a lot of action (psychic space ninjas!!). I liked this book, but I didn't love it because I felt the people and relationships weren't fleshed out enough.

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Apr 28, 2012 Laura (Kyahgirl) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: action-adventure, coming-of-age, fantasy, favorites, romance, sci-fi-fantasy

4.5/5; 5 stars; A

This was a great trilogy. I'm so happy I saw it on the bookshelf of one of my Goodreads friends. Thanks Estara!

4 likes · like · see review

Mar 13, 2013 Anna rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sff, indie-books

Absolutely loved it, but feeling way too tired to write a review. Maybe later!

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Feb 24, 2013 Shibly Sikder rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Awesome. Finishing the Extra now

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May 22, 2013 Paopiggy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: everything-is-messed-up

May 21, 2013 Amy is currently reading it · review of another edition

May 21, 2013 Rasabado83 is currently reading it

May 18, 2013 Marie-Olga marked it as to-read

Shelves: science-fiction, romance, fantasy, recommended-from-review

May 17, 2013 Linnae rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-sci-fi

May 14, 2013 Sherene marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: really-want

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