Survival (The Guardians of Vesturon, #1)

Mar 04, 2012 Lissa & Alexa The Novel Lasses rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Grades Five (5) and up

It was another one of those I saw the cover and didn’t bother reading the blurb. It was eye catching, considering I hold a family annual passes to the Planetarium. And what you know, I was right! I absolutely loved it. Hargrove did an excellent job at choosing her cover pic. I was especially elated to learn that the cover indeed has meaning that can be discovered while reading.

Survival— from the series Guardians of Vesturon a perfect title for this book as that is just what Maddi seems to keep...more It was another one of those I saw the cover and didn’t bother reading the blurb. It was eye catching, considering I hold a family annual passes to the Planetarium. And what you know, I was right! I absolutely loved it. Hargrove did an excellent job at choosing her cover pic. I was especially elated to learn that the cover indeed has meaning that can be discovered while reading.

Survival— from the series Guardians of Vesturon a perfect title for this book as that is just what Maddi seems to keep doing through the entire book. It seems as she just can’t catch a break. Hargrove does an excellent job weaving such a masterful mystery while giving us a little taste of romance with just enough laughs out loud and heart wrenching moments to keep the pages turning.

The magic of character development? Check. Yes, I know Maddi is the strong, fierce willed woman who has to drudge through one bad thing after another. I would have cracked myself. But we can’t dismiss Mr. Yummy himself Ryan. (Mover over John Smith you have been replaced!) The one who is used to getting his ways and never being question… has met his match in Maddi. And the siblings I smell sibling rivolry and if so the CW’s newest hit… (You will be out to Salvador brothers). Now I can’t over look the other brother’s and the sole sis can I. They bring warmth to the pages when dealing with Maddi, got to love them for that! However, the Rayn’s dads… not my cup tea in his short visit.

I enjoyed the way Hargrove gives you clues as to what the Guardian is and lets you draw your own conclusion. Then reveals it to the reader’s but is hesitant to reveal himself to Maddi. Writing is hard and when a story is weaved with multiple storylines it even harder. When it’s a sequel it’s imperative that the reader is satisfied. And I was!

It was terrific read and I honestly can’t wait to get my hands on Resurrection, with Maddi fighting death again, Rayn feeling her pain unable to get to her and the sibling not able to find her and let’s not forget her dead parents are with her. And what is the mark she has on her back? Is it possible something lingers with in her bloodline?

Disclosure: I participated in Read it Reap in the Shut Up & Read Group and a copy was provided to me by the author. No payment was received by me in exchange for this review. There was not any obligation to write a positive review. All opinions expressed here are entirely mine and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, the book's publisher and publicist, or the readers of this review. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

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Feb 09, 2012 Meghan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: e-books, author-review-request, first-reads, reviewed

I will start off by saying I LOVED this book! I was sucked into it's pages from beginning to end. Never a dull moment, always on the edge of my seat, couldn't wait to see what happened next. It was very fast paced, in a good way, and was never ever boring. Now that I'm done, I can't wait for the next installment in the series. I absolutely need to read it.

Now for more about the book itself. The book was divided into four different books (segments), each one more exciting than the one before it....more I will start off by saying I LOVED this book! I was sucked into it's pages from beginning to end. Never a dull moment, always on the edge of my seat, couldn't wait to see what happened next. It was very fast paced, in a good way, and was never ever boring. Now that I'm done, I can't wait for the next installment in the series. I absolutely need to read it.

Now for more about the book itself. The book was divided into four different books (segments), each one more exciting than the one before it. In the first book we get to know all about the character Madeline Pearce, or Maddie as is is more commonly called. Maddie lost her mother unexpectedly at a very young age, and not to many years later she lost her father suddenly as well. She has no other family, and you can not help but pity her. But, at the same time you admire the strength and optimism she has to carry on with her life. She picks up the pieces and tries to embrace her new life of solidarity and she does a really great job. I loved reading the first segment, I grew to like Maddie a lot. She has a great, down-to-Earth, bright, happy personality that is very endearing. She also happens to be very clumsy and accident prone, in an adorable way that had me laughing out loud on a couple different occasions. I also felt like reading her describe what her life has been like up till now was like reading a diary entry, it seemed so natural and easy flowing, like she was telling all this to her closest friend and you were that friend. She also makes a lot of references to things that are popular in our present time, and that really helps you relate with her. I especially enjoyed the Harry Potter references :).

Moving up to present time in the story line, Maddie is all alone. She has one thing that she loves and holds on to from her life with her father, and that's hiking and camping and just plain being outdoors. So this one Christmas she decides to spend the night and day camping in her favorite spot on Smokey Mountain and the very unexpected happens. Maddie comes face to face with a serial killer that targets women. This part of the book had me feeling real fear, my heart was pounding in my chest as I read through her horrifying ordeal with this mad man. I won't give to many details but it comes to a point where the killer assumes her dead, and he moves on. She then is saved by a group of people called the Nunne'hi, they are a group of people yet unknown to the rest of the world. When reading about the Nunne'hi I got a very elvish vibe from them. They are not in elves, but if I had to describe them that is what I would say. But Tolkien elves! The Nunne'hi happen to have an alliance with aliens from a planet called Vesturon, with whom they protect the earth and the people on it. The aliens who are sent to work with the Nunne'hi are called Guardians. They look just like humans, with a slightly larger frame, some super human abilities, and are much more technologically advanced than us. The Guardian who is charged with helping Maddie's healing process is named Rayn. Upon their meeting there is instant, intense, crazy attraction.

Here comes the love dilemma that tugs on our heartstrings. Maddie is a mere human, Rayn is an alien from another planet! Not only that, his father just happens to be the leader of said planet and Rayn, being his first born son, is to be his successor. So here they are, they have this attraction that, you the reader, can feel coming at you off the pages. Their relationship is electric, it's on fire! It's intensely deep, very real, and best of all (for us readers) it's strictly forbidden. Humans are never allowed to be on Rayn's planet, as well, Rayn is what we would consider royalty, he could not be paired with a human! Forbidden love has a way of reeling us in, we just have to read on to see what happens and if it's a love strong enough to beat the odds.

So, that's the big question! Will Maddie be OK with being in love with an alien, once she discovers that is what he, in fact, is? Is she ready to be close to someone again after tragically losing the ones she was closest to? Will Rayn risk losing his family, disinheriting himself from the role as leader of Vesturon, or risk being imprisoned for bringing a human to his planet? These are not the only obstacles that get thrown in their path!

But that is as far as I will take you! As I love to say, you're going to have to read it yourself to find out. And on that note, I absolutely recommend that you do so! If you're a fan of YA, Paranormal, Romance, or all of the above, get your hands on a copy and read it :) I have faith you will love it as much as I did. Great work Hargrove! Lucky for me, and all of us, the next installment: Resurrection, is to be very soon released! I personally can not wait to get my hands on it! :)
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Jul 18, 2012 Tana rated it 4 of 5 stars

Survival, a YA Paranormal Romance (The Guardians of Vesturon Series, Book #1)

By A.M. Hargrove

Survival like the title says is a YA paranormal romance novel, A.M.Hargrove has excellent writing skills this book is well written, the descriptions were good and not overly done, the character development was well thought out and it helped us know a bit about each person we encounter in the story. I was quite surprised on how much I was enjoying this book; it held my interest so much that I couldn’t sto...more Survival, a YA Paranormal Romance (The Guardians of Vesturon Series, Book #1)

By A.M. Hargrove

Survival like the title says is a YA paranormal romance novel, A.M.Hargrove has excellent writing skills this book is well written, the descriptions were good and not overly done, the character development was well thought out and it helped us know a bit about each person we encounter in the story. I was quite surprised on how much I was enjoying this book; it held my interest so much that I couldn’t stop reading and I ending up reading the whole book in one sitting. I really liked the fact that this book was a bit different from the other paranormal books I’ve read lately, instead of vampires or werewolf’s we were reading about beings from another world. Even though these beings are from another planet and more advance then us humans they are still very human like so it wasn’t as far fetch as you would think. There are some sad parts where I had to find my Kleenex and wipe my tears and then there were parts that I laughed out loud, I like when an author can make you feel actual emotions.

A brief overview of this story without giving too much away, I would say this is a story of a young woman who has had to deal with an enormous amount of loss in her life. She is a strong, independent and a heroic character, I love reading about strong independent women. She works through some of her losses and survives and heads to college. She ends up making a few good friends and her life seems to be going well. On a hiking trip during the holidays she ends up getting captured by a very evil man who likes to hunt and kill the women he has taken. Being the survivor she is she plans her escape. Barely surviving this horrific experience she is rescued by a tall handsome mysterious man who helps her recover from her injuries and they both end up feeling a strong connection to each other. Knowing that this cannot happen as they are both from different worlds he walks away. Soon he realizes his mistake and he goes back to find her, she is in the same situation as him she hasn’t been able to forgot him either. But is it possible for the two of them to be together, can she leave the only man she has ever felt safe with? Will the mad man find her again? Will she survive this time? These are all questions you have to go find out by reading this book.

I would recommend this book to any of my friends who enjoy the paranormal romance books; I also have to say that I cannot wait for book 2 to be released. In saying that I will admit when I finished the book I emailed the author right away hoping to find out how much longer I had to wait before I could read book 2. She did mention that it won’t be too long. Right now this book is on sale at Amazon for .99 cents and worth every cent and more. Please go pick up your copy.
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Jul 24, 2012 Wei Cho rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal, young-adult, request-review

One question: How did Maddie survived??? This question baffles me. I don't mean to be rude to the character, or insensitive and cold-heart, but it escapes me the logical reason of how she survived.

First of all, I will like to say that this review will be loaded with spoilers and honest, definitely honest, remarks and opinions.

I would like to start saying that this was a ____(I'll let you fill in the blank)______ ride all over again. -fingernails on chalkboard- you get the idea. I cringed at all...more One question: How did Maddie survived??? This question baffles me. I don't mean to be rude to the character, or insensitive and cold-heart, but it escapes me the logical reason of how she survived.

First of all, I will like to say that this review will be loaded with spoilers and honest, definitely honest, remarks and opinions.

I would like to start saying that this was a ____(I'll let you fill in the blank)______ ride all over again. -fingernails on chalkboard- you get the idea. I cringed at all the spots where I could tell this was possibly a rip-off, but with a set of very different characters.

Basic story line: Clumsy, accident-prone, pretty but thinks no one believes so, girl goes hiking in the mountains. She is attacked by a stranger who randomly decided to capture her and torture her, rescued by someone who irradiates "incandescent beauty" (quoting from the book. reminds you of someone else?), is brought home by this handsome stranger with "dark looks" to be look after by him and his nice, beautiful family. When the family finds out she is human everything goes kaboom! and they say it's impossible for them to be together, but nobody listens (obviously). Stuff happens and next thing you know, they want to get marry but do not want to have sex before they're married (sounds familiar??). Family of the guy is super rich and have these expensive, sporty cars. Everyone loves to run. The clumsy girl is given all the riches anyone would want. Ending: horrible cliffhanger, which translates into: the story cannot stand on itself. It is crippled and needs crutches, direly.

Now, enough ranting about the plot. Let me get into the technical side. This story was messy, especially with all the switches of perspectives. First Maddie, then Rayn, and then a third person perspective. Somewhere in Maddie's perspective, the third-person perspective of the killer is thrown into, which tipped me off and confused me for a minute. I felt much of what happened during Rayn's perspective was just repetition of what happened during Maddie's. Nothing new, except that Rayn explains about his world and his duties and professes love for Maddie. A "love" which we already know because the author made a great job at telling us how much love they had for each other.

More about the technical part: I was annoyed by all the flashbacks Maddie has about her family and their deaths. Yes, they're tragic, but do we really need to be reminded of them all the time? These flashbacks were really confusing because I lost track of time. Also, Hargrove provided us with a book that was a "tell" almost on all its entirety. Where is the "show rather than tell" that all good authors should abide to? Was this book even edited?

It was really hard to connect with the characters. The love relationship between the two was so distant and unbelievable. Maddie was selfish, at best, because even though Rayn gave everything to her (for no apparent reason to do it, just because he is plain stupid) she is still thinking of herself. Let's get into the realistic factor, shall we?

Back to the first question, how the heck Maddie survived after being slashed across the face, heavily bruised, with several cuttings in her body, shot with arrows (?!?!?!), and then falling almost from a 30 ft free fall. It is impossible. She didn't even once cried for pain, it would have been humane for Hargrove to at least describe some of the pain because that was pure torture and slaughter. Maddie seemed "cool" with it. Oh, first of all, who goes camping on the mountains alone?

Rayn rescues her, and he immediately has feelings for her, declaring to his family that he wants to make Maddie his mate. Man, that was fast. Obviously the family opposes because they're from two separate worlds but Rayn doesn't care because he loves her so much.

Much thing happen in the middle. Which also annoyed me was the fact that Maddie wasn't into Rayn at first, but then suddenly she loves him. There was no gradual change or growth. It was just spontaneous. Rayn's family loves Maddie (except one). Rayn takes Maddie to a ride in one of his luxurious cars. Maddie is a rude girl, at least for me, she is not grateful, I don't even think she said "thank you" to Rayn and his family for all the attention they've given her.

The humor in this book was trite and plain silly. Is taking advantage of an alien for not knowing how to correctly say English phrases and slangs humorous? Maddie was teaching Rayn's sister how to correctly say things, like "blur, blur blur", "Spat it out", etc. etc. This was not funny. I don't like Maddie. She is not patient, nice, or kind.

Maddie starts to miraculously walk again after the prognostic that her spine was deeply severed. What happened to her face? Did it healed completely without leaving a scar? I suppose so because Rayn said she was beautiful. I don't know. She also camps out in the mountains again, even after her attack. There was no nervousness from her part, which led me to believe she had already forgotten because Hargrove never mentioned any uncomfortably from Maddie's part.

In the final part of the book, they go camping in the mountains again, and Maddie's attacker attacks her again. Why did he even bother to attack and torture her in the first place? Again, he does horrible things to her and she seems "cool" with it. Like it doesn't hurt that you're being cut in the flesh and shot arrows at. I would have died of pain if I were Maddie.

And we're left with a cliff-hanger, which is something very unnecessary if you ask me because this book cannot stand on its own. I don't even know the solid plot for this book, other than the characters developing feelings (that weren't even there) for each other, making it into a love story that fails. But anyway, the cliff-hanger is there, and the answer seems pretty obvious.

Which one would you decide, go with the dead parents or back to the living world with a man "you love"? I mean, it is plain obvious what she is going to choose. If she were to choose her parents, the dead over the living, there isn't much of a second installment, right?

Throughout this book, I suffered a severe case of constant eye-roll.

Disclaimer: I mean no offense to the author or anyone who liked this book. I'm sure your reasons for liking it are grounded and acceptable. I'm just sorry I cannot see it your way.
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Feb 22, 2012 Sarah rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: r2r-complete, read-2012

(I was given this book for free on a read-to-review basis)

Maddie has led a difficult life. Her mother was killed in a road traffic accident when she was 11, and then in her senior year of high school her father had a heart attack and died. Left all alone with no other family, Maddie has done her best to keep going, and has now started at university.

Worse is to come though when Maddie decides to go camping over Christmas because she used to go camping with her dad all the time. Hiking in the moun...more

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Mar 12, 2012 Sarah rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: don-t-waste-your-time

You know that book where the lonely accident prone girl who thinks she's plain jane, but everyone else thinks is gorgeous falls in love with the guy who's not human, but looks like he is except during certain parts of the day? And he has this family full of equally gorgeous super nice people who all like to drive real fast. So they have this garage full of super expensive cars which they can afford, along with their mansion sized house, due to some fuzzy details about money. And did I mention th...more

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Oct 19, 2012 Ariella Blake rated it 4 of 5 stars

More of my reviews at Secrets of Lost Words

*A copy was provided by the author for review purposes*

The Cover: Oh my! It's a pretty little cover! That girl is Maddie right? With the red hair and stuff?

First Thoughts: Mysterious places? A strikingly gorgeous stranger? Count me in, I'm reading this!

First Sentence: Maddie slowly cracked opened her eyes to see the brilliance of the morning peeking through her tent.

My Thoughts:

I overall enjoyed this story. I liked the plot and the characters. Although...more

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Jan 24, 2012 May rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: e-books, couldnt-finish

I can't say I read this book, coz i didn't hit the end...
I was really encouraged by all these nice review with almost all 4 or 5 stars, so I got it and started reading it.
I have to confess that this is the first time I relay on reviews to read a book, but was disappointed!! for this book didn't capture my attention form the first page, but until I reached chapter 9, when the suspense began...
you may wonder: "you made it to chapter 9 and didn't realize you didn't like it yet?" well, I didn't want...more

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Nov 16, 2012 Laura Thomas rated it 4 of 5 stars

When Maddie Pierce decided to go backpacking in the Smoky Mountain Park, she was unaware of any danger. Stalked and tortured by a sadistic mad man and left for dead, she is rescued by Rayn.
Who is this strikingly handsome savior and what does his presence mean for Maddie?
Join Maddie as she struggles to overcome her injuries and accept that her world has been changed forever.
I really enjoyed being swept away by this story and look forward to more of the same in Resurrection. A must read.

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Feb 15, 2013 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: own-kindle, reviews-to-come

4.5 STARS

Holy crap! That wasn't a cliffhanger ending - I plowed right through the warning barriers and dove off the edge - WOW! So going starting

Resurrection (The Guardians of Vesturon, #2)

RIGHT NOW

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Mar 11, 2012 Beckyloohoo Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ aka Mrs. Acheron Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: reading-romance-challenge

Maddie Pearce is a young girl all alone in the world. Both of her parents were taken away from her before the age of 19. It leaves her a bit lost and numb as you would expect. Thank goodness for college and good friends. But while hiking by herself on Christmas, Maddie's life is changed forever. She becomes the target of a crazed serial killer, meets an ancient society of healers and gorgeous Guardian named Rayn that draws her like a moth to a flame. Nothing in her life will ever be the same.

Thi...more

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Feb 10, 2012 Sheri rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya, reviewed, mc

This book was so full of emotion. I laughed, I cried (yep, really did), and then laughed some more!

The characters were well thought out, each with their own personality and each easily identified, which was important in the last chapters where we get different points of view all thrown in together. Surprisingly, the author did a terrific job with that, and it was not confusing at all. You always knew who was speaking all the time; that's sometimes hard to do.

The main character, Maddie, was fun...more This book was so full of emotion. I laughed, I cried (yep, really did), and then laughed some more!

The characters were well thought out, each with their own personality and each easily identified, which was important in the last chapters where we get different points of view all thrown in together. Surprisingly, the author did a terrific job with that, and it was not confusing at all. You always knew who was speaking all the time; that's sometimes hard to do.

The main character, Maddie, was fun and seemingly carefree, but she had some hurts to get past, namely losing her mom and dad, and really kept her emotions and feelings bottled up. She was so easy to like and so easy to relate to. I felt there were inconsistencies with Maddie's character, though, in that at times she seemed so strong and fiery, able to stand up for herself, and other times it was like she was the one from another planet and too immature for the character that had being built.

Rayn was sweet and caring, definitely a guy you could fall in love with. I loved reading from his point of view the best. He loves Maddie so much but is so conflicted over his feelings for her. In the end, you know that he would do anything for her.

I love having different points of view in a story, and Survival did not disappoint. The author did a great job of transitioning from one point of view to the next without being confusing. The only thing I really did not like was when we switched from Maddie's to Rayn's point of view for the first time we went back and had to re-read everything that had already happened all over again, this time from a different perspective. While that is not always a bad thing, I think that in this book it did not really change anything about the story or give us any new information, other than maybe show us Rayn's feelings for Maddie, which could have been done without going back so far.

One thing that was absolutely amazing in this book was the imagery. The descriptions of the scenery, the mountains, etc., was so beautiful, I wished I was there. The author did a great job creating this world, and even though I'm not a hiker, I could picture the mountains and trails in my head as I was reading.

I really enjoyed the author's writing style. It was simple and easy, which went well with the flow of the story. My only real complaint about this book would be…the end! I cannot believe we were left hanging! Good thing the next book in the series is now out!!

Interview with author A.M. Hargrove:
http://makingconnectionsgroup.blogspo...(less)

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Feb 17, 2012 Gabriela rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: r-r-arr-books

Spoiler Alert:
Survival is a book about a young woman whose life was altered when she became a victim of a sadistic serial killer,which unleashed a chain of events that brought her to discover not only her true love but the existence of completely different world. The book started off somewhat like an informal conversation and it was easy flowing however I did not understand why the author would want to reiterate two of the chapters. After that the story became a little difficult to follow but th...more

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Jan 24, 2012 Terri ♥ (aka Mrs. Christian Grey) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Terri ♥ (aka Mrs. Christian Grey) by: Author

Shelves: reviewed, books-i-m-mentioned-or-beta

Oh how did I like this book, let me count the ways. Well, first off it had a sci-fi element which is always a plus in my book. But Rayn and his brothers, *swoon-worthy*. Then of course, Maddie had me in tears with her antics towards the end of the book. I kept dying laughing.

I loved this writer’s style and it’s hard to write three different POVs. But I was enthusiastically reading this book. I wanted to pick it up when I had to put it down to do other things.

The only thing that bothered me was...more

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Feb 12, 2012 Diana (Mrs. Barrons) added it

Shelves: series, paranormal-or-pnr, dnf-or-skimmed-to-finish

Maddie is all alone in the world. She's lost her mom and dad and has no other family. Instead of spending another lonely Christmas by herself, she chooses to go camping, where she's attacked and hurt. Lucky for her she's brought into the world of the Guardians, her rescuers. While healing, she starts falling for Rayn, the story's hero, and he starts falling for her. But there's more to this story than just young love. Their relationship isn't meant to be, and they'll have to fight if they want t...more

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Jan 18, 2013 Dianne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-paranormal-romance, ya, ya-romance

It took quite a few pages for this story to settle in and smooth out. Until that point, it was pretty choppy going, especially with the time shifts, POV shifts. The story has great paranormal elements, romance, struggle, but, it never came together for me, I wanted more depth.

I realize that sometimes the world building of book 1 can set the stage for book 2 greatness, and I DO intend to read more in this series!

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Mar 04, 2012 Erin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-2-review-books

The book was ok... it was a rough start... mainly because i didn't know where it was going with the hunter... but it got better. Thank you

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Feb 05, 2013 Mandy (I read Indie) Anderson rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book was a struggle for me to read throughout most of the book. There were several parts that I thought weren't really necessary...like her whole collage life at the beginning of the book. A lot of the scenes were continuous talking and talking and talking. I think if the author did a little more showing and little less talking it would have been better; at least in my opinion. I seriously thought about putting it down for some time and maybe revisiting it at a later date. But a good friend...more

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Aug 01, 2012 Mary Grace rated it 1 of 5 stars

** NOTE: This book has been read and reviewed prior to the edits of Survival. There maybe a lot of changes or there maybe none. Again, this review is written BEFORE any additional edits that was done by Hargrove recently.

Survival started sounding like a mystery thriller novel. Killers, prey, survival, death, psychopath. We are introduced to the killer and in a few chapters retold his background and the need-to-know details then the story took a spin at around 1/4 through the novel.

The next chapt...more ** NOTE: This book has been read and reviewed prior to the edits of Survival. There maybe a lot of changes or there maybe none. Again, this review is written BEFORE any additional edits that was done by Hargrove recently.

Survival started sounding like a mystery thriller novel. Killers, prey, survival, death, psychopath. We are introduced to the killer and in a few chapters retold his background and the need-to-know details then the story took a spin at around 1/4 through the novel.

The next chapters lingered too long around Maddie’s recovery and how confused she was. It’s mostly back and forth questions of what happened, where she is, and stuff like that. I just felt the story needed to move on. Maddie’s exasperation was unavoidable and I am close to feeling the same as Maddie. Half of the book was too much word play and I kept on skipping through the pages.

Okay now the other part is Rayn’s POV. This part was also a lot of word play and re-encounter of what we already read. I can see what the author is trying to achieve but the dual POV is not working for me in Survival. It’s too much repeatition and that is where the appeal unfortunately disappears. I get that Rayn is hot, gorgeous and beautiful, perfect, awesome – but how many times does this have to be reiterated? We’ll also hear Maddie’s pity-babble, “I am not worthy of you” woes and after a few times it does get old.

The gushiness and mushy lines are overkill for me especially if they are repeated over and over. I just wanted to get past all the insta-love thing. I need to read more than I-love-her-so-much-I-can’t-be-without-her drama. In spite the things that bugged me in Survival, it is very unique and I do want to know how the story will pan out. Another thing I love about the story though is that we get to know about Rayn’s planet and background plus everything in between. This is the most important aspect in a story especially if your character is not human. One more thing I like is that although the author tends to linger on details a bit too much, that’s also her advantage. It’s very hard to write descriptively and make readers imagine what they are reading – in my opinion, the repetitions just needs to be toned down.

I really wanted to love this book but I just can’t. This is, as far as I can remember, the book with the most eye roll from me – it surpassed my disliked for the Morganville series and if you read that post you’ll know that it’s not good and that makes me sad because I had a lot of issues with the Morganville series. But since this is the first book of the series, I am willing to leave everything here and keep an open mind with book 2, Resurrection.

Is Survival for you? I really don’t know and I don’t want to tell you instantly don’t read it. I am hesitant myself but it is very promising and entertaining once you get past the issues I stated above or if you don’t mind my points stated. (less)

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Jul 13, 2012 Susan Ashcraft rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary, fantasy, fiction, mystery, novel, paranormal, people, romance, suspense, young-adult

Survival Book 1 of the Guardians of Vesturon Series Review 2nd edition
A.M. Hargrove

Maddie has had a sad life. An only child, she lost her mom when she 11 years old in a horrific automobile accident. Her dad was terrific, and they spent all their time together. Her dad taught her to love the outdoors, and they camped and hiked whenever they could, no matter what the weather. When she was 18 and in her final year in high school, she got the news that her dad had suffered a heart attack at work and...more Survival Book 1 of the Guardians of Vesturon Series Review 2nd edition
A.M. Hargrove

Maddie has had a sad life. An only child, she lost her mom when she 11 years old in a horrific automobile accident. Her dad was terrific, and they spent all their time together. Her dad taught her to love the outdoors, and they camped and hiked whenever they could, no matter what the weather. When she was 18 and in her final year in high school, she got the news that her dad had suffered a heart attack at work and had passed away. As both of her parents were also only children, and her grandparents had been long dead, Maddie was on her own. Due to her age, she was able to stay in the family home and finish her final year in high school.

Deciding to go to Western Carolina University, she shares a dorm room with 3 other girls. Catherine, January and Carlson are her new roommates and Catherine (Cat) and Maddie become very close. Cat and Maddie both like to hike and camp.

At Christmas time, Maddie decides to hike on the mountains close to her school and then drive down to the Florida Keys. Her plans change suddenly when she meets Darryl Carter.

Darryl Carter is not a nice man. He is a highly trained marksman and an even more skilled ghost in the forest. While serving in the army, he realized he liked to kill people and that he is very, very good at it. When he sees Maddie, he knows she's his kind of girl, the kind he likes to torture.
After spending time in Darryl's company, Maddie knows its only a matter of time until she is dead. She needs to call on all her reserves to get away from Darryl and find her way back to the trail. She breaks away and runs for her life but Darryl is an expert marksman and she feels searing pain in her calf then her shoulder. She's falling as everything around her goes black.

Upon awakening, the first thing Maddie sees is her dead mom who tells Maddie that she is destined for great things and that she needs to stay calm. As she falls into unconsciousness again, she can't feel her legs and can hear a low murmur that sounded like many people whispering. Who were these people and why are they helping her? Was she alive or had she lost her mind? And who is this Guardian, this Rayn Yarrister? How can a man this perfect be real and how can he read her mind? And always niggling at the back of her mind are two things, why can't I feel my legs and where is the horrible man, Darryl, who did this to her.

Although I found the story slow to start it soon picked up speed and carried me along to the end. The descriptions of the Appalachian Trail, the mountains and all the different characters are very well done. I grew up doing a lot of hiking and camping and these descriptions are particularly well done. The story itself had a good mix of fantasy, mystery, romance and suspense. I did find that the story did lag at certain points. The characters were very complex and well written. I did find that after time I got tired of Maddie's preoccupation with herself and with Sharra's always mixing up slang words and being corrected for it.

All together a great read for the YA audience and a solid foundation for the Guardians of Vesturon Series.
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Jul 04, 2012 Soma "Insomnia Of Books" rated it 2 of 5 stars

I signed up in a virtual blog tour, for the third book in The Guardians Of Vesturon series, so I had to read the first two books. Survival is the first book in the series, and it honestly disappointed me.
Maddie had lived a hard life, her parents are dead, and she is trying to live a normal life in college. But on Christmas break, she goes home to do some hiking. What she doesn't know, is that there is a cruel, monstrous man watching her every move. He is planning to kill her slowly and violent...more I signed up in a virtual blog tour, for the third book in The Guardians Of Vesturon series, so I had to read the first two books. Survival is the first book in the series, and it honestly disappointed me.
Maddie had lived a hard life, her parents are dead, and she is trying to live a normal life in college. But on Christmas break, she goes home to do some hiking. What she doesn't know, is that there is a cruel, monstrous man watching her every move. He is planning to kill her slowly and violently.
After catching her, Maddie's abductor almost takes the life out of her with a arrows, and leaves her at the place where she has fallen off, thinking she is dead. Although she is severely injured, she is not dead yet. A secret culture are living near that place and they call upon the Guardians of Vesturon to help her.
The Guardians take her to a cave, where they heal her, but her legs are paralyzed. The only place where she can be totally healed is on the planet of Vesturon, but the guardians are forbidden to take humans there.
Sometimes, rules are meant to be broken. As Rayn, one of the guardians and the future leader of Vesturon, falls instantly in love with Maddie and takes her to their planet to be healed. After getting back from Vesturon, Rayn and his guardian family, four brother and one sister, get to know Maddie better as she now lives in their veiled house.
Everything will turn out okay, if only Rayn's father would leave him alone. Rayn is taken back to Vesturon for a trial to decide his destiny after what he had done. When Rayn goes away, he leaves Maddie in the hands of his siblings, they should take care of her, and that's exactly what they do, until....
After talking to Rayn a little bit by telepathy, and setting the tired Sharra (Rayn's sister) to sleep, Maddie decides to take a walk around. But her abductor has come back, he is there, and now he is drop-dead willing to take Maddie down, once and for all.
What will happen to Maddie? Will she be able to escape her cruel abductor?And will she ever be able to live happily with Rayn? Find out the answers when you read the first book in the series, Survival...
First of all, I should say why I didn't like this book. The plot is pretty thick, there's a great story there, I wish the author would have put more effort into the story and it could have lead into a masterpiece.
But the poor work on the novel is very obvious, I found out that they novel needed a lot of rearranging and editing. There were sometimes, that I didn't know who was narrating, since a moment Maddie was speaking and the next moment someone (whom I have no idea who) was speaking about Maddie.
And I honestly hated Maddie, she is selfish, moody, and a cry-baby. Gosh! We know that you have been through a lot, you don't have to say it every five seconds. And Maddie is so moody too, one moment she is all sweet with Rayn, the next she is snapping back his every kind word.
I hated something else about her too, Rayn loved her soul and heart, but all Maddie cared about was how gorgeous and hot he is. She kept spatting out stupid nicknames like Mr. Hot, or Mr. Drop-Dead Gorgeous. Oh, come on, have some dignity!
I also hated the love at first sight theme, I am really getting tired of it. You don't just see someone and instantly know that they are your sole mate, it's not possible! I wished the author tried harder with the book, she definitely has a good story to tell. Although I struggled hard to finish this book, I honestly tried hard, I should read the next book in the series, since I need it for the book tour.
I hope that the next book in the series will be more developed and captivating. I am keeping my fingers crossed on this one!(less)

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Jun 20, 2012 Naomi rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: kindle owners, paranormal romance fanatics

Shelves: free-kindle-books, mind-readers, paranormal-romance, series, reveiwed, 2012

Well written, nice characters, interesting plot. 3.5 stars. Not the best, but not the worst either. It was overall, a good and enjoyable read. So let me start with the characters—

Maddie, the main character I felt was really likable (I even found myself chuckling at some of her remarks). I like how the author described her and developed her personality. But I felt that sometimes Maddie used too big words or talked too formally while in another part of the book, she would say something a bit immat...more
Well written, nice characters, interesting plot. 3.5 stars. Not the best, but not the worst either. It was overall, a good and enjoyable read. So let me start with the characters—

Maddie, the main character I felt was really likable (I even found myself chuckling at some of her remarks). I like how the author described her and developed her personality. But I felt that sometimes Maddie used too big words or talked too formally while in another part of the book, she would say something a bit immature. But I get that it was part of her personality. Another note on character: when we first meet Darryl, the description was really quite good. It was fully developed, and I could really imagine the character. That, I think, was one of the best parts for me.

The plot on the other hand was also okay. I say okay because I wish that we knew a little bit more about this particular group of paranormals, not just focusing on the romance aspect (something I’m very fussy about). But it was unique, not just vampires and fallen angels. I also had a problem with how the idea of Vesturons was presented; it usually consisted of Maddie asking Rayn questions and Rayn answering them. It was boring and could have been thought out better.

What I liked was how the author changed the point of view. I could also tell that Hangrove paid attention to in what order she told the reader things. It really helped with the suspense. I won’t get too involved with talking about the plot because I don’t like putting spoilers in my reviews so I’ll leave it at that. However, around 50-60%, the POV changed from Maddie’s first person to third person and kept jumping around which was a little confusing at first.

I found that while reading, there were a few weak spots throughout the novel. Sometimes I wished that the author would elaborate on some things while skipping others. As much as I liked retelling the story in another POV, I found it to be a little repetitive (but good idea for sure). I also found that much of the dialogue was repetitive.
I think that a few changes in punctuation and sentence structure would have made the writing more powerful. I also found 1 or 2 typos, but that’s okay, as they didn’t interfere with the context.

I understand that Hangrove had an editor, professional or not I don’t know but it shows in the overall writing. Still, like I said before, there were weak spots that could have been revised/ looked at more closely. But overall, I enjoyed it and that’s how I rate books. Definitely the best self published book I have read so far; I am looking forward to the next book in the series.
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Apr 13, 2012 Abbey *~Evanescens in Campum Aspectus~* rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book was... interesting to say the least. I was surprised about the whole thing about Rayn. That kinda threw me off a bit. Again, I must repeat it was interesting. It was not a bad book, I just preffer my paranormal books to really convince me. There were parts that were confusingly convincing that would make you think, which I liked, but other parts just seemed a little to simple to be believable. It was just way to simple for the characters to do some of the things they did. If they were...more

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Feb 25, 2012 The Bibliophile rated it 1 of 5 stars

In short this book is "Twilight" for college students.

Want to know why I say that?

Clumsy, silly girl that's in college and clearly popular and pretty but thinks no-one likes her and that she's ugly falls in lust with perfect guy who is not human.
Clumsy girl then almost immediately becomes best friends with perfect guy's sister who then helps to protect Clumsy girl.

Perfect guy's family mostly likes Clumsy girl with only one exception.

Perfect guy also has a family member that's very fashion forwar...more

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Feb 19, 2012 Mallory Anne-Marie Forbes rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: YA Paranormal, SciFi, Crime Fiction

5 Stars

Just from Page 1 I fell in love with this awesome book, whose poetic imaging is priceless. I have lived near the area which is the initial setting, so I was poised to discern if the descriptions were accurate; my judgment is-more than accurate, perfect, poetic, lyrical, and oh! How I wish I were there inside the scene! It’s not every author who can make the reader experience a story with her senses as well as mentally and emotionally, but A. M. Hargrove does! This author deserves a very w...more

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Jan 07, 2012 Tabitha rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review originally appeared at Tabitha's Book Blog

This book is about Maddie and how while on hiking trip she gets abducted by a psychotic man after barely escaping from him, she finds herself being saved by the mysterious Guardians. She soon finds herself thrown into the world of the Guardians while at the same time she’s falling in love with the very person that rescued her. Throughout the book you get a look into the history of the Guardians.

If the characters of this book could be describe...more This review originally appeared at Tabitha's Book Blog

This book is about Maddie and how while on hiking trip she gets abducted by a psychotic man after barely escaping from him, she finds herself being saved by the mysterious Guardians. She soon finds herself thrown into the world of the Guardians while at the same time she’s falling in love with the very person that rescued her. Throughout the book you get a look into the history of the Guardians.

If the characters of this book could be described in one word that would be amazing. The author did such a good job at letting the reader get to know the characters on a deeper level. Maddie was an incredible character, she’s been through so much but still manages to be optimistic about life. Not only has she dealt with an incredible amount of loss in her life but she was abducted by a psychotic man and afterwards she still managed to see the bright side of her life. I felt that throughout the book that I really got to know who Maddie was. The writing was so good that I even felt remorse for Darryl (Maddie's abductor) in the beginning because I got to see into his mind and what he was feeling. OH! Don’t let me forget Rayn, ahh! I loved his character. He was such a great match for Maddie and was so sweet. I won’t say more. You’ll just have to read the book to find out!

Okay, with what I’ve said already I bet you wouldn’t expect this book to be about aliens. Yeah, aliens! But these aren’t the aliens that we all know and love (in my case dislike). These ones looks and act just like humans, there are only a few key differences between us and them. I never thought I would read a book about aliens let alone absolutely LOVE a book I read about aliens. This book was completely different then anything I’ve read lately. I know I say that a lot, but this time I really mean it. The beginning of this book was a bit slow, but once it hit a certain spot the story just took off. By the end of the book I didn’t want to let the characters go, I grew attached in a way. The book left off with a MAJOR cliffhanger.... I will definitely be picking up the sequel when it comes out!

The one thing that I loved the most of this book was the different points of views. We didn’t just get two, we got three! Well technically more then three because there were some not so random ones thrown in to make the story even better! I just love it some much when I can see into the mind of what someone other then the main character is thinking. In this book we got to see into the minds of Maddie, Rayn, and Darryl, plus a few other characters!

I would recommend this book to anyone that is a fan of paranormal romance. I don’t think there are too many books about aliens out there, or if there is I just don’t know about them.

Overall I give this book 4 out of 5 stars!
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Aug 23, 2012 Andrea Heltsley rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book kind of rocks, folks! I usually don't go for the science fiction thing, as I enjoy paranormal and urban fantasy. This book was definitely an exception:)

The main character, Maddie has had a rough go of things. I mean, how could you not feel for the poor chick. Having to endure the death of not one, but two parents is beyond imaginable. Her coping mechanism is to build a carefully erected wall around herself, to keep everyone out. She couldn't go through that kind of loss again.

I admired...more

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Jun 10, 2012 Rachael Woohoo rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, 2012-challenge-books-challenge, book, ebook, june-challenge-2012, review-copy, reviewed, romance, june-2012, ebooks-i-own

Disclaimer: The fact that I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review has not affected my rating.

I enjoyed the first 25% - 45% of the book thoroughly - it highlights the struggles and friendships Maddie has to go through after she suffers by losing her father. For example, you watch Maddie settle into a comfortable and relatively enjoyable lifestyle, by making friends, going to dances, attending college, potentially gaining a second family etc. You also meet Darryl Carte...more Disclaimer: The fact that I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review has not affected my rating.

I enjoyed the first 25% - 45% of the book thoroughly - it highlights the struggles and friendships Maddie has to go through after she suffers by losing her father. For example, you watch Maddie settle into a comfortable and relatively enjoyable lifestyle, by making friends, going to dances, attending college, potentially gaining a second family etc. You also meet Darryl Carter - I found his story and point of view especially interesting, even though some of his thoughts were quite disturbing. He definitely brought more action and caused many developments.

During that part of the book, Maddie's character was moving, strong, and brave. Having lost two parents, but still continuing with her life was quite remarkable in my opinion. Moreover, she's able to camp overnight in mountains, in freezing snow - I wouldn't be able to do that, even with the help of my parents. And even after that, she's able to (view spoiler)

However, after Book 1 ended, I felt the story went a little downhill. On the positive side, it was interesting to learn about the Guardians and Vesturon (aliens is quite rare in PNR nowadays... I'll give Hargrove that!) and their technology. Moreover, I found the bonds that the Guardians had with their families were admirable, and classic in terms of loyalty. However, I found Rayn's insta-love towards Maddie, as well as her reaction towards Rayn, a little cliche and slightly annoying. Moreover, Rayn and Maddie seemed perfect to me (except for Maddie's clumsiness, I suppose). I also felt that the story didn't really go anywhere, except during the end and when (view spoiler). Nevertheless, I suppose I enjoyed this book, and I would read the next book because of the cliffhanger and the impending mystery regarding the Council, and the potential for the developing of characters like Xarrid, Sharra, Tesselar, and Rykerien.

Relatively quick (I think), sweet, full of romance, and easy-to-read, Survival is a relatively enjoyable read, and recommended for teenage girls who gush over paranormal romance (like Twilight)(less)

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Feb 20, 2012 Sannie Hald rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: ebooks, read2review, read-2012, free

It kills me to give a 1-star review, I am sorry but I really disliked this book. Reckon I never read anything else I disliked as much as this one.
The characters are so annoying. They are so full of themselves. And Maddie? EVERYONE thinks she is so beautiful! Her conversations with Rayn? It is repetition of everything they have already told each other. "You are beautiful, hot, I wanna kiss you. We cannot have sex. The first time I saw you I..." ETC ETC! The language when Maddie speaks is almost u...more

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Mar 30, 2012 ❉Olivia ツ rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: kindle, ya, r2r, 2012

Oh great Deity Maddie sure is annoying!!! I was given this book by the author to review and I almost didn't finish it. 25% in, I had to fight the urge to shut my kindle off and be done!! But I promised to read it and so I read on!

The main character Maddie is an 18 year old orphan who after being brutality attacked is rescued and meets one of the Guardians, a member of an alien group from the planet Vesturon, Rayn. Maddie is without a doubt childish, an airhead, whiny, unaware of how beautiful sh...more

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Survival (The Guardians of Vesturon #1)

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