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Power Within (The Lazarus Children #1)

by C.L. Causer (Goodreads Author)

3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 · rating details · 18 ratings · 13 reviews

Charlotte 'Charlie' Gordon wants nothing more, than to be a normal girl. But having a near death accident as a child, she finds out that she has powers. After accidentally electrocuting her sister and blowing up her mother's kitchen, she suppresses her powers for ten years. Unknowing that there are more people like her out there. A lot more.

That is until a secret group of...more

Kindle Edition, 319 pages

Published March 12th 2012 (first published January 1st 2012)

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May 31, 2013 J.L. Dobias rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Good novel for Young Adult paranormal romance and Sci-Fi fantasy fans

Shelves: book-shelf-11

Power Within (The Lazarus Children) by C.L. Causer

There are so many thing to like about this novel.

It has a good plot-well thought out action- well paced- suspenseful and just the right amount of twist and turns to get the reader to the very end wanting to read more. The characters are done well. I love Charlie -she caught me up from the start and kept me hanging in there. There is so much to like about this independent strong young woman to suggest that the gift of these powers that she has see...more

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May 24, 2012 Krista (CubicleBlindness Reviews) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Charlie has been trying to keep a grip on her powers that she has had for about 7 years now. But lately her powers are getting out of control and she does not know how to control them. When she finds out that some people are after her and an attempt made to kidnap her powers become too scary for her to handle alone and decides to make a visit home. She never wanted any powers, just wants to be normal.
Charlie is a good main character because she is selfless, she wants others to be safe and not hu...more

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Jun 19, 2012 Precious Mae of The Flipping Bookworm rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 4-stars

Ohmy! I am definitely surprised with the story and how it went. It was like a bomb was dropped unexpectedly in front of me after guessing a hundred times when it is going to go off. I am so blown.

Charlie is one of the many special individuals that has power within them. While others only has only one special power, Charlie has more. That is what made her the target of an institution that is determined to get to her and make her as a subject of their experiment. It was not supposed to turn out th...more

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Apr 24, 2012 Lulu (The Bookworm is Here!) rated it 4 of 5 stars

I hope I'm wrong when I say: This is one of those books that probably will never get the recognition it deserves; this is a book that should belong in the market, sitting on shelves at all bookstores. Yes, I think that Power Within is one that many people will enjoy. I certainly did!

Charlotte "Charlie", is a great main character. A girl who wants nothing more than to be normal and to keep others safe, she is a true fighter. When her "powers" start to get stronger, she must run from people who wa...more I hope I'm wrong when I say: This is one of those books that probably will never get the recognition it deserves; this is a book that should belong in the market, sitting on shelves at all bookstores. Yes, I think that Power Within is one that many people will enjoy. I certainly did!

Charlotte "Charlie", is a great main character. A girl who wants nothing more than to be normal and to keep others safe, she is a true fighter. When her "powers" start to get stronger, she must run from people who want nothing more than to hurt her, meaning she must leave her family behind. Charlie is a very relatible character and I easily connected to her. A quick thinker and strong willed, you know Charlie will not go down without a fight. Her family and friends, although not going into too much detail, were great to have in the story. Sometimes I found it difficult to keep everyone straight in my head but generally, the important characters stick in your mind. From the people she leaves behind, to the people she meets: they are all interesting to read about. I was surprised by some characters, especially at the end. What I really enjoyed were some of the conversations with Charlie and the friends she makes: they act and speak like real university/college aged teens!

Power Within did start off a little bit slow. Until the first confrontation, I had a hard time getting into it but as soon as we pass a point, I simply could not stop! I was on the edge of my seat and hooked. I finished the 400 page ebook in one day. The way the story progresses, with the dreams mixed in there (Charlie's), the foreshadowing was impressive. I loved the chunk of the book that contained Charlie's 'on the run' experience. It was like I was watching a movie unfold. All the different settings we are taken to throughout her journey were described well. Now, the "powers". I thought they were really cool and explained ok. I didn't fully understand how they came to be but I think, since this is a trilogy, it will be explained even more. I want to just mention the ending. (Author note: your cruel you know that?) it was a cliffhanger. And oh my, I was NOT at ALL expecting that revelation at the end. It just kinda made me shock-still... and pained me. I will be looking out for the second book!

I'd highly recommend this for para-normal/sci-fi, romance, action, and mystery fans. It was an incredible ride and I hope others will hop on the train!(less)

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Apr 17, 2012 Emily AKA Doodle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed, provided-by-author

Review originally posted at Doodle's Book Blog

I was really excited to read Power Within and the story didn't disappoint. C.L. Causer pulled me in and kept me guessing.

Charlie Gordon is a college student who has been living with powers since she was about eleven years old, but now they are getting out of hand. Her best friend Jake convinces her to go back home and see her doctor about getting a stronger prescription for depressants. She agrees, but what she finds is making her gut scream for her...more Review originally posted at Doodle's Book Blog

I was really excited to read Power Within and the story didn't disappoint. C.L. Causer pulled me in and kept me guessing.

Charlie Gordon is a college student who has been living with powers since she was about eleven years old, but now they are getting out of hand. Her best friend Jake convinces her to go back home and see her doctor about getting a stronger prescription for depressants. She agrees, but what she finds is making her gut scream for her to leave.

I don't want to go too in depth about the characters because most of the main characters don't come into play until about halfway through the story. So, lets start with Charlie. She has had her powers for about ten years, but has never learned to control it. It takes almost getting kidnapped for her to realize that she needs to learn how to control what she can do, but she has no idea what it is she's actually capable of doing. The other character I want to talk about is Jake. He is Charlies best friend and confidant. He knows all about her powers and the struggles she faces on a daily basis. It's through his help that Charlie is able to run away from the people who are coming after her.

There were some things I liked and didn't like while reading. I really liked that Charlie thought of others before herself. She isn't self-centered and bratty like a lot of YA characters who end up in a situation like hers. I also liked that I didn't know how it was going to end. I made assumptions throughout the book, but my jaw dropped when the truth was revealed. The build up and follow through were amazing and I'm glad I got to read this book. What I liked the most was that each character had depth and a story that shaped them into who they were. I learned a lot about the characters and understood why they acted the way they did. There was only one thing I didn't really like while I read and it was a mix-up in past and present tense. It didn't impact the story line in any way because as I read over it, I corrected the errors. It was annoying on occasion, but was something I got used to and overlooked.

Overall, the book was a great read and I recommend it to paranormal lovers who want to read about characters who aren't in high school, but are still classified YA. I can't wait to read the next installment to the series!(less)

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May 12, 2012 Vanessa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: received-from-author

At the beginning, I have to admit that I didn’t truly enjoy this book as much. It started rather slow but with adequate amount of suspense to fill in the space. Overall, the scenes in England weren’t able to hold my interest that at some point my reading just felt forced and I didn’t like it at all. Then Charlie goes to New York and that’s when everything started to get exciting with all the love interest and all. The author redeemed herself completely with the New York part although the family...more At the beginning, I have to admit that I didn’t truly enjoy this book as much. It started rather slow but with adequate amount of suspense to fill in the space. Overall, the scenes in England weren’t able to hold my interest that at some point my reading just felt forced and I didn’t like it at all. Then Charlie goes to New York and that’s when everything started to get exciting with all the love interest and all. The author redeemed herself completely with the New York part although the family member line-up sort of reminded me of the X:Men characters. The best thing about this book was the story line was really unpredictable. I couldn’t predict what’s going to happen next and that added up to the whole anticipation. The wicked revelation about some people around her was one of the things I never saw coming. The author also gave us enough idea of who Charlie is as a person and young woman as well as what she is able to do. However, I still couldn’t figure out how she gets her power or perhaps I had missed something in my reading.

Charlie is a strong and likeable character. As a young woman, she has her own personal issues that always relate to her power and she deals with it while being a student at a uni all at the same time. And then there’s Jake, who I thought was charming and I knew right from the beginning he has a serious crush on Charlie. But then along came Tyler, the American boy who wins her heart over with his own charm. This seemed like a typical love-triangle and somewhat cliché when a girl can’t decide where her heart belongs. But, what intrigued me also were the parts where Charlie finds herself having to compete with Gracie for Tyler’s attention. Sounds complicated, eh?

Power Within had great potential to entice its readers but not without serious editing. The reason I said this was because I found some spelling errors that is of course a big no-no in any book. I’m certainly not a Spelling Police but one can easily notice some of the words spelt wrongly in some lines, especially the words “there” instead of “their” and “your” instead of “you’re”. Other than that, I should see no problem for this book to grow and gain a huge following especially with its intriguing storyline and great characters.

Originally posted at: http://borneanbookworm.blogspot.com/2...(less)

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Jul 17, 2012 Angela Fristoe rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-books

Power Within is one of those books I'm on the fence about. There is an interesting premise, but I just couldn't get into the story completely, especially in the beginning. Causer starts off with some good action, but I couldn't really get into it. Then about halfway through the story, things started clicking for me. The plot seemed to be stronger and I was actually starting to connect with Charlie.

In the first half of the story, Charlie is helped along by her best friend Jake and they have a rea...more Power Within is one of those books I'm on the fence about. There is an interesting premise, but I just couldn't get into the story completely, especially in the beginning. Causer starts off with some good action, but I couldn't really get into it. Then about halfway through the story, things started clicking for me. The plot seemed to be stronger and I was actually starting to connect with Charlie.

In the first half of the story, Charlie is helped along by her best friend Jake and they have a really sweet friendship, one I was immediately hoping would become the romantic part of the plot. Then Jake disappears, and a new love interest pops up. Tyler was more of the typical YA love interest. Good looking, mysterious, rough around the edges, and he and Charlie immediately dislike each other. Even though the romance was a bit predictable, Tyler grew on me, and I liked that Charlie never relies on him to save her.

Charlie was really the reason I kept reading. She's not one of those over the top characters. As the central character, Causer does a good job of keeping us primarily in Charlie's head, and it's a nice one to be in. She's a nice girl. She loves her family and her friends, and wants to protect them, but she's also not stupid. She's willing to accept help, and it's trying to keep everything hidden, although she is smart enough to have some trust issues with people she's just met.

The one thing that kept me from from enjoying the story was the editing. I did read the updated version the author sent me, but there were frequent grammatical errors, and while I can ignore a certain amount, they became an annoyance the further I read. An example would be the continual misuse of sat and stood. Sentences which should have said "They were sitting at the table." were written as "They were sat at the table." or instead of "They were standing at the door." it was written as "They were stood at the door.".

The last third of the book really picked up the pace and I really got into the flow of the story. I enjoyed the ending and thought it was a really strong conclusion to the first book in the series. I am definitely open to reading more by Causer.

Check out more of my reviews on my blog Turning the Pages (less)

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May 21, 2012 Star (The Bibliophilic Book Blog) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

Power Within introduces us to the Lazarus Children, special individuals whose DNA holds the key to unlocking the power within. Be the power telekinesis, empathy, enhanced physicality, fire-starting, etc. Charlie Gordon's powers were unlocked the day she nearly died in a vicious storm at sea. She's been doing everything she can to suppress them for the 10 years since their appearance. Now her time has run out and she needs to learn to unlock and control her powers before enemies she never knew ex...more

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Apr 17, 2012 Rebecca McKinnon rated it 4 of 5 stars

3.5/5 stars.

This book is fast-paced, action-packed, and emotionally charged.

There are some great characters here! Charlie has spent most of her life hiding from her "problem" -- powers that cause destruction around her. After being attacked by members of the Institute, she finds other people with powers who help her learn to focus and control them.

Never a dull moment for Charlie as her live is upturned over and over.

The story deserves 5 stars, but I feel I have to lower it due to the need for ed...more

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Jul 22, 2012 Farhana Chowdhury rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: I think this would be a great book for anyone who enjoy fantasy, young adult or romance novels.

Shelves: my-ebooks, review-requests

How much I enjoyed the book: 10/10
How well I think it was written: 8/10

I finished Power Within about a month ago and I'm so glad I did! I'm beyond grateful to Chantelle for sending this to me because it probably would have slipped by me unnoticed otherwise! As soon as I finished reading Power Within I felt so lost and confused - as though there was something missing in my life. I emailed Chantelle pretty quickly to ask her when the next book would be released and lucky for me, I don't have to wa...more How much I enjoyed the book: 10/10
How well I think it was written: 8/10

I finished Power Within about a month ago and I'm so glad I did! I'm beyond grateful to Chantelle for sending this to me because it probably would have slipped by me unnoticed otherwise! As soon as I finished reading Power Within I felt so lost and confused - as though there was something missing in my life. I emailed Chantelle pretty quickly to ask her when the next book would be released and lucky for me, I don't have to wait too long because Part II of The Lazarus Children is out in September!

The beginning of the book was a little difficult for me to get into - I honestly couldn't figure out what was going on. Once the first chapter was over with, it all became a lot clearer to understand and I found myself extremely invested in the book!

The only negative thing I can say about this book is that there were some tense issues that irked me. The majority of the book is written in third person, but every now and then there's a sentence in second person as though someone else is narrating the story. Since there is no dedicated narrator, I have to assume that this is just an editorial error. It's easy to overlook once you're focussed on the story line, but it can be off putting if you're a perfectionist!

I can't tell you how much I love - our amazing protagonist - Charlie! I can never stay mad at her for long, even when she decides to be an independent idiot. I guess my love stems from the fact that she's not a wimpy damsel in-distress: she's an assertive young woman capable of saving herself. Her internal pain and inability to trust is also something that I empathised with automatically. We all have our monsters in the closet, so it's lovely to be able to witness someone growing and maturing into a happy and stable adult in spite of this.

I absolutely love all the other characters and other Charlie's sister I didn't really have a problem with any of them which is definitely a new experience! The love triangle was such a huge tease: I found myself constantly shifting from one pairing to another! The ending (which I won't spoil) I saw coming but decided to ignore and deny until it was forced on to me. It broke my heart but was also the biggest cliff hanger that Chantelle could have put at the end of the book. It seriously leaves you wanting MORE as soon as possible.

As you can tell, I'm definitely suffering from withdrawal and will probably go back to read the book again. Honestly, this is one book I'd happily purchase for retail price from a book shop. I really hope this gets picked up by a publishing house, because The Lazarus Children deserves the recognition!(less)

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Jun 22, 2012 Annie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc

This story has a most captivating premise with the likes of what I've been hoping to see for a while: what would the life of an X-men be like before they discovered the school that could help them? In Charlie's case, she eventually does find such a place to call home but even then she is not protected from those who seek to do her harm. This is a fast-paced tale full of action, tough decisions, character depth, and danger lurking around every corner. I didn't love the ending but it was a clever...more

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May 09, 2012 Dolly rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult

I would rate this a 3.75 Stars in it's current form. The author is a breath of fresh air except for her use of tenses.
See Pure Textuality website for full review.

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Mar 31, 2012 Emma Causer rated it 5 of 5 stars

absolutely amazing read !!! I could not put it down, action packed all the way through. As soon as i finished it i wanted to read again

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