Indie author friday - The Premonition series

 So my friend Lindsey texts me and tells me I HAVE to read this serise by Amy A. Bartol.  I trust her judgement of course because without even trying, we have fairly identical kindle libraries.  We read the same kinds of stuff and she carefully helps to breed and tend the plot bunnies that run rampant in my imagination, sorting out the runts from the ones that are going to grow into big beautiful strong stories.  
So anyway, when Lindsey told me I needed to read this series I said okay.  (Okay so it's not that hard to talk me into reading something anyway. :D )

This is the first book in a 5 part series by Indie author Amy Bartol.  The fifth book isnt' out yet but I'm looking forward to it now.  You can find Amy on her website or onfacebook.  


So let's start with the blurb:


My name is Evie Claremont and this was to be the making of me–my freshman year of college. I’d been hoping that once I’d arrived on Crestwood’s campus, the nightmare that I’ve been having would go away. It hasn’t. 
I may be an inexperienced seventeen-year-old, but I’m grounded…sane. I look for rational explanations to even the strangest circumstances. Since meeting sophomore Reed Wellington, however, nothing makes any sense. Whenever he’s near, I feel an attraction to him–a magnetic kind of force pulling me towards him. I know what you’re thinking…that sounds fairly awesome. Yeah, it would be…if he liked me, but Reed acts as if I’m the worst thing that has ever happened to Crestwood…or him. But get this, for some reason every time I turn around he’s there, barging into my life. 
What is the secret that he’s keeping from me? I’m hoping that it’s anything but what I suspect: that he’s not exactly normal…and neither am I. So, maybe Crestwood won’t be the making of me, but it could be the breaking of me. I’ve been left to wonder if the dark future my dream is foretelling is…inescapable.


It's also worth noting that this book is the winner of the UTOPYA 2012 award for best Debut Novel.  It doesn't even read like a debut novel, it's clear that Ms. Bartol knows what she's doing when weaving this story.  

I freaking loved this book.  The voice is strong and Evie's character arc is so gratifying it's ridiculous.  Evie goes away to college and meets this guy who, like many potentional paranormal suitors, is a dick.  No really, he growls at her, smolders, tells her she needs to leave etc.  You start off really wanting to just junk punch this guy into submission (note: Blog Author highly discourages junk punching of paranormals.)  There's another character, Russell that I frankly like better.  We'll just out it now and say I am NOT Team Reed.  I don't like him because he falls into every bad paranormal romance trope that I hate but I recognize many people love him.   See, because I'm sure you've figured out that Reed is the love interest in this paranormal romance because he's listed in the blurb.  I like him, I just don't love him.  

The true magic in this story isn't in Evie and Reed.  It's in Evie herself.  Evie isn't your average Paranormal antogonist.  She becomes her own hero by growing as a person, finding strength in herself and eventually choosing to put herself in harms way to save those she loves.  I love it when a girl can be her own hero.  The characters she introduces are unique and interesting and you want to know more about them.  

I loved the world she set this in.  She brought this college campus to life and you can't help but wish for a moment that you had gone to Crestwood instead of going to Kaplan online.   She paints a picture without drawing fine lines and limiting what you see in your imagination and it works so well.  I can say for the rest of the series that she keeps the continuity of events that happen in the first book that seem minor, they play big parts later.  

This book made me cry at several points in time and rage at others so I deem it a success.  As a writer, you want your reader to feel what you feel when writing and she captures these moods so clearly you can't help it, she gets you right in the feels.  I read this book in one sitting, not because it's short, but because I couldn't put it down.  I had a horrible book hangover because I read the entire series in a single weekend.  (I'm a speed reader but even that was pushing it) so when you read this, make sure you have TIME to read it.

What I didn't like:
Reed. I don't like Reed.  But that's a personal preference.  I was Team Russell for a long time, the last book introduced someone else that I like better.  Lindsey is a Team Bad Guy and you'll figure that out in book two. He's memorable (and won the UROPYA best villian two years running!)  Again personal preference.

I HATED the accents.  For me it's enough to say "Reed has a southern accent".  The Ya's and the Yer's were the only things that killed me in this book.  I promise to never do that to you. Ever. 

Overall I give this book 4.5 stars out of 5, withholding a half a star for the accent. 




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