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The Chronicles of Kerrigan #1
Rae of Hope
How hard do you have to shake the family tree to find the truth about the past?
Fifteen year-old Rae Kerrigan never really knew her family's history. Her mother and father died when she was young and it is only when she accepts a scholarship to the prestigious Guilder Boarding School in England that a mysterious family secret is revealed.
Will the sins of the father be the sins of the daughter?
As Rae struggles with new friends, a new school and a star-struck forbidden love, she must also face the ultimate challenge: receive a tattoo on her sixteenth birthday with specific powers that may bind her to an unspeakable darkness. It's up to Rae to undo the dark evil in her family's past and have a ray of hope for her future.
Fifteen year-old Rae Kerrigan never really knew her family's history. Her mother and father died when she was young and it is only when she accepts a scholarship to the prestigious Guilder Boarding School in England that a mysterious family secret is revealed.
Will the sins of the father be the sins of the daughter?
As Rae struggles with new friends, a new school and a star-struck forbidden love, she must also face the ultimate challenge: receive a tattoo on her sixteenth birthday with specific powers that may bind her to an unspeakable darkness. It's up to Rae to undo the dark evil in her family's past and have a ray of hope for her future.
249 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 29, 2010
857 people are currently reading
5135 people want to read
About the author
W.J. May
235 books1,182 followers Wanita May grew up in the fruit belt of Ontario - St.Catharines. Crazy-happy childhood, she always has had a vivid imagination and loads of energy.
The youngest of six -- four older brothers, and a sister -- taught her at a young age to be competitive in all aspects of life.
At sixteen, she began competing in athletics (track and field) and before she turned seventeen, she was representing Canada in high jump. She continued to compete, breaking Canada's JR High Jump record (1.92m - 6' 3 1/2" for those metric-ly challenged). She attented University of Toronto, and Kansas State University - winning CIAU's and becoming All-American 6x - NCAA Indoors Runner Up + more.
But you're not interested in her athletic career - unless of course you're curious to know she stands 1.70m (5'7") and has jumped 20cm over her head on more than one occassion. She's represented Canada at the World Championships, World Jrs., won Francophone Games, and loved every minute of every competition. From the grueling workouts, the crazy weights she lifted on her back, the days she thought her lungs were going to spit out of her mouth for lack of oxygen, the travelling around the world and the opportunity to read - her favourite past time.
Life continued with her husband (a distance runner from Liverpool, UK, who she met at KSU) and then their first, then second and finally third child. Their house became full of more imagination and stories.
Wanita and her husband run an online business, dealing in antiques and collectables - particularly jewelry and porcelain (one of the business' website: www.wadeincanada.com ).
After her father passed away in 2009, from a six-year battle with cancer (which she still believes he won the fight against), she began to write again. A passion she'd loved for years, but realized life was too short to keep putting it off.
Her first book, Rae of Hope - from the Chronicles of Kerrigan - will be available October 2011 by kNight Romance Publishing.
She is currently represented by Dawn Dowdle of Blue Ridge Literary Agency. Wanita is a writer of Young Adult, Fantasy Fiction and where ever else her little muses take her.
The youngest of six -- four older brothers, and a sister -- taught her at a young age to be competitive in all aspects of life.
At sixteen, she began competing in athletics (track and field) and before she turned seventeen, she was representing Canada in high jump. She continued to compete, breaking Canada's JR High Jump record (1.92m - 6' 3 1/2" for those metric-ly challenged). She attented University of Toronto, and Kansas State University - winning CIAU's and becoming All-American 6x - NCAA Indoors Runner Up + more.
But you're not interested in her athletic career - unless of course you're curious to know she stands 1.70m (5'7") and has jumped 20cm over her head on more than one occassion. She's represented Canada at the World Championships, World Jrs., won Francophone Games, and loved every minute of every competition. From the grueling workouts, the crazy weights she lifted on her back, the days she thought her lungs were going to spit out of her mouth for lack of oxygen, the travelling around the world and the opportunity to read - her favourite past time.
Life continued with her husband (a distance runner from Liverpool, UK, who she met at KSU) and then their first, then second and finally third child. Their house became full of more imagination and stories.
Wanita and her husband run an online business, dealing in antiques and collectables - particularly jewelry and porcelain (one of the business' website: www.wadeincanada.com ).
After her father passed away in 2009, from a six-year battle with cancer (which she still believes he won the fight against), she began to write again. A passion she'd loved for years, but realized life was too short to keep putting it off.
Her first book, Rae of Hope - from the Chronicles of Kerrigan - will be available October 2011 by kNight Romance Publishing.
She is currently represented by Dawn Dowdle of Blue Ridge Literary Agency. Wanita is a writer of Young Adult, Fantasy Fiction and where ever else her little muses take her.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 416 reviews
June 26, 2012
Rae of Hope was recommended to me by this awesome youtuber. We both have similar interests in books, and I thought, hey, why the fuck not read this since it's summer and all I do is go out and spend money anyways.
When I found out that this book was not even four dollars in the Amazon bookstore, I jumped for joy. Literally.
Here's an inexpensive book with an amazing concept!
What a surprise!
Finally!
However, little did I know that this book was not good.
At all.
I admit, the plot was going well, but our main character was awful and the writing was fucking bad.
It was so, so, so, so, so, so, so bad.
I hated it.
Oh my god.
I already said this in a status update, but I'm going to say it again. I felt like I was reading my own work from when I was 13-14. When I was 13-14, I thought my writing was so good! I posted shit on fanfiction.net thinking I was on top of the world, but now that I'm reading those shits again, I feel like crying.
I got that same feeling every time I picked up my kindle to read Rae of Hope. I'm not even going to lie to you, I cringed at the writing every fucking single time. And reading bad writing makes the entire reading experience uncomfortable. I read for fun―I'm not going to fucking sit through hell trying to decipher what the author's trying to say. Maybe decipher is not the right word, because the entire novel is full of simple, easy descriptions and bad diction. There's nothing to decipher.
Ugh.
The writing was just terrible.
It was fucking juvenile.
So childish and so mundane and so not interesting.
I'm reading it, and I see grammatical errors, I see awkward as fuck sentences.
I'm sorry, but how did this book even get published? I applaud the author for completing a novel, that's hard, but did someone teach her how to write?
Examples and examples of bad writing:
"Molly stood further down the sidewalk, talking to a very hot guy with chestnut brown hair, dark eyes and a dimple on his right cheek. It disappeared when he stopped smiling and began talking again, making Rae a little sad. She wanted to see that dimple again" (May Ch. 1, location 309).
WHAT THE FUCK.
Oh god.
"Dropping her head back against the ground, trying to remember how to breathe after having the air squished out of her lungs, she opened her eyes and waited for them to focus" (May Ch. 2, location 330).
AWKWARD. AWKWARD. AWKWARD.
"A tall boy with his dark, almost black, hair tied in a ponytail, rested his arm on Devon's shoulder. Rae noted the confident, comfortable gesture. This was obviously one of Devon's friends and Rae decided she wanted to know all of his friends" (May Ch. 2, location 579).
I know they're friends! I came to that conclusion when "Rae noted the confident, comfortable gesture." Ugh.
The author honestly thinks her readers are dumb.
"This seemed more important than a talk about the birds and the bees, which was, of course, another topic never broached" (May Ch. 4, location 851).
HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHA. WHAT? WHAT? WHAT?@#(*#(@ LOL LOL LOL OH MY GOD.
And of course: "...with this power comes responsibility" (May Ch. 4, location 892).
WAY to use Uncle Ben's quote, May.
Okay, now I have a legitimate question for the author. Why does she insist on using third-person omniscient when half of the text is the main character voicing her thoughts? Why not just fucking use first-person?
And I know that the author hasn't been a teenager for a while, but that doesn't excuse anything. Dialogue between characters is just so corny and awkward. SO FUCKING AWKWARD. But it's not just dialogue between characters that's awkward. When Rae voices her thoughts, she says the fucking weirdest things:
"Gee, thanks roomie" (May Ch. 2, location 366).
"You ain't kidding" (May Ch. 3, location 655).
"Obviously, he's thinking it too, but won't point it out. Handsome and nice...great combo. He just keeps getting better and better!" (May Ch. 3, location 771).
WHO ACTUALLY TALKS LIKE THIS?
Someone please shoot me. What the fuck is this crap I'm reading.
Let's quickly talk about Rae.
Actually, let's not.
I'm just going to give you a quote from the book and then you can judge her, okay?
"Sexier was the word he didn't say, but Rae could read it on his face. She'd seen tattoos on girls' backs but never thought of them as anything more than ink. A tramp stamp. She needed to start taking notes if she planned to fit in at this school" (May Ch. 2, location 443 & 464).
I'm crying.
This is so bad. I want my money back.
I would totally insert a GIF, but I have no idea how.
--
If I had a star for every time you brightened my day, I’d have a galaxy in my hand.
When I found out that this book was not even four dollars in the Amazon bookstore, I jumped for joy. Literally.
Here's an inexpensive book with an amazing concept!
What a surprise!
Finally!
However, little did I know that this book was not good.
At all.
I admit, the plot was going well, but our main character was awful and the writing was fucking bad.
It was so, so, so, so, so, so, so bad.
I hated it.
Oh my god.
I already said this in a status update, but I'm going to say it again. I felt like I was reading my own work from when I was 13-14. When I was 13-14, I thought my writing was so good! I posted shit on fanfiction.net thinking I was on top of the world, but now that I'm reading those shits again, I feel like crying.
I got that same feeling every time I picked up my kindle to read Rae of Hope. I'm not even going to lie to you, I cringed at the writing every fucking single time. And reading bad writing makes the entire reading experience uncomfortable. I read for fun―I'm not going to fucking sit through hell trying to decipher what the author's trying to say. Maybe decipher is not the right word, because the entire novel is full of simple, easy descriptions and bad diction. There's nothing to decipher.
Ugh.
The writing was just terrible.
It was fucking juvenile.
So childish and so mundane and so not interesting.
I'm reading it, and I see grammatical errors, I see awkward as fuck sentences.
I'm sorry, but how did this book even get published? I applaud the author for completing a novel, that's hard, but did someone teach her how to write?
Examples and examples of bad writing:
"Molly stood further down the sidewalk, talking to a very hot guy with chestnut brown hair, dark eyes and a dimple on his right cheek. It disappeared when he stopped smiling and began talking again, making Rae a little sad. She wanted to see that dimple again" (May Ch. 1, location 309).
WHAT THE FUCK.
Oh god.
"Dropping her head back against the ground, trying to remember how to breathe after having the air squished out of her lungs, she opened her eyes and waited for them to focus" (May Ch. 2, location 330).
AWKWARD. AWKWARD. AWKWARD.
"A tall boy with his dark, almost black, hair tied in a ponytail, rested his arm on Devon's shoulder. Rae noted the confident, comfortable gesture. This was obviously one of Devon's friends and Rae decided she wanted to know all of his friends" (May Ch. 2, location 579).
I know they're friends! I came to that conclusion when "Rae noted the confident, comfortable gesture." Ugh.
The author honestly thinks her readers are dumb.
"This seemed more important than a talk about the birds and the bees, which was, of course, another topic never broached" (May Ch. 4, location 851).
HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHA. WHAT? WHAT? WHAT?@#(*#(@ LOL LOL LOL OH MY GOD.
And of course: "...with this power comes responsibility" (May Ch. 4, location 892).
WAY to use Uncle Ben's quote, May.
Okay, now I have a legitimate question for the author. Why does she insist on using third-person omniscient when half of the text is the main character voicing her thoughts? Why not just fucking use first-person?
And I know that the author hasn't been a teenager for a while, but that doesn't excuse anything. Dialogue between characters is just so corny and awkward. SO FUCKING AWKWARD. But it's not just dialogue between characters that's awkward. When Rae voices her thoughts, she says the fucking weirdest things:
"Gee, thanks roomie" (May Ch. 2, location 366).
"You ain't kidding" (May Ch. 3, location 655).
"Obviously, he's thinking it too, but won't point it out. Handsome and nice...great combo. He just keeps getting better and better!" (May Ch. 3, location 771).
WHO ACTUALLY TALKS LIKE THIS?
Someone please shoot me. What the fuck is this crap I'm reading.
Let's quickly talk about Rae.
Actually, let's not.
I'm just going to give you a quote from the book and then you can judge her, okay?
"Sexier was the word he didn't say, but Rae could read it on his face. She'd seen tattoos on girls' backs but never thought of them as anything more than ink. A tramp stamp. She needed to start taking notes if she planned to fit in at this school" (May Ch. 2, location 443 & 464).
I'm crying.
This is so bad. I want my money back.
I would totally insert a GIF, but I have no idea how.
--
If I had a star for every time you brightened my day, I’d have a galaxy in my hand.
April 22, 2021
Harriet Potter!
Rae of Hope
The following ratings are out of 5:
Narration: 🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧
Romance: ❤️
Heat/Steam: N/A
Story/Plot: 📙📕📗📘📔
World building: 🌎🌏🌍🌎🌍
Character development: 🧑🏻🎤👨🏻🎤🦸🏻🦸🏼♂🦹🏻♀
The heroine: Rae Kerrigan - Rae gets a surprise scholarship to a private boarding school in England called Guilder. Rae doesn’t realize until she arrives that the school is for special students with superpowers. On their birthday at age 16, a Tatù (like a tattoo) appears which marks them as having inherited the gift from one of their parents. The Tatù is a representation of the gift/ability they have gotten. Rae turns 16 in November, so has a bit to wait.
The Hero(es): Devon - He has a fox Tatù which comes with abilities like super speed and extra strength. He has a girlfriend named Beth that goes to a school close by. He is tasked with tutoring Rae since most kids start at the school three years prior to getting their Tatù and Rae just began with no knowledge of their world.
The Story: Rae lost her parents at a young age and grew up with her uncle Argyle. His sister (Rae’s mother) got the Tatù in their family instead of Argyle and he never told her anything about her parents or their world. So when Rae came to Guilder, she knew nothing of the abilities or the Tatùs.
Rae finds out the rest of the student body seem to know more about her family than she did. It seems that marriages between two gifted people were forbidden and her father was not a good person (he is the Voldemort of this story). Some of the faculty and students expect Rae to be a chip off the old block apparently.
I have seen some reviews that hit on the fact that it is similar to Harry Potter, and others that say it is similar to Twilight because the Hero saves the heroine from a falling object similar to how Edward saves Bella from the careening van in that book/movie. Though I don’t really see the comparison there. I do see it as a similar genre or trope as Harry Potter, not really a rip off of it. I think you could take any romance and call it a rip off of another more popular book due to them being in the same trope but to me that is all it is. I like the trope of supernatural beings at a boarding school. X-men is similar in that way as well, but you would never call X-men or Harry Potter rip offs of each other because they are both uber popular.
The narration was pretty great. The story is all told in Rae’s POV so there was just one narrator, Sarah Anne Masse, and she was perfect for this book. She did different voices for all the characters and there are quite a few. Many have English and Scottish accents so it is pretty cool that she can do them all so well.
Blog|Goodreads|Facebook|Instagram|Twitter|BookBub
Rae of Hope
The following ratings are out of 5:
Narration: 🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧
Romance: ❤️
Heat/Steam: N/A
Story/Plot: 📙📕📗📘📔
World building: 🌎🌏🌍🌎🌍
Character development: 🧑🏻🎤👨🏻🎤🦸🏻🦸🏼♂🦹🏻♀
The heroine: Rae Kerrigan - Rae gets a surprise scholarship to a private boarding school in England called Guilder. Rae doesn’t realize until she arrives that the school is for special students with superpowers. On their birthday at age 16, a Tatù (like a tattoo) appears which marks them as having inherited the gift from one of their parents. The Tatù is a representation of the gift/ability they have gotten. Rae turns 16 in November, so has a bit to wait.
The Hero(es): Devon - He has a fox Tatù which comes with abilities like super speed and extra strength. He has a girlfriend named Beth that goes to a school close by. He is tasked with tutoring Rae since most kids start at the school three years prior to getting their Tatù and Rae just began with no knowledge of their world.
The Story: Rae lost her parents at a young age and grew up with her uncle Argyle. His sister (Rae’s mother) got the Tatù in their family instead of Argyle and he never told her anything about her parents or their world. So when Rae came to Guilder, she knew nothing of the abilities or the Tatùs.
Rae finds out the rest of the student body seem to know more about her family than she did. It seems that marriages between two gifted people were forbidden and her father was not a good person (he is the Voldemort of this story). Some of the faculty and students expect Rae to be a chip off the old block apparently.
I have seen some reviews that hit on the fact that it is similar to Harry Potter, and others that say it is similar to Twilight because the Hero saves the heroine from a falling object similar to how Edward saves Bella from the careening van in that book/movie. Though I don’t really see the comparison there. I do see it as a similar genre or trope as Harry Potter, not really a rip off of it. I think you could take any romance and call it a rip off of another more popular book due to them being in the same trope but to me that is all it is. I like the trope of supernatural beings at a boarding school. X-men is similar in that way as well, but you would never call X-men or Harry Potter rip offs of each other because they are both uber popular.
The narration was pretty great. The story is all told in Rae’s POV so there was just one narrator, Sarah Anne Masse, and she was perfect for this book. She did different voices for all the characters and there are quite a few. Many have English and Scottish accents so it is pretty cool that she can do them all so well.
Blog|Goodreads|Facebook|Instagram|Twitter|BookBub
February 13, 2023
This was so not for me, what a struggle trying to get through this book.😭😖🤯😬😤😰
September 10, 2015
3.5 stars
The storyline reminds me so much of Harry Potter and his first year in Hogwarts. Rae Kerrigan however, is the female version who's got untapped special abilities. She's got a questionable family history and secrets that are withheld from her by her Uncle Argyle.
When she finally starts in Guilder Boarding School in England, she meets teenagers like her who also got superpowers on their own. Devon helps her most of the time as she discovers her true identity. There is, however, a reason why the other students are quite scared of her. She learns about a special "tatu" that automatically appears and triggers one's gifts once she turns 16. To unleash her full potential, Rae realizes that the power she possess is something everyone else is afraid of.
I did enjoy reading Rae Kerrigan's magical story. I dubbed it The Girl With Fearsome Superpowers. (Corny, I know). I got easily lost in their paranormal world although the whole vibe was really Harry Potterish. If the author was inspired by the Muggles and Wizards, this story about Rae turned out quite impressive. Rae's & Devon's opposing characters were likable and the plot was light and imaginative. If you are a fan of the urban fantasy/paranormal genre then I gladly recommend checking this one out.
The storyline reminds me so much of Harry Potter and his first year in Hogwarts. Rae Kerrigan however, is the female version who's got untapped special abilities. She's got a questionable family history and secrets that are withheld from her by her Uncle Argyle.
When she finally starts in Guilder Boarding School in England, she meets teenagers like her who also got superpowers on their own. Devon helps her most of the time as she discovers her true identity. There is, however, a reason why the other students are quite scared of her. She learns about a special "tatu" that automatically appears and triggers one's gifts once she turns 16. To unleash her full potential, Rae realizes that the power she possess is something everyone else is afraid of.
I did enjoy reading Rae Kerrigan's magical story. I dubbed it The Girl With Fearsome Superpowers. (Corny, I know). I got easily lost in their paranormal world although the whole vibe was really Harry Potterish. If the author was inspired by the Muggles and Wizards, this story about Rae turned out quite impressive. Rae's & Devon's opposing characters were likable and the plot was light and imaginative. If you are a fan of the urban fantasy/paranormal genre then I gladly recommend checking this one out.
September 22, 2011
Though I am slightly biased! hee hee
SO excited to get to read this in print, instead of on the computer!
SO excited to get to read this in print, instead of on the computer!
September 16, 2014
If I could give this book zero stars I would. Where to start...the juvenile writing, the annoying, childish and irredeemable protagonist, or the uninspired plot? This is clearly a Harry Potter ripoff but the worst kind. I mean you have the blueprint for one of the most successful and well written children sagas that inspired an entire generation. Books that are still lauded today with some of the most ferocious and passionate fans and yet the author was still unable to pull off a simple copy cat novel. Save your money and skip this one. My only saving grace is that I got it for free on my Amazon Kindle.
August 11, 2025
Idk I'm having a good time with this author. Her books are short and the YA behaviors that normally annoy me are charming.
January 24, 2018
A very pleasant surprise! I haven't heard a thing about this series but I decided to read the first book... It was very good, a typical YA fantasy and well-written. It wasn't perfect but it was a very good start and I can't wait to read the next one!
October 28, 2015
You know how sometimes an author takes risks and pushes the boundaries of their genre and, it really pays off? That's not what you're going to find here. Rae of Hope is on the opposite end of spectrum - a YA novel that is so tame, I wouldn't really hesitate to deem it suitable for a middle grade audience*.
That's not the real problem though. The thing that really had me slashing stars was the insanely lazy fact checking (i.e. none, as far as I can tell) and the sheer preponderance of Americanisms.
In England, registrars fill in birth certificates and schools have uniforms. They do not have GPAs, 4.0 or otherwise. They do not have juniors and seniors.** The students do not have moms and they cannot drive until age 17. They have essays or reports, not papers. They do not colour with markers, but felt tips. In a normal school year, someone with a November birthday is one of the oldest. They don't really say "gals" or "shoot" or use "cute" to describe someone they fancy and they certainly don't use phrases like "what all can you do?" or "aww shucks".
These are just a selection of what I noticed and bear in mind that I lived in America for five years and use Americanisms quite often by accident. There are probably others that I didn't spot. I'll forgive the author writing Welsh accents that sounded like no Welsh accent I have ever heard. Accents are hard to get right. Googling is not hard. COME ON. There was no real need for Rae of Hope to be set in England. If you can't be bothered to fact check then just write about a setting that you already live in.
This really was enough to kill Rae of Hope in and of itself, but the instalove didn't help. And not just instalove, but
"Just as she was about to throw her hands over her head for what little protection she could offer herself, Rae’s neck was jerked sideways, she went flying through the air and landed on dry dirt with a thump. Before she could react, warm arms wrapped around her body, forcing her head against a hard chest. They rolled together a bit and, and just as they stopped moving, Rae felt and heard the impact of the paneling hit the ground exactly where she’d been standing a moment before." Does that sound familiar to you? No? Because to me this scene in which Rae meets Devon is extremely similar to a certain scene in Twilight...
There are some similarities between Rae and Harry Potter circa OotP too, although this is much less overt and Rae is a little more pity party ish than Harry. There is but one plus - Rae is not TSTL. She does the odd daft thing but if you ignore her crushing on Devon, she's reasonably intelligent. Not really that 4.0 GPA standard, but at least not so brain dead as to = insta-one-star.
*Though they might get even more eye-roll-y than I did at 'The kiss felt like the flutter of a thousand wings from butterflies setting off into flight. It was like time stood still and nothing else mattered at that moment or was ever going to matter again if Devon wasn’t with her. At the same moment her stole her breath away, he stole her heart.He slowly pulled away, but barely. As he spoke, his lips brushed lightly against hers. “I have, for a very long time, been very much in love with you. I’m just a fool who didn’t know how to say it. I kept trying to follow the path everyone else instructed us to go down – the one I’m expected to follow.” Devon swallowed. “When, all along, I should’ve just followed my heart.”'(gag) but this is only a one of. Literally. Apart from the odd "omg he's so cute" from Rae.
**Other than in the sense of junior school and senior school.
That's not the real problem though. The thing that really had me slashing stars was the insanely lazy fact checking (i.e. none, as far as I can tell) and the sheer preponderance of Americanisms.
In England, registrars fill in birth certificates and schools have uniforms. They do not have GPAs, 4.0 or otherwise. They do not have juniors and seniors.** The students do not have moms and they cannot drive until age 17. They have essays or reports, not papers. They do not colour with markers, but felt tips. In a normal school year, someone with a November birthday is one of the oldest. They don't really say "gals" or "shoot" or use "cute" to describe someone they fancy and they certainly don't use phrases like "what all can you do?" or "aww shucks".
These are just a selection of what I noticed and bear in mind that I lived in America for five years and use Americanisms quite often by accident. There are probably others that I didn't spot. I'll forgive the author writing Welsh accents that sounded like no Welsh accent I have ever heard. Accents are hard to get right. Googling is not hard. COME ON. There was no real need for Rae of Hope to be set in England. If you can't be bothered to fact check then just write about a setting that you already live in.
This really was enough to kill Rae of Hope in and of itself, but the instalove didn't help. And not just instalove, but
"Just as she was about to throw her hands over her head for what little protection she could offer herself, Rae’s neck was jerked sideways, she went flying through the air and landed on dry dirt with a thump. Before she could react, warm arms wrapped around her body, forcing her head against a hard chest. They rolled together a bit and, and just as they stopped moving, Rae felt and heard the impact of the paneling hit the ground exactly where she’d been standing a moment before." Does that sound familiar to you? No? Because to me this scene in which Rae meets Devon is extremely similar to a certain scene in Twilight...
There are some similarities between Rae and Harry Potter circa OotP too, although this is much less overt and Rae is a little more pity party ish than Harry. There is but one plus - Rae is not TSTL. She does the odd daft thing but if you ignore her crushing on Devon, she's reasonably intelligent. Not really that 4.0 GPA standard, but at least not so brain dead as to = insta-one-star.
*Though they might get even more eye-roll-y than I did at 'The kiss felt like the flutter of a thousand wings from butterflies setting off into flight. It was like time stood still and nothing else mattered at that moment or was ever going to matter again if Devon wasn’t with her. At the same moment her stole her breath away, he stole her heart.He slowly pulled away, but barely. As he spoke, his lips brushed lightly against hers. “I have, for a very long time, been very much in love with you. I’m just a fool who didn’t know how to say it. I kept trying to follow the path everyone else instructed us to go down – the one I’m expected to follow.” Devon swallowed. “When, all along, I should’ve just followed my heart.”'(gag) but this is only a one of. Literally. Apart from the odd "omg he's so cute" from Rae.
**Other than in the sense of junior school and senior school.
January 22, 2012
Rae is a 15 year old girl who has been through a lot in her life. At the young age of six she became an orphan in a horrific way and went to live with her aunt and uncle. Then the whisked her away to the United States to live for the past 10 years. Now she is almost 16 and they’ve suddenly sent her back to Britain to go to the Guilder Boarding School.
Right away she begins to meet new people, including Molly, her new roommate. I have a feeling that everyone who reads this book is going to fall in love with Molly. I tried to not like her, really, I did. Initially she seemed like she was all up in Rae’s face and very nosey. But it’s not long until you realize the girl has a heart of gold that is the size of Texas. She is bubbly and fun, and she has a flair for style. Molly’s joy is infectious, and her smile contagious. And as sickly as that may sound {insert snicker here} it is completely true. The girl could carry her own book, I’m sure! It’s not long before Molly drops the bomb that she doesn’t realize is a bomb. She is going to have super powers. Everyone at Guilder will, or already does.
And that includes Rae.
What?!!? Yeah, Rae is in a whole new world now. But it’s proven to her quickly and she doesn’t take much time to realize this is the truth. So then we get to meet more people, and the powers they have. There really are some very interesting ones in the group, and I can only say that yes, I was very jealous. I wish I were Rae!! To find out you are part of an elite group of people, and it’s not just because you are cool, it’s because you have actual real super powers? Heck yes!!
Ok, sorry, fan moment there.
As it turns out, everyone knows about Rae. They know her whole story. This was getting so frustrating for me. Like I wanted to scream at some of them “just tell me her the story!!” Especially Devon. Friend? Enemy in disguise? Love interest?? Oh, it’s so hard to tell. I have to be honest; he wasn’t my favorite of the boys for the entire story. I flipped like a giddy little school girl. I was interested in Andy, Riley, Devon… even Julian was a possible champion to my Rae’s heart in my eyes. My favorite for most of the story was Andy, he was totally flirty and aggressive, just like his wolf shifter power.
Then there was one scene… something from the past finds its way to Rae. The scene is so full of electricity. You’re happy, you’re sad, you feel for Rae and all that she has lost. As a mother to a young girl it really had an impact on me. This is just one point of many that show this book is not just some superficial YA read, there are real emotions and the author did a fantastic job of conveying everything.
I just loved Rae and her story. She is young, feisty, and full of heart. She’s flawed, and more beautiful for it. The girl isn’t perfect, oh no. She makes her fair share of mistakes. But she will grab you right from the start and take you on this journey with her. And you’ll be wise to go.
Right away she begins to meet new people, including Molly, her new roommate. I have a feeling that everyone who reads this book is going to fall in love with Molly. I tried to not like her, really, I did. Initially she seemed like she was all up in Rae’s face and very nosey. But it’s not long until you realize the girl has a heart of gold that is the size of Texas. She is bubbly and fun, and she has a flair for style. Molly’s joy is infectious, and her smile contagious. And as sickly as that may sound {insert snicker here} it is completely true. The girl could carry her own book, I’m sure! It’s not long before Molly drops the bomb that she doesn’t realize is a bomb. She is going to have super powers. Everyone at Guilder will, or already does.
And that includes Rae.
What?!!? Yeah, Rae is in a whole new world now. But it’s proven to her quickly and she doesn’t take much time to realize this is the truth. So then we get to meet more people, and the powers they have. There really are some very interesting ones in the group, and I can only say that yes, I was very jealous. I wish I were Rae!! To find out you are part of an elite group of people, and it’s not just because you are cool, it’s because you have actual real super powers? Heck yes!!
Ok, sorry, fan moment there.
As it turns out, everyone knows about Rae. They know her whole story. This was getting so frustrating for me. Like I wanted to scream at some of them “just tell me her the story!!” Especially Devon. Friend? Enemy in disguise? Love interest?? Oh, it’s so hard to tell. I have to be honest; he wasn’t my favorite of the boys for the entire story. I flipped like a giddy little school girl. I was interested in Andy, Riley, Devon… even Julian was a possible champion to my Rae’s heart in my eyes. My favorite for most of the story was Andy, he was totally flirty and aggressive, just like his wolf shifter power.
Then there was one scene… something from the past finds its way to Rae. The scene is so full of electricity. You’re happy, you’re sad, you feel for Rae and all that she has lost. As a mother to a young girl it really had an impact on me. This is just one point of many that show this book is not just some superficial YA read, there are real emotions and the author did a fantastic job of conveying everything.
I just loved Rae and her story. She is young, feisty, and full of heart. She’s flawed, and more beautiful for it. The girl isn’t perfect, oh no. She makes her fair share of mistakes. But she will grab you right from the start and take you on this journey with her. And you’ll be wise to go.
March 13, 2024
Fifteen-year-old Rae Kerrigan has never questioned her family’s history. That is until she accepted a scholarship to pGuilder Boarding School in England. Guilder is a very unique, gifted school. Rae has no idea what she is getting herself into or that her family’s past is going to come back and taunt her. She learns she is part of an unparalleled group of individuals who become marked with a unique tattoo (tatù) on their sixteenth birthday. The tatù awakens their supernatural powers particular to the shape of their marking.
June 22, 2021
Very basic in both writing and storyline but the characters are engaging so I’ll probably pick up the next one.
April 8, 2016
I highly recommend listening to the book, The narrator is excellent. She does a variety of English and Irish accents which sound spot-on. Rae is a 15 year old girl from New York who is being sent to a school in London by her uncle. Guilder School is actually for the gifted. Once a teenager turns 16 they receive a tatu which indicates a special power they have inherited from their parents, typically the father. In her case, Rae's father was an evil man. There is really no back story other than that fact. Guilder School and the majority of Rae's classmates think she will be evil as well.
Rae makes friendly with her roommate Molly. She meets a group of other kids and has a crush on a boy named Devon. Devon has a tatu and relationships between people with tatus are frowned upon. Rae's parents had tatus and it was presumed Rae's father was killed by her mother to prevent him from killing Rae and the world. No one knows the true story. Two people with tatus can not be in a relationship with each other because of their powers merging and morphing in their children.
The story unravels slowly and I was irritated in some chapters because Rae acted quite dense. She's a teenager who did not think to ask questions of the people surrounding her. She did grow on me in the last four chapters where maturity seemed to have taken place. She stood up for herself. She had a thought process. The villain in this book is not Dean Carter and it's interesting to see it unravel. Lanford fooled me too. He was a friend of Rae's father and wanted to continue the plot (world domination) they concocted when they were teenagers at Guilder.
Rae realized she now has a small group of friends of her own now. Their concern rang true after the incident. Julian is my favorite of her friends. He's very mature, supportive and ironic. His droll sense of humor made me laugh. I am not a fan of Devon. Rae was always chasing after him and he was unsure of himself and his feelings for her. Meh.
The final two chapters involve Julian telling Rae about Devon's feelings for her. I was hoping foolishly the blank piece of paper he gave her was about his feelings for her, but alas, no. It was QUITE romantic.
Rae confronts Devon and he slowly reveals his feelings. Meh.x2
I do take exception with both of them declaring their love for each other. They both know they like each other and want to spend time together, but love? At the ripe old age of 16 and 17? It seems too easy a plot point.
The book ends with Devon taking Rae to the airport and kissing her goodbye. I will definitely continue with this series, I want to find out exactly what happened with her mother and father. Hoping to read more about Julian. Listen to this book, you will enjoy the experience!
Rae makes friendly with her roommate Molly. She meets a group of other kids and has a crush on a boy named Devon. Devon has a tatu and relationships between people with tatus are frowned upon. Rae's parents had tatus and it was presumed Rae's father was killed by her mother to prevent him from killing Rae and the world. No one knows the true story. Two people with tatus can not be in a relationship with each other because of their powers merging and morphing in their children.
The story unravels slowly and I was irritated in some chapters because Rae acted quite dense. She's a teenager who did not think to ask questions of the people surrounding her. She did grow on me in the last four chapters where maturity seemed to have taken place. She stood up for herself. She had a thought process. The villain in this book is not Dean Carter and it's interesting to see it unravel. Lanford fooled me too. He was a friend of Rae's father and wanted to continue the plot (world domination) they concocted when they were teenagers at Guilder.
Rae realized she now has a small group of friends of her own now. Their concern rang true after the incident. Julian is my favorite of her friends. He's very mature, supportive and ironic. His droll sense of humor made me laugh. I am not a fan of Devon. Rae was always chasing after him and he was unsure of himself and his feelings for her. Meh.
The final two chapters involve Julian telling Rae about Devon's feelings for her. I was hoping foolishly the blank piece of paper he gave her was about his feelings for her, but alas, no. It was QUITE romantic.
Rae confronts Devon and he slowly reveals his feelings. Meh.x2
I do take exception with both of them declaring their love for each other. They both know they like each other and want to spend time together, but love? At the ripe old age of 16 and 17? It seems too easy a plot point.
The book ends with Devon taking Rae to the airport and kissing her goodbye. I will definitely continue with this series, I want to find out exactly what happened with her mother and father. Hoping to read more about Julian. Listen to this book, you will enjoy the experience!
May 6, 2013
Lets start with this… WHY didn’t I know
about this series before now?! I will use the excuses but I can’t
believe I was missing out! This first book if the series has been
out for a good bit and I’m disappointed in myself for not knowing-
HOWEVER- I’m all pumped because now I get to jump straight into
book two! You will all need to do this as well it’s a fantastic
story, and yes the going away to a “special school” has been done
before- including some of my all time favorite books- but I can’t
compare them because it doesn’t feel the same. This book has
different aspects and different characters and a whole different
feel to it. So Rae seems like a normal girl, she may be an orphan
but her family treats her good, but then she has to go this school,
and why I say special, it’s mildly putting it. I loved that as Rae
discovers the truth about her past and family, so do I. It’s also
creepy that EVERYONE ELSE knows but her. But when she finds out the
truth, it totally rocks her world. In going to say that Rae is a
very likable character, she’s smart, she’s determined, and no
matter what everyone else around thinks, she’s a good person. But
boy, do I expect some serious trials ahead for her Molly is the
coolest kid ever! As Rae’s roomie, she made me laugh and giggle.
She’s definitely a force to reckon with! I loved her! She’s a great
character. And there’s plenty if HAWT pieces to go around. LOL!
Lots of young men and other characters we meet her. I like the way
the author has played out an developed some of these characters.
I’m always a huge fan of secondary characters and there’s a good
bit of very interesting characters here! I think this is a great
start to a series. There’s a little but of everything to go around,
and it’s a perfect blend. It flowed well, and it made me connect!
I’m definitely looking forward to jumping right in to book two and
I know I will enjoy it just as much as I did here! I am gunna say
to anyone who enjoys YA paranormal and like a variety to your
stories, you should definitely go for this one. 5 POWERFUL PAWS!
about this series before now?! I will use the excuses but I can’t
believe I was missing out! This first book if the series has been
out for a good bit and I’m disappointed in myself for not knowing-
HOWEVER- I’m all pumped because now I get to jump straight into
book two! You will all need to do this as well it’s a fantastic
story, and yes the going away to a “special school” has been done
before- including some of my all time favorite books- but I can’t
compare them because it doesn’t feel the same. This book has
different aspects and different characters and a whole different
feel to it. So Rae seems like a normal girl, she may be an orphan
but her family treats her good, but then she has to go this school,
and why I say special, it’s mildly putting it. I loved that as Rae
discovers the truth about her past and family, so do I. It’s also
creepy that EVERYONE ELSE knows but her. But when she finds out the
truth, it totally rocks her world. In going to say that Rae is a
very likable character, she’s smart, she’s determined, and no
matter what everyone else around thinks, she’s a good person. But
boy, do I expect some serious trials ahead for her Molly is the
coolest kid ever! As Rae’s roomie, she made me laugh and giggle.
She’s definitely a force to reckon with! I loved her! She’s a great
character. And there’s plenty if HAWT pieces to go around. LOL!
Lots of young men and other characters we meet her. I like the way
the author has played out an developed some of these characters.
I’m always a huge fan of secondary characters and there’s a good
bit of very interesting characters here! I think this is a great
start to a series. There’s a little but of everything to go around,
and it’s a perfect blend. It flowed well, and it made me connect!
I’m definitely looking forward to jumping right in to book two and
I know I will enjoy it just as much as I did here! I am gunna say
to anyone who enjoys YA paranormal and like a variety to your
stories, you should definitely go for this one. 5 POWERFUL PAWS!
June 13, 2012
Rae of Hope by W.J. May
W.J. May has written a story filled with magic, suspense, and a touch of romance, I thoroughly enjoyed Rae of Hope. The writing was good, character description were well written that you felt you knew everyone well. The story flowed extremely well and I was quite shocked when I realized I was at the end. W.J. May’s writing is really good, and I can’t wait for the next book in this series.
Rae who has experienced the loss of her parents has been living with her aunt and uncle in New York since she was 6 years old; she has had a good life and has no complaints. So when she receives an acceptance letter to the Guilder Boarding School in England she is not sure why her uncle applied for her to attend there, but doesn’t question him.
When she arrives we meet her new roommate Molly who becomes a great friend to Rae and ends up very important to her. Of course there are many other great characters in this book and they are also very well written so you get to know them. As Rae learns more about the school and her own families history she is shocked to find out her father was a pretty evil man and all the people in her school teachers and classmates seem to know more about her family then she does.
Trying to prove that she is not her father’s daughter Rae knows she is good deep inside. Now the waiting begins as everyone is watching to see what happens to Rae when she turns sixteen, as this is when they get their powers; and her powers may be extreme. This is all I can say without writing spoiler alerts. Rae of Hope is a must read and I suggest you go grab a copy.
I recommend Rae of Hope to anyone who loves YA Paranormal and its worth every cent you may have to pay for it. I have rated it a 4 out of 5 and only thing I can say that I didn’t like is that I wish it didn’t end so fast. Now to find out when the next book comes out?
W.J. May has written a story filled with magic, suspense, and a touch of romance, I thoroughly enjoyed Rae of Hope. The writing was good, character description were well written that you felt you knew everyone well. The story flowed extremely well and I was quite shocked when I realized I was at the end. W.J. May’s writing is really good, and I can’t wait for the next book in this series.
Rae who has experienced the loss of her parents has been living with her aunt and uncle in New York since she was 6 years old; she has had a good life and has no complaints. So when she receives an acceptance letter to the Guilder Boarding School in England she is not sure why her uncle applied for her to attend there, but doesn’t question him.
When she arrives we meet her new roommate Molly who becomes a great friend to Rae and ends up very important to her. Of course there are many other great characters in this book and they are also very well written so you get to know them. As Rae learns more about the school and her own families history she is shocked to find out her father was a pretty evil man and all the people in her school teachers and classmates seem to know more about her family then she does.
Trying to prove that she is not her father’s daughter Rae knows she is good deep inside. Now the waiting begins as everyone is watching to see what happens to Rae when she turns sixteen, as this is when they get their powers; and her powers may be extreme. This is all I can say without writing spoiler alerts. Rae of Hope is a must read and I suggest you go grab a copy.
I recommend Rae of Hope to anyone who loves YA Paranormal and its worth every cent you may have to pay for it. I have rated it a 4 out of 5 and only thing I can say that I didn’t like is that I wish it didn’t end so fast. Now to find out when the next book comes out?
August 14, 2012
W. J. May’s Rae of Hope blends J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter with the Casts’ House of Night and television’s Heroes and X-Men to imagine a school for the powerful hidden away in the English countryside. Rae’s parents died in a mysterious fire when she was a child. Now living with an Aunt and Uncle in America, she’s surprised to find herself invited to join the very select and curious Guilder boarding school. But many more surprises await as she learns about her past and what being “the girl who survived the fire” means to her future.
I’m not sure I’d ever thought of Manchester and Edinburgh being at “different ends of the country,” nor of blindfold chess being like “some twisted live action game” with unknown rules and goals, but perhaps my Englishness and my family’s chess-playing background are holding me back. Rae, of course, is held back by her American-ness, easily assuming she’s being put down by those cliquey schoolkids, determined to go it alone, and, like any teen, failing to see the subtext. The story’s intriguing, and the burgeoning attraction to boys is natural, but the voice has a teenaged awkwardness that grates sometimes, and some word choices feel rather odd to my English American ears.
Like the Philospher's Stone in Harry Potter, Rae of Hope covers Rae’s first year at Guilder and ends with the summer. It’s an interesting start to a series, with special powers neatly tied to mysterious tatus (not quite tattoos), all the fun and pain of growing up, sweet tinges of romance, divided loyalties, and the hope of more to come. Are the sins of the fathers truly inherited with the tatus, or can a fiery girl blaze her own unique path? I guess we'll have to wait to find out.
Disclosure: I received a free ecopy of this novel from the author in exchange for my honest review.
I’m not sure I’d ever thought of Manchester and Edinburgh being at “different ends of the country,” nor of blindfold chess being like “some twisted live action game” with unknown rules and goals, but perhaps my Englishness and my family’s chess-playing background are holding me back. Rae, of course, is held back by her American-ness, easily assuming she’s being put down by those cliquey schoolkids, determined to go it alone, and, like any teen, failing to see the subtext. The story’s intriguing, and the burgeoning attraction to boys is natural, but the voice has a teenaged awkwardness that grates sometimes, and some word choices feel rather odd to my English American ears.
Like the Philospher's Stone in Harry Potter, Rae of Hope covers Rae’s first year at Guilder and ends with the summer. It’s an interesting start to a series, with special powers neatly tied to mysterious tatus (not quite tattoos), all the fun and pain of growing up, sweet tinges of romance, divided loyalties, and the hope of more to come. Are the sins of the fathers truly inherited with the tatus, or can a fiery girl blaze her own unique path? I guess we'll have to wait to find out.
Disclosure: I received a free ecopy of this novel from the author in exchange for my honest review.
February 4, 2015
I can't remember having really dome this before, but I gave up on this about half way through. The story sounded interesting, but not enough for me to stick with it. The characters were bland stereotypes of ditzy girls and jock boys, the writing and descriptions were terrible, and the dialogue was dry and unrealistic. There were typos, missing words, and grammatical errors everywhere, and I just couldn't see through all of that to keep reading. This needed some serious editing, and probably a rewrite with better dialogue and better internal monologues from Rae, who was such an unrelatable main character. Worth less than one star, of possible.
December 31, 2019
This and other reviews can be found on The Psychotic Nerd
MY THOUGHTS
I downloaded this book as a freebie ages ago because it sounded interesting and I figured why not? It was free. Sadly, I did not enjoy this book. I had to force myself to finish this book because I had already DNF-ed another freebie this week and I didn't want another DNF. My feelings towards this book did not change as I continued reading. Needless to say, this will not be a positive review. I don't like writing negative reviews, and I don't write negative reviews often, but I need to review this book for a challenge and get out some of my emotions.
(Note: I am entitled to my opinion. If you enjoyed this book, you are also entitled to your opinion. I did not needlessly post a negative review for kicks and giggles. I am explaining the problems I had with this book and if you don't want to read that, you do not have to read my review.)
Rae gets a mysterious letter from Guilder Boarding School. Her Uncle sends her to the mysterious school and she finds out that everyone at the school is part of a special group of people who have supernatural abilities. At the age of sixteen, a tattoo (or tatu) magically appears on the individual's body along with a special power. The tatu appears on the arm if it is a male and on the lower back if it is a female (because it is "sexier"). Rae is reeling because her Uncle has kept this secret from her for so long. It doesn't help that people expect her to be just like her father, who died with her mother in a mysterious fire (Rae was the miraculous survivor). Rae's father used his ability for evil and her mother also had a tatu, even though it is forbidden for two individuals with a tatu to be together. Guilder expects Rae to be extremely powerful, but Rae must wait until she turns sixteen.
It's obvious from the synopsis that this book has some Harry Potter similarities.
-Rae is an orphan
-She is essentially the girl-who-lived, surviving a tragedy that took her parents
-She is expected to have great power and her name makes people gasp
-She gets a mysterious letter from a boarding school in England
-She is told that she is awizard tatu person?
-She has a headmaster she confides in and trusts
-A teacher who hates her for no reason
If you took Harry Potter and made him female and his father Voldemort, it would follow a similar plot (but would be a lot better than this). The thing is, even though the plot obviously borrows from Harry Potter, this book could have been interesting. The concept of the tattoos/tatu was an interesting one, especially with the combination of superpowers. I love reading books with superpowers and I liked seeing all the potential abilities. When Rae discovered her ability, I thought that that was one of the more interesting parts of the book (even though I guessed the full extent of her ability early on). There was just too much that bothered me about this book though.
A big problem I had with this book was that I just did not care for Rae. Rae was very judgemental and I had trouble identifying with her. The book was oddly written in the first place because everything is in third person, following Rae, but a majority of the book glimpses her inner thoughts which are italicized. This made it an odd mix of third and first person and very annoying, especially since most of these inner thoughts were not necessary to know. Some of these thoughts were very mean for someone I was supposed to be rooting for.
Very early on in the book, Rae comments on the "stuck-up" girls on the bus on the way to Guilder. These girls don't even talk to her, whisper, or whatever. They just weren't friendly and, here's the kicker, they were blonde. Rae also says that they weren't thin, pale, and tall like her (because Rae is not like other girls!). Which means that the girls were likely curvy, tan, and/or short and because of those attributes, they must be snobs! Here's a newsflash: They weren't "friendly" to you probably because you're a stranger? Who isn't even going to your school? I know I'm focusing a lot on this little moment, but this happens again when she meets Haley, who, you guessed it, is blonde. Haley ends up being a mean girl in Rae's mind. Yes, Haley is not exactly nice, but if Rae actually talked nicely with Haley, this would not have been a problem. Rae's thoughts about other women and her idea that she was "not like other girls" is a really damaging idea. It's a trope that really hurts women and causes them to, very early on, think bad thoughts about other girls just because of their looks or interests. If you want to hear more about it, Claudia Gray wrote a great article about how damaging this idea is. This is one of the reasons why I was very stuck on how Rae was portrayed because it shows a very negative few on how women think and how they interact with other women.
What really made me scream "What?!" out loud was this:
"Yeah, Rae'd like to meet this Beth and throw rotten bananas at her, along with a few moldy tomatoes. Might as well make sure she's wearing something white and very expensive so it ruins everything." (pg.88)
WHAT IN THE WORLD?! For context, this is about Beth, a girl Rae has never ever met. Beth is Devon's (the guy Rae likes) girlfriend. Yeah, Rae wants Devons, but this seems like an incredibly mean thing to think about someone you've never meet and know absolutely nothing about. She also thinks that Beth is a jerk and doesn't deserve Devon because she called Devon's fox tattoo/tatu "cute". That's a jerk move? Eventually, Rae meets Beth and... the blondes strike again! Beth is blonde, curvy, and "olive-skinned". Oh no! Beth is not nice to Rae (because she shows up all hot and Devon is paying attention to her) and actually says to Rae that she must have gotten into her school because one of her parents slept with the dean! WHAT?! Who even says that to a complete stranger to start a conversation? Of course, the only reason this happened was so we would see that Rae was right! Beth is mean and doesn't deserve Devon. That was the ONLY reason for this ridiculous dialogue and there were much better ways to show the reader this. Again, it shows a very negative view of women.
Another major problem I had in this book was that no one talks or acts like a real person. None of the dialogue sounded real and a lot of folk's actions made no sense. Keep in mind, this book takes place in England but everyone uses American slang. Everyone felt like a stereotype instead of a real person. There were so many characters to keep track of too and because many of them did not have strong personalities, they were forgettable and I kept mixing people up.
The romance was also an issue. If the plot was like Harry Potter, the romance was like Twilight. Rae is so hot that every guy at her school literally wants to be with her. This is not an exaggeration, it is even said in the actual text. Three or four guys were even trying to date her throughout the book (all of them having interchangeable personalities). Why though? What made Rae so hot? This started before she even got her tatu when people still thought that she was going to be like her evil dad. Is it because she is just "not like other girls"? I'm just so tired of this trope. It just needs to stop.
Rae, of course, wants Devon who has a girlfriend and I honestly saw no chemistry between them. It was complete insta-attraction on Rae's part. Devon saves Rae from irresponsible construction workers and a board from crushing her (What book does that remind you of?). Devon then tutors Rae by teaching her about tatu history, but I really didn't see anything between them. Partly because during three different sessions, they talk about almost the exact same thing. Rae asks him three times about what tatus her parents have and he answers her during three different sessions. There really did not seem to be chemistry, which made any romance between them feel forced.
IN CONCLUSION
Overall, I did not like this book. Maybe it's another book I would have liked if I read it when I was younger, but I don't know. I just could not ignore some of the problems this book had, some I even found damaging. I will not be continuing the series.
MY THOUGHTS
I downloaded this book as a freebie ages ago because it sounded interesting and I figured why not? It was free. Sadly, I did not enjoy this book. I had to force myself to finish this book because I had already DNF-ed another freebie this week and I didn't want another DNF. My feelings towards this book did not change as I continued reading. Needless to say, this will not be a positive review. I don't like writing negative reviews, and I don't write negative reviews often, but I need to review this book for a challenge and get out some of my emotions.
(Note: I am entitled to my opinion. If you enjoyed this book, you are also entitled to your opinion. I did not needlessly post a negative review for kicks and giggles. I am explaining the problems I had with this book and if you don't want to read that, you do not have to read my review.)
Rae gets a mysterious letter from Guilder Boarding School. Her Uncle sends her to the mysterious school and she finds out that everyone at the school is part of a special group of people who have supernatural abilities. At the age of sixteen, a tattoo (or tatu) magically appears on the individual's body along with a special power. The tatu appears on the arm if it is a male and on the lower back if it is a female (because it is "sexier"). Rae is reeling because her Uncle has kept this secret from her for so long. It doesn't help that people expect her to be just like her father, who died with her mother in a mysterious fire (Rae was the miraculous survivor). Rae's father used his ability for evil and her mother also had a tatu, even though it is forbidden for two individuals with a tatu to be together. Guilder expects Rae to be extremely powerful, but Rae must wait until she turns sixteen.
It's obvious from the synopsis that this book has some Harry Potter similarities.
-Rae is an orphan
-She is essentially the girl-who-lived, surviving a tragedy that took her parents
-She is expected to have great power and her name makes people gasp
-She gets a mysterious letter from a boarding school in England
-She is told that she is a
-She has a headmaster she confides in and trusts
-A teacher who hates her for no reason
If you took Harry Potter and made him female and his father Voldemort, it would follow a similar plot (but would be a lot better than this). The thing is, even though the plot obviously borrows from Harry Potter, this book could have been interesting. The concept of the tattoos/tatu was an interesting one, especially with the combination of superpowers. I love reading books with superpowers and I liked seeing all the potential abilities. When Rae discovered her ability, I thought that that was one of the more interesting parts of the book (even though I guessed the full extent of her ability early on). There was just too much that bothered me about this book though.
A big problem I had with this book was that I just did not care for Rae. Rae was very judgemental and I had trouble identifying with her. The book was oddly written in the first place because everything is in third person, following Rae, but a majority of the book glimpses her inner thoughts which are italicized. This made it an odd mix of third and first person and very annoying, especially since most of these inner thoughts were not necessary to know. Some of these thoughts were very mean for someone I was supposed to be rooting for.
Very early on in the book, Rae comments on the "stuck-up" girls on the bus on the way to Guilder. These girls don't even talk to her, whisper, or whatever. They just weren't friendly and, here's the kicker, they were blonde. Rae also says that they weren't thin, pale, and tall like her (because Rae is not like other girls!). Which means that the girls were likely curvy, tan, and/or short and because of those attributes, they must be snobs! Here's a newsflash: They weren't "friendly" to you probably because you're a stranger? Who isn't even going to your school? I know I'm focusing a lot on this little moment, but this happens again when she meets Haley, who, you guessed it, is blonde. Haley ends up being a mean girl in Rae's mind. Yes, Haley is not exactly nice, but if Rae actually talked nicely with Haley, this would not have been a problem. Rae's thoughts about other women and her idea that she was "not like other girls" is a really damaging idea. It's a trope that really hurts women and causes them to, very early on, think bad thoughts about other girls just because of their looks or interests. If you want to hear more about it, Claudia Gray wrote a great article about how damaging this idea is. This is one of the reasons why I was very stuck on how Rae was portrayed because it shows a very negative few on how women think and how they interact with other women.
What really made me scream "What?!" out loud was this:
"Yeah, Rae'd like to meet this Beth and throw rotten bananas at her, along with a few moldy tomatoes. Might as well make sure she's wearing something white and very expensive so it ruins everything." (pg.88)
WHAT IN THE WORLD?! For context, this is about Beth, a girl Rae has never ever met. Beth is Devon's (the guy Rae likes) girlfriend. Yeah, Rae wants Devons, but this seems like an incredibly mean thing to think about someone you've never meet and know absolutely nothing about. She also thinks that Beth is a jerk and doesn't deserve Devon because she called Devon's fox tattoo/tatu "cute". That's a jerk move? Eventually, Rae meets Beth and... the blondes strike again! Beth is blonde, curvy, and "olive-skinned". Oh no! Beth is not nice to Rae (because she shows up all hot and Devon is paying attention to her) and actually says to Rae that she must have gotten into her school because one of her parents slept with the dean! WHAT?! Who even says that to a complete stranger to start a conversation? Of course, the only reason this happened was so we would see that Rae was right! Beth is mean and doesn't deserve Devon. That was the ONLY reason for this ridiculous dialogue and there were much better ways to show the reader this. Again, it shows a very negative view of women.
Another major problem I had in this book was that no one talks or acts like a real person. None of the dialogue sounded real and a lot of folk's actions made no sense. Keep in mind, this book takes place in England but everyone uses American slang. Everyone felt like a stereotype instead of a real person. There were so many characters to keep track of too and because many of them did not have strong personalities, they were forgettable and I kept mixing people up.
The romance was also an issue. If the plot was like Harry Potter, the romance was like Twilight. Rae is so hot that every guy at her school literally wants to be with her. This is not an exaggeration, it is even said in the actual text. Three or four guys were even trying to date her throughout the book (all of them having interchangeable personalities). Why though? What made Rae so hot? This started before she even got her tatu when people still thought that she was going to be like her evil dad. Is it because she is just "not like other girls"? I'm just so tired of this trope. It just needs to stop.
Rae, of course, wants Devon who has a girlfriend and I honestly saw no chemistry between them. It was complete insta-attraction on Rae's part. Devon saves Rae from irresponsible construction workers and a board from crushing her (What book does that remind you of?). Devon then tutors Rae by teaching her about tatu history, but I really didn't see anything between them. Partly because during three different sessions, they talk about almost the exact same thing. Rae asks him three times about what tatus her parents have and he answers her during three different sessions. There really did not seem to be chemistry, which made any romance between them feel forced.
IN CONCLUSION
Overall, I did not like this book. Maybe it's another book I would have liked if I read it when I was younger, but I don't know. I just could not ignore some of the problems this book had, some I even found damaging. I will not be continuing the series.
August 16, 2022
If there is a list of books that remind you of Harry Potter, this one should be one it. It should also be on the list of books that remind you of Mortal Instruments. So a little of both words in this one with the MC being a female. Not sure if there should be a minus a star or add a star on these two factors.
When I started reading and read that males get their tat in a decent place but females get tramp stamps I was like what the heck. (Minus a star) Found several grammar errors in my copy from the library (minus a star).
I did enjoy her adventure so I will continue the series, I did like Devon (main LMC), see where it takes me and how many I can read before I say enough.
When I started reading and read that males get their tat in a decent place but females get tramp stamps I was like what the heck. (Minus a star) Found several grammar errors in my copy from the library (minus a star).
I did enjoy her adventure so I will continue the series, I did like Devon (main LMC), see where it takes me and how many I can read before I say enough.
April 27, 2018
rae is the daughter of simon kerrigan and beth,argyle's sister.Both of them have tatu's.Beth's being rare and Simon's being unknown.rae is brought back to england to join the guilder's school.there she meets devon,who is asked to tutor her by the headmaster and like her mother fell for her father,she fell for devon.everyone treats her with skepticism and fear for they think she will be ruthless like her father.she trusts the wrong people and because of that nearly get harmed as the headmaster is her father's faithful follower despite his death,caused by her mother.an addictive read
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 23, 2012
Posted to Almost Grown-up:
Rae of Hope by W.J. May is exactly the kind of book early teenage years-me would have adored. You’ve gotchyer boarding school, you’ve gotchyer magical powers, you’ve gotchyer swoony boy and yer highly suspect villain.
Plus I have a heart-shaped birthmark that I probably would have convinced myself was secretly a magical tatu. That’s the kind of thing 14 year-old me did. I was awesome like that.
To be honest, even as an adult, it had me a little in its thrall.
Starting off, I wasn’t quite sure that that would be so. The main character, Rae Kerrigan seemed– well… kind of bitchy in the beginning. A little angry at the world and judgmental of everyone around her.
But that fades a great deal as she settles in at Guilder and starts to learn about about what exactly lead to her attending the school. Everyone at Guilder has a unique power given to them through a tatu that forms on their sixteenth birthday. I was fascinated learning all of the different powers everyone had and watching Rae’s develop.
Some elements were very vaguely reminiscent of Harry Potter, which I LOVED– the most obvious being the magical boarding school, but much more focus is on the teenage elements than world-building or a mystery. We see the crush that Rae develops on her tutor Devon, she makes friends with her “roomie,” gets to know herself, that sort of thing.
Though she’s pretty much made up her mind that she likes Devon, it seems like EVERY other boy at school likes Rae, which is not only one of my “push buttons,” but also added to me having some difficulty keeping the guy characters straight in my head. I did know who Devon was the whole time though and it was nice to have a male lead that I respected because of the way he handled his relationships.
Several references felt outdated to me, such as a repeated Macgyver reference. I’m not sure that that show is even aired any more (at least, not where I live), so it felt off for Rae, a modern teen, to make the comparison. That happened with a few other shows she mentioned as well.
W.J. May managed to throw me completely off on who to suspect as “against” Rae, another thing that had me drawing a (slight) Harry Potter parallel. I couldn’t have been more surprised as the book reached its climax and the antagonist was revealed in a truly thrilling conclusion.
Despite a few (small) flaws, I genuinely enjoyed Rae of Hope and think it’s a great novel, most especially for YA readers who are actually teenagers.
Overall rating: 3.5/5. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed Rae of Hope. One of the better indie published books that I’ve had the pleasure to read.
Rae of Hope by W.J. May is exactly the kind of book early teenage years-me would have adored. You’ve gotchyer boarding school, you’ve gotchyer magical powers, you’ve gotchyer swoony boy and yer highly suspect villain.
Plus I have a heart-shaped birthmark that I probably would have convinced myself was secretly a magical tatu. That’s the kind of thing 14 year-old me did. I was awesome like that.
To be honest, even as an adult, it had me a little in its thrall.
Starting off, I wasn’t quite sure that that would be so. The main character, Rae Kerrigan seemed– well… kind of bitchy in the beginning. A little angry at the world and judgmental of everyone around her.
But that fades a great deal as she settles in at Guilder and starts to learn about about what exactly lead to her attending the school. Everyone at Guilder has a unique power given to them through a tatu that forms on their sixteenth birthday. I was fascinated learning all of the different powers everyone had and watching Rae’s develop.
Some elements were very vaguely reminiscent of Harry Potter, which I LOVED– the most obvious being the magical boarding school, but much more focus is on the teenage elements than world-building or a mystery. We see the crush that Rae develops on her tutor Devon, she makes friends with her “roomie,” gets to know herself, that sort of thing.
Though she’s pretty much made up her mind that she likes Devon, it seems like EVERY other boy at school likes Rae, which is not only one of my “push buttons,” but also added to me having some difficulty keeping the guy characters straight in my head. I did know who Devon was the whole time though and it was nice to have a male lead that I respected because of the way he handled his relationships.
Several references felt outdated to me, such as a repeated Macgyver reference. I’m not sure that that show is even aired any more (at least, not where I live), so it felt off for Rae, a modern teen, to make the comparison. That happened with a few other shows she mentioned as well.
W.J. May managed to throw me completely off on who to suspect as “against” Rae, another thing that had me drawing a (slight) Harry Potter parallel. I couldn’t have been more surprised as the book reached its climax and the antagonist was revealed in a truly thrilling conclusion.
Despite a few (small) flaws, I genuinely enjoyed Rae of Hope and think it’s a great novel, most especially for YA readers who are actually teenagers.
Overall rating: 3.5/5. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed Rae of Hope. One of the better indie published books that I’ve had the pleasure to read.
May 4, 2012
MY REVIEW
I'd had this e-book on my to read and review pile for a while, I've already interviewed W. J. May and had accepted an invitation to host her on my blog again as part of a Bewitching Blog Tours, tour. So I decided to try and fit in reading her book, and I am so pleased I did. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I'll start with the cover which I also like, you see the main character Rae depicted in the models face. She looks worried and kind of lost which is how Rae Kerrigan feel initially and on and off through certain parts of the book. To begin with Rae doesn't know how special Guilder's School is. She also has no clue about her tatú and what it may look like. Rae doesn't know who her friends are, she doesn't know who to trust and who to be wary of. Its a tale of coming of age, where at the age of sixteen you get your ink, your tatú which will tell you what special talents you will have. then the school helps you learn how to use your talents fr the greater good. If all that wasn't bad enough, Rae has to cope with the fact her father used his gifts for his own agenda which was not for the greater good. Rae also uncovers clues about what happened in the fire that claimed her parents lives yet spared her. Did her mum really sacrifice herself to save Rae and stop her father Simon from doing evil deads.
I love the descriptions of the characters and surroundings. There's a lot of things to remember as you go along but you find that you can easily retain the information as each character has a different Tatú with it's own individual power. I love the friendships between the characters. It is quite funny that all the guys seem to have "a thing" Rae yet she doesn't really see herself as overly attractive, she is quite a modest girl, even when she realises how powerful her powers are too.
This is a good decent length book, it has plenty of things happening to keep you busy as well as having you wondering who are the bad/good guys. I truly didn't see the truth of who was bad/good until it played out in the book which is great.
I got really irritated when I kept getting interrupted reading this book, even the postman couldn't distract me lol.
The only addition I would have loved was illustrations so we could see all the individual ink Tatú marks. Having said that W. J. May does describe them very well.
So did I enjoy this book? Yes Would I recommend it? Yes those who love "school" based supernatural stories such as Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead should enjoy this too. Do I want to read more by W. J. May ? Yes definitely want to read more of this series of The Kerrigan Chronicles, I would also try any thing else she wrote too!
January 6, 2012
WOW. Great story line with great characters. I liked the the idea of tattoos (tatus)that give a person powers at the age of 16. It was different from other stories I have read and I liked learning about it right a long with Rae.
There was so much that I liked about this story. Rae is a character that is learning about this life she never knew about. She goes from normal to special through the course of the book. The way she handles all the new information coming at her shows strength and intelligence. She is 16 so she does have her moments but for the most part she is a great heroine. The story has a lot going for it. It has a unique story line but it also is reminiscent of Harry Potter in that these young people come to this Guilder school to learn about their powers and how to use them.
There is a lot of discovery going on in the story. Rae is discovering her abilities, her families history, and first crush/love. It is a page turner for sure. I was engrossed with every detail and was pleasantly surprised with a little twist during the final climax.
One other thing I liked is the reference to the school being built during the time of King Henry VIII, Tudor style. Subtle references placed strategically throughout were a nice bonus.
A few things I noticed but did not really take away from my reading experience were the change in font for no apparent reason. I don't know if this had to do with reading it on my kindle or not. Also Molly started off with dialogue written to show an accent but as the story progressed it no longer was there. Being American I think of football as NFL so it took me a bit to realize that when the characters were talking about playing football and dribbling down to a net that they meant soccer. That was my own fault for thinking American when the beginning of the story said the school was in Britain.
Overall I liked the writing of this author. It was paced just right with detail that was not overpowering. As a reader I was allowed to get involved mentally and I appreciate that in a book. This is a great book that had my complete attention all the way through. This is a book that I would probably read again and definitely will look for the next one. I am now curious about Rae's second year at Guilder and all that is in store for her. Maybe a little romance with Devon? I hope so.
*I received a copy for an honest review
There was so much that I liked about this story. Rae is a character that is learning about this life she never knew about. She goes from normal to special through the course of the book. The way she handles all the new information coming at her shows strength and intelligence. She is 16 so she does have her moments but for the most part she is a great heroine. The story has a lot going for it. It has a unique story line but it also is reminiscent of Harry Potter in that these young people come to this Guilder school to learn about their powers and how to use them.
There is a lot of discovery going on in the story. Rae is discovering her abilities, her families history, and first crush/love. It is a page turner for sure. I was engrossed with every detail and was pleasantly surprised with a little twist during the final climax.
One other thing I liked is the reference to the school being built during the time of King Henry VIII, Tudor style. Subtle references placed strategically throughout were a nice bonus.
A few things I noticed but did not really take away from my reading experience were the change in font for no apparent reason. I don't know if this had to do with reading it on my kindle or not. Also Molly started off with dialogue written to show an accent but as the story progressed it no longer was there. Being American I think of football as NFL so it took me a bit to realize that when the characters were talking about playing football and dribbling down to a net that they meant soccer. That was my own fault for thinking American when the beginning of the story said the school was in Britain.
Overall I liked the writing of this author. It was paced just right with detail that was not overpowering. As a reader I was allowed to get involved mentally and I appreciate that in a book. This is a great book that had my complete attention all the way through. This is a book that I would probably read again and definitely will look for the next one. I am now curious about Rae's second year at Guilder and all that is in store for her. Maybe a little romance with Devon? I hope so.
*I received a copy for an honest review
February 15, 2012
How do I even begin to describe this wonderful world of magic that W.J. May has created with all the amazing characters and a great suspenseful story line that leaves you astonished with the bombshell she delivers at the end. Totally mind blowing!! I immediately fell in love with the Rae. She’s strong willed, Independent and truth worthy but soon she discovers that she can not trust everyone. Rae’s room mate, Molly is a fashionista, who’s hilarious, charismatic and a chatter-box. She’s the perfect match to Rae and they quickly become the best of friends in the short period they room together. The story is so well written that I am able to read through out the story not having to stop or reread and I was able to enjoy every minute of my reading. I read the entire book in one day!! I could not stop reading!
The story begins when Rae receives a letter of acceptance to the Guilder Boarding School of England, that she never applied to. Having put it past her uncle and aunt to have applied her to this school she never questioned it. Having moved in with her uncle and aunt in New York at the age of six and never returning to England due to the accident that took away her parents, she’s not happy about the acceptance either. But she’s even more upset when she begins to unravel the REAL truths about her being in Guilder and the fact that the whole school knows more about her family’s history then she does and to make matter’s worse she discovers that on her sixteenth birthday, she’s supposed to receive this magic tattoo (tatu) that would symbolize the type of power she will possess. You think having to live with this on a daily basis is bad, try having the whole staff specifically the dean and headmaster watching her every move especially on the day of her birthday!! WHOA! that’s a lot to cope with but Rae is strong and will stop at nothing to prove everyone wrong of their assumptions.
The story line is great, creative and unique. The characters are fantastically written and enjoyable and the entire time I read, I pictured the girl in the cover as Rae. I can not deny that this book will sit on my “favorite books pile” and I will be anxiously waiting for book 2. I highly recommend this story!!!
review link: http://www.onceuponatwilight.com/2012...
The story begins when Rae receives a letter of acceptance to the Guilder Boarding School of England, that she never applied to. Having put it past her uncle and aunt to have applied her to this school she never questioned it. Having moved in with her uncle and aunt in New York at the age of six and never returning to England due to the accident that took away her parents, she’s not happy about the acceptance either. But she’s even more upset when she begins to unravel the REAL truths about her being in Guilder and the fact that the whole school knows more about her family’s history then she does and to make matter’s worse she discovers that on her sixteenth birthday, she’s supposed to receive this magic tattoo (tatu) that would symbolize the type of power she will possess. You think having to live with this on a daily basis is bad, try having the whole staff specifically the dean and headmaster watching her every move especially on the day of her birthday!! WHOA! that’s a lot to cope with but Rae is strong and will stop at nothing to prove everyone wrong of their assumptions.
The story line is great, creative and unique. The characters are fantastically written and enjoyable and the entire time I read, I pictured the girl in the cover as Rae. I can not deny that this book will sit on my “favorite books pile” and I will be anxiously waiting for book 2. I highly recommend this story!!!
review link: http://www.onceuponatwilight.com/2012...
July 16, 2012
A man without tattoos is invisible to the Gods. - Iban Proverb, quoted on vanishingtattoo.com
from her Uncle's home in New York, fifteen-year-old orphan Rae Kerrigan finds herself sent across the Atlantic on a scholarship at the exclusive Guilder Boarding School in England. everyone is interested about her and she is clueless why. not everyone's intent is friendly though...
author Wanita J. May's novel is something to get excited about. this young adult urban fantasy brims with endearing characters, a solid storyline and twists and turns to keep readers guessing and at the edge of their seats.
when i started reading, i had the impression that this book was inspired by Harry Potter especially his first year at Hogwarts. there seemed to be parallels with Rae and the boy wizard's experiences, their family history, etc. be that as it may, however, this sense of the familiar became ephemeral. suddenly, the story began to have a life of its own that was distinct and refreshing. from that point onwards, i could not let go of the book until i was done.
i had a great time with this first book in the Chronicles of Kerrigan. now that i got to meet Rae and her peers, i am looking forward to more.
Disclosure of Material Connection: i received a copy from the author. i did not receive any payment in exchange for this review nor was i obligated to write a positive one. all opinions expressed here are entirely my own 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.
from her Uncle's home in New York, fifteen-year-old orphan Rae Kerrigan finds herself sent across the Atlantic on a scholarship at the exclusive Guilder Boarding School in England. everyone is interested about her and she is clueless why. not everyone's intent is friendly though...
author Wanita J. May's novel is something to get excited about. this young adult urban fantasy brims with endearing characters, a solid storyline and twists and turns to keep readers guessing and at the edge of their seats.
when i started reading, i had the impression that this book was inspired by Harry Potter especially his first year at Hogwarts. there seemed to be parallels with Rae and the boy wizard's experiences, their family history, etc. be that as it may, however, this sense of the familiar became ephemeral. suddenly, the story began to have a life of its own that was distinct and refreshing. from that point onwards, i could not let go of the book until i was done.
i had a great time with this first book in the Chronicles of Kerrigan. now that i got to meet Rae and her peers, i am looking forward to more.
Disclosure of Material Connection: i received a copy from the author. i did not receive any payment in exchange for this review nor was i obligated to write a positive one. all opinions expressed here are entirely my own 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.
January 8, 2012
OVERALL IMPRESSION: I am in love with this book. From the very beginning I was sucked in and wanted to keep reading more. I was in a bit of a reading funk and this book pulled me back out of it. The story is exciting and interesting, and made me insistent on reading whenever I had the time so I could find out what was coming next in the story. I really enjoyed the twist in the story towards the back half of the book and the ending was just perfect. I can't wait for the next book.
I did find quite a few typos throughout the book, but nothing major and nothing that affected the story.
I also wish that this was an illustrated book so I could see all of the tatus. I think that would make a great addition to the series.
CHARACTERS: There are so many likeable characters in this book. Rae (the main character) is very relatable. She is a strong female, but she has insecurities about fitting in. Rae's crush (Devon) is also a great character. He sounds dreamy, for lack of a better word. My favorite character in the book has to be Molly. Molly is Rae's room. She has such a strong personality; she's a bubbly, fun person. I want to know more about the character of Argyle (Rae's uncle), and I am hoping that we will learn a little bit more about him in the next book.
COVER: I like it. I like the glimpse we get of the school; it helps to make a picture in my mind of the setting. You can also tell by the look on the girl's face that she means business and she is going to get to the bottom of what is going on.
I did find quite a few typos throughout the book, but nothing major and nothing that affected the story.
I also wish that this was an illustrated book so I could see all of the tatus. I think that would make a great addition to the series.
CHARACTERS: There are so many likeable characters in this book. Rae (the main character) is very relatable. She is a strong female, but she has insecurities about fitting in. Rae's crush (Devon) is also a great character. He sounds dreamy, for lack of a better word. My favorite character in the book has to be Molly. Molly is Rae's room. She has such a strong personality; she's a bubbly, fun person. I want to know more about the character of Argyle (Rae's uncle), and I am hoping that we will learn a little bit more about him in the next book.
COVER: I like it. I like the glimpse we get of the school; it helps to make a picture in my mind of the setting. You can also tell by the look on the girl's face that she means business and she is going to get to the bottom of what is going on.
January 10, 2012
Cute adorable read.
I picture a girl sitting in her bed surrounded by stuffed animals reading this. Maybe even some pig tails and pink fluffy slippers. It takes me back a bit to my more naive and innocent days.
The writing was fairly consistent. There are a few lines that are delivered in a cheesy fashion. As far as characters I was happy. Though honestly, I would have preferred Devon as a villain. In fact I thought early on that he was heading that way. I keep holding out for it to happen any moment. Alas, he fell short for me. I just felt he didn't reach his full potential in the role cast for him. Come on where is the fire? His characteristics seem to fill him out as eye candy with a bit of flash. A bit of a push over when it all comes to the end. He really didn't contribute when she was in need.
The action in this book comes out of nowhere and is rather impressive in its strength. Talk about someone being nothing like what they seemed. I wouldn't trade this girl places for anything. Even the school full of super hot drooling guys.
I picture a girl sitting in her bed surrounded by stuffed animals reading this. Maybe even some pig tails and pink fluffy slippers. It takes me back a bit to my more naive and innocent days.
The writing was fairly consistent. There are a few lines that are delivered in a cheesy fashion. As far as characters I was happy. Though honestly, I would have preferred Devon as a villain. In fact I thought early on that he was heading that way. I keep holding out for it to happen any moment. Alas, he fell short for me. I just felt he didn't reach his full potential in the role cast for him. Come on where is the fire? His characteristics seem to fill him out as eye candy with a bit of flash. A bit of a push over when it all comes to the end. He really didn't contribute when she was in need.
The action in this book comes out of nowhere and is rather impressive in its strength. Talk about someone being nothing like what they seemed. I wouldn't trade this girl places for anything. Even the school full of super hot drooling guys.
January 3, 2012
More reviews at SPIRIT OF BOOKS
Rae Of Hope is one of the awesome books of 2011 that i have read. It has this 'power' of capturing your attention from the very start of the book to the very end of the book. I was really excited to read this book and I'm truly grateful that i got a chance to do so. It kept me entertained throughout the entire book and also you find yourself liking each and very character. You also would be shocked to find who truly is the good person and who turns out to be the bad. Rae, the main character, is likeable from the beginning and what i liked about her, was that she was strong when she needed to be. There isn't anything bad to say about Rae Of Hope because there isn't anything bad about it. It definitely should be read and screamed about!!!
Rae Of Hope is one of the awesome books of 2011 that i have read. It has this 'power' of capturing your attention from the very start of the book to the very end of the book. I was really excited to read this book and I'm truly grateful that i got a chance to do so. It kept me entertained throughout the entire book and also you find yourself liking each and very character. You also would be shocked to find who truly is the good person and who turns out to be the bad. Rae, the main character, is likeable from the beginning and what i liked about her, was that she was strong when she needed to be. There isn't anything bad to say about Rae Of Hope because there isn't anything bad about it. It definitely should be read and screamed about!!!
March 28, 2016
I stumbled upon this author in a release party and fell in love with The covers so I listened to the audio version of this and fell in love with not only the story but the narrator too! I read this in a day and bought every one since in this series. The story takes you into the life of Rae karrigon who is still a young girl about to celebrate her 16th birthday and also about to be thrown into a whole different life completely. The book reveals so many surprises along the way it kept me fully invested in the story. The best friend in this series is Molly and she is hilarious and you grow to love her by the end of the book. The love interest is Devon he has unique abilities that surely come in handy along the way. This was a 5 star read also a clean read for a younger audience. Loved it!!
September 22, 2012
I actually really liked this book, although it reminded me a bit of the Hex Hall series by Rachel Hawkins. It´s a great read with great carachters and I definitely recommend it.
I am just sad that this isn´t that well known, and coming from Sweden I had never heard of it before seeing a review on youtube about the book. Hopefully it will get more fans as the series progresses. Otherwise I will be really dishearted.
Spoiler Warning:
Am I the only one who still thinks Devon is a spy for Lanford?
Spoiler Setion over.
Overall, like I said before, It is an great book, if not amazing. Rae was really nice and just kick ass. Can´t wait until december for the sequel. :D
I am just sad that this isn´t that well known, and coming from Sweden I had never heard of it before seeing a review on youtube about the book. Hopefully it will get more fans as the series progresses. Otherwise I will be really dishearted.
Spoiler Warning:
Am I the only one who still thinks Devon is a spy for Lanford?
Spoiler Setion over.
Overall, like I said before, It is an great book, if not amazing. Rae was really nice and just kick ass. Can´t wait until december for the sequel. :D
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