Kimber Leigh Reads

 

For my stop on the tour, I read both Destiny Gift & Soul Oath, books 1 and 2 in the Everlast series. While I liked both books, I enjoyed Soul Oath a bit more. I really want to provide a spoiler free review, but that will be hard when even the book blurb for Soul Oath has spoilers. Bear with me, I'll try to focus on the world and characters in general.

First off, this series takes place in New York, thirty years in the future.The world is quite different in the future with a strong dystopian/post-apocalyptic feel. The city is constantly under attack by giant bats. We have a paranormal aspect to the story in the form of Nadine's dreams of Victor, as well as gods and goddesses fighting each other. Her visions/dreams show a world that hasn't been decimated by creepy, giant bats. When Nadine meets Victor in reality, he isn't the guy that appeared in her dreams. Must've been quite a rude awakening to poor Nadine to meet the real Victor.

I liked Nadine. She reminds me so much of an everyday person saddled with the extraordinary. Even though she wishes for a normal life (I'm not sure how normal it could ever be when the world is under attack by dark forces), she can't seem to let go of her visions of Victor and the nice world within them. Poor Nadine has no control over when the visions strike. Nadine grows as a person in many ways as the truth is slowly revealed to her. She is a strong character, devoted to friends and family while trying to make the best of things.

While I enjoyed book 1, it does start out a bit on the slow side. There is a lot of world building needed to portray the fantasy world created by Ms. Haygert. Don't let that stop you from continuing to read or you'll miss out on a good book. The fantasy world is richly developed and is intriguing on many different levels. Book 2 starts with a bang (maybe an explosion) and takes off from there. In Soul Oath, Ms. Haygert isn't saddled with endless explanations to the reader of her fantasy realm rules. Male lead Micah is also much easier to stomach in the second book, in fact, I'm sure he'll appeal to many readers.

If you're looking for something different in the new adult category, add Destiny Gift & Soul Oath to your TBR list. I recommend this series to ages 17+.