Book Review For Forsaken (Daughters of the Sea #1) by Kristen Day

Forsaken (Daughters of the Sea #1)

by Kristen Day 

 

  5 stars

Reviewed by: Tonya
Format:Kindle

Published: Kristen Day
Source:Provided by author  Genre: Paranormal

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About Book

Once you’ve been touched by darkness, it never leaves you…
Abandoned by her parents as an infant; seventeen year old Hannah spent her childhood wading through countless foster families until being adopted by the Whitmans three years ago.
Unfortunately, Atlanta’s high society wasn’t quite ready for Hannah…or the strange events that plague her.
Chilling visions of murder, unexplained hallucinations, and dark, mysterious guy who haunts her nightmares all culminate to set in motion a journey of self-discovery that will challenge everything she’s ever believed; not to mention her sanity.
Sent to live at The House of Lorelei on Bald Head Island, NC for ‘kids like her’, Hannah quickly realizes things are not what they seem. Her fellow ‘disturbed’ teens are actually the descendants of mythical Sea Gods and Goddesses. And so is she.
But when Finn, the ghost from her dreams, appears in the flesh; her nightmares become reality and her dark visions begin coming true. Inexplicably drawn to him, she can’t deny the dangerous hold he has on her heart. The deadly secrets he harbors will ultimately test her courage and push the boundaries of her love.
She must decide if she is ready to embrace the ancient legend she is prophesied to be a part of. The fate of all the descendants will forever depend upon it.



My Thoughts

What a truly amazing book – I have loved reading this book. Let’s just say that if I could make time stand still so I could just read and never have to put the book down until it was finished (though I hate that it comes to an end – as all books do). I really got into this book and while reading I really felt transported into the story, like I was right there watching every moment unfold before my eyes. To me an author is only as good as the story’s ability to draw you into it and making you the guest of honor that is there, but not there. Author Kristen Day has done that with Forsaken.
Let’s start with the main character her parents leave her as a baby at a police station in the middle of the night in the middle of a storm. Even though the storm is referring to the weather outside you can tell that it represent the storm within the hearts of the parents that are leaving their beautiful daughter for what one can only assume is a better life.

Flash forward and she is all grown up. Hannah Elizabeth Whitman or that is what the foster system named her. Her newest family comes from money and adopted her as a teenager. Though she has never truly felt like she fit in she does the best she can to make her adoptive mother happy. At a party something happens that for Hannah is normal but very embarrassing for her adoptive mother. So her adoptive mother sends her to a therapist. Not long after Hannah’s world is completely turned upside down.

Hannah’s therapists recommends sending her to a special school for people like her. Only she doesn’t know what that meant “people like her.” Coming to this school is a new start for her, a start where no one knows about her past, her life in foster care, the things she has seen and subject to and so with that fresh start Hannah decides to change her name and becomes Anastasia.

Anastasia is special as are all the rest of the students at this school. At this school she begins to learn where she really came from, she makes great friends and meets a very dark, very handsome guy. And even though they never met until this point she knows him, she has known him most of her life. Finn as she comes to learn has been in many of her dreams throughout her life. And not long after coming to the new school he saves her life. She soon learns what is special about everyone at this school, all of them are children of Gods or Goddesses. There are different types, each having something special about them based on who their parents were.

Anastasia’s friends in this book have such character. Her roommates Willow, Phoebe and Carmen each are so very different from each other but are also like “Stasia” as they end up calling her. Only Anastasia is a bit more special than the rest, and everyone but Anastasia knows this. A great bond grows between the girls from the moment Anastasia arrives and instantly they take to each other. I love Phoebe’s whit, she is funny, spunky and quirky and you can tell she loves to get under Carmen’s skin – but in a good way. Willow she is the motherly type of the group a healer and great in the kitchen. Carmen is the exotic one and has a bit of fire in her, attitude which you see throughout the book and I really loved. I really liked all three of these girls, so well written in the story and so easily like-able. And others are as easily dis likable such as Olivia one of the other girls from across the hall who had serious attitude and what seems like jealousy issues. But they always say never judge a book by its cover – Olivia is a good example of that.

There are moments throughout this book that your breath is completely taken away, you are laughing at Phoebe and her comments, holding your breath waiting to see if Carmen is just going to let her have one. There are moments that you are brought to tears, okay well I was brought to tears. You can feel the pain that ‘Stasia’ and her friends feel. The struggle, the laughter and joy. I could feel the struggle within Finn every time he was with Anastasia and she would ask a question. The author did such a great job writing the emotions into the book that they are right on the tip of the page and as you turn to it, it’s like it grabs hold of you and you feel what they are feeling within those pages.

The story flows from beginning to end, there is no down time, there is no okay let me skip a page or two so I can get to a good part, it’s all good from the very beginning when you are drawn into the parents pain of leaving their daughter to the very end when who and what Anastasia truly is and is truly meant for comes to light. You can close your eyes and hear the music play as Finn and Anastasia are dancing, you can imagine her wonder when she is battling the elements to save something very dear to her. You can feel the pain as she tries to save a friends life and you can feel the tender moments between her and Finn.
This is one book I thoroughly enjoyed reading and now I am going to close this review and head right into the next book of this series “Awaken”.