One thing that stood out at the beginning of this story was our leading lady, Raine Cooper, was written with seemingly more maturity than the rest of her friends and classmates. I feel this worked for the story as she was still in the process of dealing with her feelings surrounding her missing father. Her mother working crazy hours to keep the family business afloat often leaving her home alone to care for herself. Anyone dealing with family issues of this sort would tend to age rather quickly, and her focus on her schoolwork and favorite extra-curricular activities as a means of coping was very believable.
Out of the blue Raine meets her new neighbor Torin. Handsome, mysterious, amusingly arrogant, and an immediate thorn in her side from that point on. From their first meeting she can’t deny that there’s something about him that pulls her towards him, calls to her, but he is a stranger and her trust is hard won. Though, try as she might to keep her distance Raine is quickly drawn into a world of magic, danger, and hidden secrets from her own past that will forever leave her life changed.
This story had a mostly even pace and kept me reaching for the next page. Lots of twists and turns, and a little Norse mythology that added originality to the main plot line. Raine and Torin’s relationship grew throughout the book and it was a joy to watch them recognize and come to terms with the feelings they had for each other. Enough angst added to get you more than a little frustrated at the two for fighting what they wanted from each other, but more than enough to take them out of insta-love territory and little enough that the story did not drag and leave you wanting to give up on them altogether.
I really liked the fact that this story was set in my own backyard, so to speak. Just outside of Portland, Oregon, and one scene in particular taking place at Multnomah Falls which is one of my favorite places to visit on a warm summer day. The relationships Raine has with her mother and two best friends were well written and added a lot of depth in the story, as well as Raine’s character growth in general. It was nice to see them brought along for the ride, and always there for their friend.
I found this book to be an enjoyable read. The ending was not to my particular taste, quite a cliffhanger, but did create a need for me to pick up the second installment in this series upon its release. The writing was well done and I truly found myself wanting to know what comes next for these two characters that I grew to care about. If you enjoy a sweet young adult romance sprinkled with a little magic and myth I suggest you check this one out.
**ARC provided by NetGalley**
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