Haven

by Kristi Cook

Violet McKenna's life started falling apart when a premonition of her father's murder came true, but at a new school, Winterhaven, she finds friends with psychic gifts and an alluring boy whose destiny is entwined with hers in a critical--and deadly--way.

• ISBN10: 1442407611
• ISBN13: 9781442407619
• Publish Date: 3 January 2012 (first published 22 February 2011)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Simon & Schuster
• Edition: Reprint ed.
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 448
• Language: English

Reviews

[jeannamichel]

Violet is the new girl in a school. That is pretty normal, right? Not when the school houses students who all have extraordinary gifts. Violet has visions of the future and she didn’t see this one coming. To get caught up in her classes, Aiden has been tutoring her. However, Aiden has his own secrets that even students of Winterhaven would be terrified of. When Violet starts having visions of an upcoming threat, the only one she can turn to is Aiden. His past holds the key to what they must do to stop these visions from coming true.

On a scale from one to ten, this book gets a two in the originality department. Harsh, right? I know. However, it is quite hard to find a book that is truly original these days but when it is so painfully obvious, I just couldn’t let this one go. This book was basically the plot of Twilight with a few add-ins. It was difficult to get passed that when the book is 400-something pages long.

Violet was a bit annoying at first but I grew to like her because she seemed to develop and grow into her skin a lot more than I would have first expected. Aiden was your typical, hot boy who can read minds. He was extremely adorable but I felt like I’ve heard about his character so many times before. I liked the chemistry between the two, though. As soon as there were some scenes between Violet and Aiden, there was a sort of audible tension in the room. I could feel it.

I will most definitely be reading the sequel. Just because the book was not that original does not mean that I should dislike it just for that reason. I quite enjoyed reading what Cook brought to the story and it was little twists that kept me moving. Also, Cook’s writing just blew me away. It made me want to come back for more. Her style is just so fast paced and action packed; my heart was racing the entire time.

Haven, though not very original, was written so well that it compelled me to finish it so fast and I loved every minute of it.

[Amber]

A boarding school for people with psychic abilities? Heck yeah, X-Men! Was that your first thought? Well, it certainly was mine! When I saw the synopsis for this book, I was honestly expecting Professor X or something of the like to roll down the halls in his wheelchair. Alas, Haven doesn't have as much in common with X-Men as I thought.

The plot starts off rather slowly as we learn about what Violet's life was like before she found Winterhaven, and how she came to be at an elite boarding school. We read about her going through the process of moving in, making new friends, discovering that Winterhaven is packed full of psychics, and most importantly - that Violet has an instant connection with the hot, loner dude. (*Sigh*)

The time frame for this novel was a little jumpy. One moment we were in October, and then what seemed like two paragraphs later it was suddenly Christmas break. I understand that nothing happened in between, but still.. I feel that perhaps the timing could have been better, or the jumps could have been made to seem less abrupt.

Right in the middle of the book there is a FLAMING HUGE surprise that no one told me about. Book bloggers, you've done amazingly well by keeping this quiet - I applaud you! I wasn't expecting it at all (okay, the thought did cross my mind, but I thought that this was a book about psychics!), and while I was a bit hesitant about it to begin with, I did enjoy where it lead.

Violet was a mediocre main character, with not many flaws or strengths, but she was likable enough. It was interesting to watch her going about her day-to-day life at Winterhaven, and some of the comments she made were quite funny. She was such a worrier, though! It was really weird to see people call her "Vi", because that's my nickname! I've never met another Vi before... but anyway, I'm getting distracted again!

Aidan was everything a lead male should be. Hot, broody, tall and mysterious. You know the type, I'm sure. His instant connection with Violet is never fully explained, and I do wish that this had been touched upon. (*Sigh*) This happens far too much in YA literature. I won't mention the "T" word, but I'm sure you all know what I mean.

Violet's friends were lovely and funny. It was really nice to read about them, and when they used their powers! I think that they could have been introduced a bit more gradually, though, to give the reader a chance to get their head around all the new names. But that may just be me being slow, as usual!

Overall I really did enjoy this book. I loved reading about the old boarding school, and I liked that I was so surprised by the plot twist! I'm not sure if this book is going to have a sequel, but I feel that it would work well as a standalone as well as in a series.