Kim Deister
Written on Aug 1, 2011
The characters were what really drove the story for me. I love an understated heroine, and Lora was that for me. After her mother disappeared when she was very young, she had been taken in and raised by Aubrey, her mother's best friend, never knowing much about either of her parents. She began the novel as a slightly shy and maybe even a little awkward girl, feeling a little plain Jane compared to her best friend Jess. Jess, although a minor character, had her own storyline that added a bit of reality to a fantasy tale. Chance, the leading man, was everything you could want in a guy. Think Edward meets sexy surfer hottie! Every one of the characters, no matter what their role in the story, were completely believeable. Even the otherworldly characters and creatures were masterfully created and perfectly able to be imagined as real.
In all of her books, the author creates such personable characters, characters that draw you in and make you feel with and for them. They make you feel invested in their stories, and when the story ends, they leave you wanting more. You can have the most interesting premise of a plot in the world, but without amazing, well-rounded characters, it will fall flat. Carlie is an expert at having both and weaving them together to make a story alive for the reader. Loramendi's Story comes out on August 7th at the retail stores listed above, which will be linked on Release Day. I highly recommend picking up this book, as well as all of her others!