Blog Tour & Giveaway: Review of Rook by Monica MacDonald

Welcome to my stop on the Rook blog tour!  On this stop you'll find my review as well as a giveaway.  This tour is hosted by me and you can find the tour page with a list of tour stops HERE.

Rook (Timeless Games #1) by Monica MacDonald

ebook, 310 pages

Published: November 1st, 2013 

Source: Author

Could you be the monster to save who you love?

Two women, separated by generations, must leave what they know to start a new life. Seventeen-year-old Kate's senior year is ruined when she's moved from the only home she's ever known. After an isolating month alone in her apartment, school starts, but neither her classmates nor her teacher are who they seem. Kali, a single mother living in the nineteenth century wilds of Montana, is stalked by a malicious past. She fights to keep her daughter safe while her freedom is threatened by her less than benevolent benefactor. Both find love, and with it hope, but that is quickly ripped away as one woman must learn the lessons of the other -- before it's too late to save either.

Find the book: Goodreads | Amazon

This story is about Kate, a modern day girl who has just moved and has to go to a new school.  It's also about Kali, a young mother living in the nineteenth century.  We alternate between both of them and this works incredibly well because we see there's a connection there, but what is it? As we read we get the perfect amount of clues to take guesses, but nothing ever becomes obvious until later in the story.  When the two stories finally connect everything comes together and makes sense.  While there's still unanswered questions because this is the first in a series, we do get a decent conclusion and aren't left with a cliffhanger.

The story is mostly Kate's and in the future books I'm assuming we won't be seeing Kali anymore.  We really saw the conclusion to her part of the story.  Those who might be afraid of the historical setting for Kali's portion, don't be- it's more character driven for those parts and the time period isn't really part of the story.

I loved Kali, she was gentle and kind and put others first all the time.  While she wasn't perfect- she made some mistakes in her past, she's a person with a big heart and that's very evident.  It's through Kali that we learn about the paranormal/fantasy elements of the story.  And this paranormal aspect is very, very unique.  I feel like there's so much more to learn, but what I've seen so far is fascinating.

Kate was a character that I liked a lot, but she's discovering a lot through the book which allowed for some ups and downs in her personality.  Fortunately enough weird things happen to her that when she's faced with the paranormal stuff she doesn't freak out too much.  I did feel she was a little in denial before it was all laid out, like she was writing things off as being too tired or something, when it clearly was something more, but when it came down to things and she needed to step up, she did.  It took a little to take that final brave step forward, and I actually wondered a bit, but when she did everything finally clicked together.  I can see how the next book will be different, now that she knows things it's all going to change.

The romance in this was very, very light, but that's another thing that I think will have to change for the next one. In this it just didn't really have time to go anywhere.  But I do like that the romantic interest is a friend, so there's no insta-love.  However, there's a hint of a love triangle- it never actually happens, and it's resolved, but it's hinted at; just be prepared and keep reading, trust me, it's worth it.

I really enjoyed this start to a new series, but I think the next book will be even better and I'm looking forward to reading it!  Also, this is a pretty clean read.  I don't recall any cursing and there's no sex or insinuation. There's some violence, but that's about it.

Disclosure: I received this book for review purposes. All opinions expressed are my own and I was not paid or influenced in any way.

About the author:

Monica is a married graduate student with three boys. Utah is home right now, but the need to wander has extended beyond the fantasy world of writing and into real life. She's lived all around the US and even into the Middle East. The world is really a small place, only made bigger through imagination.

Find the author: Website/Blog | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads 

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