REVIEW: Revived by Sarah Noffke

Bookish Details:
Series: The Lucidites #3
Pages: 327 Kindle
Publisher: One-Twenty-Six Press
Release Date: November 20th 2014
Buy it From: Amazon - Amazon UK

Synopsis:

The pieces of Roya’s life don’t fit together anymore. Nothing makes sense. Joseph could be to blame for the fall of the Lucidites’ society. Zhuang is back and more powerful than ever. Chase, a gorgeous psychopath, is demanding her love and commitment. And the Institute is swarming with lies, betrayals, and conflicts. Roya knows she needs to focus and reconnect with Joseph if she is to survive, but how can she find clarity when everything around her is unraveling? 
 
The final chapter in The Lucidites Series will take up residence in reader’s bones. All secrets will be revealed. All villains will be confronted. And the greatest obstacles will be that of the heart. Revived delivers, giving audiences what they want most from the last in a fast-paced, thrilling series. 

My Review:

This review contains spoilers for the two previous books in this series. Please don't read on if you haven't read either of those books.

So here it is, the final installment in The Lucidites series, AND I HAVE SO MANY FEELINGS. Roya's journey has finally come to it's conclusion, and it was everything I wanted for her and more. 

This is one of those books that I struggle to review because I can't quite put into words how awesome it is. The entire series has gotten better and better as it went along, resulting in a fantastic final installment that was nail-biting from start to finish.

We continue Roya's story after the discovery that Zhuang has been brought back to full strength by an unsuspecting Joseph. The siblings are trying to come to terms with Trey being their father, and Roya is still struggling to deal with Chase's mind control over her, so the stress levels are high. Amongst everything else going on in her life, Roya also has to face the situation she's stuck in with George and Aiden.

Whilst news reporting for the Institute, Roya witnesses an event that will put the Lucidites in grave danger at some point in the future. They don't know when it'll come to pass, so they must sit and wait for the day to arrive.

Refusing to be forced to exit the institute when the danger arrives, Joseph and Roya come up with a plan to put an end to the terror, no matter the risks to their own lives. What follows is an epic battle between good and evil, and Roya learns more about her past and herself along the way.

The personal journey of each of the characters in this final book was wonderful. I just have to take a moment to talk about Joseph because he truly shone through this time around. He's been one of my favourites from the start and it's been great to see him develop over the course of the series. There have been many times when I've wanted to wrap him up in a blanket and protect him from the world. There was a little twist regarding his personal life in this book that I don't want to mention directly because I don't want spoilers here, but I absolutely loved it. His developing relationship was beautifully written and put a huge smile on my face by the end of the story.

As for Roya's love life, there was a perfect conclusion that I'd waited for all along. But I'll admit, even though I didn't really have much love for George in the first book, I've grown to adore him throughout this series. He's undeniably sweet and caring, and I felt sorry for him by the end of everything.

Roya was stronger than ever in Revived. I love everything about her character: her wit, her courage, her dream travels. I always adore strong female characters that can fight for themselves and those they love, and she's delivers all that and more. She's been so entertaining to read about over these past three books, and I'm going to miss her a lot!

What I also loved is that even though the story focuses on the relationship between her and Aiden, it didn't interfere with the main plot. A lot of the YA series' I have read recently put way too much focus on the romance, and the plot would depend heavily on the love interest. With this series, Roya's overall journey was something she fought through herself. Although she had Aiden's support, she didn't need saving by him. She was strong enough to fight her own battles! This is one of the reason's why their relationship worked so well for me. We were given just the right amount of it.

All of the lose ends were neatly tied up by the final chapter of Revived, leaving me more than happy with the ending. I'm not going to lie, there were parts that tore my heart apart, especially towards the end. The epilogue was as much of an emotional roller-coaster as the entire series – I was a mess by the end of it! 

It has been such a pleasure to be able to read this series and I'd like to thank Sarah herself for introducing it to me. I have enjoyed the company of these wonderful characters over the past couple of months, and I can't wait to see what awesome stories Sarah Noffke has in store in the future.

Royal Rating:

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REVIEW: Stunned by Sarah Noffke

Bookish Details:
Series: The Lucidites #2
Pages: 312
Publisher: One-Twenty-Six Press
Release Date: 21st November 2014
Buy it From: Amazon - Amazon UK

Synopsis:

Roya desperately wishes she was above ground, on a sunny patio, watching the lake lap up on the shore. Instead, she finds herself trapped with the Lucidites. Her brother is mysteriously wasting away, and at every turn she finds a new betrayal. Just when she thinks she’s finally escaping the Institute, a new danger unveils itself. A secret society of Dream Travelers has declared war on the Lucidites by abducting a head official. It’s up to Roya to figure out who’s behind it and how to save everyone she cares about most. More action packed than its predecessor, Stunned is captivating and will leave audiences squirming from the tension and also begging for more.

My Review:

Stunned picks up after the events of Awoken. Zhuang has been defeated, and the Lucidites are attempting to get things back to how they were. Roya’s friends and her brother, Joseph, have all been given assignments to work on over summer and are settling in at the institute. Roya, however, doesn’t quite know what to do. She has nothing to work on, and left feeling like a spare part

Her feelings for Aiden are complicated and she finds it difficult to accept that anything between the two of them must be kept secret to protect Aiden’s career. Her strained relationship with George isn’t making her situation any easier. This leads to her deciding that she wants to leave and move in with her faux parents, Bob and Steve. 

The plot, just like in the first book, was exciting from start to finish. Just when you think you have things figured out, another new twist is thrown into the mix to keep the characters constantly on their toes.

As always, the characters were fantastic. I loved Roya’s strength and her natural wit. I was pleased to see some more interaction between her, Bob, and Steve. It’s great that she has their constant reassurance and support. They are like the calm amongst the raging storm.

I felt sorry for poor Joseph. He gets messed up in something he shouldn’t, and takes it out on the people around him. But seeing Roya’s determination to help him overcome whatever he’s working on is touching and shows the development between the two of them.

I was happy to get to know George a little better this time. In the first book, his relationship with Roya wasn’t appealing to me, but now I understand the connection between the two of them a little better. I’d like to learn more about him away from his relationship with Roya.

With that being said, I still prefer Roya with Aiden. I adore Aiden. He’s geeky, and cute, and can sometimes be a little foolish. And that’s what makes him a great character. I wanted to give him a good talking to myself at certain points in the story because of the poor way he was handling certain situations. But he learns from his mistakes and grows from them. Again, he is a character whose backstory I would love to learn more about. 

The secondary characters in this story are just as fantastic. Trent shared a wonderful little moment with Roya towards the end that I really enjoyed, and it left me curious to see how his story unfolds in the last instalment. I also love Ren. I seem to have a particular interest in angry, snarky, pessimistic characters, and he definitely fits that bill. 

The Grotte was a creepy addition to this series, and one I highly enjoyed getting to read about. The new characters we meet through the Grotte are disturbing and a dangerous threat. I’m so curious to see what the overall plan is.

I need to mention the end of this book because holy mother of plot twists. I did not see the twist coming, so when it happened, it was glorious. I had one of those ‘oh, snap’ moments, and then wanted to go back through the books to see if I’d missed the clues. It was a fantastic ending that definitely left me desperate to read the fallout.

This series is always full of action and excitement. I’m eager to see what wild adventures the characters will be sent on in the final book, and how they’ll face whatever situations are thrown at them next.  

Royal Rating:

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INTERVIEW: Sarah Noffke

Today I'm happy to share with you an interview with Sarah Noffke, author of The Lucidites series! 

Can you tell us a little bit about your book, Awoken?
Awoken is the story of a young girl named Roya Stark, who has just discovered she’s a part of special race of humans and that her fate is tied to that of a dangerous man’s, Zhuang. Roya is a Dream Traveler, which allows her to use her dreams to go anywhere in space and time. She’s also clairvoyant. Zhuang has taken her family’s consciousness hostage and Roya knows the only way to save them, and the world at large, is to fight him. The Lucidites, a seemingly good society of Dream Travelers, swoop in and offer to assist Roya. However, upon arriving at their headquarters, she learns she hasn’t been told the whole truth. Still Roya remains reluctantly committed to the mission she must lead. And there is some hope for her, since she’ll have the aid of five talented Dream Travelers who all have their own special ability. Roya has plunged into a dynamic and dangerous new world, but what keeps her awake at night is the fact that the fate of humanity’s dreams rest of her shoulders.

Awoken is the first in The Lucidites series, in which all three books were released at the same time. What made you decide to release the whole series all at once?
I did make the conscious decision to release all three books in the series at once, and have since learned this is considered an edgy approach. The reason I did this was to cater to the reader’s needs. Releasing one book at a time stirs up a lot of media and marketing attention. But readers, from my experience, don’t want to wait. Why make them? I’m a reader and I loathe when I have to wait six months for the next book to come out. And all too often, by the time the book is released I’m off reading something else and can’t get back to it for a long time. I’m not sure that I’ll always release all my books in a series at once, but if it’s what the reader wants then I will. I serve readers, not a hungry publisher.

What inspired you to write about people who can dream travel?
I’ve always been obsessed with dreams. They’re this enigma, which seem to carry so much power. How many times have you dreamed something that came true the next day? Or dreamed about a friend and then they called out of the blue? Or had the strangest déjà vu? Dreams hold so much richness and also a ton of mystery. I have always wondered how I could use them more fully in my own life by lucid dreaming. All these fascinations of mine with dreams led to the idea of a special race who transcend time and space when asleep. And from there the rest of the story slowly unraveled.

How did you come up with the villain of the story, Zhuang?
The idea for an ancient villain came to me when I was reading about Zhuangzi, who was a Taoist philosopher. He said, “Once upon a time, I dreamt I was a butterfly, fluttering hither and thither, to all intents and purposes a butterfly. I was conscious only of my happiness as a butterfly, unaware that I was myself. Soon I awaked, and there I was, veritably myself again. Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly, dreaming I am a man.” Once I read this I quickly latched onto the idea of a villain who was once good, but became corrupt through greed. And so Zhuang was born, but he dreamt himself as things much more threatening than a butterfly. Maybe most writer’s start with creating the hero, but in my case I started with the antagonist. From there the idea of stealing consciousness through dreams took shape and everything fell into place.

Did you relate to Roya at all, or any of the other characters whilst writing the story?
I relate to all of my characters in one way or another. Roya is in many ways a lot like me, and in other ways we’re complete opposites. She’s quiet and antisocial, which I’m not at all. She’s also very brave and a badass, and I can’t say I’ve ever been either of those. However, we both share a love for classic literature, use sarcasm way too much in conversation, and truly believe the world is innately good. Besides from Roya, I think the character I relate to the most is Aiden, or at least I highly admire him. He’s a very focused individual, who also doesn’t take himself too seriously. I love how much life he interjects into his scenes. Is it wrong that I want to be a nerdy scientist in my next life?

What made you decide to write the series for young adults?
YA is my genre of choice when reading. For young adults, nothing is fixed. For the most part they don’t know who they are, who’ll they marry, who they’ll become or where they’re life is going. All of these uncertainties make for a lot of adventure and tension. Also, young adults have a hunger for life that dissipates to a certain extent for adults. As adults, we’re bogged down by the day-to-day. Young adults have a fresher perspective. I also love interacting with my young adult audience for this reason. They are so inquisitive and passionate.

What was your favourite part of the writing process?
Falling in love with the characters. When I first start writing a book all of these characters come to me, like I’m meeting the whole gang at a party. Over weeks of outlining and brainstorming, their personalities are revealed. Then I start writing and it’s like we’ve all taken an extended holiday together. Somewhere between the first page of a novel and the last, I find that I’ve attached myself to a few different characters and in some cases, fallen madly in love with them. I’ll tell you this, when I finished the last book in The Lucidites series I cried and cried and cried. I felt like all my friends had gotten on a ship and sailed to a distant land where I would never see them again. Yes, that’s right! I have imaginary friends.

Do you have any advice for other inspiring writers out there?
Every writer has advice on this topic and it’s all worthy. It’s advice from other writers that’s made me who I am. With that being said, I don’t want to repeat what most say, but I’m going to anyway. My promise is that I’ll try to say something new too.

So most will tell an aspiring writer (and they’re correct) to read as much as possible, write every day, and read books on how to write.

Alright, now here’s my something new that I give to only you: Become intimately acquainted with the writer inside you. This is not a person the world outside will know. This is the part inside you that only you know, that tells stories inside your head, and imagines fantastic things when the normal day-to-day is going on around you. You’re the only one who knows this person and the only one who can interpret their stories. Make a habit of closing your eyes once a day and meditating with this person. In time you will be so connected to them that their words will flow from you effortlessly. Most writers I know will agree that their books do not come from them, but rather through them. This happens when you open up this channel.

And if that sounds too metaphysical for you, well then just check out Stephen King’s autobiography, On Writing. He’s a genius.

Finally, are you working on any other novels at the moment?
I’m currently writing a new trilogy. I’ve complete the first two books and hope to start the third by early spring. It another series about Dream Travelers. There’s all new characters. A new society. And it’s WAY more dystopian than The Lucidites. It’s also a lot darker and a little sexier, but still YA. The series is called The Reverians.

Thanks so much to Sarah for stopping by! You can read my review of Awoken here, and look out soon for my review of book two in The Lucidites series, Stunned. 

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REVIEW: Awoken by Sarah Noffke

Bookish Details:
Series: The Lucidites #1
Pages: 312 Paperback
Publisher: One-Twenty-Six Press
Release Date: November 24th 2014
Source: Provided by author in exchange for honest review
Buy it From: Amazon - Amazon UK

Synopsis:
Around the world humans are hallucinating after sleepless nights.

In a sterile, underground institute the forecasters keep reporting the same events.

And in the backwoods of Texas, a sixteen-year-old girl is about to be caught up in a fierce, ethereal battle.

Meet Roya Stark. She drowns every night in her dreams, spends her hours reading classic literature to avoid her family’s ridicule, and is prone to premonitions—which are becoming more frequent. And now her dreams are filled with strangers offering to reveal what she has always wanted to know: Who is she? That’s the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out. But will Roya live to regret learning the truth?

My Review:

The description of this book immediately intrigued me. It follows the story of Roya Stark, who is trying to come to terms with being a dream traveler. She has been selected as part of a team who will try and rid the world of the man who is stealing people’s consciousness: Zhuang.

As much as I want to discuss every aspect of this awesome story, I’m going to keep this review spoiler free, so you can all go and discover it for yourself.

First of all, the writing throughout this book was beautifully descriptive, and it really helps the reader to understand what’s going on in Roya’s mind. I found the first couple of chapters a little hard to follow, but once Roya got to the Institute, and more was revealed about The Lucidites, I began to ease into the story.

Roya was a fantastic character who developed well throughout. I found her reactions to the situations around her realistic and relatable. And she definitely knew how to kick some ass! Everything happens quite quickly in the first few chapters, so we don’t get to see much of her life with Bob and Steve, the people who take her in after her family are corrupted by Zhuang. They seem like an interesting pair, and I’d love to find out more about them.

All of the other characters were written brilliantly. I loved Joseph from the start. He added a bit of light-hearted humour and genuine warmth to the story. I’m very interested to see how he progresses through the series.

Aiden owned my heart from the minute he was introduced. A guy wearing glasses and a Fall Out Boy t-shirt, of course I was going to love him. How could I not? I liked that he wasn’t perfect, and that he did things that go against what Roya believes in. They challenge each other, and that’s why they work so well together. I’m excited to see how their relationship changes in the future.

The only small problem I had with the story was George. I really liked getting to know more about him as the story went on, but I didn’t feel the love interest connection that sparked up between him and Roya. I think it would have felt a little more believable if it had been built up longer. I do, however, think George has wonderful potential, and I can’t wait to find out more about him. 

I’d love to find out more about Zhuang, and how he came to be the way he is. I’d also love the story to explore more of the time traveling side of the dreamscape. The fact that The Lucidites can travel to any point in time is fascinating, and I hope that’s something we get to see more of in the series.

There was a fantastic twist that happened in the second half of the book which I was really pleased about. I felt like it was needed and I can’t wait to see how that effects the characters in the next story.

This book is a prime example of why people need to be reading the work of indie authors. This story has been more way exciting and captivating than some of the widely published books I’ve read in the past. Anyone who loves a good fantasy and sci-fi story should definitely be checking this one out. 

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