Welcome to my stop on the River's Recruit book tour. Brought to you by SupaGurl Blog Tours Here you can read a synopsis of the book, Author Bio, Excerpt and my Review.
Rivers Recruit
Published November 12, 2012
By Charlotte Abel
Summary
Jonathan McKnight lost everything in Afghanistan. His left hand, his identical twin, his self-respect and his naive belief that good always triumphs over evil. Burdened by grief and guilt, he searches for redemption on a solo backpacking trip into the remote Sawatch Mountains of Colorado and discovers a secret tribe of shifters.
River, the beautiful young shifter that rescues Jonathan has been promised to a man she despises. A man that does not desire her and only wants to use her to achieve his own political goals. Jonathan is more than a romantic rival. He’s a threat to those goals.
The only way to save Jonathan’s life is for River to take him as her recruit.
As Jonathan learns more about the horrors of River’s cult-like society, he becomes even more determined to escape it, until he learns that River is responsible for everything he does and will be executed if he succeeds.
Escape is not an option—unless Jonathan can persuade River to leave with him. And if she refuses? Well, then, he’ll just have to kidnap her.
Charlotte Abel was born and raised in Oklahoma where she met her soulmate, Pete. She chased him to Boulder, Colorado and finally convinced him they were meant to be together forever. They've raised three kids, two ferrets, three dogs and countless hamsters -- and are still happily married.She's in love with "real" life and paranormal romance. When she's not reading or writing, Charlotte enjoys hiking, bicycling and primitive archery (although she's never shot at anything other than a target!)The final book of The Channie Series, "Finding Valor," should be available by Christmas.
Links:
My River’s Recruit Review
Wow, what an amazing ride. On the edge of your seat, bite your finger nails amazing. Was up late into the night reading this, like 4 am! I could not put it down, especially after the halfway point.
I absolutely loved this book, the emotional connection you get really got to me, you can feel Jonathan’s desperation like it was your own, in your bones, and made me cry. This story hooked me in and never let me go. Charlotte is truly a gifted writer, and I will be reading more of her work.
I was able to get into the book pretty quick; it didn’t take me too long to figure it all out, like how River’s world is so different from ours. I did get that cult type feel of it like Jonathan did, but not as much, as I know they are a tribe of shap-shifters, and need to keep that part of their life secret. I enjoyed learning how primitive they lived, but yet with some genius creations too, like Reuben’s farm, the way he made the pipes (he is a blacksmith) run under the whole cabin and barn, to carry the thermal water from the hot springs, to warm the house and barn, and how it has been designed to be changed in the summer, to bring the mountain cold water instead to help keep the place cool. The log cabin is build into the side of the mountain, and sounds so pretty, like a lodge at the ski resorts.
This book takes place in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, which is where I grew up, so really enjoyed that part, as so much of the descriptions I could easily picture as I could relate. I think of them old mining towns nestled into the mountains.
I really loved River and Jonathan. River is a strong and courageous girl. I really could connect with her. She is a bit naive, but that is to be expected with the way she was raised. They are sort of like the Amish, they live like it was back in the old days, without technology. But not exactly like them, they are supernaturals, and it’s the best way I can describe them. They are self sustaining, they grow, and raise their own food, hunt, etc. The place is called New Eden, and there is 2 parts to their community, the privileged better bloodlines part gets to live in more luxury, inside the mountain that is really nice, and even get some of the modern medicines etc. Then there are the surface dwellers (like River).
They live very long lives due to their shapshifter abilities. They call it merging with their spirit guide the wolf. River is an excellent archer with her bow and arrow, and can really take care of herself. We first see her in the Prologue at 13, then jump 5 years later around 18, and this is the time that she meets Jonathan.
I actually adore Jonathan. Not so much in the very beginning, as he was like any typical acting frat boy type, but that all changed when his twin brother gets killed. The emotions that you get during the time in Jonathan’s POV and the loss will really get to you. I loved how we got to get inside several characters’ heads. We get inside River, Jonathan, even Eli.
I loved the interactions with River’s sort of brother (well, she was raised with him, so like a brother to her) Gabriel and Jonathan, Below is a cute scene with River, Eli, Gabriel and Jonathan, as they are taking him back to Rueben’s (River’s guardian) and they have to blindfold him, as outsiders are not allowed to see where their place is. He is considered a recruit, after they met up over an encounter with a cougar.
Jonathan’s head throbbed harder when he sat up. “Can I take off this damn blindfold?”“No!”“Okay.” He moved slowly to keep from freaking anyone out as he reached behind his head and felt the lump through the hood of his sheepskin parka. “What happened?”“Someone threw a rock at you to keep you from removing the blindfold.”“Someone?”“If you’d gotten the blindfold off, Eli would have killed you on the spot.” River’s voice was full of remorse, so Jonathan assumed she was the rock-thrower.“Well then, I guess I owe someone a ‘thank you’ for saving my life. Although a simple ‘don’t do that’ would have hurt less.”Gabriel said, “You’re welcome.”
That’s just a start of the relationship Jonathan and Gabriel will have, like brothers.
I really can’t say a whole lot more without spoiling it. I tried to give just a bit of it for you, to see how wonderful this book truly is. There are so many things that happen; it’s full of emotion, some action, love and the forbidden as well.
Here is another sweet scene for you:
When he opened his eyes, River was right there, staring at him with glowing, purple eyes. This wasn’t just a faint glimmer, like it was in the cave. This was a definite glow. Why wasn’t it freaking him out? The longer he gazed into her strange, glorious eyes, the weaker his resistance became. Maybe she really was an angel.“I care about you, too. Kiss me. Please.” Or a devil. Jonathan wove his fingers through River’s hair as he cupped the back of her head. He knew kissing her was against the rules. Kissing her in her room, on her bed, with Reuben just down the hall was reckless, stupid and dangerous. But he did it anyway.
I absolutely love Jonathan; he is such a deep down great guy, and perfect for River. I felt traumatized at a few points at what happens, and the ending just killed me it felt like. What a cliffhanger, but in a good way. I really can’t wait to get book 2, which I do not know when it will be out. It’s called River’s Remorse.
I highly recommend this book. This book will satisfy people of many ages, though I think it’s supposed to be 18+ but am not sure.
5 out of 5 big stars. A wonderful, suspenseful story!
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See the rest of the tour below:
Dec. 29
Dec. 30
