My review of Essenced---4 stars out of 5

I normally don't read YA novels. I will read them but the book has to be really good. This book was one of them. I loved it and was very intrigued with the whole story. The heroine of this book is one tough chick. Her name is AJ. When the book first starts AJ wakes up one morning and for some reason she has so much strength and doesn’t understand why. She breaks her alarm clock and her night stand by trying to turn off her morning alarm. As the day progresses not only does she realize she has more strength than normal but she has speed as well. This is not normal because she is usually clumsy and uncoordinated. AJ keeps telling herself that it is some type of adrenaline rush. Out of nowhere she meets this man by the name of Julius. He said he was there to help her with her change and to explain what is happening to her. Oh and by the way did I mention he is HOT..lol At first she doesn’t trust him. Turns out she has been chosen to help save the world. 

When she finally agrees to go to the place where she is to learn about all her new powers and to train for an upcoming war, AJ is overwhelmed with everything that is being told to her. She and Julius have a funny relationship. They fight constantly but as the story goes on you can see they start caring about each other. I love the way they interact with each other because it’s hilarious to see how mad they get. Both of them are really stubborn. At the facility where AJ goes and train you will be introduced to the other people chosen to help save the world. Each one is a funny character. What I like about the book is that when you meet these characters you get to know them individually and you get to see how they interact with one another. I really enjoyed this book and I really liked the coupling of AJ and Julius. This is unexpected to Julius because he is not technically a human. I’m glad I was offered an ARC for an honest review. This author is new at this but I can tell she is going to be amazing. The book ends with a cliff hanger so prepare yourself to want more. Hopefully the wait for the second one won’t take too long. Enjoy!!! 

About this author

Connie L. Smith spends far too much time with her mind wandering in fictional places. She reads too much, likes to bake, and will be forever sad that she doesn’t have fairy wings. And that she can’t swing dance. When she isn’t reading or writing, there’s a good chance she’s goofing off with her amazing, wonderful, incredible, fabulous nieces and nephew, or listening to music that is severely outdated. She has her BA from Northern Kentucky University in Speech Communication and History (she doesn’t totally get the connection either) and likes to snap photos. Oh, and she likes apples a whole big bunch.