Fast paced near-future science fiction romance

Terraworks by Richelle Manteufel carries the reader into TerraWorks, a fast-paced, virtual roleplay gaming-world crafted with great visuals. The cyberpunk vibe of this world melds with fantasy/sci-fi elements to create protagonist, Ean Lightcross, a half-elf avatar who lives her virtual life at breakneck speed as a skyboarder willing to ignore the rules of skycraft to get out of a fix or win a race. Her hecidecimal sidekick (Hex) warns such disobedience to the TerraWorks code of skycraft must be reported, but Ean trusts her instincts and takes risks that often prove to her benefit. She has her eyes set on winning the SkyRate Grand Championship race against the undefeated fay sorcerer, Gale Emodicus.

 

For fun, she takes a break and goes to a Spectral Tyrants concert. Her curiosity piques when she sees the lead singer’s rare avatar type. A skeleton. Skeleton avatars are not a good choice for combat among gamers, but they make exceptional mages and sorcerers. Most players don’t have the patience needed to improve skills as a skeleton. His rarity intrigues Ean, and she moves for a closer look at the skeleman, Elias Mage. She gets caught up in the music. Her fists clench in passion as she watches his every move. After the concert they meet at a vending machine, and as the saying goes, the rest is history. What starts as a friendship quickly transforms into something more, but what are the chances of a romantic relationship forged in virtual reality making it? Ean and Eli fall in love, but have never met in the real world. It’s more than a crush. They have real feelings, hopes and dreams, but what can the future hold for them. At first, they keep their relationship secret, but the  compelling question for the reader is: who are they in real life?

Richelle Manteufel does a magnificent job of immersing the reader in a virtual world that feels believable while totally different from real-world reality. She engages the senses and intellect while altering factors that can be omitted or stretched. I don’t want to say too much because I want readers to experience it for themselves. And the use of avatars as main characters brings the romantic relationship to a new dimension. A whole new level of hidden identity romance. 

This fast paced near-future science fiction combines gaming concepts with popular fantasy tropes. If you enjoyed Arena by Holly Jennings, I think you'll enjoy this book. I give it a strong four stars and recommend it to gaming enthusiasts, romance fans, metalheads, and of course, sci-fi and fantasy fans. TerraWorks is book 1 in the Terraworks series, and I look forward to Helios (book 2) in the future. 

As BookHookup, I am a long-time book reviewer, and I received TerraWorks as a free review copy and have not been compensated for reviewing or recommending it. Some links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and affiliate sites.

Stranded on Castaway Island 5 star YA adventure survival

Stranded on Castaway Island written by Amy C. Laundrie is young adult adventure survival contemporary fiction told from the first-person point of view of fourteen-year-old Annie. Life has dealt her a difficult hand. She lost her mom in a car accident, and her best friend, Mirra, betrayed her. As the story opens, she is the caregiver to her two younger brothers, emotional support for her dad, and has taken on the role of providing whatever is needed for the family. But life turns upside down when her former best friend asks her to join her for an island picnic. She boards the boat thinking perhaps Mirra is going to apologize. That is far from the case, and when a sudden storm turns the boat ride into a terrifying fight for survival, Annie and Mirra find themselves shipwrecked on a remote island. The two of them are forced to learn how to survive together, and how to let go of their grudges which grow to encompass whose fault it is that they are stranded. 

 

 

Wild horses that live on the island bring an interesting element to the story. I won’t share it in detail, because I don’t include spoilers in my reviews, but I have to say I enjoyed this harbinger on more than one level.

 

Laundrie does an excellent job telling the story from a teenage point of view and the pacing of this story is perfect with a constant ebb and flow of conflict and resolution. An element of mystery and a whole new danger level ratchets up the tension when the girls find warm embers from a campfire and man-sized footprints. Is someone watching them? Why doesn't he show himself? Are they in danger?

I highly recommend this book for readers who enjoy YA adventure survival like Wildfire by Rodman Philbrick, or A Map for Wrecked Girls by Jessica Taylor. I enjoyed the characters, the setting, and the realistic details that made it all come to life as well as the healing nature of the story. I give Stranded on Castaway Island 5 stars.

As BookHookup, I am a longtime book reviewer and I received Stranded on Castaway Island as a free review copy and have not been compensated for reviewing or recommending it.  

 

This review is posted in collaboration with #Blackberry Book Tours. Some links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and affiliate sites. 

 

About Author Amy C. Laundrie

 

Amy Laundrie taught elementary school for over thirty years. She loved sharing her love of nature, animals, and stories with her students. Her survival novel, STRANDED ON CASTAWAY ISLAND, takes young adult readers on a wild adventure. THE QUACK-A-DOOLDE PARADE is a rollicking picture book. She's also a weekly columnist and has collected her favorite pieces and included them in an adult memoir called LAUGH, CRY, REFLECT: STORIES FROM A JOYFUL HEART. Her latest series beginning with FOLLOW ME INTO THE WOODS is a nature picture book series. NOAH'S ARK PET CARE CLUB is a fun story about three kids who pet-sit. Amy’s also the author of WHINNY OF THE WILD HORSES, and the Kayla Montgomery mystery series for older readers. EYE OF TRUTH, THIRTY PIECES OF SILVER, DELIVER US FROM EVIL, LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION, and WOLVES IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING include suspense, light romance, and horses. 

Visit her at www.laundrie.com.