Friday 18 March 2016

REVIEW: Annabeth Neverending by Leyla Kader Dahm

Pages: 238
Format: Kindle
Publisher: CreateSpace
Genre: Fantasy
Release Date: December 15th 2015
Buy The Book: Amazon - Amazon UK


At first, teenager Annabeth Prescott thinks she’s found quite a deal when she talks down the price of an ankh pendant she discovers at a flea market. She soon wonders if the bauble is more than she's bargained for when she faints and glimpses images from a past life in ancient Egypt.

The discovery coincides with another new find: Gabriel, a handsome young man who takes an interest in her. When she meets his twin brother C. J. at a Halloween party, she realizes they look exactly like two boys who figure prominently into her memories.

Does C. J. share the heroic qualities held by his past incarnation Sethe, her bodyguard when she was Princess Ana? Does Gabriel possess the same evil powers he wielded as Kha, the black sorcerer who sought her affection?

Love meets the supernatural in this gripping young adult paranormal romance. Readers with an interest in reincarnation, as well as ancient Egypt, will be drawn to its mystical mixture of history and hesitation as Annabeth sways between the two brothers.

Will her reincarnated soulmate win out? Or will Kha finally find the way to her heart?

My Thoughts:
I am a huge fan of all things ancient Egypt, I have been ever since I was little, and I’m always on the lookout for YA stories that weave Egyptian history into the story. So I was excited to receive a review request for a book that featured a teenage girl discovering her ancient Egyptian past life.

This book follows Annabeth after she comes across a necklace at a flea market that shows her visions of her past life whenever she touches it. From there, she meets brothers Gabe and C.J., who she soon discovers are also people in her life back in Egypt. Annabeth finds herself torn between the two brothers, and fighting to figure out who to trust. 

The relationships were the first things I found myself disappointed in with this story. I knew Annabeth felt a strong connection to the brothers because of her past life, but I failed to feel that connection and that chemistry with either of them. The cliché of it also put me off a little because there was nothing that set the romance in this book apart from the other teen romances in YA. 

Whilst the plot had huge potential and was a very intriguing idea, it failed to deliver. The story seemed to jump all over the place, making it hard to follow, and at times I found it a little too fast-paced. What I did enjoy was the scenes in ancient Egypt. Annabeth’s past life as the daughter of Ramses was interesting and well researched, and I found it such a shame that the rest of the story set in modern day didn’t live up to those scenes. I also found Annabeth herself to be way more likeable back in ancient Egypt, making difficult choices and filled with determination. Whereas I found modern day Annabeth quite irritating and whiny. 

One of the biggest things that put me off this novel was the dialogue between the characters. When reading YA, I like to see strong female relationships, girls that support and empower each other. I didn’t get that from this story, which really disappointed me. Whilst Annabeth has female friends, their attitudes towards each other appeared too bitchy, like a typical high school movie. I honestly believe this story may have worked better if the protagonist had strong friendships, not just complicated relationships with guys. 

I wanted to like this book so much more than I actually did, and as I said earlier, I do believe it had a lot of potential. Reincarnation is always an interesting subject and this plot could have been fascinating if it had maybe been written in a slightly different way. Whilst there were aspects of it that I enjoyed, unfortunately they were few and far between.

Royal Rating: 


 

4 comments:

  1. I'm sorry that you didn't like it! I'm also a big fan of ancient Egypt, so I'm sorry to see that you didn't like it as much as you could have. I might give it a try anyway, just because the book sounds interesting enough.

    Happy Reading,
    ~Anna @Adventures with a Book NErd

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Egyptian side of it is definitely interesting! :)

      Delete
  2. Aww man, well you win some you lose some, right?! On to the next one!

    ReplyDelete

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