Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Review of TWISTED REFLECTIONS by Shay Fabbro


TWISTED REFLECTIONS by Shay Fabbro
Series:  Book 2 in the Alexis Davenport series
Blurb via smashwords:
Alexis Davenport wants to be rid of her gift of time travel and the duty to protect the time line from an evil lunatic. When Alex travels back to ancient Egypt, she meets a fellow Traveler who can help her figure out how to use her powers to stop Drifter from altering the past. But can she learn how to control her gift before Drifter finds a way to stop her from meddling in his plans?

My Review:  4 stars
At the end of Dangerous Reflections things are starting to look up for Alex.  In Twisted Reflections, Alex finds herself putting more of the puzzle pieces - of her gift, her situation, her purpose and her adversary - together.

Alex experiences some vast improvements in her life.  She and her mom have moved out of her aunt's guesthouse and into a really snazzy place of their own, close by.  Alex is STOKED about having a large bedroom with her very own bathroom.  She has a boyfriend, she's excelling in drama/theater and she's still working in her aunt's boutique.  Those are the ups.  The downs are that she's still seeing reflections in the mirror of historical females, she's being hunted by a maniac who can time travel as well, she's being overworked in her aunt's boutique and her dad is still MIA.  All of this leaves little to no time for her to be involved with her friends and it starts wearing her down to the point of depression.  I really started to feel for her.  She can act pretty spoiled at times and throw typical teenage tantrums, but she also shoulders an extraordinary amount of responsibility.  Our history as we know it is threatened by an evil man with sinister plans.  And it seems Alexis is the only one who can stop him.  Or is she?

I didn't become as quickly caught up in Twisted Reflections as I did Dangerous Reflections.  But the last half of the book made up for it.  The last half was when I couldn't put it down.  Alex gets to inhabit the body of some really fierce, powerful women in this sequel and that was one of my favorite parts.  In the first book, she trades places with more people, but I thought the ones she got to become in this book were more exciting and interesting.  There's also the introduction of a new character who I absolutely adored.  This is all I can say without spoiling the surprise.  I'm hoping to see more of this person in book 3.  I also hope to get some more answers to some of my pressing questions like, "Why does she feel such intense connections to certain men during her jumps?" and "Why is her mom so hard on her when Alex has done nothing to warrant such restrictions?" and "Where in the world is her dad?".

One of the things I enjoy most about Shay's stories is that everyone who reads her books and follows Alex's adventures, gets a few history lessons too. You can always learn new and fascinating facts or details every time Alex makes a jump.  Even if you've never been a history buff, she finds a way to make it fun and interesting. - her history tidbits are candy-coated goodness.  As I read and gain clues from Alex about the women reflected back at her, I like to see if I can guess which era she'll be headed to, before she does.

As evidenced by the covers, the Alexis Davenport books have an innocence to them that you don't easily find in the young adult genre - especially in paranormal reads.  Her series is one that, as a mother, I can easily recommend to a younger crowd of girls than I would books like Twilight, Nightshade or Hunger Games.  This is the kind of book that offers adventure, fun, teen drama, supernatural abilities and mystery - and you don't have to feel nervous or iffy about letting your young teens read it.  There is the rare use of a swear word or two in the book, but it's in the realm of 'damn' or 'bastard' and no further.

With the events that made up the cliffhanger in Twisted Reflections, I'm anxiously awaiting the next installment.  The plot thickens!  I recommend this series for ages 12 and up. Find my review of book 1, Dangerous Reflections here.

*Be sure to visit the previous blog on her tour where she plays 20 questions with Laird Sapir and is giving away 2 signed copies of her book!

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ABOUT DR. SHAY FABBRO...
Shay Fabbro was born in Longmont, CO and moved to the town of Grand Junction, CO in the early 1980′s. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Mesa State College before earning her doctorate degree in Human Medical Genetics from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, CO.

Dr. Fabbro currently lives in Grand Junction with her husband, Rich, and their two cats. When not writing novels, she teaches biology classes at Mesa State College. She is hard at work on the second novel in the Portals of Destiny series, Shattered Destiny, as well as a new young adult series, The Adventures of Alexis Davenport.

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for letting me come and hang out on your blog during my blog tour! :D

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    Replies
    1. Anytime! Thank you for letting me be a part of it. I know my daughter is going to devour these books.

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