Review by bb587 -- Unbalanced by Courtney Shepard

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Elizabeth Pass
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Review by bb587 -- Unbalanced by Courtney Shepard

Post by Elizabeth Pass »

[Following is a volunteer review of "Unbalanced" by Courtney Shepard.]
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4 out of 4 stars
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Unbalanced by Courtney Shepard was a surprisingly great book to stumble upon. It’s the first in a series, and I seriously cannot wait to read more!

Four sisters have been separated at birth, ripped away from their mother. Each of them has unique abilities related to the elements of earth, wind, fire, and water. They are given to handlers to be raised and trained. Father Sean was anything but kind to Asha as she grew up. She was placed with a family that included a mother, father, and a younger sister. Father Sean let Asha believe she had burned them to death in her sleep. From then on, she stayed with Father Sean so that she could master her abilities and put them to good use helping people. We read about the girls’ birth in the prologue, but the rest of the backstory is mostly shared in bits and pieces. We really begin the story when Asha is sent on a mission is Southern Columbia. She does as she’s told by Father Sean only to realize afterward that she has killed children and demolished a hospital. From then on, she leaves Father Sean and sets out to help people on her own.

Several years later, Clay is sent on a mission by the Order to assassinate a woman known as “Guerrera Reina,” the Warrior Queen. The Order raised Clay and his three brothers. The brothers also have the powers of the elements but they’re not nearly as powerful as the girls. Clay sees Asha through his scope and realizes she’s the woman of his dreams. I mean that literally since he’s dreamed of her specifically for years not knowing that she was a real person. Intrigued, he comes down from his perch in a tree and makes his way into her camp by pretending to be a doctor. Fortunately, he has the skills to back it up and saves a woman who’s appendix was about to burst. Clay and Asha are drawn to each other, but neither can explain why, even to themselves.

At this point, Asha realizes the location of her sanctuary has been compromised and she evacuates the people she has sworn to protect. Unfortunately, at the same time, the Order has assumed Clay failed his mission and they send in reinforcements. Most of the people Asha was trying to save end up dead, and Asha is captured. She’s brought back to the Order’s compound and tortured. There is an unknown faction within the Order, though. They orchestrate a way for Clay to get her out.

Meanwhile, Asha’s sisters have been hunted. Most of their handlers have been murdered while helping the girls escape. Ivy, the earth power, is connected enough to the world around her to feel the presence of her sisters. She locates Mere (water) and Avia (air). The three of them escape to a private location. Clay, in his attempt to get Asha out of the Order, smuggles her on a mission. Unbeknownst to him, he’s actually taking her directly to her sisters. A supernatural fight ensues, Asha is reunited with the sisters she never knew about, and the girls escape.

Eventually, Clay and his brothers--Cole, Aron, and Rio--realize they’re on the wrong side. They escape the Order with Master Miles. Master Miles turns out to be the one who has been protecting the girls their whole lives. The Order only exists to worship The Four and to find the four girls as they are reborn. Each time, The Four captures and kills the girls so that they can absorb their power. Master Miles explains this to both the girls and the boys. He explains to them that they must separate again or they will be more easily found by The Four. So, of course, they pair up. Each couple has a mission to gather information so that they can face and defeat The Four. They travel to different sections of the world following up on leads. This is where most of the romance starts to really heat up.

This first book is mostly Asha and Clay’s story, but we follow everyone separately at times. We get a feeling for each of the characters. The author does a fantastic job of distinguishing the different personalities. While reading, you can tell that the boys have been raised together and share a certain camaraderie. On the other hand, you can also tell that the girls don’t know each other but have an unexplainable bond. They’re a bit awkward together, which works because they don’t actually know one another. When they split up, the pairings seem so natural to the characters. There is no debate over which ones should go together since everyone seems to have an uncontrollable attraction to someone specifically. However, you can still feel the tension between each couple. For example, Asha desperately wants to be around Clay but she doesn’t trust him. Her heart and body are saying one thing while her brain screams another.

I’ve gotten used to reading supernatural romances that come in trilogies. Each book in the series will focus on one couple. The other couples might meet, but nothing really happens between anyone other than the main-focus couple. By the time the first book is over, the couple has resolved their issues, proclaimed their love, and are now officially together forever. Then, we move onto the second book where we pay attention to a new couple. The couple from the first book moves to the background. This book (and this series, I assume) does not work in that cookie-cutter fashion. We see developments between all four couples. Though we focus a lot more on Asha and Clay, their relationship doesn’t fully progress as expected. This approach was so refreshing. I felt like I was reading about real people that just happened to have supernatural abilities, rather than a story about cosmic fate. I’m not even fully convinced all the couples will be together by the end of the series. This kept me turning pages and wishing for more when I reached the end.

The girls are much stronger than the boys with their abilities. When I found that out, I assumed “girl power” would be an on-going, underlying theme. Instead, I feel that each character has his or her own strengths and weaknesses. The theme ended up being more like teamwork, togetherness, and balance. I’ve read several books of daring knights saving damsels in distress. I’ve also read several books where the damsels prove they can save themselves while the knights twiddle their thumbs in the background. Rarely have I stumbled on a book (or series) where there is an emphasis on both sexes. I feel strongly that this book’s message stresses equality over everything else.

My only problem while reading, was that some of the names are so similar. Avia and Asha are sisters. Cole and Clay are brothers. It’s such a trivial thing, but when names are close like that I tend to mix up the characters on occasion. This forces me to go back and double check to see if I’m imagining the right character speaking or acting. The names correlate perfectly with their abilities, making it easier to remember which character controls which element, but I just wish they weren’t so easily mixed up. It’s a silly thing to complain about, I know.

The book was edited very well. I found only a handful of mistakes. Generally, these mistakes consisted of missing words that a reader’s brain would often just insert automatically while reading. For example, “But how could he protect here?” is missing the word “her” before “here.” Most brains would assume the word was there and breeze right past the mistake.

I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. I absolutely cannot wait to read the next in the series and will be keeping a diligent eye out for it! There are a few detailed sex-scenes throughout the book, so I would suggest this to mature audiences only. I highly recommend this to those that enjoy the combination of romance and science fiction.

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Unbalanced
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Fozia-Bajwa
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Post by Fozia-Bajwa »

Meanwhile, Asha’s sisters have been hunted. Most of their handlers have been murdered while helping the girls escape. Ivy, the earth power, is connected enough to the world around her to feel the presence of her sisters. She locates Mere (water) and Avia (air). The three of them escape to a private location. Clay, in his attempt to get Asha out of the Order, smuggles her on a mission. Unbeknownst to him, he’s actually taking her directly to her sisters. A supernatural fight ensues, Asha is reunited with the sisters she never knew about, and the girls escape.
It is a strange and unexpected story which has suspense to some extent. The four sisters and four elements of the universe are amazing.
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