To everybody that entered the Werelove contest: I'm planning on picking the winners randomly today and notifying y'all as soon as possible! So keep your eyes on your email inbox for the news, and your discount code!!!
Werelove: Dusk Conspiracy is a futuristic YA paranormal by the author who provided me so kindly with the opportunity of my last contest, Lakisha Spletzer. By the way, winners will be selected and notified sometimes within the next few days - then the rest of you will get your discount code! :)
Laylah Le Croix is seventeen with a wealthy father, luxurious mansion, and servants that cater to her needs. Thing is, she never sees her father. In fact, he seems to purposely stay away from her and sleep at his office - where he works on his experiments as a brilliant scientist. This leaves Laylah feeling neglected, abandoned and forgotten by the only parent she has. Having been treated this way since her mother's death when she was four-years-old, Laylah is now a quiet, sad, insecure, shell of a girl.
But when Weres, a race that can turn into animal form or human form at will, try to kidnap Laylah, her life suddenly becomes more interesting than the tedious blend of school, where she is bullied, and home, where she is pretty much alone and practically imprisoned.
The question of why Weres would try to kidnap her and who her handsome, cryptic rescuer Donil is are all that occupy Laylah's mind thereafter. It seems that there might be more worth to Laylah's life than she has ever been told, and could ever believe.
First off, I had no idea that Werelove would take place in a time period other than our own, but it does! Quickly it is revealed that this story is taking place a good 210 years in the future, which gives the novel a different world from ours - one that has creatures, wars, lands, and science fiction-esque gadgets in it that I was eager to learn more about.
The book starts off violently, in an interestingly confusing manner. What I mean by that, of course, is that I kind of had no idea what was going on, but I wanted to find out.
Laylah as the main character is effortlessly sympathetic with the unloving tyrant she has as a father. There is a classic feel to her loneliness that calls to mind the genesis of fairy-tale heroines. You root for her, even as you want to shake her with frustration as her naivete and insecurities make her become a little unlikable at times.
Werelove's love interest, Donil, has a macho, bad boy feel about him - but there were times when he didn't come off quite right to me. Just as a personal opinion, sometimes the more romantic aspects on the novel felt a bit cheesy - but Werelove continued to be a fast-paced, rousing book despite that.
My small complaints with Werelove: Dusk Conspiracy were such things as repetitious conversations characters had with Laylah that began to become a bit monotonous, dialogue that didn't always gel as genuine, and impatience with Laylah's lack of growth at a speed I desired - yet I want to stress that these were personal opinions and little hiccups in what was actually a quite engrossing story.
My favorite parts of Werelove, without giving away plot developments, were the striking, riveting race of Weres and the way they operate. The world that the Weres inhabit and share with humans was very alluring to me, and I am interested in the sequel since I feel that this world has only begun to show its first layers, and that there is a lot more coming from Lakisha's creative mind.
Most of Werelove: Dusk Conspiracy's mysteries were left tantalizingly unanswered. Though I wished that some plots had been pushed farther in this first book, I can't help but think this was our first taste of an imaginative, original story - and I was left wanting to know what would happen next.
And before I finish this review, I want to make one thing clear. There is a truthfulness in Laylah's character, a reality in her not shaping up to becoming a kickass superhero quickly. At the heart of this novel is a sheltered girl that has been so thoroughly damaged and victimized psychologically by an uncaring, warden-like father that I appreciate Lakisha Spletzer's restraint in her writing. I understand the patience needed for this character. And I was invested in her from beginning to end.
When you read Werelove: Dusk Conspiracy I wonder if you, too, will wonder if you have just witnessed the birth of an awesome heroine - with a little more time, that is. ;)
Special Note: Because I have been reading more books than usual, in order to post my reviews in a timely manner I will be occasionally posting a new book review on Fridays. This is one of those Fridays! So, please check back! :)
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