Sue's Review of More by TM Franklin

I heard of this one because I know the author from her fanfic works. I am a fan of her writing, so getting a chance to read an original work of hers was exciting! I've read just about everything she has put out in fandom; the stories are always unique and well told, and that is what we  get in her debut novel, More.


Ava Micheals used to think she was special. As a child, she fantasized about having magical powers.... making things happen. She felt different from others her age, and just knew she was meant for something important. But like most kids Ava grew up and eventually accepted the fact that her childish dreams were just that and maybe normal life wasnt so bad after all

Now a young college student Ava begins to wonder if there is more to her childhood fantasies than she thought she's haunted by terrifying nightmares of a frightening man chasing her determined to catch her, to take her - a huge hulk of a man with one blue eye and one green. Even during daylight hours, there are moments her hair stands on end with an uneasy prickle of awareness.... and she just cant shake the feeling that she's being watched.

Unable to decide if she is imagining things or just plain crazy, Ava finds an unlikely ally in Caleb Foster A brilliant and mysterious man who comes to her rescue as a physics tutor, but in reality has another mission in mind. What he shows Ava challenges her view of the world shaking it to its very core.

The thing is Caleb is not quite what he seems. In fact he is not entirely human and he's not the only one.

together the duo faces a threat from an ancient race bound to protect humans but only after protecting their own secrets -- secrets they fear Ava may expose. Now they're after her bent on her capture or maybe even her extinction.

Fighting to survive Ava has to lead her through the strange new world opening up before her. a world of magic and mystery where she learns she's not actually normal
she's not even just special
She's just a little bit More.

In this book, there are a few things that mildly irritated me, some cliches that stuck over from writing fanfic. However, since I have also seen these used in other romance writing, I'm gonna say they are more general Romance novel schtick than anything else.  Please note: this is a mood thing for me. Sometimes I find that kind of a stuff sweet and endearing other times I am irritated. I think I need to start tracking when I am reading; I bet there is a hormonal correlation to this reaction.

Here's the story: Ava, average student, average college girl (do not get bored--there are average people out there) is struggling with her physics grade. She needs to do well so that she can keep her scholarship and stay in school.

Enter her physics tutor, Caleb, a run-of-the-mill guy who just happens to be brilliant at physics.(LOVE LOVE LOVE that he is not some super Adonis type)

Add to this story her nightmares about a dude with one blue eye and one green eye, and the fact that she thinks she's seeing people that are able to disappear. To top all that off, she keeps remembering things that feel like nightmares.

Those glasses do not hide the cuteness they increase it

You know that Caleb is something other than what he appears and you want to know what the hell that is, and you want her to find out what the hell that is...and there you are.

Anxious for stuff to happen.

We, as readers, seem to notice something is going on before Ava does, which is kinda sad but good because, well, it makes us feel smart.

I liked the action in this book and I liked that it was more of an action/mystery/romance rather than a romance with some action and mystery thrown in.

There was no 'instant attraction', and considering all of the crap that was going on in Ava's life I'm glad for that. I'm pleased that she was not being all weak "female"; I thought she handed the circumstances in a very realistic way.

These are some pretty extreme fantastical circumstances: car chases and beings that are not quite human but kinda human. They could be considered Angels or Titans; it's possible to see how people from a less sophisticated society would see them  like that.

Some of my favorite parts:

Discussing the veil. It is this trick that 'the others' use in order to blend in better with society at large; if they are going to take part in being around humans these super beings have to be able to hide.

Ava can see through this veil. At times it makes her very confused, because she should not be able to do this. Imagine if you were looking at someone that you know and all of a sudden they start to look all airbrushed perfect and glowing! I would lean more toward the 'I am going insane' line of thinking than the 'wow, there's a race of super-humans living on earth and my friend is one of them!' line.


How can I tell that I really got into this book? Well, for one thing, I started highlighting the stuff I liked and the stuff that was bothering me. I noticed that at about chapter three I stopped highlighting and taking notes. To some this might be a sign that they just did not find anything or they got lazy; for me this means I was I was having so much fun reading that I forgot to stop to mark down stuff I wanted to remember.

And that is exactly what this book is: a fun read.
This is the "sit down on a cool fall day, cuddle under a blanket, and get lost in another world that might actually be our world" kinda book. That is, if you believe that there could be another race living along side us regular normal humans.(and if Autumn can turn that into a sentence it will be a miracle) [Ed note: It took a lot of rearranging, punctuating, and mind reading but I did it.~A]

I love the references to mythology. The whole thing made me think of Greek gods and Superman comic books.

I use the words Greek god just so I can use pics of him

I like that the ending is a good ending and could be open for a sequel or left to the imagination of the reader.
 

All in all, I recommend getting this one. It is a good first outing for this author. Thanks to TM Franklin and to TWCS for letting me read it. I give it a 3.5 stars round it up



Go buy it and set up an afternoon for some adventure!



 
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Sue's Review of More by TM Franklin