Kestra Pingree

*I received this book from the author through LibraryThing, and was asked to give an honest review*

A few chapters into this book I almost put it down, but I decided to give it a chance because Kestra has a way of writing that hooks me even when the story doesn't initially resonate with me.

Moriah is a character I felt absolutely no connection with the first part of the story. She is selfish, annoying, entitled, rude, unobservant, and altogether awful. (It's cool though, she redeems herself). My favorite thing about this story is the change in the that occurs in Moriah as the story progresses. It was such a gradual change that she didn't even see it happening at first. To take a character from someone I loathe to someone I can sympathize with is an accomplishment in my opinion. It helped that Avery was there and made the beginning scenes with her in them tolerable.

All the supporting characters were charming in their own way. Shandra, Avery's mother, was my favorite. I felt like more needed to be said concerning Moriah's grandfather. He was the only one who had an effect on her in the beginning, and with the way he was written into the story it seemed like he would be an important character. Unfortunately nothing much happened with his character development like I hoped.

I liked the fact that it wasn't an "insta-love" story, but I didn't really believe they were at an "I love you" stage already when both of them just discovered they had feelings for each other at all, so it really felt a little forced.

It might seem like I didn't enjoy the book, but I did. The message it sends made the book worth while because it was something I see teens struggle with all the time. This story is about breaking down emotional walls, discovering who you are and not being who someone else wants you to be, getting past assumptions people make about you, and most importantly learning to take responsibility for yourself and your own actions.… (more)

I received a mobi.file copy of this book from the author through a giveaway she recently had on LibraryThing, and the following is my honest opinion.

Moriah, who likes to be called Ri, is your typical defiant teenage girl, who is not getting into some kind of trouble, is doing something wrong. Perhaps this is due to the inattentive parents she has and she’s merely screaming for some attention to who she is and what she does. You know the routine, parents like these merely send their children packing to some older relative for the summer, so they’re out of the hair; and for Ri this meant her grandparents.

Instead of being forced to go there to be reformed into a decent obedient daughter, she’d planned to spend her summer vacation; breaking all the rules she could think of.

Naturally, her grandparents lived in what’s affectionally knowns as the boondocks, in a town called Fairgarden; and if that’s not a stereotypical name for a town like this, tell me what is. But it turns out, this town had to have possessed some magical properties for it started to transform Moriah; first with her making friends with the local kids her age, and then slowly becoming captivated with Avery, the blind boy who works for her grandparents by taking care of the rose garden they have.

The thing is when she starts finding out about the secrets he possesses, a kinship develops since believes he might just be a big troublemaker like she is, perhaps even bigger. One of the biggest qualities Avery possesses which impresses Ri is his attentiveness when she’s talking, something she hasn’t really experienced until now.

With both, Ri and Avery, sharing a somewhat similar history in their lives, including and involving an emotional loss [broken heart]. Can these two then use their own personal experiences to help each other feel complete again? I’m not saying, but I’m giving saying I’m happy to give the author, Kestra Pingree, and this book 5 STARS.… (more)

Alternating between Rynne and Tasia’s point of views, Hearts Lie, follows Tasia, a teenage girl whose gifts allow her to attract spirits, and Rynne, her guardian angel. After she returns one Halloween night to find her parents dead at the hands of Arsen, she vows to make him pay for what he did, leading her down a predestined path. Slow to begin with but interesting nonetheless, I felt the story was a great start to a new series. For this genre, I felt that it was well written and better than similar paranormal YA romance featuring angels. I felt that the story could have been a bit shorter, as many details are not necessary to figure out whats happening. Overall, I’d recommend this book to fans of YA paranormal romance. It was a good story and I look forward to reading the second novel in the series, The Pull of Destiny (Undying Love #2).

Disclosure: I received this book free in exchange for my honest review.… (more)