Book Review: Finding Sky by Joss Stirling

Finding Sky is the first book in Joss Stirling's Benedict-Savant series.

Sky Bright is adopted and doesn't know much about where she came from. When she relocates from England to the USA, she finds herself drawn to troublemaker Zed Benedict - a boy in her high school. And Zed seems to be able to speak to her telepathically, read her mind, and not only believe that Sky has superpowers, but also that she's his fated mate. What Sky doesn't know is that Zed's family uses their savant abilities to help the police and she's about to become a target for someone who wants revenge.

BOOK SPECS:

Number of pages: 308

Format: Paperback

Genre: YA Paranormal Romance, Action

Tropes: Fated Mates, Humans with Superpowers, Enemy to Lovers, Good vs. Evil, Hidden Truth

SHORT REVIEW:

Finding Sky is primarily a love story, but it also packs a punch in terms of action. I like Joss Stirling's writing so much that I have read several books in this series more than once. So I would most definitely recommend it to anyone looking for an action-packed, clean YA romance. 

HEART RATE:

SMUT SCORE:

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FULL REVIEW:

Plot

I love this novel's storyline. It's a refreshing change from reading about vampires, werewolves, fairies and angels. Not that I do not like those, mind you. It's also an interesting take on psychic novels.

Another difference is that the main romantic pair - Sky and Zed - does not quite see eye-to-eye at the beginning of the novel, which makes for some interesting clashes and Sky not quite giving in to Zed's charms. We all know the chase is the best part of any love story.

Characters

There is quite a cast of characters in this novel, as Zed is one of seven children. But Stirling does a brilliant job of giving each one of them a very defined personality and appearance. Moving this many pieces around the board is never easy.

I also really enjoyed reading about a girl that comes from "Richmond England", even though the novel actually takes place in the US. Being English, Stirling adds a real English touch and sense of humor to this book, especially playing on the differences in between England and America:

"'Coffee?' He didn't seem the sort for a cup of PG Tips (English tea)."

"You don't know much about London, do you? We're not exactly beach babes in Richmond."

Smut & Romance Score

Being YA, this book has some really cute romance scenes and some energetic kissing, but no smut.

Writing

Joss Stirling's writing is so smooth, that there are only a couple of things I could possibly fault.

Firstly, the villains. Not their background or connection to the good guys, but their actions. For some reason, even though I can rationalize why they did what they did, I still think trying to abduct Sky a second time to do a similar thing was a little silly. It's like trying to heist the same bank twice, using the same M.O.

And secondly, the very short resolution - it took 299 pages to climb to the climax and only 4 pages to end it. I also don't know why anyone would buy into the stunt excuse as an explanation for all the madness that took place.

Having said all of the above, I absolutely love this series and have read it more than once. So would highly recommend it.

OUT OF CURIOSITY: 

Joss Stirling is the pen name of British author and screenwriter Julia Golding, who also writers under her own name as well as Eve Edwards.

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