Book Review & Giveaway - The Fountain by Suzy Vadori

The Fountain

Author: Suzy Vadori

Genre: Young Adult Romance / Fantasy
Publisher: Evil Alter Ego Press
Pages: 268
Language: English
Format: eBook, Trade Paperback

Book Description:

Careful what you wish for. It just might come true.

Ava Marshall, driven by a desire to learn more about her mother's past, moved across the country to attend St. Augustus. But her mom’s secrets will have to wait, because she finds herself instantly hated for her family’s connection to her new school and is forced to fight alone against a classmate who is setting Ava up to be expelled.

Fleeing campus, she takes a shortcut to her Gran’s house though the forbidden West Woods and discovers a mysterious fountain that has the power to grant a wish and change it all. But can she live with the consequences? Or will she end up breaking every school rule and risking the love of her life to make it right…

In Celebration of the launch of book 2, The West Woods, The Fountain will be on sale for $0.99 until October 10, 2017!


Buy Links:

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MY REVIEW

Well, this was a pleasant surprise. I didn't anticipate how much I would enjoy this book, but it was a very good read. The opening chapter reeled me right in with Ava and Ethan searching for the fountain where she'd made a terrible wish that affected the lives of the people around her. We then head back to the past, a few weeks prior to this moment, to see how Ava came to be in her predicament.

The Fountain was a quick read, full of intrigue. It's Ava Marshall's first day at St. Augustus boarding school, but, due to her family's connection to the school, there are already expectations for her and a lot of dislike. Being an Alumni kid soon proves to be a problem for Ava, and she finds herself resorting to drastic means to quash her troubles. While walking the forbidden West Woods, Ava stumbles upon a mystical fountain, and she makes a wish. Of course, she didn't know it would come true. After returning to school and finding things not how she'd left it, she realises the error of her ways and sets out to right her wrongs, but there's a major problem: the fountain is missing.

I loved Ava and Ethan's characters. The others were a little one dimensional, but perhaps as the series continues, we'll get to know more about them. I definitely liked Ethan's chemistry with Ava as opposed to Lucas's, perhaps because I got to see Ethan and Ava spend more time with each other and they were together in her quest to find the fountain. I have to say, I really started to enjoy the book about halfway through as we get to see Ava taking charge, unleashing a Nancy Drew alter ego as she tries to unveil the origin of the fountain. The first half didn't do much for me in terms of plot, but I enjoyed watching Ethan and Ava's blossoming chemistry.

I did find the lack of fantasy elements a little disappointing, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the story. Magical realism is how I would describe the genre of this book. All the same, the journey was enjoyable and the characters were likeable. The story had a seamless flow from start to finish, and I would recommend this book to anyone who likes romance with a hint of magic.

VERDICT

Award: Gold

Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Source: review copy from author

About the Author

Suzy is the Author of The Fountain Series, published by Evil Alter Ego Press . Book 1 in the series was a Finalist for an Aurora Award for Best Young Adult Novel in 2016. Book 2 is called The West Woods, and will be released September 22, 2017.

Suzy lives in Calgary, Canada with her husband and three children and is an involved community member. Currently, she is the Program Manager, Young Adult/Children’s Programming for When Words Collide (WWC), a literary Festival held in Calgary each August.

Author Links:

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