Monday, March 2, 2015

The Gemstone by Sarena and Sasha Nanua


The Gemstone by Sarena and Sasha Nanua
Published by: iUniverse
Published on: May 22, 2012
Pages: 285
Source: Sent to me by Sasha, Sarena, and iUniverse
Genre(s): Fantasy, YA, Science Fiction
My Rating: 3 & 1/2 stars

 Goodreads synopsis: click here

Where To Buy:  iUniverse // Amazon // B&N // BD

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Hey guys!

      So I was asked by Sarena and Sasha on Instagram to review their books; and they hooked me up with their publishers email..And let me say! They hooked me up! Not only did they send me The Gemstone, they sent me the second and third book in the Pendant Trilogy: The King's Jewel & The Poisoned Emerald. Again! Thank you so much Sasha and Sarena Nanua and thank you iUniverse for sending them to me!

      Sasha and Sarena are twin, teen authors from Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. The Gemstone was their first novel, and they have been writing since they were 9 years old. They love reading in their spare time and their favorite genres are fantasy and science fiction.

      The Gemstone is the first in the Pendant Trilogy. The Gemstone is about 15 year old Arica Miller. Arica is beginning her sophomore year at the Hill Valley Private Arts Academy. Hill Valley is a mysterious school...especially Headmistress Lembrose...After encountering a gemstone necklace in her basement, Arica recieves strange hallucinations of her family's past. Arica soon discovers that her necklace contains more power than she can imagine, and she's soon "absorbed with knowledge of a world of sorcery."*

      So I went and dived into this right after I finished Alienated and Until Midnight by Melissa Landers, anddd I was in a bit of a book hangover. I pushed on through this and I'm so glad I did! For their first book, this was really good! Props to Sarena and Sasha for an a-okay book!

      Now allow me to rag on it a bit..You can tell it's written by amateur writers and its quite obvious that it's their first book. The story doesn't quite flow the way most fantasy books do, but the whole idea is so intriguing and interesting and it made me want to keep reading to know what would happen next. Another thing I saw as I read was that Arica wasn't exactly given the chance to discover things for herself. [SPOILERS COMING UP READ AT YOUR OWN RISK] At certain points throughout the novel, some things happened were written so that it was easy for Arica to figure stuff out yet she didn't figure out who was against her at the end. Arica is also kind of oblivious, I mean seriously! How could she not know that Ash was plotting something against her with Lembrose! She was so obvious!

 Notes: 

  • Poor Monika! I hope she's in the next book and is ok!
  • Oh my gosh I really like Rowen. If he comes out of his magic induced stupor I hope he and Arica become friends..or more than friends
  • Joseph and the mangoes HA! MAGIC GOALS!
  • I really like how bookish Joseph is. He cracks me up.
  • The snake burns that Ash puts on people are like the Deatheater marks in Harry Potter and the drawer thing that the twins and Arica go into is just like a Vanishing Cabinet as well...The spirit of Draco Malfoy is alive within this book!

If you like ..(#).. then you'll love The Gemstone


      Thank you again Sasha & Sarena Nanua and iUniverse for sending me The Gemstone, The King's Jewel, and The Poisoned Emerald! I can't wait to finish TKJ & TPE later this week. :) Reviews will be coming soon after I finish them!

 Follow Sasha and Sarena on Instagram! @sarenasashabooks 

 Until later guys!
Olivia
~livthebooknerd~









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