The Sparks by Kyle Prue with GIVEAWAY

Book 1 of the Feud Trilogy

3.5 stars
YA?
R-1

Copy received for review

An interesting story, and fairly compelling read.  For the most part it kept me intrigued and I'd be interested in reading the other two.

Really, a solid 5 stars for concept, 4 for character development, 3 for execution and 3 for editing.

Also, probably only a 2 or 3 for tying in the "sparks" concept/title.  That didn't really come through.  I saw where he meant it to go, but it just wasn't fully developed.

Three families, feuding for forever, may actually have a common enemy for the first time since their ancestors were given the supernatural powers that makes each family what it is.

Yes, to some extent you see where it's going, but that's not always a terrible thing.

(The fact that one of the families has a raven as a symbol and the colors were black and purple amused me.  Go Baltimore!)

It definitely needed to be more concise.  There was an entire chapter with potential, but as far as I can tell it didn't actually have any point.  The story wouldn't have been any different without it.

That's where you need a good editor to say "Look, I know you'd rather cut out an organ than a chapter/scene/character/whatever, but the story will be the better for it.  I promise."

The writing isn't bad, but you can tell the author is young.  Is it better than what I wrote at 17, yes.  Does it suffer from some of the same issues my writing did at 17, also yes. ;)

All in all, it's a pretty solid debut.  And dang, to have a solid, published debut at 17? Whew!

If you'd like to win your very own copy, leave a comment below (PLEASE include an email address!) and I'll very scientifically have LuLu pick a winner March 7th. (US and Canada only)

If you'd rather skip the gamble and purchase the book yourself:

• DISCOUNT CODE: We have a special discount code for readers who want to purchase The Sparks. You can purchase the book from Kyle Prue’s store on his official website (linked). The code ‘BLOG25’ will get you 25% off an autographed copy! NOTE: This code will not work on purchases made on Amazon.