Review of Gifted

On the theme of NA paranormal, here is a book I picked up for free on Amazon a while back.

Synopsis

A world exists beyond our sight, just within reach. Normal everyday people have gifts given to them from birth. Evelyn is recruited to live in a community of similarly gifted people who use their powers to work for various companies and governments to recover lost items and steal important information. In the midst of the secret missions, Evelyn uncovers a secret that could destroy the community she has come to love, or the country that she calls home. In a battle between good and evil, how does one decide which path is right or wrong? Evelyn must uncover the truth and decide her own fate.

Goodreads | Amazon | Amazon UK

Review

I really enjoyed the story overall as it felt refreshingly unique.  The premise resembles X-Men in that abilities vary from person to person and everyone lives together on a campus while they attend classes to refine their gifts.  The deviation is that it isn't a mutation per say as there is a long history of gifted individuals in some cases, such as the heroine's, and it is more magic than science.  They have simply existed in isolation until an individual takes it upon himself to gather them up and put them to work.

The synopsis gives away the main conflict but it is clear rather quickly that these assignments may not be for the good of mankind or even the team members assigned to them.  The key is that while the heroine gets hints throughout, they are dismissed completely until near the end of the book.  The primary plot of the book revolves around Evelyn finding her place in this new environment, developing her gifts, and developing a relationship with a certain handsome man.

One of the cool twists in this story is that gifted individuals are able to see magical elements of the world that those who are merely human cannot.  So there is a little whimsy in the fact that there are things such as mermaids and huge winged predators they encounter on occasion without resorting to a whole fantasy world.

The romance was sweet and chaste.  There are a few action scenes interspersed with a lot of downtime as the heroine undergoes training but training itself presents a few conflicts so it keeps it from losing too much momentum.  I would say that the overall emphasis of the story is on the development of the heroine and not on some plot to take down an evil mastermind.

There were quite a few typographical errors so you may want to avoid this if that is a pet peeve of yours but if you can manage grammar blinders, it's a good read overall.  This is also the first book in a series, which has yet to be written, but the ending doesn't leave you with a cliffhanger.  It ties up things rather nicely but provides a clear direction as to what their next task will be.

Try it for yourself! Goodreads | Amazon | Amazon UK

Katie