The Emerald Talisman (Talisman, #1) by Brenda Pandos
Author’s Website: http://brendapandos.blogspot.com/
Book Website:http://www.theemeraldtalisman.com/
Paperback, 280 pages Published March 24 2010 by Obsidian Mountain Publishing
ISBN: 9780578053394
Summary: To be normal, sixteen-year-old Julia Parker would shed her empathic gift in a second. Life has been difficult since her mother’s mysterious disappearance ten years earlier – an event she witnessed, but can’t remember. Julia’s situation becomes more complicated after a near death experience from a blood thirsty stalker. As high school students go missing it is clear there is a connection to her own experience–past and present. Someone has to stop the madness and a chance encounter with a creepy psychic foretells that only Julia is the key to stopping the madness, but it may require the life of the one she loves. __________________________________________________________________ Review:
To be honest, I wasn’t sure about this book at first. As I continued to read, Brenda Pandos began to weave a web of mystery and suspense around her character, Julia. This was the first book I’ve read in a long time that actually fits under “teen” in the YA genre. Yes, many YA books’ characters are in their teens, but they do not act like teenagers. Julia does, from her immediate and insatiable attraction to Nicholas, to her defiance to everyone around her. She was the perfect stereotypical teen–except deep down she was more than that. She was a lover, fighter, and friend to all those she met, even when their interactions were minimal.
The Emerald Talisman‘s plot was intriguing and not like any other vampire book I’ve read. The whole idea of the Talisman is brilliant and I love how both Julia and Nicholas are self-sacrificing characters, making them the perfect heroine and hero in the story. Pandos is a force to be reckoned with and I must say: LOOK OUT FOR THIS AUTHOR! This epic tale isn’t over yet. . . .
