Sabina's Adventures In Reading: Release Day Review & Giveaway: Everlasting by Candace Knoebel

Happy Release Day to you Candace!!!!

I can't wait to share my thoughts of Everlasting with you guys!! So settle in, and enjoy!!

What if your destiny lay on the other side of death?

The annual Culling ceremony is a day every coming-of-age novice looks forward to within the Primeval Coven. It’s the start to being initiated into the Night Watchmen, humankind’s protectors, and it’s the long-awaited day when novices discover if they’re a Hunter or a Witch.

But this day is not a happy one for Faye Middleton. Not when she’s known her whole life that she’s a Defect and is about to face banishment in front of her fellow novices. She’s forced to attend the Culling with little hope for her future, but what she discovers about herself is far worse than she could’ve imagined. And far more dangerous.

Thrown into training and separated from her friends, Faye must learn to adjust. She struggles to find her place within the Coven, and with Jaxen Gramm, the darkly handsome and extremely unnerving man assigned to watch and protect her. Emotions run high, and when she discovers a deadly secret about him, her struggles deepen. As corruption within the Coven begins to unravel, Faye pieces together her role in saving the future of her people, and within Jaxen’s life...but will the truth save her, or be her undoing?

Amazon ~ B&N

I was in the middle of beta reading for Sonya Loveday when she poked me and asked if I would be interested in beta reading Candace’s new book; Everlasting. I knew Candace from her other series; Born in Flames Trilogy, so I immediately jumped at the chance (and did a happy dance at the same time – it’s the internet, people. Who would notice?)

Anyways, I started reading and after only a few pages in, I knew that Everlasting was going to be great. I fell for the different characters, I was tossed inside a world far from my own and truly didn’t want to leave it.

Let’s start with some of the characters, shall we?

Faye Middleton is a girl who knew all her life she wouldn’t be a part of the Coven. Her own mother told her as a child that she had seen in a vision that Faye was going to be a Defect. So, this is what Faye has believed her entire life. She applies for colleges because the rules in the Coven are strict; you’re a Defect, you’re out. Not just, you can’t be a part of the cool kids click, but abandoned out. No contact, not even with your loved ones.

Even better; the Culling Ceremony isn’t just to define your magic; Witch or Hunter, but to find your soulmate; your Affinity partner.

I’m straying from the subject; Faye turned from being timid, little girl, to being a kick ass woman, who fights for what she believes in, and will do anything to protect her friends and family. When realizing she isn’t a Defect, but something unique, Faye has to figure out not only what she is, but who she is as well.

Jaxen Gramm is… well, he’s a Hunter, he’s a guy and he’s… complicated. *aren’t they always?!*His task is to protect and train Faith alongside with his witch and his brother and his witch. Jaxen has a secret, actually all the Gramm’s men have, but each of them chose to act on it in their own way. He is trying to be sooo though, not letting anything or anyone in, and yet there are cracks.

There’s also Maddock, Gavin, Jezibel and Cassie. Each play a vital part in Everlasting, some more annoying than others. Sorry, but if I tell too much about them, I will spoil some of the book.

Everlasting had me in stiches from laughter, had me in anger (to the point where I wanted to reach into the book and slap some of the characters). The building tension between Jaxen and Faye is… it’s delicious. Don’t get me wrong; it’s frustrating beyond explanation, but it was soooo good. So close every time, and yet never ever getting there. I think I scolded Candace once or twice for this. *Smiles*

Everlasting was everything I hoped for, and then some. Adventure, magic, bad/good, supernatural creatures, love, frustration, dark secrets, haunting dreams and hope for the future. Then add twists and turns in the plot that leaves you heartbroken and scattered, trying to pick up the pieces.

Candace has created a wonderful and amazing new world, Everlasting being the first book in the Night Watchmen Series, and I am certainly looking forward to exploring more of this world, especially since I still have unanswered questions from reading Everlasting. Great work Candace!! Now, go back to writing, I want to know what happens!! <3

Candace Knoebel is the award-winning author of Born in Flames-a young adult fantasy trilogy.

Published by 48fourteen in 2012, Born in Flames went on to win Turning the Pages Book of the Year award in February of 2013. Embracing the Flames, the second in the trilogy, is scheduled for release in the summer of 2013.

Candace Knoebel discovered through lunch breaks and late nights after putting her kids to bed, a world where she could escape the ever-pressing days of an eight to five Purgatory. Since then, she crawled out of Purgatory and has devoted her time to writing and sometimes heelying.