BLOG TOUR: Indigo Awakening by Jordan Dane

Welcome to my stop on the Indigo Awakening blog tour hosted by YA Bound.  I am so excited to be a part of this tour. As soon as I read the description for this book, I knew I had to be a part of this!

Summary (from Goodreads):

Because of what you are, the Believers will hunt you down.

Voices told Lucas Darby to run. Voices no one else can hear. He’s warned his sister not to look for him, but Rayne refuses to let her troubled brother vanish on the streets of LA. In her desperate search, she meets Gabriel Stewart, a runaway with mysterious powers and far too many secrets. Rayne can’t explain her crazy need to trust the strange yet compelling boy—to touch him—to protect him even though he scares her.

A fanatical church secretly hunts psychic kids—gifted “Indigo” teens feared to be the next evolution of mankind—for reasons only “the Believers” know. Now Rayne’s only hope is Gabe, who is haunted by an awakening power—a force darker than either of them imagine—that could doom them all.

Review

I was super impressed with the fast-paced, action packed plot. There was never really an easy moment to put the book down. I kept anticipating certain romantic relationships, and waiting for brother and sister to reunite, and I couldn’t stop reading until things were somewhat in a good place for the main character.

I really enjoy books that focus on good family relationships. And while, Rayne’s older sister was awful, and forced their brother into a mental institution, Rayne clearly loved him and refused to stop trying to find him and help, and then of course believe him. And more than that I loved that the majority of the book was either in Rayne’s point of view or in her brother’s. I love when the point of view shifts in YA branch away from just the two components of the “it” couple. I think I was actually more anxious for the brother and sister to reunite than I was for Rayne to hook up with Gabe, and that is such a good, surprising thing!

I was never quite as involved in the point of views of the bad guys as I could have been. I found myself skimming their sections at times because I needed to know what was happening elsewhere, though I get why it was included. It allowed for the readers to understand just how strongly the church and other organizations were fighting against the kids. Bounty hunters were hired to track down powerful kids. And the point of view shifts definitely showed how intense certain moments could become (particularly the moments with weapons).

I loved all the kid power in here! I loved seeing how capable young people are at surviving. Whether it be in an underground tunnel, a shack at an abandoned zoo, or in an emancipated apartment, all of the kids had to learn how to grow up rather quickly. Add all the surviving tough circumstances to some crazy, unique supernatural abilities, and you can tell even more why it was hard to put this one down. I’ve never really seen a character in a YA book do what Gabe could do, power-wise, and everything with his dead dog was just so cool!

I found the characters rather believable considering the circumstances. Though, I do want to know more about the kids in the tunnel! I’m hoping to learn more about them later. At first I was kind of afraid this would be another book where only the boys got to be interesting, with supernatural abilities because the main character seemed to be the only ordinary one. However, I later met other kids with abilities (some girls). The main character had just enough sarcastic humor for me to eventually love her. There are a few pop culture references that are always fun too. I also found the whole idea of mixing up these gifted kids with the mentally ill kind of fascinating. It definitely did not make the church look good because their solution was to hide these kids in mental institutions, drug them unconscious, and experiment on them in top-secret wards.

There can definitely be some X-Men comparisons made; however, there are very clear distinctions between a world with people born as mutants and a world where children are hunted down with weapons for their unique abilities that are never visually obvious. I’m excited to see where everything continues in the next installment. I can’t wait to get to know the other characters. I give this one an 8/10. It will go by as fast as a fun comic book turned to movie. There are really cool super powers, violence, fun characters, and just enough creepy suspense! I really just had a blast reading this one.

Book Links:

Goodreads
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

Watch the Book Trailer here!

Jordan Dane:

Bio

Bestselling, critically-acclaimed author Jordan Dane’s gritty romantic thrillers are ripped from the headlines with vivid settings, intrigue, and dark humor. Publishers Weekly compared her intense novels to Lisa Jackson, Lisa Gardner, and Tami Hoag, naming her debut novel NO ONE HEARD HER SCREAM as Best Books of 2008. She also pens young-adult novels for Harlequin Teen. Formerly an energy sales manager, she now writes full time. Jordan and her husband share their Texas residence with two cats of highborn lineage and two lucky rescue dogs.

Social Media Links:
Website  / Twitter  / Facebook  / Pinterest 

Thriller Crime Fiction Blog:
The Kill Zone 

YA Blogs:
ADR3NALIN3  / Fringe Dweller 

Don’t miss the other blogs participating in this tour! See them here!

There’s also one amazing giveaway! Here’s what’s up for grabs:

HarlequinTEEN prize pack, includes (US only):

·         INDIGO AWAKENING by Jordan Dane

·         ON A DARK WING by Jordan Dane

·         IN THE ARMS OF STONE ANGELS by Jordan Dane

·         THE JULIET SPELL by Douglas Rees

·         BELONGING by Karen Ann Hopkins (ARC)

·         DANCERGIRL by Carol M. Tanzman

·         2 Harlequin notebooks

4 Infinity Bracelets: (US only)

For anyone who has read an advance copy of INDIGO AWAKENING, you know that a silver infinity bracelet plays an important part in the story. Special bracelets will be given away on the virtual tour so the lucky winners will be part of Rafael’s street family. Rafe’s bracelet was in black leather, but I’ve added a white leather braid as my personal remembrance to you for being in MY family.

-1 audio book of In the Arms of Stone Angels. Digital download only. (International)

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