Sunday, 14 June 2015

Review: Seeking Crystal by Joss Stirling



Reading a book in just over three hours always leaves you in an odd state afterwards. You are still so absorbed in the world of the novel that you have to drag yourself back to reality. This book was really captivating and I just wanted to continue reading, to find out what was wrong with Crystal, to find out whether she and Xav would get together and to find out if the characters I had come to care about over the past few books in this series would be okay.
I have to say that I both like and dislike how this series flicks between different female protagonists between novels. I love it because I get to see a different side of events, I get to experience a new romance and I get to experience a story differently, however I don't like it because I always feel like I want to continue the story from the perspective that the book in question is written from. I get particularly emotionally invested in their story while reading their book, but fortunately, every book so far has provided me with another female character to empathise with and care about.
The fact that the majority of this book was set in Venice really appealed to me. I would love to travel to most of the countries in the world and even though I'm not able to physically do that, reading books which are set in faraway places allows me to do that. The sinking city is definitely one that I plan on visiting for myself, but to get this small look into life there is really making me want to move it to the top of my list. While this book didn't describe every street and back alley, it gave a feeling of the city and that can sometimes be more important.
The romance between Diamond and Trace being introduced so fully at the start of the novel was important, I think, for this series as a whole. These books present issues with each female protagonist, such as Sky not knowing she was a Savant and Crystal not being able to use telepathy without being sick, so it was good to have one that was different to those in that aspect, but also important that she didn't get her own book as I feel like this series is one that aims to focus more on overcoming these issues rather than focusing on the spark that is supposed to lead to a quick romance, as with Diamond and Trace. That doesn't mean that I think their relationship is worth less, but I think it was good that this book didn't mainly focus on it. Also, I think maybe Trace and Diamond are a bit old to appeal to many teen readers.
While the story in this novel is one that I really enjoyed, I would pick out that it is slightly unrealistic. Meeting a movie star, saving your friends in his helicopter and getting them all to safety isn't really what would happen if this book were real, but I suppose that that is the point of this. This series isn't meant to be 'real', it is meant to be fantasy and that enables it to give so much more to the reader in terms of characters and the storyline.
Personally, I liked the development of the romance between Xav and Crystal. I mean, what better way to find out if you like someone than by kissing them on camera for a few hours? As in this novel they were unsure about whether they were each other's soulfinders because of Crystal being unable to talk to anyone telepathically, it meant that they could build something between them beforehand. I think that can be really important because that way they knew each other better and, as I am someone who doesn't believe in love at first sight, but accepts it in the context of this novel, means their relationship has more basis, at least in my eyes.
Through this series, I enjoy reading about the powers that each savant has because they vary so much and are able to do so many different things with their powers. Xav's healing powers are something that I'm sure many people would covet, as demonstrated by Steve's interest in what he was capable of. While Crystal was disappointed by only being able to find lost things, that is a gift that I would love to have because I am terrible with losing things. Basically, I love the powers that the Savants have and I can't wait to read about more powers as the series continues.

Overall I would say that this book deserves a four and a half star rating. I cannot wait until I can read the next one and I hope that it will be slightly longer than the previous books as I want more from the world of the Savants!

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