Everlasting (Night Watchmen #1) by Candace Knoebel-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date February 19,2014

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?

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REVIEW:   EVERLASTING is book one in an exciting new YA series by Candace Knoebel. If you love her Dragon Series, you will enjoy this new series. Luckily, the author spells out the rules to this new world in the first couple of pages. Witches are teamed with hunters to guard humans against the supernatural threats to them. There had been a power struggle between the two groups, so the solution was to pair them up! At the Culling Ceremony, each person not only finds out if they are a witch or a hunter, but they are shown their Affinity partner. This is their mate for life! I wasn’t sure how I felt about this dynamic, it’s a forced match! This leads to some interesting pairings.

Faye Middleton has believed her whole life that she has no magic, that she is a “Defect”. Her back up plan is to join the human world and go to college. To make matters worse, her parents disappear the night before her Culling Ceremony. With a heavy heart she attends the ceremony and gets the shock of her life. She has a rare gift that could be both a blessing and a curse. Instead of celebrating this great discovery, the Elders tell her to keep quiet and she is assigned a personal trainer slash bodyguard. Jaxen Gramm and Faye are drawn to each other from the moment that they laid eyes on each other. The only problem is that Jaxen has a curse on his family and he already has a witch paired to him. Talk about complications! Life at the Academy is rough! Faye’s fellow classmates are downright mean to her. I don’t remember the number of times people called her a freak! Her best friend even goes against her for part of the book. I don’t know how Faye survived, but she is one tough cookie! She has amazing powers that she can’t control, classmates that are cruel, and a crush on a guy that she can’t have, or can she?

The story is action packed. Once again, a young girl must figure out her powers, save her parents from the Underworld, find some powerful artifacts, save the Coven and get the guy! Oh, did I mention the corruption in her Coven? I don’t even know who the bad guys are yet! The book is a little heavy with unique metaphors, but it’s a fun read and a great introduction into an exciting new world!

Copy supplied by the author

Reviewed by Jules