Power Divided by S. Behr – a Review

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Description:
Violet is the princess of Neyr, the third of the Nine Realms of Amera. At least, she was until the day came when Violet was to demonstrate her abilities to the people and solidify her place in Ameran Society.
The citizens of Amera have extraordinary abilities, from living on the ocean floor to flying in the air.
But no one can turn back time.
When the unthinkable happens, tearing her heart and her family in two, Violet flees and is unable to escape a tidal wave of events that brings her face to face with forgotten truths buried for millennia.
Only the discovery of a thousand lifetimes may provide the key to her return home.
When old enemies arrive on the shores of Neyr, distrust and prejudice resurface. Secrets begin to explode all around Violet, setting her world on fire, and those she loves fall into the sights of a terrorists’ plan to eradicate their enemies. But Amera stands in their way, and with no mercy, the enemy is willing to go through the innocent to get what they want.
Violet turns to her best friend Lily, and a few unexpected new friends,
who band together to save what they can of her realm, and the rest of Amera.
But in the storm that has turned her world upside down, will Violet be able to overcome the nightmare of her past in order to save the future of everyone in Amera, and perhaps the world?

Review:

Power Divided by S. Behr is the first book in her new YA fantasy The Evolutionaries series. This is a new author for me, and I was pleasantly surprised how much I did enjoy Power Divided.   The story starts with a bang, as our heroine, Violet, who is the princess of Neyr (part of the Nine Realms of Amera), has to show her unique abilties, when everything goes haywire and her father lies mortally wounded. Amerans have many extraordinary abilities, such as flying in air, able to live under water, absorb energy, etc.

A distraught Violet runs away only to find herself in the middle of nowhere, with no food or water, and a cute adorable baby fox to help her find her way.  In a cave, she comes across a wall/door, and as she presses her hand on the wall, it automatically opens up for her and her fox companion, who is injured.  It is here we meet one of the best characters in this story, Hailey, a holographic (AI), who will help the injured fox (named Jane), and explain that she is in the “Ark”, a treasure of history locked up, with information of everything before the ice age destroyed the world.  Once she is in this Ark, the storyline does slow down a bit, as with all first books in fantasy, there is a lot world building.  But less then a quarter of the way into the story, it begins to pick up and become very exciting.

Violet is in her glory for a few weeks, having always loved history, as Hailey helps show her how the world evolved, until she knows something is wrong, and she needs to go home; especially with a new group of people trying to access the Ark.

When Violet arrives back home, she is happy to find her father still alive; but she will also learn why she has never been able to master an ability; which not only angers her, but causes a rift between her family.  But Violet has to be strong, and step up as the princess she is, now that Amera has been visited by a group (Hg-1) who have come to get help, as they are being threatened by another group that is determined to destroy them.

The best part of this story is the wonderful secondary characters that Behr has created.  We meet the group who have arrived for help, such as twins Kai and Lance, and young Penelope.  We also get to know more about the Amerans, which include Violet’s friends, such as Lily, Rall and princes from other Ameran realms, such as Leo & Siri.   I really liked all the characters, which always makes the story so much more enjoyable.  Of course, I absolutely loved Hailey, who was so much fun, and Jane, the baby fox.

What follows is an exciting action filled suspenseful adventure that will have us holding our breaths in the last third of the book, with a surprise attack, destruction, death and the amazing abilities by those we began to care about to survive.  I loved Violet, who became such a great heroine, as well as bringing everyone together as a team. 

I really enjoyed Power Divided, and amazed how well S. Behr wrote this story, being her debut novel; especially being Fantasy and all the world building. I for one, cannot wait to read the next book in this series.  If you love fantasy, then I suggest you read  Power Divided.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy supplied for review