Quinn Invisible (Quinn Callahan Chronicles #1) by Amy Martin-a review

Quinn Invisible (Quinn Callahan Chronicles #1) by Amy Martin-a review

Quinn Invisible

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 1, 2015

When her cop father is killed in the line of duty, Quinn Callahan returns from New York to her hometown of Shady Springs, Missouri, to live with her aunt. Unfortunately, Shady Springs holds nothing but pain for Quinn, whose mother allegedly murdered Quinn’s popular best friend Emma before killing herself, leaving Quinn a bullied outcast at her upscale prep school.

After almost four years away, Quinn finds not much has changed at Harrandale Preparatory Academy, although her bullies have grown older, taller, and crueler. And Emma’s twin brother Evan is still indifferent to her, which is more painful than any punishment her classmates can inflict.

Determined to clear her mother’s name, Quinn begins re-investigating Emma’s death with the help of some new friends and–eventually–Evan. But will Quinn and Evan be able to live with what they learn about their families in the process?

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REVIEW: When fifteen year old Quinn Callahan’s father is killed in the line of duty, she is left with no choice but to leave New York City and return to her hometown of Shady Springs, Missouri. But sometimes going home isn’t what it’s cracked up to be. Now in the custody of her Aunt Maureen, Quinn must return to the one place she doesn’t want to be. And even though her past continued to haunt her in New York, returning to Shady Springs means returning to a life of hell as she knows it. Quinn’s mother allegedly murdered her best friend Emma and then killed herself four years ago, and returning to town will bring nothing but heartache and pain to her. And to add insult to injury, her father’s wish before he died was that she return to Harrandale Prep School – where she was a social outcast because of the tragic turn of events. But the determination Quinn has to clear her mother’s name wins out, and she soon returns to the upscale school where all the bullies still go. But there is a silver lining. …

Quinn’s first day back she makes friends with Seti and Hal, a couple in love, who must keep their relationship a secret. They are determined, more than ever to help her figure out what happened to her mother, and what lead up to the events that left both Emma and her dead. But facing old ghosts and memories also leads to facing Evan, Emma’s twin brother. At first his coldness to Quinn is hurtful but soon they begin a journey to find out what truly happened on the night their lives changed forever. Will Quinn and Evan be able to rekindle the love they once felt for each other when they were younger? And will they be able to handle the truth they uncover in the search for justice? Can their friendship withstand another tragedy?

Quinn, to me, was the perfect mix of teenage sarcasm and wit. While her life is a series of one tragedy after another you wonder how she gets the courage to face those that condemn her for nothing that was a fault of her own. I loved that Seti and Hal stepped up and into her life on the first day back to school – when no one else would. Those are what true friendships are made of. And their intentions from the start was to protect her at all costs. Of course, Evan is the guy you love to hate or is it hate to love? His annoying, rich, entitled friends are relentless in making Quinn’s life miserable and you want nothing more than to see her rise above all of them. But when Evan shows his true self, you can’t help but wonder if his intentions are pure- I hoped with all my heart that they were. The story moves flawlessly and each turn of events leads you to finding out who murdered Emma and what exactly befell Quinn’s mother. And when Quinn finds something that will truly hurt Evan will she tell him or keep it to herself? The twist in the story leaves you wanting more. Looking forward to continuing with these chronicles.

Reviewed by Erin

Copy supplied by the author.

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In Your Dreams/As You Wake by Amy Martin-a review duet

In Your Dreams/As You Wake by Amy Martin-a review duet

In Your DreamsIN YOUR DREAMS-released August 2012

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This book was unique, original and conceptually intriguing. Not the norm as to what I would typically read – but I found the main characters endearing and warm. The book opens and we meet high school basketball player Zara “Zip” McKee – she is your average teen jock. She lives and breathes basketball – and has her mind set on one thing – making it to the regional championships.

Into her life comes Kieran Lanier – mysterious, Brad Pitt look-a-like only hotter. Their first encounter leaves Zip baffled, wanting to know more. And does she ever find out more. Kieran Lanier has secrets – lots and lots of secrets and a strange family that is even more mysterious and secretive than him. As the story unfolds we find out that Kieran has narcolepsy (or so the family says) and the effect of this disease has left him sheltered and shy. But when the one girl that takes the time to learn more about him, spends time with him, he begins to open up and share his secrets with her. What will these secrets entail? And will knowing them put Zip’s life at risk? Kieran isn’t your average teenager and there are others that realize this – others that want him for their own use. As Zip weaves her way further into Kieran’s life – she too becomes a target for the evil that stalks Kieran.

At the beginning of this book I was a little leery of it – I am not a sports fan at all and being that Zip was a basketball star and jock I was afraid that the book would be filled with a bunch of sports nonsense. To my surprise the book had just the right mix of high school drama, sports, romance and mystery. I was fascinated with the fact that Kieran had the “so called” narcolepsy and that his sister Kayla was extremely protective of him. I could not put the book down – wanting to know why his family was so strange and what were they hiding. I loved the two almost exact opposite family lifestyles of Zip and Kieran. Zip’s family is fun, easy going and laid back while Kieran’s family is strict, rigid and very abrupt. The two families intermixed well and I loved the dinner scene of them eating together. The secondary characters – the ones that seem to be after Kieran add a great deal of mystery and drama – which left me wanting more. I would have to say that this book was highly original and was definitely an out of the box concept. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and can not wait to read the next book in this series.

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As You Wake

AS YOU WAKE-released April 2013

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As You Wake is Book Two of the In Your Dreams book series by Amy Martin. The story continues with Zip McKee and Kieran Lanier on the last day of school and the start of summer vacation. As they are about to begin their summers they find out that the person that was out to harm Kieran may not have vanished as they first thought. Scared that he has brought harm to his family and to Zip, Kieran takes off. While running away is never the answer, he feels this is what he must do to protect his family and his girlfriend.

Zip is off to spend the summer with her father, miles away – and how can she possibly enjoy her summer with Kieran on the run and god knows where? Little does Zip know that a visit by Kieran’s sister turns into anything but. Kidnapped and on the search for Kieran – Zip realizes that his sister may just know where he is. Will they find him in time? And what will they find out in the end?

I found the continuation in book two very fluid and thorough. I loved how the story continued and I loved the secondary characters introduced. The inter-mingling of the two families again – left me laughing out loud. One family very strict and abrupt – the other kind of laid back and easy going. Spending time together is actually good for both families.

The relationship of Kieran and Zip progresses in this book and I could feel the bond between them growing. Kieran also gets to spend more time with his birth father whom I liked and began to really care for as a character. Kieran’s birth father really lends a lot to the story and also brings more mystery. This book was a quick read and was very enjoyable. The only bad that I have to say about the book – who ends a story like that??? UGH!!!! I have to wait until when for the next book? I definitely will be waiting with baited breath for it!

Copies supplied by the author

Reviewed by Erin

About The Author Black and Red

Follow Amy: Website / Twitter / Goodreads

Amy MartinAmy Martin wrote and illustrated her first book at the age of ten and gave it to her fourth grade teacher, who hopefully lost it in her house somewhere and didn’t share it with anyone else.

The first book she published as a grown-up, In Your Dreams,was a semi-finalist in the Young Adult category of the 2012 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Competition. The second book in the In Your Dreams series, As You Wake, was released on April 30, 2013.

A native of St. Charles, MO, Amy currently lives in Lexington, KY with her husband and a ferocious attack tabby named Cleo. When not writing or reading, she can usually be found watching sports, drinking coffee, or indulging her crippling Twitter habit (and, sometimes, doing all three at once).

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