Rise of Hope by Kaily Hart
Carina Press (Aug. 28, 2012)
ebook: $3.99 (36,000 words)
ISBN: 9781426894268
Favorite Lines: “Never doubt who we are to each other, who you are to me. You’re mine–mine to take care of, mine to protect, mine to…love.” (p. 93, e-galley)
A secret ancient race of humans with fantastical abilities, the Vadïm are on the brink of extinction. Many of their women are imprisoned by an organization known as The Assembly, their history all but lost…
Devon Monroe has been a prisoner her entire life. She’s determined to make sense of the strange markings on her body, to learn why no one may touch her, to find where she belongs. That means escaping into the unknown, where she has no choice but to trust her self-appointed protector.
Soldier-for-hire Seth Eastman has a job to do: deliver Devon to safety. When Seth discovers the markings on Devon’s body, he’s stunned at what they mean. And at how she awakens his long-suppressed needs. As they struggle to escape detection and search for the truth of the Vadïm, can he ever hope to claim her for his own?
In Kaily Hart‘s introduction to the Vadim series Rise of Hope, the reader is introduced to people with X-men like abilities who live amongst humanity. These people are a separate race on the verge of extinction called the Vadim. All were abandoned as children and before the heroine is discovered only male members of the race have been located. The men have physical “abilities” while they assume the females have mental “abilities.”
Rise of Hope is short; it’s only 101 pages on my nook and ends on page 93. It’s a simple, yet entertaining story. The romance happens quickly and is aided by the “fated lovers” trope. Some people don’t like fated love. I do. Since the story is short there had to be a reason two complete strangers fell in love. It was fated. The Vadim have marks on their skin similar to tattoos. When a male and female Vadim are mates, their marks line up.
“We all have them. Each pattern is slightly different. Look, I don’t have to get into it but–”
“No they’re exactly the same. As–as mine, except…opposite.”–p. 14“She was right. They were the same–exactly the same–except they were the inverse of his.”–p. 15
One of the hurdles keeping the would be lovers apart is the hero’s personal issues. Seth suffers from more abandonment issues than the heroine. Both were abandoned, but Devon was an infant while Seth remembers being a four-year-old who watched his parents walk away from him. He had a hard life and doesn’t buy into the idea of being part of another race. He doesn’t think he deserves Devon and does all he can to push her away. This makes him a jerk at times, but when it really matters Seth is there in all ways.
The heroine didn’t really do much for me. Devon lived a solitary life as a gilded princess unable to touch anyone. She was watched at all times, often drugged and was experimented on. She is lonely and scared, but soaks up all the information she is given about the Vadim. Devon discovers her ability while amongst the Vadim, but for me she was always less than the hero. She was there to complete the hero and it was easy for me to over look her as a character worth anything other than being the missing half to the hero. I didn’t really care about her.
I didn’t love Rise of Hope, but I’m glad I read it. If you’re looking for a short paranormal romance that tells a complete story in one novella, Rise of Hope is the book you need. It’s inexpensive and filled with sexual tension. It introduces secondary male characters who I wanted to know more about and kept my attention. I will be looking for book two, Renewal of Trust when it is released in March 2013.
Scooper Speaks 