Thursday, May 19, 2011

The Advice Girl by L.A. Shaw (Review)

Genre:Young Adult, Paranormal
Publication.Date  March 27th 2011
Pages:173
Where to get: Barnes and Noble | Amazon | Lulu
WebsiteL.A. Shaw
The Advice Girl - Goodreads
My review copy:Received from the author (Thank you!)





          Kira and Sophia have been best friends since they were five years old. They share an apartment together, and tell each other everything.

Everyone loves Sophia, and she is often called the advice girl by people who know her. Kira believes she knows her friend better than anyone. But in a mysterious accident, Sophia loses her life.

Kira is mourning the devastating loss when she finds a note addressed to her from beyond the grave. Kira realizes she doesn't know her friend as well as she thought, as she starts to uncover the truth. She falls into a deep depression, confused and lost, until a visit from a strange man puts her in the middle of a war between two secret societies.

Kira soon understands that she is in danger, and doesn't know who to trust. She has to fight for her own life now.
(goodreads.com)




"Put some clothes on woman, do you want to die naked as well?"
"Absolutely dangerous, he thought, this angel will be the death of me."
"She drew in a sharp breath of panic, the realization that she had just committed murder swept over her, and she looked at me. I knew what this look meant, and I knew my friend was about to break down."




      The Advice Girl by L.A. Shaw, is an exciting and suspenseful paranormal novel. With original plot and interesting characters, it's definitely a breath of fresh air in the YA genre.

The story revolves around two best friends, Sophia and Kira. These two were BBF's since they can remember, always doing everything together, sharing good and bad moments, supporting each other, having fun together and sharing secrets. They live together as roommates and they're basically inseparable. The bond they share is deep and strong, sibling-like. The story kicks off with Kira returning home from work to find the building surrounded with police cars and fire trucks. It turns out that the apartment she shares with Sophia was almost completely burned (at least Sophia's side, Kira's side wasn't damaged all that badly), and that the police discovered unidentifiable human remains inside. Kira, convinced that her best friend died in the fire, suffers an emotional breakdown and falls deep into depression. She blames herself for Sophia's death, as she was the one who advised her to take a day off work and rest. The funeral is held, Kira moves in with her parents and after a few weeks-long grieving period she decides to visit her apartment in hope of recovering some of her and her friend's belongings. What she discovers, though, is Sophia's backpack (untouched by the fire) and a note hidden under a loose floorboard in her friend's room. A mix of dread and relief washes over Kira, as she learns from the note, that her friend did not die in the fire, but is still very much in danger of losing her life. In her letter, Sophia explains that she was targeted by some sort of mysterious organization and so she was forced to fake her own death and flee. And like that wasn't hard enough to stomach, Kira soon learns that she herself have become a target and now her life is in danger, too.

     Both heroins find themselves thrown into the world of mysteries, supernatural powers and secret societies. This is where the real fun begins!

 *
     The Advice Girl, being less than 200 pages long, is a fast and pleasant read and I had a lot of fun getting through it. The story has a huge potential and I think it would be even more enjoyable if it was a little bit longer. The friendship between Sophia and Kira was beautiful, strong and unbreakable. It was believable, which is great. Unfortunately I can't say the same about the quickly unwinding romance between Sophia and Ethan. It was just so unnatural to think that a girl, who not so long ago almost lost her life, and found herself on the run, separated from her family and friends, would jump right into flirting, teasing and basically throwing herself at a guy she just barely met! Na-ah, this is just unthinkable. Kira was the one who did all the worrying and crying and grieving, while Sophia acted like a brainless, lust-driven creature. There was such a huge contrast between Sophia's and Kira's emotional response to the whole situation, that I was dumbfounded and baffled.

     The strongest selling point of this story is it's unique and refreshing plot. It is solid and well-thought-out, very original and gripping. I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery and paranormal parts of the novel, they were fantastic! L.A. Shaw definitely knows how to captivate her readers with fast-paced action and unexpected twists.

     The characters are well developed and likable (even Sophia, despite her light-heartedness, was overall a positive and lovely heroine). The narration of the story gets a little bit confusing at times, as it varies from being told from Kira's first-person perspective to third-person perspective, but thankfully it does not affect the story flow in a negative way.

     To sum it all up: Packed with action, secrets, romance, friendship and supernatural abilities, The Advice Girl has the potential of becoming the next bestseller YA series that everyone will be hyping over. I loved the story, there are, however, parts of it that need some brushing up and for that reason I'm giving it 4/5. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the Dalara series.


 




16 comments:

Bonnie said...

Awesome reivew Evie! I have seen this book out there lately and was wondering what it would be like! I am often frustrated with highly unlikely romances and certainly am bothered when a character ignores everything else in thier life to flirt with a cute boy! That being said I am definitely going to read this book to see exactly what you are talking about!

Anonymous said...

Sounds like you gave a fair review and I am now knowledgeable enough to make a choice--nice to read about different storylines! Rae

Anonymous said...

This sounds like an interesting book but I feel like I'm going to be annoyed by the flirting just after her life is in danger.

giddusadik said...

Great review! I think i'll read this book.

Book Passion for Life said...

We recently read and reviewed this book too. So glad you enjoyed it. :) Donna

Ishita Singh said...

Sounds like a pretty good book, sounds interesting

Nikita said...

Good review, I will think about reading this book. I love paranormal novels. :) And the name of the book is also nice. :D
Nikita

Reading Away The Days said...

I have actually never heard of this book till I checked out your review. I was intrigued by the cover!! The story sounded interesting and I like the paranormal twist to it. Great review!

aurora M. said...

This looks like a fantastic read. Loved your review. Thanks. I am so intrigued now.

Krystal Larson said...

I love stories with a touch of the paranormal! This looks like a great read!

Unknown said...

wow.. supernatural!! nice review.. thanks

Yvonne @ The Shadow Realm said...

Liked your review. Might check this one out

FairyWhispers said...

sounds gripping

Munnaza said...

This book sounds absolutely refreshing, and I love stories that portray realistic characters and beautiful relationships. Though I completely understand what you mean about some books needing to be longer to develop the story furhter, I think I'll check this one out, especially because regardless of its flaws, it really sounds like you enjoyed it.

Debdatta Dasgupta said...

Sounds quite different... Adding it to my TBR list!

Jaime Lester said...

The Advice Girl sounds like it could be a good read. I can completely understand not liking Sophia for acting like that. Especially knowing how her supposedly best friend is feeling. If I were in that same situation, my mind would be on the ones that I loved and their safety, not on flirting with some dude. Sure, if their romance flourished because he was there for her, and understood that she was going through a heartache, the romance wouldn't be a bad thing. Anyway, from your review I gather that it is still a book to be read, regardless of the little flaw.

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