Straight Reading from the Library - Altera Realm: Discovery by Jennifer Collins

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Jennifer will be awarding a Grand Prize of a $50 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour, and a Mobi or paperback (paperback US ONLY) copy of Altera Realm: Discovery to a randomly drawn winner at every stop during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

READ THE BLURB

Andrews has secrets—she just doesn’t know she has them. She spent the last eighteen years in the human realm with her adoptive parents unaware of her real powers and role in Altera Realm.

Altera Realm has been at war for well over a century and is connected to the Human Realm by a portal and no human knows it exists. It is home to the five old and great races—Magic Users, Lycins, Vampires, Daemons, and Shifters. Each race is an entity of their own with its own life purpose, rulers and guarded secrets.

Syney is the prophesized “chosen one”, the one destined to end the over hundred-year war and become queen of the Magic Users. Not that Syney wants to rule or even knows anything about Altera. Falling in love with her Lycin Protector, a crime punishable by death, only serves to make matters worse and Syney’s new life more complicated

READ THE REVIEW

Welcome to the Altera Realm, a world that lives alongside our own, albeit in another dimension so to speak. Syney was born in that realm, the last of a line of rulers. Her mother, in order that the line might continue, sent her out of time and place--to the human realm in the future, where Syney is discovered and adopted by a human couple, not knowing anything of her past or the fact that at 18 she comes into magical powers--and is the Chosen One who is prophesized to bringing the discordant parts of her home back together.

The Altera Realm is made up of five races: Magic Users, Lycins (the protectors of the Magic Users), Vampires, Daemons, and Shifters. Plots and intrigues about--and as in any court, political machinations behind the scenes. The ruling queen and her heir-apparent are not happy with the idea that someone is coming to take the throne--Chosen One or not. They are not willing to give up without a fight and some pretty underhanded dealings.

A lot is covered in this book--and it's not a short book. There's a lot that goes on and a lot of characters. It's interesting to see the world through several of their eyes--the author chooses a different character each chapter to be the point of view character. It's interesting seeing what is happening through them.

The author does a good job at building the new world--the relationships between the different races make sense and it's easy to see from the backstory she slips in how the Altera Realm came to be splintered.

This is the first book of the series, so there is not a neat wrapping up of endings. I mention that only because there are some who don't like open-ended books in series. Me? It makes me just that much anxious to read the second book in the series. 4 stars

READ AN EXCERPT

She took an uneasy breath and looked up, catching Hunter’s gaze across from her, where he stood in the next aisle. The uneasiness receded a little, but not entirely as it had before. She offered him a weak smile.

Hunter gave her an odd look before walking around the corner to stand next to her. “Are you all right?”

Syney glanced around just as a younger guy walked in, flanked by another guy and a girl. The main one was thin with messy black hair and the cockiest look Syney had ever seen. His two wingmen looked down-and-out mean, with a side of evil. The guy was big and solid; the girl was short and petite. Syney had a feeling the girl could still kick her ass.

Syney looked back at Hunter. “Something bad is about to happen.”

Hunter looked over at the newcomers, his eyes darkening. “Get behind the counter, and stay there.” He looked deep into her eyes. “Trust no one but me.”

Syney glanced back and caught the lead guy’s gaze. He smiled, so sure of himself. His eyes flashed gold, and he started to change. Syney couldn’t believe her eyes. One second he was a cocky man, and the next his white skin became sleek black fur. He dropped down and growled through his large white teeth. He had changed into a sleek black panther. Syney stared at him in shock. It wasn’t possible, yet it had happened.

“What the—” she started, but was cut off by Hunter’s large hands pushing her behind the large white counter.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Jennifer Collins holds a BA in English with concentration in Creative Writing from Montclair State University and completed a certification program at Kean University for teacher of English K-12 in New Jersey. She enjoys being a high school English teacher at the Plainfield Academy of Arts and Advanced Studies, a public performing arts middle school and high school in the urban inner-city school district of Plainfield, New Jersey.

For more information on the Altera Realm Series visit Jennifercollinsbooks.com
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