Review Time ~ Rise of Hope

Rise of Hope

By Kailey Hart

3 out of 5 Stars

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 it means. 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?

ARC provided by Carina Press

Release date: August 27th, 2012.

Approximately 36,000 words.

This novella was just about 100 pages.   Reading novellas, I understand that if it's a stand alone, it has to move pretty fast.  This one did in one aspect but dragged in others.  

Seth is all business.  He has a job to do.  Intercept Devon and bring her to safety.  He's only a team player when he has to be, he's a womanizer, doesn't like to be touched...  All around, he's pretty hardcore and independent.  Until Devon enters his life...

Devon is trying to escape the confines of her gilded cage.  Her whole life has been spent under surveillance with little to no freedom to move around the compound she lives in.  While out on a hike with thoughts of escape, her guide shows signs of "other".  He is not the man she remembers from past walks.  Instantly suspicious, the journey begins.

Seth has to keep Devon moving, but as she should be, she's hesitant.  Just because somebody says they are there to take you to safety, doesn't mean you should trust them.

But the time for asking questions is not now.  Once they get to safety, Devon is given the explanation of her existence, her talent and her markings.  You see, she is marked with intricate designs on her lower abdomen that just appeared.  She is not alone.  Others have these and one in particular has the matching inverse set of markings.

This story follows these two as they try to understand why Devon was imprisoned from the beginning, who the key players are in all of this, and what it will take to understand the undeniable attraction they have from their very first encounter.

Overall thoughts?  Well, I didn't love it and I didn't hate it.  The unromantic part of the plot moved really slow for me for so few pages.  The romantic part, destined to be together, I could have used a bit more build-up for character growth.   It's written well and has its steamy and descriptive moments but I felt no real connection to the couple in question.  It just moved way too fast.  Had this been a regular length novel, I would have enjoyed it more.  It's a unique concept that has great potential if only given more page time.