YA Books: Beyond the Cover: Review of Harmony by Sonya Bria

3:31 PM | Posted by Alexis Ladig

Title: Harmony
Author: Sonya Bria
Release Date: June 1st, 2012
Source: Publisher (In exchange for honest review)
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Cambio Publishing
Pages in This Edition: 234
Buy it: Amazon (Available as an Ebook) And Paperback HERE
Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

On the Cover:

Beyond the Cover:

Summary from Goodreads:

"A Curse.

It started with a curse centuries ago placed upon the House of Ulster:

One more powerful than I will come,
She alone will break the spell.
With her as guide the dark will align.

Destiny.
If someone told you that you were the key to an ancient tragedy, what would you do?

Sophie is a high school senior with only two things on her mind, graduating from Jefferson High, and moving on, leaving the death of her mother firmly in the past. But the past is not done with Sophie, and she finds herself suddenly thrust into a tragic, Irish love story centuries old. Does she have the strength to accept her part, confront her own past, and rely on someone long forgotten?

Ian is a vampire with only one thing on his mind...Sophie. For years, he has watched over Sophie, and protected her from the darkness surrounding her mother's death. He would like nothing more than to forget the past, but his fate lies with Sophie and her destiny. Can he help Sophie confront her nightmares and not fall in love?

Choices.
Sophie and Ian will discover that they also have a connection-something that could bind them together forever or rip them apart. What will they choose?"

Review:

I hadn't heard anything about this book before I got the chance to review it (as is usual with books not published with the big six publishers) but once I heard the premise I became intrigued. I love books with Irish folklore/guys with Irish accents and so I thought this book would be a good fit for me. The only thing that had me worrying was that vampires were involved. More on that later.

Harmony started out fast paced enough. The prologue was super cool and all "back-in-time-like" and had me wondering where the story was going to lead from there. I think the pace was definitely what I liked most with this book. There never really was a point where we could sit back and relax as readers, because there was some kind of action always happening. I LOVE faced paces in books, so I was super happy with this.

Onto the characters: I liked some and disliked others. Characters I liked: Sophie, Ian, Max, and Emily. Why? These characters were believable and they way they were told in the story had me picturing it all in my head like it was a movie. I especially like Ian, mostly because I go head-over-heels for Irish accents and gentlemen, and he is both. Sophie is nice enough for a protagonist, even if sometimes I wonder how she believes all she is told so easily. And of course Max and Emily, Sophie's "human friends" were cute and though kind of one dimensional they did their jobs. Characters I didn't like: Grandma, and all the old characters from "way back when." Why? I don't like the grandma character for one reason. She does things that any person in her right mind wouldn't do. I don't want to give too much of the story away, but the way her choices are rationalized just don't sit right with me. And I don't like the old Irish characters because of lack of back story and overall confusion regarding basically everything having to do with them.

Reasons this book gets 3.5/5 Stars: Great romance, a good yet unpredictable ending, a spin on the now classic vampire YA paranormal romance thing, and a face paced adventure that has me wondering if there is going to be a sequel. If this sounds like your book, be sure to check it out!

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2 comments:

Katja Weinert said...: I didn't enjoy this one as much as the other books in the series, but I'm still curious to see what happens next. I'm loving the Infernal Devices series and am already counting down the days to Clockwork Princess.; July 27, 2012 at 9:26 AM
Burun Estetiği said...: You explanation is excellent and clear. I was impressed with this post and am looking forward to reading more from you.
Burun Estetiği; January 10, 2013 at 3:07 AM