Anew by Chelsea Fine
Publisher: Acacia Publishing (December 7th, 2011)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Paperback: 385 pages
Series: The Archers of Avalon #1
Rating: 5 of 5 stars
Two years ago, Scarlet awoke in the forest alone, afraid, and unable to remember anything. Lost and confused, her life was a mystery… until she met a boy with a familiar voice.
Gabriel Archer has a voice from her past, and Scarlet's determined to remember why. She immerses herself in his life only to discover he has a brother he's kept hidden from her: Tristan Archer.
Upon meeting Tristan, Scarlet's world becomes even more muddled. While she's instinctively drawn to Gabriel, she's impossibly drawn to Tristan--and confused out of her mind. As she tries to piece together her history Scarlet realizes her past… might just be the death of her.
Review:
I was a bit hesitant to pick up this book because I had a pretty good idea what the story would be about. As far as that particular plot point goes, I was correct; however, the book was sooooo much better than I expected. I was really surprised by where the story goes.
In Anew we meet Scarlet. She woke up in the woods on day, two years ago, with no real memories at all. Since then she's been living with a young woman (her caretaker), and hanging out with her best friend Heather. She has adjusted pretty well considering, but then she meets someone who triggers something in her mind. Gabriel steps into the picture and Scarlet just knows his voice is familiar. She is instantly drawn to him and they have a nice, cute romance.
Soon, she gets the feeling that Gabriel may be hiding something. She goes to his house one day and discovers his brother Tristan there. As much as Gabriel triggers new thoughts in Scarlet's mind, Tristan does even more. But she can't figure out why she feels linked with him, or why he seems to absolutely hate her.
This experience puts her on the path to finding out about her past, and discovering who Gabriel and Tristan truly are. This was the part that was surprising to me. I didn't expect the events to play out the way they did. One perk of this story is that we get to see the point-of-view of Scarlet, Gabriel, and Tristan so it is well-rounded and fully developed. There are no real missing points that I wished would have been there.
As for the characters, Scarlet has been through so much. She has no family, no memories, and no way of knowing who she really is. She remained strong and determined throughout this story and I feel she was partly that way due to her best friend Heather. Heather is not like Scarlet at all. She's a total girly-girl and wants Scarlet to take more pride in her fashion sense. They make a wonderful pair. Heather is such a good friend and it was obvious that she would stand up for Scarlet through anything. Gabriel is the good guy. He does care a lot about Scarlet but Tristan really had the passion. He may have been mean and angry most of the time, especially to Scarlet, but I could feel the true passion in his personality. He was a very nice surprise!
Anew just gives us the beginning of what I feel will be a terrific series. This book sets everything up and leaves a lot of mystery that I'm sure will be unraveled in the next book. And wow, what a cliffhanger! I will definitely be reading book 2 as soon as it is released.
Recommended: Paranormal fans looking for something unique and interesting. Great characters, multiple POVs, and a terrific plot.
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