YA Paranormal Romance Novel (Book 1) - Beyond the Eyes

Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review

Paige Reed had independence thrust upon her at a young age. Her father passed away after Paige received a cryptic premonition in the form of a deep voice inside her mind of his impending death and since then, her mother has been emotionally and physically absent. Fortunately for Paige, she has had been surrounded by some of the best friends in the world. The larger than life character of German ancestry nicknamed Tree is over 6 feet tall, not including the length of his massive mohawk, and would do anything for Paige. There is also the charmingly charismatic, blunt BFF named Carrie...she's Paige's go to girl. These two have been a great support system but Paige has yet to confide in them about her premonitions which have gotten worse. She just received a death threat of her own while in the presence of Matt, a friend and Carrie's love interest, and is beside herself. Knowing what happened to her father, Paige decides to let loose at the local club with her friends later that evening in hopes to shake off the bad omen and try to take her mind off of the dreadful premonition. Matt and Carrie dance beside Paige as she immerses herself in the music, having an out of body experience. So focused on the energy of this experience, Paige almost misses the catlike flash in Matt's eyes as a hooded figure descends from an above balcony. Everything happens so fast that when Paige is awakened, she can hardly recall what occurred before she had apparently fainted, hitting her head on the floor. This is where the story picks up and we officially meet Nathan, the hooded figure that will ultimately explain what Paige is and will eventually lead her to her destiny.

I think this book was set up nicely for a sequel. There are likable characters that I'm not quite ready to stop reading about. I like knowing that there is a lot of room left open for those characters to grow and develop in. I am curious to see how some relationships proceed and have high hopes for this author! I believe Ms. Ford has written a YA book that many teenagers would find a character to relate to and has added the supernatural element to it in a way that still makes it believable. These almost adults are faced with homework, hormones, and bad spirits and still make time to go to their local hot spots and have fun...pretty typical for a teenager if you ask me. I would be doing the same thing, premonitions be damned! In regards to the budding romance between Paige and Nathan, I think it progressed quickly but the feelings they share aren't as far fetched as some other YA paranormal novel romances that I have read. I must say, I like that this wasn't another typical vampire, angel, ghost, or fairy book either. Thank you for that Rebekkah! Looking forward to Dark Spirits, review to come.

FAIRY THOUGHTS
Favorite Line(s) “I mean, we’d just met and the whole love-at-first-sight thing seemed kind of silly to me”

“Then it will be for eternity.”

“It touched me to see them having a good time together, but I felt a hollow space where my father should be and thought if he were here, everything would be perfect”

“If they don’t get rid of dis negative energy, their lives are only half lived. But if they face their demons, seek understanding and grow from it, a new world will open up to them”

Have I mentioned how much I love books? Man every book I read shows me something different!
Paige has premonitions and she really doesn't like them! Lately whenever her friend Matt comes around here ears start ringing and his eyes flash read she doesn't understand why. Then one day while out with her friends she meets them sexy and handsome Nathan. He shares with her something's that blow her mind! Matt has a dark spirit that has taken over his body!
Oh did I mention Nathan is immortal and tells Paige she has been chosen to be immortal too?!
It was a really great story! I loved how these Charchters had not only MY name but, one was named Tree and they were different and just great!
The writing was great and breezed through it and before I knew it I was done and wanting to read the next one!
This is something I haven't read before and I really enjoyed it!

I was given this book in exchange for an honest review (GHB)

FOUR SPIRIT FAIRIES

Paige is unlike any other teen, she hears premonitions. Unsure of what this voice in her head means and the constant ringing in her ears she chooses to avoid it fearing the truth behind it. She happily continues to live her mundane and lonely life when Nathan unexpectedly enters...everything she knew changed as he shows her that the world is not as it seems. Firstly, there's immortality and secondly, there are evil spirits that take host bodies. Paige is thrust into the throng of the evilness around her when an old spirit residing in one of her friends bodies sets his sights on her. The "old one" seems to think that Paige is special and the key to finding King Solomon's ring, a ring that allows the holder to control all evil spirits.

Beyond the Eyes by Rebekkah Ford is an engrossing read with original content and I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I'm going to first mention my two personal gripes against this book. Firstly I felt that the story was paced too slowly, I felt that the mystery and all the paranormal aspect wasn't being divulged fast enough. Too much of the chapters were dedicated to mundane and irrelevant aspects, however, being the first book in the series, maybe Ford had done this on purpose to really get the readers to get to know the characters.

My second point...we have another instant love in the YA genre! I don't quite understand why as Ford had substantial amount of chapters dedicated to Paige and Nathan getting to know each other so I don't understand why she did not pace their love story a bit better, but alas, those are my thoughts. Their love was so intense so quickly that I failed to understand the love between them. I was being "told" about their relationship but I wasn't "feeling" it.

However, despite those two gripes I had with the book I loved the story. It's originality and all it's contents were fantastic. I liked how the book was multi-dimensional, whilst it did revolve around Paige, there was Paige and Nathan's love story, then there was the mystery behind Paige's Father and also the mystery behind the evil spirits and their fascination towards Paige...so there was quite a few things going on in the book, it just never got boring. However, I picked this book up to read a paranormal story and that's why I felt that there was far too much chapters devoted to Paige and Nathan's love story. I must mention also that I would probably rate this as a New Adult genre more so than a YA as there is sexual content and connotation which may not be inappropriate for those under the age of 16, but that's my personal opinion.

I thoroughly enjoyed the characters and strangely enough I loved the secondary characters MORE than the main characters. I really enjoyed Tree and Carrie's character. Both these characters had such great personalities that they really translated through the pages. You can fully envision what type of people they were and you easily get immersed into their life and become vested in their story.

Despite my personal gripes with Beyond the Eyes I still highly recommend it, as the characters, plot, mystery and originality more than makes up for those indiscretions. I really enjoyed the story, the mystery was not easily solved and it was a fascinating and original read.

Disclaimer:- This book was provided free by the Author in exchange for an honest review.

The story itself had a great deal of potential. It has all of the right elements of action and adventure coupled with drama and suspense. The focus of the paranormal world is executed well and the descriptions were not overbearing.

The author needed to invoke a stronger main character for a book of this nature, someone for reader's to be able to easily related to instead of a simpering girl who seemed way too naïve for the world around her. She complained all of the time and I did not find her likable in the least. The romance relationship between Paige and Nathan was forced and unbelievable leaving the dialogue to be quite cheesy at times (and not in a good Twilight way).

Note: I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Beyond the Eyes follows the life of Paige Reed. A girl who has to deal with mysterious premonitions that usually ends up dealing with death. Her life gets even stranger when she has a premonition of her own death. This premonition leads her on a path that will lead her to do great things, combat the darkness of the world and of course find true love.

Rebekkah Ford writes a great story with characters that you start to care for rather quickly. Paige is a good character to follow though towards the end she gets a little tiring with trying to keep her life as it was when clearly it cannot. The character of Nathan is charming and a great other half to Paige. Her friends known as Tree and Carrie round out the group and provided a great sense of reality to Paige as she tries to figure out her destiny.

I would have liked the book even more if the beginning of a love triangle wasn't introduced towards the end of the book. I don't think the story really needed it as it was very interesting up until that point. It didn't help that the boy in question was a disrespectful jerk. After Paige's constant refusals he keeps harassing her and tries to attack her under the guise of if she would let him what he wanted she would fall in love with him instead. That really threw me off especially since it seems he will play a larger role in the continuation of the series. He isn't like able and really ruins the scenes he is in. I actually would have rated higher if it weren't for this plot development.

All in all it was a good read and a good first book for a series, which is why it gets a 3 trees rating from me. - Mayra

Beyond the Eyes was an enjoyable read. So much so that I am ready for the next book, Dark Spirits right now! Written by Rebekkah Ford, this YA Paranormal book focuses on the life of 17-year old Paige who feels like a freak because she receives premonitions. Her life is further complicated due to the death of her father at a young age and a mom who is never home. You quickly meet her best friends- Carrie, Tree and Matt(?) and the story takes off. One night at a local club, Paige recognizes some strange things are happening and she meets Nathan Caswell. Love at first sight is an understatement and her life is never the same. There is suspense, danger, romance, terror, delight, true friendship, heartbreak, nobility, love and loyalty.

While there are a few typos, the beginning of the book is somewhat formulaic, and the characters say "I love you" a whole, Whole, WHOLE lot, you cannot help but get wrapped up in Paige's life, love, tragedy, and triumph. Well written on the whole, you feel Paige's emotions right along with her and putting the book down will be a challenge.

I would recommend this book to those looking for a different slant on the usual vampire/lycanthrope/angel take on the paranormal, those who love a good YA novel and a good vs. evil adventure. Due to a small amount of swearing and some intimate scenes, I would recommend this book for ages 16 and older. Enjoy!

BEYOND THE EYES propels a girl from high school classes with friends into high-tension clashes with fiends. Paige looks forward to the magic "best year of your life" before graduation: Hanging out with other seniors, dressing-to-kill as the adult she almost is, and making the teen club scene on weekend nights. The ever-present drizzle of the Pacific coast sends tendrils of fog through the pines and into the streets of the oldest city in Oregon, where Paige develops a sense to see some of the small-town inhabitants aren't who they seem to be, and even long-time friendships need a second look.

Smart, hip, and independent, Paige discovers love can happen at first sight, but death can take everything away in the blink of an eye. Whether or not Nathan proves himself to be a soul mate or just a lost soul, the reader of this well-wrought action and romance thriller will enjoy a unique and compelling young-adult rite of passage.

Beyond "The End," we're treated to the first chapter of a second book by Rebekkah Ford, so I'm excited at the prospect of serial fun and adventure.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I think I'd actually give it 3.7 stars, but seeing as how I'd been reading four seperate books and this is the first one I've finished in a while, I decided to round up. :-)

(Note: Minor spoilers in the review)

Anyways, for purposes of writing a fair and honest review, I do need to mention that I have a bias towards the book, since I did the cover art. Also, I don't normally read paranormal romance (I tend to lean towards the dystopian, sci-fi/fantasy books).

My favorite thing about this book was that it kept me wanting to read more. Even though I wasn't always a fan of the romance (did seem like the main romance got a bit lovey too fast), there were other times were the romance moments made me smile. I enjoyed the interactions between Paige and her friends best, and Tree was probably my favorite character (just because he seems to be an all-around protective nice guy). The story had the occasional moment that actually made me laugh out loud, in a good way (typically between Carrie and Paige or just in the odd thought that Paige had).

I also thoroughly enjoyed the characters of the bad guys, including the Old One when he has his confrontation with Paige in history class, as well as that of the more arrogant dark spirit (the one who meets Paige in the restroom at the Lions Den). They just had that awesome "evil" feel to them, and it worked well at the climax of the story when they attack Paige, and I was wondering who was going to end up doing the specific task (not saying for spoiler points), and what would happen if the bad guys got there first.

I did notice a few small grammer/punctuation typos, but nothing major and at times I felt like there could be more showing rather than telling us how Paige felt. At the same time, I came to enjoy the narrative voice and how it had a story-telling aspect.

A few other reviewers have pointed out that Paige seems to be upset/cry a lot, and in the beginning of the book, this does seem to be the case. It got better towards the end, though, and I overlooked it largely because I kept wanting to know, "What happens next?"

I'll admit, I did get a bit teary eyed when one of the characters dies in the later part of the book. Did seem a bit sudden, but the whole scene had a really surreal element to it that I think worked well.

It felt like an upper YA book, as it did have cursing and a few sexual elements, but it seemed to work well in context of the story.

I read the book during breaks at work, and each time looked forward to continuing, and would spend some time afterwards wondering what was likely to happen next.

So, though "Beyond the Eyes" did have its ups and downs, I really enjoyed the book, and would recommend it to anyone who's looking for a romance (I did like the main love interest, so that's a plus), as well as enjoys a story that fleshes out a neat "magic" system (which was the other thing that pulled me through it-- wondering about how the dark spirits worked). Meanwhile, I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

I laughed. I cried. My heart soared. My heart broke. I fell in love. I felt hatred. There was romance, heartache, longing, friendship, and distress. This book would be a great movie and should be on the Best Seller's list!

Do you love a paranormal romance with a much deeper story? Beyond the Eyes is a story of an ultimate fight between light and dark, good and evil, black and white. Rebekkah Ford brought such depth to each of the characters, that I was completely enthralled from the first page. Paige really draws you into her life, making you feel all the emotions she does as wild events spiral on around her. I can't wait until the sequel is released!! I will definitely be reading more of Rebekkah's work when it is released.

Originally posted on my blog: [...]
First Lines:
"I never thought I would die at the age of seventeen, so when I received the death message, I was a little freaked out."

My Thoughts:
If that first sentence didn't hook you in, I don't know what would. Rebekkah's first lines of the main character dying at the age of seventeen, yet she is still narrating the story is quite intriguing in itself. I really enjoyed this book and I absolutely need to read the second one that just came out this past week or two. Rebekkah's writing is wonderful. I didn't see many typos and if I had, I didn't notice them because I was so engulfed with the story.

Paige Reed is a wonderful main character. There were times were I just wanted to smack her but then I thought about how I was at the age of seventeen and then I refrained from those thoughts, because I was the same way; in fact I think most of us were. Paige has had a crap-load of heartache and hardships within her short life. I related with her on many aspects. Then enters Nathan Caswell (what a kick ass name, right?) He is hot, sexy, older, drives a truck, protective, gentlemanly, caring, sweet, and so many other things. They fall in love at first sight. Which is cute but not that realistic, but the reader can get over that. At the beginning it was a little weird between them how it started so fast and they fall so fast, but I got over that.

From the beginning to about 40% into the book, I kept trying to figure out what the paranormal/supernatural beings were. At first I thought vampires, but then I thought werewolves. And then after that, I just couldn't figure out what it was. Paige has premonitions and her ears ring and she didn't know why until Nathan explained everything to her because the same thing happens to him, minus the premonitions, of course.

I loved all the characters and I think that's how Rebekkah wanted it to be. Tree and Carrie are awesome. I even liked Matt a bit, but something just irritated me about him. But Rebekkah writes her characters so that her readers care about them, and I really like that. And we really see Paige grow emotionally, which I really liked. I hope to see her continue her growth.

All-in-all, I really enjoyed this book and I will be reading the second book as soon as I possibly can, so that I can continue on with this amazing story! You should all at least give it a chance if you like paranormal stories with a romantic twist and a few love triangles. :]

Five stars to Rebekkah Ford for full on passionate writing. This writer doesn't hold back, she means every word. I couldn't stop reading, even when I disagreed with some of her ideas. Never dull and written from the heart. What more could a reader ask? Paige is intense and emotional in the best sense and Nathan is a dream lover. Two young warriors, full of fighting spirit and impossible to resist. Well, impossible for me to resist. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

I struggled through some parts of this book. I really wanted to fall in love with it and stay up all hours of the night to read it. However, it just was not the case. There were parts of the book that I loved and parts that I loathed. Beyond The Eyes brought me back to high school in a sense. The beginning of the book starts out in a cafe, full of high school students, all of different types of cliques. Every type of cliché you can think of is in this book and that is a real turn-off for me.

I would consider Beyond The Eyes a YA Paranormal romance. The term "paranormal" is used loosely, as I am not sure what the characters in the book are. There is talk of evil spirits, soul-less ones, the "old one" and immortality. However, it is not ever mentioned specifically what they are.

I did not feel drawn to any of the characters. Paige was annoying, whiney and cried nonstop. Nathan was very odd and a little too forward, to be completely honest. Within days of these two characters meeting, their living together and saying, `I love you'. Paige's home life is weird too. Her father passed away when she was very young and her mother is a "traveling" nurse, who is never at the home, leaving a seventeen-ish female teenager to fend for herself and does not care when her boyfriend starts to basically live there.

When it comes to the writing in this book, there are some issues. There are some grammar and punctuation issues. To me at least this entire book felt very rushed and repetitive, as well as a little unrealistic. If maybe you actually got to know the characters, it wouldn't feel so rushed.

There is a second book to Beyond The Eyes, however, I don't think I would really be interested in finding out what really happens. Normally, with series, I am all for finding out what happens. This book was not for me, but I won't not recommend it, as everyone likes different things.

*I was sent the book in exchange for my honest opinion. All the opinions expressed here are my own.*

Blurb:

Paige knows evil exists in this world, but she never imagined it would want something from her.

After a ghostly voice whispers a haunting message to seventeen-year-old Paige Reed, Paige's life takes a nightmarish turn. Unwilling to tell her friends about the supernatural occurrences happening in her life, Paige feels more alone than ever-until she meets Nathan Caswell.

Nathan is not only hot, but seems to peer into Paige's soul, evoking a magnetic energy between them that cannot be denied. But he's no ordinary guy. He tracks dark spirits, and becomes alarmed when they set their sights on Paige.

And then there are the two power-hungry dark spirits who believe Paige can find King Solomon's magical ring for them, because when her father was alive, he was close to finding it. If Paige doesn't comply with their demands, they'll kill her.

Paige is forced to dig deep into her father's past and unearths shocking secrets about him and his bloodline. With the past and present colliding, Paige is only sure about two things in her life: she needs to outwit the dark spirits to stay alive, and she's completely and helplessly in love with Nathan.

This review is about the book Beyond the Eyes by Rebekkah Ford. This book is about a girl, Paige, that has gotten premonitions since she was young. Her mother isn't around much but she meets a man named Nathan who turns out to be someone she never could have imagined.

Rebekkah Ford grew up in a family that dealt with the paranormal. Her parents' Charles and Geri Wilhelm were the directors of the UFO Investigator's League in Fairfield, Ohio, back in the 1970s. They also investigated ghost hauntings and Bigfoot sightings in addition to UFO's. Growing up in this type of environment and having the passion for writing is what drove Rebekkah at an early age to write stories dealing with the paranormal. At one point in her life, she thought she wanted to be a journalist, and although she enjoyed writing articles, she quickly discovered her real passion was writing fiction. Her fascination with the paranormal is what led her to write the 'Beyond the Eyes' trilogy.

The book promises a thrilling first book in a new YA series. It definitely holds up its promise. I could not put this book down. I am so glad there will be follow up books to this as I can't get enough.

I did have some pitfalls to this book. Where I knew this was YA, the constant "feelings" between Nathan and Paige are distracting. I feel that it takes away from the plot and the book as a whole. I started to feel like I was starting to slide the slippery "Twilight" slope. Also, I am used to the change scenes being a little better notated. Whenever the scene changed, a new paragraph started. There should be a more noticeable break as some readers can get confused. There was a lot of redundancy as well. Paige had to be told quite a lot that she could die or would die, yet she never seemed to accept this and had to be told yet again. There was also an over-use of the word "shuddering". And even though Paige constantly tells everyone how independent she is, she came off very needy; she was constantly seeking attention from the people around her. This can become a very unlikeable quality.

But, don't get me wrong. This is a very good book and I would recommend it because even though I am picky, this was a very quick read and the plot wasn't overdone. It was simple and sometimes you have to step away from the complicated plots and characters for a breath of fresh air.

I have to admit that when I heard YA, I instantly thought "Twilight". I am so glad I was wrong. Where, yes, I felt like this book did tread those tracks, I didn't feel the need to grab a rope and hang myself. Not that "Twilight" wasn't good, I guess, if you are a teenager and feel like the whole world hates you and need supernatural beings to make you feel good about yourself. That series also was so redundant that I wanted to scream and hang myself. I, thank goodness, did not have that with this book. I actually felt it was a grown up story is a teenager's body. The story has so much room to grow and become that bestseller that I know it can be.

To bring this to a close, don't pass this book up. The story is great, the characters are good, and the writing is superb. I am overly critical so please read and get your own conclusions. I loved it and cannot wait to get to book 2.

Beyond the Eyes is a unique read. Rebekkah Ford seems to have combined a bunch of ideas and experiment with how they would all play out together. It caused really nice tension to build for the story and kept my interested. I also really liked the pace that the book took. It could have easily went faster, ending up with a very confusing and muddled up story that people would have to re-read in order to understand all that was happening, but Rebekkah kept it slow and clear. The characters all seemed to be very well developed and have their own personalities and really stuck with their true selves through out the entire story. I recommend this novel to those who are into young adult fantasies.

There seems to be an abundance of authors wanting to get on the gravy-train of paranormal and specially gifted characters. Whether it's vampires or wolfs, can't we please find another subject to write? Real life is quite interesting too, you know, especially these days. I'm not buying any more books from recommendations on Goodreads.

Blurb:

Paige knows evil exists in this world, but she never imagined it would want something from her.

After a ghostly voice whispers a haunting message to seventeen-year-old Paige Reed, Paige's life takes a nightmarish turn. Unwilling to tell her friends about the supernatural occurrences happening in her life, Paige feels more alone than ever-until she meets Nathan Caswell.

Nathan is not only hot, but seems to peer into Paige's soul, evoking a magnetic energy between them that cannot be denied. But he's no ordinary guy. He tracks dark spirits, and becomes alarmed when they set their sights on Paige.

And then there are the two power-hungry dark spirits who believe Paige can find King Solomon's magical ring for them, because when her father was alive, he was close to finding it. If Paige doesn't comply with their demands, they'll kill her.

Paige is forced to dig deep into her father's past and unearths shocking secrets about him and his bloodline. With the past and present colliding, Paige is only sure about two things in her life: she needs to outwit the dark spirits to stay alive, and she's completely and helplessly in love with Nathan.

This review is about the book Beyond the Eyes by Rebekkah Ford. This book is about a girl, Paige, that has gotten premonitions since she was young. Her mother isn't around much but she meets a man named Nathan who turns out to be someone she never could have imagined.

Rebekkah Ford grew up in a family that dealt with the paranormal. Her parents' Charles and Geri Wilhelm were the directors of the UFO Investigator's League in Fairfield, Ohio, back in the 1970s. They also investigated ghost hauntings and Bigfoot sightings in addition to UFO's. Growing up in this type of environment and having the passion for writing is what drove Rebekkah at an early age to write stories dealing with the paranormal. At one point in her life, she thought she wanted to be a journalist, and although she enjoyed writing articles, she quickly discovered her real passion was writing fiction. Her fascination with the paranormal is what led her to write the 'Beyond the Eyes' trilogy.

The book promises a thrilling first book in a new YA series. It definitely holds up its promise. I could not put this book down. I am so glad there will be follow up books to this as I can't get enough.

I did have some pitfalls to this book. Where I knew this was YA, the constant "feelings" between Nathan and Paige are distracting. I feel that it takes away from the plot and the book as a whole. I started to feel like I was starting to slide the slippery "Twilight" slope. Also, I am used to the change scenes being a little better notated. Whenever the scene changed, a new paragraph started. There should be a more noticeable break as some readers can get confused. There was a lot of redundancy as well. Paige had to be told quite a lot that she could die or would die, yet she never seemed to accept this and had to be told yet again. There was also an over-use of the word "shuddering". And even though Paige constantly tells everyone how independent she is, she came off very needy; she was constantly seeking attention from the people around her. This can become a very unlikeable quality.

But, don't get me wrong. This is a very good book and I would recommend it because even though I am picky, this was a very quick read and the plot wasn't overdone. It was simple and sometimes you have to step away from the complicated plots and characters for a breath of fresh air.

I have to admit that when I heard YA, I instantly thought "Twilight". I am so glad I was wrong. Where, yes, I felt like this book did tread those tracks, I didn't feel the need to grab a rope and hang myself. Not that "Twilight" wasn't good, I guess, if you are a teenager and feel like the whole world hates you and need supernatural beings to make you feel good about yourself. That series also was so redundant that I wanted to scream and hang myself. I, thank goodness, did not have that with this book. I actually felt it was a grown up story is a teenager's body. The story has so much room to grow and become that bestseller that I know it can be.

To bring this to a close, don't pass this book up. The story is great, the characters are good, and the writing is superb. I am overly critical so please read and get your own conclusions. I loved it and cannot wait to get to book 2.

Authors of these disappointing serial books seem to not understand that decent literature requires a well-thought-out Beginning, Middle and End. Instead, they throw a bunch of disjointed ‘adventures’ and far too many ‘conflicts’. The result reads like a high school writing project. that is not literature.