Review and Giveaway: Sleepers by Megg Jensen

An adoptee raised in a foreign land, sixteen-year-old Lianne was content with her life as handmaiden to the queen, until a spell cast on her at birth activated. Now she's filled with uncontrollable rage and access to magic she thought had been bled from her people years ago. Even her years of secret training in elite hand-to-hand combat and meditation can’t calm the fires raging inside her.

Her heart is torn between two boys, the one she’s always loved and the one who always ignored her. But when the kingdom threatens to tear itself apart due to rumors surrounding the queen’s alleged affair, who will Lianne protect and who will she destroy? (From GoodReads)
My Review
Sleepers is the story of Lianne, one of three people who were given to the enemy at birth as a peace offering. Lianne is a servant to the queen, and her best friend. Upon her sixteenth birthday, Lianne experiences an Awakening, learning that she possesses the magic of her people, once thought lost. With magic also comes rage, and Lianne must struggle to control it, or be taken over. In addition to all this, she must choose between Kellan and Bryden, fellow adoptees. Each of whom want Lianne to fight, one with brute strength, the other with newfound magic.
Sleepers is a well-written, fast-paced read. I flew through this book in less than 24 hours. The characters were all fully developed. Lianne, was loyal, smart, and fierce. She was the ultimate warrior, with abilities so honed, she is virtually undefeatable. I love a strong girl who doesn’t need saving. Bryden was another great character. He was strong, yet quiet. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but in a way, he reminded me of Peeta from The Hunger Games. And Kellan, I can’t say a lot about Kellan without giving anything away. You’ll have to draw your own conclusions about him. In addition to the main characters, Jensen did a great job with the secondary characters. Each served a purpose in moving the plot forward. No character was disposable.
Towards the end of the book, certain events felt a little rushed to me. I felt a little bit of build-up would have helped me become more invested in the events happening.  Another little problem I had with the ending was a character revelation that really ticked me off. I’m not sure if that was because I felt it was too much/unbelievable or that I was just upset because the revelation left the character with no redeeming qualities.
Having said that, I still really enjoyed Sleepers. The story is full of deceit, manipulation, huge surprises and high adventure. Sleepers is full of heartbreaking moments and stunning plot twists. Every time I thought the story was moving in a particular direction,  Jensen virtually threw those plans right out the window. That always makes for an enjoyable read.

You can learn more about Sleepers at GoodReads,
You can find Megg Jensen at her website.
*I was given Sleepers by the author, in exchange for an honest review.*

Giveaway

Megg Jensen is giving one ecopy (via Nook, Kindle, PDF or Smashwords) of Sleepers to the winner. All you have to do is comment, leaving your email address. If you would like to earn an extra entry, you can tweet the giveaway, but please leave a link. This giveaway is International. This giveaway will run from Monday, August 8 through Saturday, August 13, 2011. Good luck! This contest has ended. The winner (using Random.org) is:

 KrysyKat! I am emailing KrysyKat as soon as I finish this post. Thanks!