Review & Giveaway - Sundial, by CF Fruzzetti & MI Pearsall

Teenager Whitney Forbes thought her biggest problem was surviving high school and determining if there was more to handsome Reid Wallace than just his looks and popularity. She was wrong; her problems were about to get a lot more complicated. Whitney always knew she was special. But when she discovers she is more “special” than she ever imagined, surviving another school day takes on a whole new meaning. Caught in the middle of a CIA plot and her undeniable magnetic attraction to Reid, she will need to decide who she can trust and what it means to become the Sundial...before she risks her heart and an alarming plan goes into motion. Will she have what it takes to not only survive but also prevail? Time brings the truth to light in this epic adventure about love, trust and the process of turning adversity into advantage.
(From GoodReads)

My Review

When I read the synopsis for Sundial, I was definitely curious. A girl with unique abilities who is involved with secret government agencies sounded like a good time. When you add in a good-looking, mysterious guy? Even better.

  I'll start with what I liked about Sundial. I thought that the idea behind the story was very interesting and extremely intelligent. The fact that so much apparent thought and brain power went into writing this book is what appealed to me the most. I wasn't quite sure what was behind Whitney and Reid's extra abilities, but then, I like a mystery.

  There were a few characters in Sundial that I really liked. Whitney was strong, capable, and definitely not a whiner. I also liked Reid. He seemed to be very much like Whitney, super smart, athletic, capable. Both Whitney and Reid really seem to have it all. Whitney's best friend Blair was undoubtedly the most fun character to read. She was funny, a little pushy and could be frivolous. Those aspects to Blair made her the perfect counterpart to Blair, who was ever practical.

  So, here's the hard part, because I have to admit, there were a few things about Sundial that I had issues with. Starting with, the characters. I know I said I liked Whitney, Blair and Reid, and I did. But it seemed that every single character was rich, athletic, smart, just too perfect. There was a lot of clothing and accessory labels mentioned that I had never heard of. Maybe I'm lame, I dunno. That made it hard for me to identify or empathize with them. To be fair, maybe the area in which Sundial is set is exclusively wealthy. But still, hard to identify with.

  Another issue I had was the transitioning between paragraphs. For example, several times Whitney would suddenly pass out at the end of the chapter. Then, in one instance, at the beginning of the next chapter, she and Reid are on a boat with friends and she's mad that another girl is coming on to him. That left me flipping back and forth, making sure the pages weren't stuck, or missing. I found that to be very disorienting and distracting.

  So. I've been trying to sum up exactly how I felt about Sundial. I didn't dislike it, but I had issues. Issues I could just not overlook. I still think it was a very interesting idea with a lot of potential.

Favorite Quote:
" 'You are no ordinary girl but you are still a teenage girl,' Dr. West said with a twinkle in his eye. 'Love is something no of us have any training for, but love and empathy are what make us uniquely human.' "

Paperback, 328 pages
Published July 19th 2011 by Pure Energy Books

You can find Sundial at:
GoodReads  |  Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble

GIVEAWAY

In an effort to get this book into more readers' hands, I would like to offer my copy of Sundial up for a giveaway. I will also include another random book to include and maybe a bookmark, also. To make this easy, all you have to do is enter your info into the form below.


I'm sorry, but I have to make this giveaway for US Residents only (unless you have a contact in the US I can ship the books to).

The Winner is

Jessica Bronder!