Today I have my review of the second book in this fantastic young adult paranormal fantasy series, Open Heart. Check it out below and the giveaway for a Nook or Kindle at the bottom.
Series: Farsighted #2
Author: Emlyn Chand
Publisher: Blue Crown Press
Release Date: 25th May 2012
Format: eBook
Source: Author via GCReading Blog Tours for an honest review
Simmi Shergill's life is a mess. Her powers of psychic feeling are on the fritz, and Grandon Township's sudden population boom has brought quite a few unsavoury characters to town. She also looks like an over-blown balloon in her size 14 pants, but not even starving herself seems to be helping.
At least she has Alex, the boyfriend who loves her so much he'd do anything for her. Last summer, he even risked his life to protect her from the mysterious boy everyone was convinced wanted to kill her.
Just one problem: she's not so sure she feels the same way. Is Alex really the man of her dreams? Why can't she stop fixating on her would-be killer, Dax? Part of her wants to run screaming in the other direction whenever Dax is around, while the other part longs to run into his embrace, no matter whom she'd hurt or what she'd risk.
Simmi's loyalty is on the line. Whom will she choose—the blind seer who loves her, or the charming telekinetic with "bad idea" written all over him? Emotions run high in the tension-packed book two of the Farsighted series.
My Review
**please be aware there are spoilers for Farsighted, book 1. **
Open Heart was very different from Farsighted. Being from a
teenage girl’s perspective is something that I usually read anyway, but
Farsighted was a lot more paranormal fantasy than Open Heart. I did love this
book, but for very different reasons than the first book. Emlyn Chand has
amazing talent; the differences in books 1 and 2 are amazing. Farsighted was
full of intrigue and mystery (and of course from a teenage boy’s perspective)
and Open Heart has more love and teenage peer pressure issues.
My first impressions of Open Heart was “what is wrong with
Simmi, why is she so depressed and sad”? Simmi is recovering from their
adventure on finding Dax and stopping him from killing anybody. Simmi has the
ability to feel emotions from people around her and can change a person’s
emotion by touching them. She is extremely worried and afraid of her abilities
and doesn't want to have that much power. Nobody should have that much power,
it is dangerous.
You would think that after their adventure and knowing how
much Alex loves Simmi, she would love him in return. But Simmi doesn't know
what her feelings are towards Alex and is really confused about Dax. She should
hate Dax, but they seem drawn to each other. Simmi is having severe body issues
and doesn't think she is good enough for Alex. She believes that if Alex could
see, he wouldn't want to be with her. Going through these ideas, Simmi is
trying to refrain from eating food and tries not to draw attention to this fact
with all the people around her. Being jealous of her peers and having
insecurities is turning Simmi into a stranger.
Alex still refuses to accept that Dax isn't the bad guy any
more. Dax has been disowned by his parents and is living with Alex’s family. Alex
refuses to acknowledge his existence and will not allow Simmi and Dax to even
be in the same room. Refusing them to even talk is making Dax and Simmi want to
get together even more.
A new housing development is going ahead in the town and
with it a lot more people are attending school. The developer has decided to
donate and build a new school building to accommodate all the new students. But
something seems very off with Mr Franklin and his daughter Veronica. They seem
to get their way too often.
Will Simmi and Dax get together? What will happen with Simmi
and Alex, can she get over her body image issues and love herself? Can Simmi
accept her power and start using them again? Who is this new developer and are
there more people in town with powers now?
Loved this book immensely, I definitely need book 3, Pitch,
right now. I am addicted to this series and love how each book is on a
different character and their life, but still carries on from the previous
book. Awesome! Emlyn Chand’s writing style is fantastic, easy to read and the
characters lovable. Although in Open Heart I was getting a little frustrated
with Simmi. I really recommend this to all YA readers, this series is not just
for fantasy/paranormal readers. Bring on Pitch, book 3!
Other Books in the Series
The book that changed Emlyn’s life is Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crocket Johnson. It opened her eyes to the world that could exist if only she was willing to create it—a lesson she has never forgotten. While she enjoys all types of novels, her greatest loves are literary fiction and YA. She’s best known for her Farsighted series and is developing a slow but steady following for the Bird Brain Books. She’s eager to see how her women’s fiction novel, Torn Together, will be received by the reading masses.
Make sure to check out the rest FARSIGHTED & OPEN HEART blog tour kicking off Monday, February 4th!
Giveaway
GRAND PRIZE: Kindle or Nook -- Winners choice! US ONLY, If international $100 dollar Gift Card to a bookstore.
