Books are food for my soul! Pull up a beach chair and stick your toes in the sand as the Jersey surf rolls in and out, now open your book and let your imagination take you away.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Farsighted by Emlyn Chand



Farsighted by Emlyn Chand
Published By: Blue Crown Press
Release Date: October 17, 2011
Format: Hardcover & Paperback - 226 pages / Kindle - 552 KB
ISBN: 0983930805
ASIN: B005WXFG54
Genre: YA Fiction / Fantasy / Paranormal


About The Author:






Emlyn Chand emerged from the womb with a fountain pen clutched in her left hand (true story). Since then, she has always loved to hear and tell stories. When she's not writing, she runs a large book club in Ann Arbor and is the president of author PR firm Novel Publicity. Emlyn enjoys connecting with readers and is available throughout the social media Internet world. Visit www.emlynchand.com for more info. Don't forget to say "hi" to her sun conure Ducky!


AUTHOR WEBSITE
NOVEL PUBLICITY
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
GOOGLE+
GOODREADS
Emlyn Chand's Farsighted Tour Page on Goddess Fish Promotions


BUY THE BOOK: Farsighted
AMAZON
BARNES & NOBLE


Farsighted Book Trailer





To enter the contest, post a comment at the bottom of this blog post. Please make sure to include your name and a valid email address. One lucky winner will be randomly drawn from all of the virtual tour stops to win a $25 Amazon gift card!


Disclaimer: At the request of the author, publisher and Goddess Fish Promotions, a Kindle edition of the book was sent, at no cost to me, for my honest review and participation in this virtual book tour event (book review only). 


Book Description: 

Alex Kosmitoras's life has never been easy. The only other student who will talk to him is the school bully, his parents are dead-broke and insanely overprotective, and to complicate matters even more, he's blind. Just when he thinks he'll never have a shot at a normal life, a new girl from India moves into town. Simmi is smart, nice, and actually wants to be friends with Alex. Plus she smells like an Almond Joy bar. Yes, sophomore year might not be so bad after all. 

Unfortunately, Alex is in store for another new arrival - an unexpected and often embarrassing ability to "see" the future. Try as he may, Alex is unable to ignore his visions, especially when they begin to suggest that Simmi is in danger. With the help of the mysterious psychic next door and new friends who come bearing gifts of their own, Alex must embark on a journey to change his future. 


Book Excerpt:

"Did Dad tell you? A new tenant moved into the old pharmacy next door."
"Really?" I ask, not letting on I already know. If I feign ignorance, Mom'll divulge all the details. "What is it?"
"It's a psychic shop," Her voice crackles with excitement, like a fire that's just beginning to burn. "The All-Seeing Miss Teak. Isn't that cute? Miss Teak, Mystic. Ha! I wonder if that's her real name."
I laugh. "That is funny. Never had a psychic in town before. What's she like?"
"Oh, she's very friendly. Why don't you go over and say 'hi.' I'm sure she'd like to meet you." 
"Okay, I think I will." I'm incredibly intrigued, because first off, it's a psychic shop - how weird is that? - and second, its presence made Dad super uncomfortable - also very cool. I waste no time heading next door to check out the scene. My cane clacks against the wall of the building until it strikes glass with a soft tap
As I step cautiously into the new shop, a recording of soft, instrumental music greets me. I make out chimes and a string instrument I don't recognize but for some reason reminds me of snake charmers. The sweet smell of incense fills my nostrils, which explains the burning I detected earlier. 
"Hello?" I call out into quiet room. 
Nobody answers. I walk in deeper, sweeping my cane out in front of me in a metronome fashion. This place is new to me, so I need to be especially careful while moving around.
Thump! Despite my precautions, I stub my toe on something hard, big, and made of wood. Just my luck to stub the same toe twice in one day. I reach down to press my fingers into my throbbing foot to alleviate some of the pain. Something teeters before rolling off of the chest and across the floor; the sound it makes indicates a curved path. Suddenly, the object goes silent. somebody has stopped it. 
"Hello?" I call again.
"Hello," a deep, feminine voice responds, placing more emphasis on the first syllable than the second. 
"I - I'm sorry i knocked that thing over. I didn't mean to ..." I hope she's not angry. Probably not a good idea to get on a psychic's bad side.
"That wasn't just a thing, it's a crystal ball," she says as she walks over, sending my blood pulsing through my veins. I sense her looking at me for a moment before she places the ball back on top of the chest. 
"Can it see the future?" I ask, allowing my curiosity to outweigh my uneasiness. 
"No." After a pause lasting several beats, she continues. "But I can see the future, sometimes, when I look into it."
"Oh, okay." I tighten my hand around my cane and turn to leave. It may not be the most polite thing to do, but all of this hocus-pocus stuff is freaking me out more than I would've guessed.
The psychic lady speaks again, stopping me cold. "Don't run away, Alex Kosmitoras." She must've spoken to Mom earlier today. That's how she knows my name.
"I'm not running away," I say. "I'm just going back over to Sweet Blossoms."
"Don't run away," she repeats - this time she speaks louder and with more energy. "Don't run away from your abilities. They are gifts." 
"What?" I ask in confusion. What abilities is she talking about?
"You already know. Watch. Listen. Be open to your gifts." 
I turn to face Miss Teak, but the room is quiet. Either she's watching me or she's gone, returned to wherever she was before I got there. 
Is it safe to leave? I trail my fingers across the wooden box I rammed into earlier; a thick coat of dust clings to  the tips as I pull away. If this shop just opened, why is it already so dirty? I wipe my hands over my shirt to get the gritty substance off. Shivers rock my whole body. Something about this place is wrong, and I'm not sticking around to figure out what. Tapping my cane along the floor, I find the exit without knocking into anything else.


My Book Review:

Alex Kosmitoras is not your average sixteen year old boy. Blind since birth, he lives in a small town and is considered an outcast. But Alex possesses special abilities of heightened hearing and sense of smell, which helps make up for his blindness. Then out of nowhere, he starts to have visions of the future that he doesn't understand, and in turn scares him to the point that he wishes that he didn't have this new ability. When a psychic shop opens up next door to his mother's flower shop, he meets two girls, Simmi and Shapri, and with the help of psychic Miss Teak, he learns that all three of them share similar "gifts." As his visions become more disturbing, he sees that Simmi may be in serious trouble from a mysterious man named Dax. Alex's visions keep showing that Simmi will die, and he is determined to use his special abilities to protect her at all costs.

Farsighted was an intriguing, thrilling and fun read that will keep the reader guessing what will happen next. This YA paranormal novel's storyline is well written and rich in detail. The characters are realistic and well developed, their complex personalities and interactions with each other makes the story more compelling and captivating. The paranormal plot has plenty of intriguing twists and turns that leaves the reader sitting on the edge of their seat as they turn the next page. Involving the reader at the start of each chapter with runes and corresponding prophesy, they come along for the ride on Alex's journey, and the author encourages them to try their hand at predicting what each chapter will hold based on the hints provided by the runic prophecies.

YA and Paranormal novels are not the usual genres that I read, but I couldn't help be pulled into this fascinating story. As a person who has always been interested and intrigued by psychic abilities, I was pleasantly surprised by the theme of this story. I was captivated enough by this riveting story that it left me wanting to turn the pages faster just to see what would happen next.

Farsighted is an enjoyable story that I would recommend to anyone who is looking to read a quality YA and Paranormal novel that has a mixture of fantasy, imagination, danger, suspense, and a touch of romance.


RATING: 4 STARS ****












14 comments:

  1. 4 stars is good & I do love twists & turns in the stories I read. Thank you for your review.

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

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    1. Thank you for stopping by and for your kind comments. I hope you get the chance to read this book.:)

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    1. Thank you for the opportunity to host this virtual book tour event.

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  3. This book sounds intriguing and definite possibilities for sequels with this character!

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    1. Hey Donna! You'll have to check the book out, it was an enjoyable read. :)

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  4. I LOVED this book! I cannot wait for the next in the series!

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    1. Hey Jordan! I was really surprised by this book, I'm not a big YA or paranormal fan, but I really enjoyed reading it.

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  5. I love this story. I am so glad it got a great review.

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    1. Thank you for stopping by and commenting. I was a great story.

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  6. Thank you for the wonderful review, Kathleen. I'm so happy you enjoyed Farsighted even though it's not your normal genre. I get that a lot, believe it or not ;-) I appreciate your cross-posting to Amazon and GoodReads, too. I didn't even have to ask! You rock,

    Emlyn

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    1. Hi Emlyn! Thank you for the opportunity to host your virtual book tour event. I really enjoyed reading Farsighted, you may have opened my eyes to trying some more YA and Paranormal novels. I also posted the book review on shelfari, librarything, Facebook book blogger pages and a few book blogger community sites. :)

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  7. Good review, Kathleen. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Farsighted.

    Right now, it's gorgeous here in Brunswick County. It's cool tonight but was sunny and GORGEOUS today and everything is blooming. The Azalea festival will be coming up soon. It's a good time to get down here!

    catherinelee100 at gmail dot com

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    1. Hey Catherine!

      Thank you for stopping by! That is so not nice to tease me with the beautiful weather y'all are having down there in NC ... *Sigh* :p

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