Auracle

Auracle was simply surprising. I had major cover lust from the m

Auracle was simply surprising. I had major cover lust from the moment I laid eyes on this breath-taking artwork, and I had to find out why this girl was hovering next to a beautiful waterfall. I was not disappointed when the cover was actually part of the story! How refreshing when that happens.

Gina Rosati’s writing style is clear, beautiful and descriptive, and she blends a thrilling, addictive storyline with romance and tension that kept me engaged through the whole story. Anna is a compelling, witty character with real emotions and believable actions. I understood her thoughts, and loved how smart this girl was. It’s awesome to read from a character’s POV that rationally thinks situations through, but still also captures the impulsiveness of what it’s like to be young. The villain of the story was not true evil like a lot of Paranormal, and I was able to sympathize with her, even understand some of her irrational actions, and that made for a more believable story. By the end, I felt sorry for her, and was relieved when the story gave closure to each situation.

The romance in AURACLE was a slow build rather than attraction that borders on infatuation, and I appreciated this so much. I felt Anna truly loved Rei as a friend, and then through the story, through their trials, their already established bond grew deeper. A suspenseful read that made me a fan of Rosati’s right away, AURCLE is an amazing debut, and I can’t wait to read more of this author’s works.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

I loved the cover of this book when I first saw it, but now that

I loved the cover of this book when I first saw it, but now that I've read the book, I totally get it and love it a thousand times more. This is a great page-turning read that has a surprising amount of humor in its very fast-paced and compelling story. It is very much a paranormal, but something a little different than what I'm used to from the genre, which made it a very refreshing read about a girl who can astrally project and her best friend who try to fix the bad situation they find themselves in (I don't want to give anything away by talking about the plot too much). It was also very sexy without being graphic and I loved Rei and Anna together, even when they were so far apart physically for most of the book. Looking forward to more from Gina Rosati!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Auracle!!!!!

Reading AURACLE was an amazing experience for me, particularly because I was the first person on the list of the Class of 2k12 ARC Tour. I know it sounds silly, but I felt special because I'd gotten an early peek at a book that people are going to go bonkers for. I loved everything about this story. I'll start with the cover--it's magical and mysterious and just plain beautiful. The cool thing is that all the very same words--that I just rattled off--also apply to the story inside. The plot feels new. I hated putting the book down because I wanted to find out what was going to happen next. In fact, I was even clutching it on my lap at a recent dentist appointment. I took it with me everywhere, on the off chance that I would have a free minute or two to read it. The characters are real and flawed and relatable and so well done. I immediately fell in sync with Anna and fell in love with Rei. But there are other characters in the book that I have strong negative reactions to, and while their flaws are not sugar coated at all, I found empathy during the journey I took with them. In my opinion, Rosati gives a master class in "show don't tell"--all the rich detail of AURACLE's characters and setting are seamlessly woven through the story. I devoured this book, racing to the end only to find myself deliberately slowing down, hoping to stop the magic from coming to an end. Is it too soon to start wondering what Rosati will write next?

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

really interesting and the next best series.

really interesting and the next best series.

This book is amazing! I recently finished reading it, and I abso

This book is amazing! I recently finished reading it, and I absolutely loved it. When I first saw this, I really wanted to read it, because it sounded so interesting... and I was not disappointed. The idea of writing a novel about astral projection is so creative, and the story that went with it was so gripping and exciting. The plot was great, the concept of astral projection and everything that went with it in this book raised some questions I had never considered before, and the characters were very lovable. With an amazing story and a satisfying ending, this book is a must-read. I will be anxiously awaiting Gina Rosati writing more books!

Chapter by Chapter's review of Auracle

How many books out there are about astral projection? Not that many and not enough, as far as I’m concerned! And Auracle by Gina Rosati is such an epic stepping stone to get this ball in motion. I absolutely LOVED Auracle. It has what a fantastic book should have; humour, suspense, intrigue, pulls on various emotions, and has characters that you can’t help but fall in love with.

In Auracle, we are introduced to Annaliese Rogan (aka Anna) who, for as long as she can remember, has been able to astral project herself all over the world…even into space. Not everyone is aware that she has the ability to do this, except for her best friend Rei (who is officially my new book boyfriend!)

During one of her astral projection excursions, Anna takes it upon herself to follow her friend Seth who is heading to the falls to confront a stalkerish, fatal attraction type chick named Taylor who has decided to play a little game involving his cell phone. Suffice it to say, everything goes downhill, and an unfortunate accident ends Taylor’s life, and Seth is the main suspect. To make matters worse, Anna is the only eyewitness, and she returns to her body, only to discover that the femme fatale herself, Taylor, has taken over her body. Dun dun dunnnnn… Now it is up to Anna and Rei to a) prove Seth’s innocence, and b) get Taylor the heck outta Anna’s body!

Auracle was one book that I absolutely could not put down. I needed to know what was going to happen, and how it was going to happen. Rosati has combined humour with suspense and created this masterpiece. When Anna comes back to her body to find Taylor stumbling around in it, my heart sped up, and I literally gasped out loud which was accompanied with an enthusiastic “what”! Rosati’s delivery of shockworthy moments, and humour is what brought Auracle to life for me.

She has provided so much personality into the characters that even though you can’t help but feed off the emotions that are portrayed in the pages. I was pissed off when I was supposed to be, I was annoyed at the right times, and I was smirking with the presence of possible love. And don’t even get me started on Rei. He is H-O-T. Her description of his looks, his personality, his style…he had so much presence that I couldn’t help but crush hard on this dashing hero. I dare you not to crush on him!

This book was amazing! I was taken on a ride that I was not ready to get off just yet. With a cast of characters that will hold true to your heart, and a genre that is hardly every touched upon, Auracle will be a sure hit for YA fans everywhere.

Unique. One word that describes this book. A very unique novel a

Unique. One word that describes this book. A very unique novel about something we don't see in YA novels, astral projection. A great concept that easily blends into our world that by the end, we question if it is real or not. Not sure if this is a spoiler, but I'm pretty sure it's not because I'm not revealing anything about the major plot, anyway... The fact that everyone basically astrally projects is something that I love the idea of. Remember seeing someone in your dreams? the answer, astral projection. All little things like this pull on the strings of reality and myth. Do we really astrally project when we are dreaming and not realise it?

I love the dash of culture thrown in the novel. Rei being half Japanese is not something we hear much of in other YA noels. Yet Rei's 'oh-so-hotness- makes him well placed above other YA characters.

Anna's personality is very easy to relate to and get along with. All of her little thoughts placed in italics, brings out the side that we know she has lost her body, but not her spirit. We laugh at some of the little remarks that she makes as well as how she reacts to her body. We easily connect with Anna and get the whole 'best friend' vibe. We get to know her more, about all of the little things that really makes Anna, Anna. when she lost her body and Rei talks about her allergies and her life. We also find out her last name and all the other things about her we didn't know.

The back story is just as important as Anna getting her body back. Every time Rei and Anna try something to get Anna 'back in', we are on the edge of our seats in anticipation for something to work. The relationship that blossoms between the two gets complicated throughout the novel, we don't get bombarded with their feelings for each other, but we see the relationship forming.

The ending keeps us guessing as to how she and Rei will go. Will they really be together? What about College? These questions leave us thinking long after the book finishes.

Excellent Debut

Auracle is a unique offering in the overcrowded genre of YA paranormal literature. Anna can astrally project out of her body and travel around the world. Since I've never read a story with astral projection being the main supernatural gift, I was intrigued from the beginning. Rosati has created a richly detailed world with believable characters and a suspenseful plot. This is one book that YA paranormal fans will not want to miss.

I really loved the characters in this book. Anna and Rei were both just good characters. They weren't angsty, bratty, or mean. They weren't tortured souls. They had their problems, like all people do, but they dealt with them. They were well-adjusted and compassionate. It was refreshing to read about characters who came across as individuals, but weren't tortured and depressed. There was no having to break through the other's defenses. It was a nice change. The secondary characters, like Taylor and Seth, had defenses up, and Taylor was a major brat. However, the world is filled with brats. I'm just glad that this book didn't try to paint brats in an appealing light.

The story is told from Anna's first person POV, and she is a good narrator. You trust her right away because, while she's not a goody-goody, she is a good character. You just know she wouldn't lie to you. The dialogue, however, was a problem for me sometimes. The words were fine, and each character had his or her own unique voice, but Rosati went extremely overboard with the exclamation points. Every other sentences ended with one, even when it was an inappropriate punctuation for the context of the sentence. It would go like this... "Hi." "Hi." "How are you?" "Okay!" That wasn't actually said, but you get the idea. Since the copy I read was an ARC, though, the finished edition may not be filled with so many exclamation points. I hope an editor calmed the author down a bit because it was kind of ridiculous.

The plot was intriguing and suspenseful. There really wasn't a mystery. Everything was laid out from the beginning, but I had to keep reading to find out if Anna got her body back or not. I figured out how to accomplish this long before they did, but in their defense, if they'd figured it out right away, then there wouldn't have been a story. That being said, the pacing lagged in a few places. Rosati did an excellent job of showing instead of telling, but she showed too much. She should have, in my opinion, cut down on the scenes of Taylor trashing Anna's reputation and body. I got the point after the first fifty times. More could have been tacked on about Anna and Rei, though. That would have been a lot more interesting.

Anna and Rei's relationship was interesting, especially in the world of YA romance, because they were best friends since birth. This wasn't insta-love, and the relationship happened organically. However, at one point, I am not sure how or when they went from "You don't like me." "Well you don't like me," to agreeing that they liked each other. That wasn't handled very well and could have been clarified some. It was awkward one minute and perfect the next. That just felt a bit choppy to me.

The ending tied things up nicely, but I still hope for a sequel. One could be written. I would love to learn more about Anna's gifts as she discovers them. I'm sure she could get into more trouble with her astral projecting, so I hope that another book is writte

'Auracle' is a refreshing young adult paranormal/fantasy novel t

'Auracle' is a refreshing young adult paranormal/fantasy novel that
brings a fresh voice and interesting new topics to the genre. The book
focuses on the main character, Anna, who has been able to astrally
project for as long as she can remember. While outside of her body, she
is able to visit places that most people can only fantasize about -
watching a supernova in outer space or experiencing a volcano eruption
up close. One day, while watching a meeting between two classmates, Anna
witnesses an accident that leaves her classmate Taylor dead. When Anna
tries to return to her body, she is horrified to find that Taylor's
spirit has taken up residence and she is not willing to let go. Anna
must find a way to force Taylor out of her body for good and to figure
out a way to get herself back in. This is one of the most unique books
I've read in the YA paranormal genre. I haven't read many books that
deal with ESP or other phenomenon, especially not one that focuses on
astral projection. The idea is new and exciting, and it made the book a
great page-turner for me. I liked the way the characters were portrayed
- especially Anna. She was sarcastic and rude at times, but fiercely
loyal to her friends. That made her very likeable to me and it was easy
to root for her throughout her trials. I also liked the romance that
slowly develops between Anna and Rei, her best friend and neighbor. It
was sweet and portrayed an innocent first love in a realistic way.
Overall, I thought that the book was very well written with an addicting
plot and a great flow that made it almost impossible to stop reading
once I started. I found it very original and unique, which is hard to
find in the YA genre these days. I highly recommend this book to fans of
YA paranormal fiction and I will definitely be reading more of Gina's
work in the future. Disclosure: I received a copy of the book in
exchange for an honest review.

Auracle ended up being one of my most surprising reads of the ye

Auracle ended up being one of my most surprising reads of the year, at
least thus far. I didn't have much of an idea of what to expect at all,
besides a fairly typical paranormal YA. I think it was because of this
that I ended up being SO surprised by it and thoroughly enjoyed Auracle.
There are very few things in Auracle that I would consider typical - so
it's a great choice for those readers looking for osmething a little bit
unique and different in their paranormal reads. Reasons to Read:
1.Childhood friends grow up: I get a little bit tired of the new
"mystery boy/girl" appearance, and a story about two childhood
best friends as they grow up doesn't seem to be as common anymore. But
it still holds a special place in my heart. I love it because we really
get to see and understand WHY Anna and Rei care about each other so much
- and so it makes sense when they're both willing to risk so much to
help each other out. 2.An interesting premise: I really wasn't
familiar with the concept of astral projection before reading Auracle,
but I have to admit that it was a fascinating idea. And I loved that
Auracle really explored some possible downsides to it, instead of making
it seem simply great and amazing. Plus, this defintely made it a
different sort of paranormal read and I loved reading about different
ideas. 3.A backwards sort of mystery: There's a certain mystery
element to the plot, but the difference is that Anna (and the reader)
already knows exactly what happened - the difficult is proving that
without the knowledge that Anna can astrally project herself. So there's
a backwards sort of approach to picking up the pieces and trying to work
things out. But it definitely made things interesting, in their own way.
The one thing I really didn't love about Auracle was Taylor - she just
seemed so nasty and mean for no apparent reason. I just didn't feel that
there was enough development given to her, so Taylor ended up feeling
rather one dimensional to me and wasn't the most effective villain
because of this. I have to add though that I really did love Rei! He
was just so sweet and thoughtful, and I loved seeing the way Anna began
to realize that things were changing between the two of them. He's one
YA guy to watch out for - different from the norm, but a keeper for
sure! <3 E-galley received from publisher for my honest review; no
other compensation was received.

AURACLE is a story about 16 year old Annaliese Rogan. She has a

AURACLE is a story about 16 year old Annaliese Rogan. She has a secret. She can astral project. This is something nobody except for her best friend Rei knows.
When they were kids, Rei loved hearing about Anna's adventures. She projects out of her body during the night when she's asleep and she visits all sorts of wonderful places. The world really is her oyster because there's no limit to where she can go. She could visit any concert she wanted to, for free, because who has to pay when they're invisible? There's nothing she couldn't see if she really wanted to.

So of course, as a little boy, Rei loved hearing about her astral adventures. But as they've grown up, Anna has been keeping more and more of these times to herself because she sees that Rei isn't so awed by her travels and experiences anymore.

When Anna isn't off on her astral travels - during the daytime hours - she attends school with Rei and another friend of theirs, Seth, but also with a very mean-spirited girl called Taylor.

Taylor has a crush on Seth and it seems like she will stop at nothing to get him to notice her. She sits by him in class, follows him in the hallways, always fluttering her eyelashes at him. She thinks that he'd pay notice to a high-maintenance, stubborn, cruel girl like her.
But Taylor doesn't seem to notice the blatant rejection. Or if she notices she doesn't care. She just swishes her hair and bats those eyelashes. No-one else would reject her, after all, only Seth. But Taylor only seems to want the one she can't have.

Eventually, Taylor gets Seth to meet her at the falls(I won't tell you how). It's there that they argue and Taylor comes very close to the edge. Seth tries to save her, he really does. But it's hopeless. Taylor can't stop panicking and it's because of that, that she falls.

Anna was at the falls that day, she saw Taylor slip beyond Seth's grasp. Taylor's death was nothing more than a an accident. A terrible accident.
But when Anna returns from her astral trip to the falls, she can't get back into her body. She tries and tries, but she keeps getting pushed back out. Why? Because Taylor has taken up residence in Anna's body and she refuses to give it up!

Faced with being locked out of her body and trapped in another dimension, Anna knows she must turn to Rei for help. But how does she get his help when, although she can choose to let herself be seen, she cannot speak - therefore even though she has his attention, she can't tell him what's going on. He just thinks she's taking an astral trip like normal.

I won't tell you how Anna manages to get Rei's help, suffice to say that she does.

Once Anna and Rei start to work on a plan to get her back in her body, they hear that Taylor - aka Anna - has come forth as the only witness to what happened that day at the falls. She tells the police that she saw Seth push Taylor to her death.

The events that pursue, of course, are a journey that you must discover yourself. All I can tell you is that it's a struggle for all involved, even Taylor.
There's a lot of pain for Seth. He runs away so that they can't arrest him for murder. Then there's Anna and Rei. They want to save their friend. They want to get Taylor out of Anna's body and Anna back in her rightful place. Yet through this all, they uncover how they really feel about each other and so they struggle to communicate this to each other.

Gina Rosati writes such an emotionally fraught journey for all involved but especially the reader. There were smiles and frowns, ups and downs. There was laughter and there was tears - mine.
I thought that Auracle was a beautiful story about friendship, trust, love - betrayal, and hurt. It was a journey of discovery on more than one level.
We didn't actually learn why Anna could astral project, but that didn't matter one bit. I didn't need to know why. I was too engrossed in the story to care.

Anna is a great protagonist and Rei is an oh-so-yummy love interest. Every time I heard his name I would swoon. Sitting here writing my review, I think about him and a little smile tugs at the corner of my lips.

The whole cast of characters were interesting and they all played pivotal roles along the way. From Anna's alcoholic father and her mother, the enabler to Rei's mother Yumi. They were all vital to the telling of this story.

I'm not sure whether this is meant as a stand-alone story or not. There is so much more that could be done with each of the characters. But then, it sits well as a stand-alone because there's closure - nothing is left unresolved. But maybe there'll be a sequel and maybe it will tell us the why behind Anna's gift.

As an author, Gina Rosati sure knows how to tell a beautiful story and I will definitely be on the look-out for more from her in the future. In my honest opinion, she will go far in her career as an author. She's more than just an author though. Someone once said to me that each and every book is like taking a vacation, well then Gina Rosati must be the best travel agent in the land because she makes me want to take a vacation with her more often.

Thank you Gina for sending me one of the best birthday presents I will get this year and maybe the one after too. I am privileged to have read such an outstanding book and I cannot wait to give a copy away so that someone else gets to experience it.

I know everyone has different opinions and that's what makes us so diverse, but if my opinion counts for anything, you should go and pick up a copy of Auracle right now and put it at the top of your TBR pile. You don't want to miss out!

From its very first page Auracle completely captivated me. There

From its very first page Auracle completely captivated me. There was something so sweet and yet still feisty about the main character, Anna, that interested me a lot and made the book even more enjoyable. Furthermore I enjoyed the fresh and exciting premise of astral projection; for me it was something utterly magical.

The Plot: There was a certain lightness to the plot. I never had the feeling that the action was mindblowing and the tension never made me bite my nails; For me Auracle was the perfect summer read, just plain irresistible. It wasn't by any case slow or boring, just unique. Nevertheless I had a hard time putting this one down to eat or sleep. I have to say that astral projection was what got my attention from the start. What if you could travel to a place you always dreamed of but leaving your body safely behind under the covers of your bed? It would be completely amazing and something I never read in any novel. The romance was slow-building, just the way I like it. You can imagine how a relationship between best friends would bloom: full of awkwardness yet full of sweetness.

The Characters: Anna was an amazing main character. She is both sweet and feisty which made it easy to relate to her. Furthermore Rosati adds some depth to the story by adding a dysfunctional family to her character. It is understandable then that she uses astral projection as a way to enjoy and escape her real life. Rei, her neighbour and best friend, was also a breath of fresh air to love interests in the YA genre. He was certainly swoon-worthy (I mean, he is half Japanese! I would love me some Rei) but he was an earthbound, sincere character. Plus being an Asian he had to cope with a really strict family. The other characters like Seth, the other best friend, and Taylor, the villain, made the story the even more enjoyable and added more fuel to the already amazing fire of this novel.

Auracle was an utterly captivating read with many exciting and fresh twists. I will certainly be reading anything Rosati publishes in the future, since her writing was unbelievably good. With plenty of humor, suspense, romance and paranormal aspects, Auracle is a novel you should be sure not to miss!

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