Coexist: Keegan's Chronicles #1 [NOOK Book]

Great debut novel!

My time with this book was fluent, since is not too long I only needed a couple of hours to finish it and right now I'm not sure of how I feel. But let me explain. Yes, the book was super good. Julia's writing is very smooth and she pictures the mind of a teenager really well, specially an elf teenager.
But in fact all that Keegan wants is to be normal and to enjoy her live before she meets her chosen one. When that happens she knows everything is going to be perfect with him but until then, why not enjoy her life?
But as normal as she wants to be she doesn't know that her friends are nothing but normal themselves...
Nevertheless, there's a war coming and her family plays a very important role: Her father, Richard, is the one that will guide the elves of light to battle. Her mother is a healer and her little brother, Thaddeus, is a seer, but not a normal seer: he is the one that will stop the war between light elves and dark elves. But he is only twelve and although he's strong and very mature for his age he is still not sure of how is he going to stop everything... And what is worst, in a vision he saw his own sister dead during the war...
So he decides to tell her the name of her chosen one so she will think of him if she is in danger. Rourk, her chosen, oblivious to all this is draged to her every time she thinks of him. The poor guy doesn't stand a chance, we girls if we are in love are used to think of our love every spare moment we have, right? So it doesn't matter if he is busy doing something, he needs to go and look for her.

The characters are really cool. Keegan is beautiful but still a nice and sweet girl. Rourk is the type of guy that I would love to have for myself, confident, strong, protective and caring... sigh... Yes, sorry, I need to focus. And then we have Thaddeus, a kid that plays Xbox and tries to stay away from other people because of the visions he has when looking at others, sometimes I felt really sorry for him, it must be very difficult to know bad things are going to happen in your own family and not be able to tell them...

And I can forget the love triangle that is not really clear until the end of the book between Keegan, Rourk and Donald, one of Keegan's friend. I really would love to see what happens in the next book. I don't mind Donald but I will be cheering for Rourk!

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Many strengths, a couple annoying weaknesses

Coexist, the first novel in a planned series, and an outright first novel ever by Julia Crane, is a paranormal romance with an Irish flair.

The main characters Coexist is concerned with are Keegan, a sixteen-year-old elf, and her intended mate, Rourk, who's a bit older than her. Emphasizing romance, Julia Crane's elves are more human-like than one might expect, appearing normal enough to blend in with human society. Sure, they are shorter than other humans, but they don't have a green skin-tone or twelve-inch-tall pointed ears or anything like that.

Crane's conceit is that elves are unusually attractive, which makes great fodder for a romance novel, of course. And also, Crane's elves share a trait in common with some old-world cultures: their mates are pre-selected for them, almost from birth, and are guaranteed to invoke in each other the proper amount of love and romantic chemistry.

But they aren't allowed to meet until they are eighteen.

Different elves handle this sense of destiny in slightly different ways. Keegan has decided to use her youth to date a few human boys, though never seriously, just for fun and as a way to kill time waiting to meet her intended mate.

Rourk, on the other hand, has done no such dating, preferring to focus himself entirely on waiting for his intended mate. Given that he is a warrior, he uses a fair amount of his "spare energy" in combat training.

An interesting supporting character is Thaddeus, Keegan's young brother, who despite being very, very young, is the most gifted elven seer of the current elven generation. And there's a need for him because... a great battle is coming between the light elves and the dark elves.

And it's coming sooner than anyone can imagine.

Tossing complications into the mix are a couple interesting twists: first, for reasons that are murky, Thaddeus has told Keegan the name of her intended. This complicates the natural flow of elven mating because whenever an elf thinks of the name of his or her intended, the other notices... to the point that they can track them down if it seems they are in danger. And like any teenage elven girl with the opportunity, she turns over the name of her intended, Rourk, in her mind quite often, a disconcerting situation for him.

The other complication is that Thaddeus has had a vision of the coming war, and it's set to happen on Keegan's birthday ... and to end with her death.

Interested yet?

I know I was.

Rising above the average level of most entries in the paranormal romance series genre, Crane's novel stands out because, although part of a series, the tale she weaves has a clear and satisfying sense of a complete tale; it has a beginning, an intriguing middle, and a clear sense of resolution to the current circumstances.

While the novel leaves room for new adventures to take place, there's a clear sense that something big happened, there was a cost to it, and the status quo has been affected, by the end of the novel.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

More than just a teen romance

Keegan is sixteen and is trying to keep a big secret from her friends....she is an elf and is descended from a long line of elves that live secretly among humans.
In elfin society mates are predetermined, however they are not allowed to meet until the are eighteen. against this tradition Keegan's brother Thaddeus has told her the name of her future mate. Thaddeus has visions and sees that Keegan will need the protection of Rourk her mate in the forthcoming war between the dark and the light elves.
Rourk is drawn to Keegan's side every time she is in need of protection, but he tries to stay in the background unseen. However a twist of fate pusshes them both together and Rourk is forced out into making his presence known to protect Keegan.
An ancient prophecy entwines around Keegan's family and the future of society. Can they thwart fate and win the war without losing Keegan? With a war and dark forces looming can Keegan and Rourk have the life together that they both wish for?
First of all I have to say I read the book in two sessions at night before I went to sleep. I found it quite a nice, relaxing read, that I could sit back and enjoy. Observing the happy family life Keegan had. Of course I was more on the edge of my seat for the Great Battle. There were some really good twists in there too, you found out certain people were also paranormal and you would not have guessed it.....well perhaps with one character. There is also a hidden moral in there too, that we all have to coexist, so why not try to get on. It is cleverly delivered and not in a preaching kind of way. The book is more aimed to the YA/Teen market but as you will see from my profile information I am certainly no teen but I still really enjoyed this book. it really flowed, not sure how else to describe it other than to say it was written in a way that led you through the story, it wasn't taxing in any way. Yes you get attached to the characters too, you feel Keegan's need to see Rourk. You feel the frustration of Rourk watching Keegan from distance and his jealousy when she talks to boys at school. The description of the places they see is so detailed and well done you can almost see them yourself.I think the title is perfect for the book as is the cover. I won't explain why the title is perfect as it would mean giving away the plot. Am looking forward to reading more of the series

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Awesome Book!

I absolutely love the cover! It's the first thing that drew me in. I knew I wanted to read this book just by looking at the cover. Then the words took over, making me want to read more.

I got sucked into this book quickly. I enjoyed the characters, the storyline, and the writing. It was a creative story and I found myself rooting for the main characters. It had romance and friendship along with magic and adventure. I can't wait to read more from this author.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Recommended

Enjoyed this book.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Awesome series

Nicely done. Full of adventure, magic and love. This was my favorite of all 4 books so far! Hope there will be a 5th.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A great debut novel!

Keegan is a typical sixteen year old girl who loves to shop, hang out with friends, and date the cute boys from school. She also happens to be an elf. Keeping her true identity a secret, she enjoys life to the fullest and waits in happy anticipation for the day that she'll meet the one chosen to be her mate. Rourk is a warrior through and through. His mind is focused and he knows his importance in elfin society. But every time Keegan thinks his name, he is irresistibly drawn to her. Keeping his identity from her for the next year and a half is going to be slow torture. With the ultimate battle between light and dark fast approaching, each must face what fate has in store for them. Coexist by Julia Crane is a fresh take on the YA paranormal genre. Her vision for elf society, as well as other supernatural beings, is unique and charming. Coexist is a fun, quick read that leaves the reader wanting more. Something that I felt the novel needed, though, was more dialogue. The conversations between characters tended to be a little choppy, with only a few lines in each section. The novel sometimes has the feel of a story being told instead of a story developing through character interaction and detail. It gives the reader a somewhat superficial feel for the characters, especially supporting characters that have important roles in the end. The story line is excellent and the characters are more than likeable, but I would have liked to have seen more development of their personalities through conversation and detailed interaction. This would have given the intriguing twist at the end even more impact. That being said, Julia Crane is an excellent writer and I thoroughly enjoyed my escape into her magical world of elves. I give the book four stars. (I received a review copy from the author.)

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

PERFECTLY PERFECT !!!

Richard looked over at Rourk. "You better get used to this son. It takes two or three times longer to get anywhere with her when she has a camera in her hand." Looking amused, Rourk said, "I would wait forever for her."

Coexist.I have been sitting here for hours just wondering what on earth I am going to write for this review..well here goes nothing..

Keegan looks like a normal teenage girl, a very beautiful girl, but still normal..what her friends don't know though..is she's an elf..lets get this cleared up right now..she does NOT work for Santa and she is NOT a midget. Elves are different then everyone thinks, they look like normal people, yes it's true they never get very tall, they have slightly pointed ears, but besides that she is a normal looking teenager with powers..and secrets.

In Elfin society you are picked who you will marry the day you are born, but you can't meet them till your 18. This little rule is driving Keegan crazy, her brother Thaddeus has told her her future husbands name, Rourk. All she can do lately is think about him..and Rourk knows it..for everytime she thinks of him it calls him to her..maybe this rule is meant to be broken..with an elf war between light and dark coming soon..and Thaddeus Keegans brother having vision of her death..will Rourk and Keegan get to spend the life they want together? Or will something much darker tear them apart.

When I saw this book pop up on my update feed on goodreads, I bought it on my android phone right then, and wow am I ever so happy that I did. This book had me on the edge of my seat and chewing my nails with excitement and anxious-ness I just needed to know what was gonna happen next! With that I read it in one sitting, there was no way I wasn't gonna finish it that night. You could have came in my room and been like " HALEY ROBERT PATTINSON IS DOWN STAIRS, HE WANTS TO MARRY YOU!" and I would have told him it is gonna have to wait till I finish Coexist.ya this book was that good.

This book has a huge handful of characters I enjoyed, first there is Keegan, she is a normal teenager, super nice, likes boys, likes shopping and she just seemed so likable. I would deff wanna be friends with her if she went to my school..Rourke..is sooooo swoon worthy, I could not stop myself from drooling over him, he was just so protective and truly cared about Keegan..and ya I totally am crushing on him. Donald I also liked..there wasn't a ton of info about him..but I have a feeling in the next book he will be very involved (;..and then there was Thaddius..I couldn't help but find myself feeling sorry for him..he sees all these visions of his loved ones dying..and can't even tell them to worn them..it totally broke my heart. Out of all the characters though..Rourke deff has won my heart and is my favorite. (:

If you pick up this book, Im sure it will not disappoint, it had everything, it was cute, yet dark..and well that combo just makes for a perfect book on my shelf, Julie has truly written an amazing read. (: Anyways this book is the best, and I CANNOT wait for the Conflicted, this story ends with such a twist and will leave you kicking and screaming for the next book!

----I think this is officially my longest review, sorry everyone it was just such a great book!(:
--Conflicted (book 2) Is going to be released in the fall!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Quite enjoyed

I really enjoyed this book. It kept me interested so I didn't want to put it down. it has a couple things I didn't see coming. Great book will read again. As soon as I finished this book I had to buy the 2nd book in the series to read on.

Let me start by saying this is a novel I feel falls into the YA

Let me start by saying this is a novel I feel falls into the YA Category, and is a story that will touch the heart of any teenager who has felt drawn to another, regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation, we have all been there at one point or another, and felt the awkward emotions of our teen years. We have all felt drawn to someone or some thing at some point in our lives, and it was an unmistakable urge.

Keegan is an instantly likable character, and on some level, she is someone we can all connect with. I have read a lot of novels lately in the fantasy genre that are sat in times of the past, and especially when you consider elves, you expect it to be in some previous time frame, so when you hear that the main character has an IPad and is texting on her cell phone, it becomes a little disarming, but it makes the story more real to me. I will admit that it has been several years since I have been a teenager in high school, but I loved this story and honestly, I cannot wait until I am able to acquire the rest of the series. When she meets Rourk, her chosen, her soul mate for the first time, I could genuinely feel the rush of emotions right along with the characters, and the connection was palpable.

I almost cried as the events of the story played out, and had to keep reading to see what was coming next. I liked how the author made it apparent that the world around the main character was not exactly what she perceived at all, and then allowed her to make those connections and have the camaraderie that she seemed to so desperately need. In my opinion, if you love YA Fantasy novels, this is a must read, and I am giving this the 4.5 star rating for my arbitrary self invented rating scale. I hope you will give this author a look, and come to love the story as much as I have! Until we meet again, good reading!

Formal writing distracts from a good story

I found the writing to be so formal and overly descriptive it took away from the overall good story. People just don't talk the way this was written. And the descriptions of each detail made the story choppy. Then nothing really happens.
It was ok overall, but could have been great!

Plot is terrible! Romance too fast.

This was a terrible book. It jumps around way too much. The plot's terrible! Once you finally understand what is going on with one person, it is suddenly all about another person and their issues. Also the romance between Keegan and Rourk is way too fast. The first thing he does when they meet is kiss her and suddenly they are in love within the first 5 minutes of when they meet! It didn't explain their love for each other at all. All in all a horrible book.

Nice present day magic!

My daughters and I started reading this book together during the summer, but then I ended up continuing it on my own to get done reading it since we were not finding much time to read together. My daughters did enjoy the part we read together though.

I enjoyed the overall story. I have to admit that when I think of magical creatures I generally think of years gone by instead of current times, so it sometimes threw me for a loop when the book mentioned that Keegan was texting on her phone or when other similar things happened. There’s nothing wrong with it being set in the current day – it’s just not what I expected. I believe the book would be very appealing to current middle school and high school students because Keegan deals with many of the same things they deal with in school, but has the added twist of having special magical talents to deal with and hide from others at the same time as dealing with the regular trials of high school. I like the way some things develop in the story so she does not have to end up feeling so alone later in the book as she does at the beginning. I think it’s a nice start to the series and is a good story of friendship and coming of age while bringing in a fantasy element.

The second book in the series came out in October 2011. I look forward to reading it, but haven’t had a chance to do so yet.

Review by Maji Bookshelf

Coexist was a book about destined love and the calling to protect one's own species from extinction. The book is told from many people's POVs and is told from the third person. I enjoyed reading Coexist because i was really fascinated by the elf world. I've never read a book about elves.
The destined love between Keegan and Rourk was not forced. I liked how even though they were destined and planned to meet at 18, their curiosity got the better of them and they sought each other. There were the awkward moments, the shy and embarrassing ones and of course the sweet moments.
I did enjoy the book but one thing that stopped me from truly enjoying it is the multiple POVs and how its told from the third person and the fast switch between POVs. For any reader who enjoys this, you will love this book. The book was also slow at the beginning, but towards the end, it was action packed. I can't wait to get my hands on the second book since the introductions are over and all that's left is the fate of our main couple and the elf community!
The second book in the series is called Conflicted. Honestly I can't wait to read it because the ending of the first book definitely makes me want to pick this book up!

Great Series!

Keegan is a great character. I have really enjoyed reading this series.

Fun Story

On the surface, Keegan is your typical 16-year-old girl. She spends her time hanging out with her friends, shopping, texting and dating. But Keegan is an elf. She is really living a secret life, trying to fit in with the humans, all the while just passing the time until she turns 18 so she can meet her chosen mate. I liked this book. I thought this was a fun story. I liked that we got to meet both Keegan and Rourk and see the story from both of their point of views even though they did not get to meet right away. I thought the plot made a great story. The characters were fun and overall likeable. This is the first story I have read focusing on elves, and I liked the elfin world that the author created. One thing I really did not like about this book was the overall length. The book was short, and it just felt too rushed. I would have loved to see the main characters been given more depth. Some of the supporting characters, such as Anna and Donald, seemed almost a passing thought. You get their point of view very quickly one or two times in the story, and that is really all you get to see of them. It would have been nice to have a little more background on them as well. There were too many scenes that also felt too rushed, and I would have liked to have them elaborated on as well. The other thing that bothered me was the very quick changes in point of view. There was no transition between the thoughts of one person to the next. Sometimes I would have to actually back up a couple of sentences as I was reading because all of the sudden I realized that the point of view had changed, and then changed again, without warning. Overall, I liked this story; I just wanted more of it.

Very good book

Coexist is the story of sixteen year old Keegan who's an elf. She tries hard to keep her identity hidden from friends, but soon her secrets threaten to spill out because Keegan and her brother play a key role in the war between the two major houses of elves. Together with her 'soulmate', Rourk, Keegan sets out to change her destiny.

I thought Coexist was a great new take on the paranormal with an endearing main character, Keegan. Keegan is easy going, loveable and very interesting. I loved getting to know her. However, my favorite character was her brother, Thaddeus, who reveals the identity of Keegan's soulmate and so complicates her daily life to a great deal. I thought Thaddeus was very well developed and his role as the future seer was interesting. The story line and writing were fast paced and kept me turning the pages. I'll definitely pick up the second book in the series.

An elf story I could actually read

I received "Coexist" from Julia for review. I've never been drawn to elf stories but this one caught my attention. I like the beautiful and bright cover; it's very 'elfish'. From the start I thought this was an adult romance because immediately I could feel the romantic tension between Rourk and Keegan. It wasn't until I learned their ages and the fact that they hadn't yet met that I realized the story is actually a young adult romance. One of the first things I enjoyed about the book was that the character's names where different yet I could pronounce them. I also really enjoyed that Julia didn't just write from one character's perspective. I got to visualize the story from all the character's eyes. Even though the main story line is that of Rourk and Keegan's destined relationship, I enjoyed that Keegan's brother Thaddeus was an important part of the story. Thaddeus and Rourk are very appealing characters, despite their youth they are both mature and protective. Keegan's character was immature at times but once she meets Rourk I thought he was a great balance for her. Although "Coexist" features elves, shape shifters (which was a surprise), and other nonhuman characters, the story read like any regular family saga. I actually enjoyed the simplicity that Julia created for this magical world. There was nothing too unbelievable that often forces me away from elf or fairy stories. The ending was a cliff hanger but it had me remembering the end of "Tiger's Quest" by Colleen Houck. I couldn't help but feel like I had already read the ending scenario before. I give "Coexist" 4/5 stars. I can't wait to read the next book and hopefully Rourk and Keegan's paths will go the direction I want them to.

very readable

The story was a quick fun read that dives into the elfin society. It is less than 160 pages and kept the suspense up throughout the whole book. I do wish that I could have experienced some parts of the book rather than being told about it...maybe more dialogue between characters or even internal dialogue. I loved the fact that the main character wasn't a misunderstood teen, but a teen with friends and boys and was loving her life. There were some minor characters that we didn't really learn too much about and not sure if that was intentional because this is a series or if they just weren't developed enough. However, I still loved reading about the elfin society and trying to figure out if any of my friends and family are maybe not all human! Julia Crane knows how to weave a story and keep it going til the end...well...okay...she keeps it going through the end as we are left with an unpredictable twist that leaves a reader needing the next book! It is a very fun clean read that I would recommend for all ages, it was clean enough for middle grades to read.

Review by (Guest Reviewer) Jacque Stengel

Ughhh....i wish i cud get this book but its not free :(

Wahhh sounds soooooo godddddd

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.