Rook: Allie's War, Book One [NOOK Book]

I received this as part of a Goodreads group Paranormal Romance

I received this as part of a Goodreads group Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy Fanatics: Read to Review giveaway. Overall I liked this book, but it was somewhat frustrating to read. The plot was very interesting and original, but the delivery was a bit overwhelmingly jumpy. I found the story hard to follow in parts due to the switching first person narrator.

All in all, the characters were charming and the plot was very interesting and despite any complaints about delivery I was extremely engrossed in the story and definitely interested in checking out the next few books in the series.

J.C. Andrijeski creates an interesting world of seers. At first

J.C. Andrijeski creates an interesting world of seers. At first, I felt a little lost when the seer world known as the barrier was described. It was such a different concept it took my mind a while to understand. When I did understand...WOW is all I could say. The characters seemed realistic with their flaws. The main character, Alley, was a strong character, who showed growth throughout the book. What can I say about Revik? I loved him. He was dedicated to protecting Allie and confused about his feelings for her. I highly recommend this book. I can not wait to read the next book!

I'd like to thank J.C. Andrijeski for allowing me to review the book through the Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy Fanatics group.

For concept and original race design of the seers--I'd rate a 4.

For concept and original race design of the seers--I'd rate a 4.5 if not an outright 5. The sense of the background mythology is also very strong. However, in terms of delivering that amazing creativity in a way I felt was completely accessible, I feel more of a 2. Rook was a surprisingly challenging read for me and most of that had to do with the way the seers are portrayed/explained. Or perhaps, more accurately, not explained. Andrijeski includes massive amounts of vivid detail regarding the Barrier--this sort of other dimension that seers have access to/half exist in--and how it connects everything, but on practical seer culture (for example just where/how women and men are valued in the society and what their rights/laws are) is painfully lacking. I could never tell where Allie stood in their culture, as a woman or as the Bridge and, for me, that was incredibly frustrating. I got the strong sense that it's all there--it doesn't feel like she left it out or the world is incomplete--but I do feel like neither the reader, nor Allie, really has any real insight or understanding to it. If that was the intent, it succeeded spectacularly. For me, however, it made the race feel very alien, like they didn't belong or weren't originally from Earth, even though seers predate humans. It's an odd juxtaposition when she works spends so much time explaining how seer lights interact and how things work in the Barrier (and why humans will never really get it) to have the mundane things so neglected.

Andrijeski's character building was also odd. On one hand, Jon and Cass really interest me, I'm curious about Revik and his past, and Allie I liked a lot at first, but less as it went on. With Revik, I got to the point where I just wanted to shake him for being such a tight-lipped jerk. His reticence throughout the bulk of the book is forgivable only because at the very end he finally seems to get his head out of his rear. Allie started out as a strong and vibrant character for me, but seemed to just sort of be lost in all the stress and confusion of learning she's a seer and the Bridge. The spunky girl who takes random stalkers in stride just seemed to be snuffed out by the trauma she runs into, so by the end of the book I was far more interested in Jon and Cass then the main characters. Where Allie seems to be eclipsed by everything that happened to her, I felt Jon and Cass grew from it.

Overall, fantastic premise, but I think I'd rather read a summary to find out how it all ends then fight my way through details and omissions.

Two wonderful weeks spent in The Barrier

I had wonderful time, spending the past two weeks in another world created by JC Andrijeski.

The story of Allie, who thought herself a regular human and whose destination pounced on her completely unexpected, hurled me into this colorful world of different rules of light and movement, a parallel world of beauty and danger.
Along with Allie, I got to discover this place that had nothing to do with anything she happened to experience and I happened to read before. Her discovery of herself, her struggle against it, her fight to survive and to keep her friends, and her newly discovered people from harm, are very powerful and gripping.
And while creating a wholly new world, JC Andrijeski had managed to populate it with plenty of very lively characters, who would not leave you indifferent. You care for those people as if you knew them for real. You worry about them, and at times they make you mad.

The love line of the story was amazing too, so subtle and beautifully presented!

I would recommend this book to anyone fond of a great, deep story. I would find it difficult to place this book into a certain genre category - science fiction, paranormal, plain historical, this book fits them all.

A highly recommended read!

A Must Read!

Andrijeski is a master world builder, seamlessly blending her shadow world into our own. Can't wait to see what else she's going to throw at Allie....a wholly original series.

Wild Ride

Rook: Allie's War, Book One introduces an epic fantasy world in which humanity is not alone--it shares the earth with a race of mysterious seers. An underground war that will change the face of the world and the fate of both races bursts to the surface and into the life of our heroine, Allie, who learns after a lifetime of believing herself to be human that she is a seer with a very special destiny.

With compelling characters in such a rich, fascinating re-imagining of our world, Rook: Allie's War, Book One offers a wild ride of a read.

An Epic Fantasy!

A sprawling epic fantasy, Rook introduces the reader to Allie, a young woman who learns that not only is she a member of the mysterious race of seers that populate the earth, she is special - a "bridge" that will somehow bring about war and the end of the world as we know it. Weaving an alternate history into the narritive, J. C. Andrijeski spins a tale that's hard to put down. I'm looking forward to the next book!

Exciting new series

This is the first book of a cool new series that creates a fully-fleshed-out alternate Earth with mind-blowing myths, physical and spiritual laws so that the reader can invest and believe in the characters and events. The concepts of creatures living dual lives simultaneously in both the physical and non-physical (kind of) realms is complicated but there's so much fast action and emotional conflict that you get dragged through the tough bits, confident it will all make sense eventually. It's a big world, and while Book One has a satisfying conclusion, you just know there's a whole lot more to explore.

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