I received this book for free from Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Oppression by Jessica Therrien Series: Children of the Gods #1
Published by Acorn Publishing on September 2nd 2015
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Mythology, Romance, Paranormal, Greek & Roman
Pages: 346
Format: eBook, Paperback
Source: Xpresso Book Tours
ISBN: 0996378804
ASIN: B007CE18D0
Buy on: Amazon, Barnes & Noble
Goodreads
Elyse knows what it means to keep a secret. She's been keeping secrets her whole life. Two, actually. First, that she ages five times slower than average people, so that while she looks eighteen years old, she's well over eighty. Second, that her blood has a mysterious power to heal. For Elyse, these things don't make her special. They make life dangerous. After the death of her parents, she's been careful to keep her secret as closely guarded as possible. Now, only one other person in the world knows about her age and ability. Or so she thinks.
Elyse is not the only one keeping secrets. There are others like her all over the world, descendants of the very people the Greeks considered gods. She is one of them, and they have been waiting for her for a long time. Some are waiting for her to put an end to centuries of traditions that have oppressed their people under the guise of safeguarding them. Others are determined to keep her from doing just that. But for Elyse, the game is just beginning-and she's not entirely willing to play by their rules.
Review
Jessica Therrien’s Children of the Gods is a fun series about people who are the descendants of the Greek gods. Elyse is one of them. She ages slower than humans, and has spent her life moving from place to place in an effort to hide what she is. During this time she’s watched her loved ones die, all the while knowing she has the ability to heal them with her blood. Elyse is about to discover that other descendants have been looking for her in the hopes she will save them, while others want to stop her.
I was pleasantly surprised by the series. I enjoyed the pacing of the story, and thought the premise was interesting. Elyse was a very likable character, and I wanted her to be safe. What I liked the most about this story was how everyone around her was suspect. You didn’t really know who was trustworthy, and who wasn’t. This made the book more mysterious, and kept me engaged. I also liked the budding romance Elyse wound up in. It developed at a nice pace, and didn’t feel rushed. However, there were some things I didn’t like.
One thing I didn’t like was some of the stupid choices Elyse made. While I understood why she made them, I didn’t particularly get how she could be so naive for someone who’s lived as long as she has. Though Elyse looks eighteen, she’s a lot older than that, and I found it difficult to believe she would act like a teenager given her upbringing. This was something that just didn’t gel for me. Yet, overall I really enjoyed this series.
| Rating Report | |
|---|---|
| Plot | |
| Characters |  |
| Writing |  |
| Pacing |  |
| Overall: | 3.9 |
Giveaway
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About Jessica Therrien
Jessica Therrien is the author of the young adult paranormal fiction series Children of the Gods. Book one in the series, Oppression, became a Barnes & Noble best-seller shortly after its release.
Aside from her Children of the Gods series, Jessica’s work can also be found in a published collection of flash fiction stories called Campaigner Challenges 2011. Out of over 350 submissions her story, The Soulless, won first place for people’s choice and fourth place in the judging round of Rachael Harrie’s Writing Campaign Challenge. Her story, Saved, is also available as part of the anthology.
Jessica spent most of her life in the small town of Chilcoot, California, high up in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. In this town of nearly 100 residents, with no street lights or grocery stores, there was little to do but find ways to be creative. Her mother, the local English teacher, inspired her to do all things artistic, and ultimately instilled in her a love for language.
In 2003, Jessica attended California State University Long Beach where her passion for language found her studying Chinese, and in 2005 she moved to Taiwan to study abroad. From 2005 to 2006 Jessica was fully immersed in the Chinese language as she attended National Taiwan University, and in 2008 she graduated from San Diego State University magna cum laude.
Jessica currently lives in Irvine with her husband and two sons. She is working on an adult novel and a children’s picture book.
Thanks so much for the review!! 🙂
You’re welcome!