Blog Tour: Talented by Sophie Davis - Review

Author: Sophie Davis

Genre: dystopian, action, science fiction

Published: January 11th, 2012

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Source: I received this book from the Author in exchange for an honest review.

"Talia Lyons is Talented. She possesses the ability to read the minds of others and manipulate their thoughts. Ever since she witnessed the brutal murders of her parents, Talia has spent her life honing her abilities, with her heart set on vengeance. Now she is poised to face the man responsible, but duplicity causes Talia to doubt herself and her powers. In the wake of this betrayal, Talia turns to a boy who can mimic her Talents, a boy who truly understands her inner turmoil. But even he can’t help Talia when she’s forced to choose between saving herself or avenging the lives of her parents."

 I don't know what I was expecting when I picked up Talented by Sophie Davis, but now I know that this book can be summed up in one word: awesomesauce.  Yes, ladies and gents this story has pretty much everything, a kick-ass heroine, amazing secondary characters, an eerie dystopian setting, hot guys, oh and did I mention teenage super heroes?!  Talented truly is the entire package.  I could gush and gush, but maybe I should just get to the review huh?

LIKES:

Pretty much everything.  First of (and probably most importantly) there is Talia.  She is strong, capable and unique while still being lovable.  Her motivation (the deaths of her parents) is different than in a lot of YA books and it really makes her more believable.  Second, we have the two boys in Talia's life, Donovan (her boyfriend) and Erik (her partner).  These characters are so dynamic and their roles in Talia's story change drastically throughout the book.  I wasn't really a fan of Donovan from the get-go (even if he was her love interest) but by the end I absolutely hated him (in the best way though) and Erik is just freaking amazing and adorable and funny and awesome and I could go on and on (sigh).  Next, there's the world-building.  Davis does a great job of setting up the story and then making the reader feel like they really know the post-spill system that the characters are living in and it's super disturbing sometimes. She creates a super believable history for her world and then weaves an impressive setting for her characters.  Finally, I just loved that not one single second of this book was boring.  It was so fast paced that I flew through it and the ending just left me wanting more and more.  I can't wait for book two!

DISLIKES:

Really, I can't say I had many dislikes.  I will say that the language was a bit strong at some points for a YA book.  Sometimes it was called for but there were other times where I think some different vocabulary could have been used.  Along those same lines, the description of some of the more violent parts of the book were a little disturbing (although in fairness these were usually pretty important to the plot).  

Other than the, maybe, overly-mature content at some points this book was great!  I would definitely recommend it if you love action and suspense and especially if you want to see some great world-building and an amazing heroine.  Four stars for this one!


Disclaimer:  *Disclosure of Material Connection: I am a member of Reading Addiction Blog Tours and a copy of this book was provided to me by the author. Although payment may have been received by Reading Addiction Blog Tours, no payment was received by me in exchange for this review. There was no obligation to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, publisher, publicist, or readers of this review. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision’s 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning Use of Endorcements and Testimonials in Advertising*