SLEEPING KINGS: Dark Force-Book One by John Prentice: Review

Blurb:

Fans of Anthony Horowitz’s Alex Rider series, or Charlie Higson’s Young Bond books will find themselves on the edge of their seats with this YA action adventure set in the French Pyrenees.

Nik was a normal teen computer geek until her parents split up and her father dragged her off to France. 

The move cost her everything; friends, family, even her obsession; an online computer game. 

Then she meets a dead guy who’s protecting a secret as old as the mountains themselves, and suddenly people want her and the most gorgeous boy she’s ever met, dead too.

When she finds out who she really is, things get freaky. The race is on, and she’s got to beat the clock – a clock that’s been ticking for seven hundred years.

Time has just run out for Nicola Roscoe. 

It could be...Game Over!

My Review:

SLEEPING KINGS: Dark Force-Book One is a fun and adventurous novel about a tomboy named Nik. She feels abandoned by her mother, who runs off to American to be with another man, so she stays with her father. She’s pretty timid, that is until she meets King Pedro II of Aragon and is introduced to the “Power” and her entire life changes.

I thought that this story was extremely entertaining. It’s a fun adventure story, with quite a bit of magic involved. I would definitely say it’s for teenagers, and it is considered YA Fiction, but I can also see adults enjoying it. I was a little confused by all of the snippets of information about  “The Pale One” throughout the story, and how he is involved in Nik’s dreams, but as the novel advances I was able to get a better understanding of who he/it was, and how it fit into the book.

There were several comical parts, such as when the crew in the helicopter were shooting at them; Nik used the “Power” to turn the bullets into chickens and then into rolls of toilet paper. 

I liked Nik’s character a lot. She grows from a wimpy tomboy with a hatred for history, to a young woman who has grown emotionally and mentally and now has a better appreciation for the world around her. I also like that there seems to be an underlying theme to the story about taking care of and appreciating nature and the earth, at least I see that a lot with Daan’s character. Daan is the boy who gets accidentally dragged along into all of Nik’s random adventures!

I would definitely recommend this book to YA fiction lovers. It is book one of a series, and I would definitely read the second book in the series, because there is enough of a cliff hanger to make you curious as to what will happen next!

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars!

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/53131