Review & Excerpt: Chosen (Daughters of the Sea, Book Three)

Rating: 4 Stars

Author: Kristen Day Blog :: Goodreads :: Facebook :: Twitter

Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

Series: Daughters of the Sea Trilogy, Book Three

Release Date: January 29, 2013

Buy: Amazon

The essence of who we are lies not in what we have, but in what we are willing to give up. Because in the end, Time and Tide wait for no one. 

After sacrificing all that she had, the evil princess of the Underworld is still successful in her bid to tear Finn from Stasia’s life. In the midst of her search to reclaim him, Stasia is summoned to the island nation of Cyprus to take part in an age-old ritual; unveiling the missing pieces of her ancestry and re-igniting an ancient war. 

As she struggles to both save Finn’s soul and free Carmen’s mind, Stasia’s bravery and determination will be pushed to its breaking point. 

A dark storm is forming on the horizon, and the forces who are vying to destroy her may be much closer than she thinks. Destiny weaves a sticky web of evil, betrayal, and revenge that can only be undone by the purity of love and the soul’s unyielding will to survive. 

In the last installment of the Daughters of the Sea trilogy, the past will collide with the present as Stasia’s future hangs in the balance. The prophecy that paved the way for her new life may indeed be the very thing that strips her of the ones she loves the most.

I adored the first two books in Kristen Day's Daughters of the Sea trilogy (Forsaken and Awaken) and was waiting ever so impatiently for Chosen to be released. Finally, the end of Stasia's journey and the confrontation we've waited for is here! Although Chosen wasn't my favorite in the series, it was still a great finale to a wonderful trilogy.

Chosen begins right where Awaken left off, easily guiding readers back into the anxiety-ridden world of Stasia and her allies. The book moves swiftly from problem to problem nicely wrapping up questions with believable and honest answers while Stasia's progression into goddesshood sneaks closer and closer.

One of my favorite parts of this series was the romance between Stasia and Finn and Chosen brings it to a whole new level. Their relationship is wonderfully believable with the perfect amount of fantastical romance that can make any girl swoon. Although I love the romance, the friendships between Stasia and her roommates is equally important to this series. I did feel like I was missing out on some of the key personality quirks and conversations in Chosen, but I overlooked this as there was so much detail throughout.

I only had one problem with this novel. Comparatively to the others, Stasia's self-assuredness and maturity seemed to have regressed. I felt like her decisions and thought-process were rather young from the developmental changes in the last two novels. That being said, I was still drawn into the story and easily swept away in the pages.

Moreover, I loved learning more about the different factions of decedents. Kristen flawlessly draws readers into her fantastical world, showing us unique powers with fantastic characterization. The flow of this novel, while quickly paced, remained fluid. Also, the reader is never overwhelmed with information, although there is so much happening in a short amount of time. This is extremely important to me in a novel, especially the last in a series. While there is typically a lot to discuss, pacing is everything, and Chosen has it in spades.

Daughters of the Sea is an amazing trilogy that I would (and have!) most definitely recommend to fans of the paranormal and YA genres. A coming-of-age paranormal love story with goddess-sized problems written intelligently and humorously with characters who are easy to relate to and hard to forget? Sounds like a must-read to me!

And now for a sneak-peak of Chosen by Kristen Day!

Prologue

A crisp, biting wind swirled through the open window; lifting the thin sheet draped over his aching body. The night surrounding his isolated room was dark and still when the roar of the ocean’s waves was interrupted by an entrancing melody. The full moon shone into his tired eyes as they cracked open at the faint singing; its silver glow pulling at his conscious. He wrapped the tattered sheet around his body and slowly made his way to the window. The night sky above glittered with the dancing of stars, while the radiance of the moon highlighted the rolling waves below. 

The bubbling surf raced up the beach until its energy was spent; tugging on the sand and rocks below as it retreated once again. The cool breeze swept through his white beard as he squinted his eyes at the beach below. With each fallen wave, the glow became brighter. Hundreds of magnificent blue lights sparkled within the water, creating a magical blanket of effervescence along the water’s edge. He had only seen this phenomenon once before. Many, many years ago. It was a type of plankton that glistened a beaming blue when it became stirred up; however, he knew that it was typically found farther out in the ocean. Its unexpected arrival on land had his suddenly guarded eyes scanning the beach. That’s when he saw her. 

The sheer white fabric of her flowing dress drifted in the breeze as she glided in a wide circle, dancing and spinning with a power he could feel down in the core of his tired soul. She was spellbinding and beautiful. And deadly. The captivating symphony of her voice cascaded down the stone walls of his prison and whirled around the crescent shaped beach below. Her wild, curly dark hair was accentuated by streaks of silver as it blew around her pale face. Eyes closed, her skin shimmered silver in the light of the moon above while she continued her trancelike dance. Loose silver ribbons lifted from her wrists, ankles, and hair where they were loosely secured. They created an illusion of fire; its sparkling flames shooting up into the air and around its writhing center. He shook his head and closed his eyes to snap himself out of her allure. 

As the singing faded slightly, he looked on as she stopped twirling and raised her thin arms into the air with closed fists. She tilted her head back; her dark hair falling down her back, her body now fully embraced by the moonlight. She herself emanated an eerie glow. She wasn’t just dancing amongst the night; she was a part of the night. The moonlight that caressed her angelic face also shone from within. She stood perfectly still for what seemed like hours, while the ever moving world around her continued on its pace. Finally, she slowly dropped her arms and flashed open her palms. What appeared to be small crystals scattered around her onto the sand. They shimmered and flickered as they brightened further. 

She raised her arms again very slowly, making the circle of crystals hover in the air around her. As they began to spin, they took on the appearance of a solid ring of light. Her arms continued to lift, taking the ring of light higher and higher. A bright flash caught him by surprise and he stumbled backwards; shielding his face. After regaining his balance, he approached the window once more; only to see the ring of light had disappeared as well as the glowing plankton. All that remained was her. 

She stood rigid and silent as the surf swept over her feet and rushed back toward the waves. She began to sway gently from side to side and he realized how innocent she looked. Her small stature was a reminder of who she used to be, but he knew better. He knew what she was capable of. In a flash, she twisted her head; locking him in her chilling glare. The startling silver of her eyes chilled him to the bone and had him slowly backing away from the window. Amongst the dark shadows of his room, he stared at the long ray of light cast across the floor by the moon. He knew what her witching hour display meant. He knew it with certainty. A creeping cold slithered up his spine and squeezed his heart. They were running out of time.

About Kristen Day

Kristen Day is a southern belle at heart with a crazy streak that desperately tries to escape at every opportunity. She loves all things nostalgic, rustic, and quirky. She’s been told she sees the world through rose-colored glasses, but she prefers to think of them as kaleidoscope glasses - swirling and morphing reality into something she can digest (who hasn't pretended those pasty lima beans were really kiwi strawberry jelly beans?).

She is the author of the DAUGHTERS OF THE SEA trilogy, which includes FORSAKEN, AWAKEN (Oct 2012), and CHOSEN (Winter 2012). She loves all books, but really enjoys writing young adult, paranormal romances.

She’s loved to write for as long as she can remember. Her first published work was her poem RED in second grade (you guessed it - it was a poem about the color red - life altering, right?) that won her 5 gold stars and a spot in her elementary school's poetry book. That's when her addiction to the written word officially began. She was the only kid in fifth grade that actually enjoyed diagramming sentences. Go ahead and laugh - its okay.

When she’s not writing she’s making jewelry, painting, feeding her addiction to sweet tea, watching the Discovery Channel, or going on random adventures in the mountains of North Carolina with her amazing husband. She was born in Boone, NC and graduated from Appalachian State University with a degree in Marketing in 2001.