Shay WestRezensionen

Wow what a series congratulations to the author, this series was an amazing read. I have to admit that, time travelers and teenagers concept did frighten me. Shay West's writing skills took this away. It was a quick read and I really enjoyed it. I am happy that I got a chance to marathon these book. I really enjoyed the writing style and look forward to reading more Shay West books in the future. The villain of the novel and love interests in the book were interesting characters.

Once again really enjoyed the books 5 out 5 stars.

Dangerous Reflections by Shay West was generously given to me in exchange for an honest review. I accepted because I loved the cover as soon as I saw it, the title was intriguing, and from reading the teaser, the story had a lot of potential. I had a few books ahead of it on my TBR list but I was excited to get started.

The main character of Alex is your typical teen who has a lot on her plate. She is dealing with what a lot of kids have to deal with. Her father has left and she and her mother have to move away. I get it because my parents separated when I was young and we also had to move. I could empathize with her and how angry she was at having to leave her life and her friends behind. Alex is a fun character and the new friends she makes are also likable, especially Jennifer. Readers will be happy with the set of characters they are introduced to.

The plot was actually great for a YA story. I love the idea of looking into a mirror and seeing someone from the past looking back at you, being compelled to touch the mirror and then thrown into the past to save it from being changed. Truly a great idea! The book stays focused on Alex figuring out what is happening to her and trying to control her time travel. Each time she went back to the past, I enjoyed figuring out which historical figure she had to save. While their wasn't really any romance in this book, there was some of the usual teen angst so I'm sure something will develop in the future.

I have two wishes for the story. One, I think it could have been longer and had more historical detail each time she went back in time. Part of what I love about historical books is the learning about history. Plus, I loved the mystery of the "man" who she kept seeing and feeling connected to. Maybe this will be her future romance? Second, the story ended quite abruptly with no teaser of another book on the way even though I am pretty sure there is going to be a second story. I would have liked this first installment to wrap up a bit more. I have so many questions! :)

All in all however, this book was fun and original for this age group. I hope to read the second one when it come out and see where Alex travels to next and find out more about her role as a time protector!

I won these three books in an author giveaway. Alexis Davenport is an unhappy teenager. Her parents are getting divorced and her mother is moving her away from all her friends to start freshman year in high school. She's a smart girl who loves history and the books show her trek through her high school years, the new friends that she makes, the football jock that she has a crush on, and the typical fights with her mother that most teenagers go through.
On the other hand, Alexis is not a typical teenager. She is a time traveller who has the mysterious power to travel back through time to prevent an evil traveller named Drifter from changing the course of history. At times it it dangerous for her and she learns a lot from the bodies and minds of the women that she takes over.
This is a great YA series. I loved the bits of history strewn into the story and learned some new facts myself. Alexis, or Alex, grows up quite a lot over the course of the series and is always interesting. I highly recommend these books to teenagers who like fantasy and good reads.

Without the help of two of the killers, the deaths would have continued to rise and Detective Eli Robinson and partner, Ava Aguilar, would have continued to be baffled. Tani and Keena from another world are Harvesters. Their job is to transport themselves to earth and extract organs that are needed for sick people in their world. The job is well-respected in their world providing their family members a much easier life. When they are told to extract the heart and lungs from a thirteen year old girl, they can’t do it. They’d been having doubts before this, but now they feel they must reach out to the Enforcers on earth to help them stop the deaths.

As Eli and Ava continue to compile evidence, they realize that the killings are worldwide – over 70 people have been killed and their vital organs removed. In fact, by comparing a few of the very rare photos, the same person is responsible for two deaths, one in Delhi and one in London, only hours apart. Witnesses can only report having seen a bright light near or around where the person was killed. While Eli gave aliens a passing thought, he wasn’t really serious about it. Then, Tani and Keena were brought to the station. Eli and Ava interrogated them. Once the pair managed to prove they were from another world, Eli and Ava came up with a plan to destroy the machine in their world to prevent any further entries from their people. But, will it work?

I felt very comfortable with this book even though Science Fiction is not my preferred genre. As gruesome as it sounds, the brutal killings were not described in detail. I liked Eli and Ava and their distinctive personalities and how they related to each other. I also liked Tani and Keena. Even though they’d been killing people, they were innocents of a sort believing the priests in the monastery from their own world. Their world was not what I expected. You’d think that in order to travel from one world to another, they’d be very technologically advanced. They weren’t. Other than the ability to transport, their world was actually quite medieval. The author takes the reader on a roller coaster of emotions throughout. Organ Reapers earned a solid 4 out of 5.

This is such a unique story. I was hooked into it in the first few pages and I couldn't wait to read more. I was quite surprised Shay was able to pull off such an intriguing tale. Murder, baffled detectives, a secret world beyond, magic machines, cat and mouse chase, morality, and deception are all kinds of words that could describe this tale. Check it out!

This book has a very interesting concept of a mix of fantasy and thriller.
At first the story seemed kind of weak and rushed, but then the author seemed to settle in to story and it greatly improved. However I think the fantasy world storyline seemed to flow better and was more engrossing than the earthly side. I would love to have seen the fantasy storyline developed out longer than it was. I supposed the earthly side couldn't be developed to much more given the basis of the storyline, but it still felt repetitive.
The story did get more interesting as it went along and the author did work in various points in the book that made the story more engrossing.
I felt like the climax was a bit rushed. But on the whole it was a good read.

This review can also be found on my blog, here!:
http://kimpossiblebyday.tumblr.com/po...

Full disclosure: I received this book for free in exchange of a review.

First of all, what a cool concept! It's a sci-fi/fantasy/crime book that really does have the best of all worlds.

The characters were fully three-dimensional and were way more than just two detectives and two alien-type-people. I didn't love them all from the beginning, but they grew on me after a while (much like they grew on each other) and I really enjoyed the parallel between the two worlds. The first fifty or so pages moved by pretty slow, but once it picked up, I could not stop reading it!

Overall, I give this book high praise for marrying together some of my favorite genres and combining two stories that would have been interesting enough on their own into an even cooler one.

If you're a lover of crime or modern fantasy genre, and are looking to test the water of another, this book is the way to go!

I was excited to read this book, being both a fan of suspense novels as well as an organ transplant recipient. The story was very unique, a blend of a few different genres (suspense, horror, science-fiction, even mystery) - something many publishers frown on, but which I have always enjoyed. The characters are interesting and well-developed and the plot moves along at a pretty good pace. The only thing I didn't like was the way it was too formulaic - I often found myself knowing what the author was going to write next; a little too cliched. Nevertheless, it is an interesting, fun story well worth a look.

What a great novel! Normally I am not into ski fi but I was totally engrossed with this! What an awesome plot idea, having two worlds collide.... it was a great idea and really well written!

I was given an ebook copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book was much like the last, with teenage issues and time travel entertainment (and such). I'd recommend reading the first book first, as I was unable to do so. Pretty good book.

*Disclaimer: I read this e-book as part of a review. I received this book for free, in exchange for an objective review. This did not effect my opinion in any way. *

I had the pleasure of reading the second book in this Young Adult Trilogy by Shay West. This book, Desperate Reflections, is the third book in her trilogy, and is just as exciting as the one before. The main character is Alexis Davenport, a young teenage girl capable of traveling back in time to stop the past from being changed negatively. Alex travels back in time to challenge an evil man named the Drifter so that he cannot change the past for the worst. Each time she does this, there is a different outcome. We never know if she will be successful.

Still, while doing all of this, young Alex goes through the typical ups-and downs that all teenagers go through in their day-to-day lives with their parents and their peers. She elucidates on the page the life of any young person, save she is a time traveler trying not to be killed in the body of another by the Drifter.

I received a copy to help facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

No one does time travel/portal travel like Shay West. We meet Tai and Keena who are young and definitely not from our world. They are harvesters. What are harvester? They harvest the organs needed on their world from humans on earth. Being a harvester is not only considered an honor, but comes with perks for the whole family. Their religious beliefs don't allow them to take organs from their own deceased, and that is why they come to earth. One assignment is just too much for them so they decided there must be a way to stop all of the killings.

Eli and Ava are the two detectives stuck with this mystery. These detectives have very realistic flaws. Eli drinks too much, having caught his wife with the neighbor and then divorcing her. Ava is a good balance to Eli.

Master Kelhar is the one sending out the harvesters. But, is he just pure evil? Is there a way to stop him? Find out what happens when Eli and Ave join forces with Tai and Keena. As always Shay West does an excellent job of story telling. I would recommend all of her books. She did an excellent job of keeping the pace so that the reader sits on the edge of their seat waiting for the next event.

I really enjoyed this book. I like the concept of time travel. It made the book very interesting. But, usually I read an author with their first book in the series.

The premise of Twisted Reflections is interesting. A teenage girl has the ability to time travel into other girls' bodies through out time, while also dealing with typical teenage issues as well as an evil man trying to mess with history.

Overall it was an interesting story, through reading became tedious as the character of Alexis and all of her teenage issues became tedious and annoying. I also wish the author Shay West had spent more time enriching the actual time travel episodes that happen. The episodes are very quick and without a lot of information, though they are pretty action packed which is nice. Overall the premise is interesting though i think the writing could be a bit better.

**I received a free copy of this ebook for an honest review.**

This book seems like a well written and interesting story, but I had a bit of difficulty with it, maybe because it is volume 2 and I have not read volume 1, though the story line was easy enough to follow and more than intriguing. I think I will try rereading this after reading this first.

I received a free uncorrected proof advanced reading copy (ARC) in an ebook format through the LibraryThing Early Reviewer Program.

*Disclaimer- I have not read volume 1*

Despite not having read the first book, the author sums up the significant parts of the first book quite well. Alexis looks in mirrors, sees someone else in it, and knows she will end up time-traveling. Unfortunately, she has no control over this.

In her first adventure in this book, she has a first: she meets another time-traveler and he knows things she doesn't. He's also from a different era, so how will she learn more from him? Will he be able to help her defeat the evil following her?

BLOG POST: http://chaibooks.blogspot.ca/2014/09/review-twisted-reflections_29.html

Twisted Reflections (The Adventures of Alexis Davenport) (Volume 2) by Shay West
Paperback: 190 pages
Genres: YA, Science Fiction
Publisher: Booktrope Editions (July 23, 2014)
Pages: 190 pages
Format: E-Book
Rating: 6/10
Description: Alexis Davenport is learning to come to grips with her ability to travel through time, but she still hasn’t been able to stop the evil Drifter and his Master from trying to alter the past. When she travels back to ancient Egypt, Alex gets a most unexpected surprise; she meets someone who can help her figure out how to use her powers, another Traveler like herself. But can Alex learn how to control her gift before Drifter finds a way to stop her from meddling in his Master’s plans?

My Thoughts:

Time travel is one of my most favorite elements in literature, so of course, I was ecstatic when I received Twisted Reflections to review. Basically, Alexis is a typical teenager, that get's pulled back in historical times to inhabit someone else. Her purpose is to protect the time-line.

The Characters? Alexis was a very stereotypical teenager dealing with very stereotypical teenage problems. The main problem I had with the novel was that it was very teeny-boppy, which ruined a lot of the exciting, action-packed time travel scenes. Of course, it is a young adult novel, and Twisted Reflection’s audience is aimed for young teenage girls, so I can’t hold that against the novel too much. This being said, Shay West captured the teenage girls mind pretty well.
In terms of character development, Alexis matured and evolved both emotionally and intellectually, which is refreshing to see in a YA.

The Setting? Since Alexis time travels, we got to see a lot of rich, vivid, and descriptive scenes throughout history. I loved the culture I felt through this book!

The Plot? It was okay. The time travel scenes were action-packed and fun, but the other horribly mundane problems (driving permits, dances, boyfriends, ect.) which are part of the story are sometimes very grueling to get through.

Overall, it was a pretty good YA read! I love time travel, so I thoroughly enjoyed that aspect of the book. The writing was descriptive and vivid, which I loved! However, some parts were too teeny-bopper for my taste, but I’m sure that some people might think it’s a good blend of young adult and science fiction. I’d recommend it!

*Disclaimer: I read this e-book as part of a review. I received this book for free, in exchange for an objective review. This did not effect my opinion in any way.

I enjoyed this book. I highly recommend this book for young adults (I am a Mom, also), as well as other age groups.

I enjoyed reading about Alex's Time Travel's, and her ability to change certain events of the past for the better. I liked seeing the moral and age transitions in Alex as she faced numerous dilemmas in each time travel. Each was a 'coming-of-age' story-in-itself. Each time traveling adventure was handled with grace and growing maturity. Her character evolved intellectually and emotionally, as should be expected. The character development was superb.

I did find some parts difficult to take, as they were very 'teenage oriented'. But, in retrospect, these parts also made me chuckle at old experiences I have seen other teens go through.

Again, I savored every journey with the greatest enthusiasm. I did not have the luck of reading the other books by this author, but I do hope to. I recommend this book for all age groups, and do indeed endorse this for young adults.

Twisted Reflections, by Shay West, is the second in the chronicles of Alexis Davenport. Alexis gets pulled back in time to inhabit someone elses body in an effort to protect the time line. In between times, she is a typical teenager with typical teenager issues. I find the concept highly derivative of the old Quantum Leap television series. It is understandable, as it is a multipart series, that the book will leave certain topics hanging as a hook to the next book in the series. Unfortunately, the most significant event that comes to a conclusion in this book is Alexis getting permission to get her driver’s license. With no sense of what has gone before, no closure on any major issues, and an ending that doesn’t end, but simply stops, I find that I cannot in good faith recommend this book.

In This final book in the series we find Alexis Davenport dealing with even more issues. She has broken up with her long-time boyfriend. It was funny that it bothered her to find out they were broken up through social media. She has finally been given the okay to get her learner’s permit. This is something everyone has joked about for a long time. She, her mom and aunt have finally reached a point where she has set hours and expectations. Things are going well until she learns her mom has a boyfriend. I found this section to be absolutely hilarious. She began to act like a spoiled little kid who couldn’t have her way. There was a reason, an underlying cause for her behavior, which eventually comes out.

Then we get to the meat and potatoes of this book. Her ability to travel back in time to stop things from happening that would change and have an adverse effect on history. The reasons behind the Drifter’s plan to stop her become clear. She has learned to use her gift to find the Traveler and is shocked to learn he doesn’t live in the past, he lives in the present and through a mistake he now knows who she is. He is set on coming after her.

I sat up to finish the book. I could not sleep until I read the last page. I have recommended the series to our media specialist at school and will soon have all three copies on my own classroom shelves. I wanted to wait until all three were out. I have students who hate when a book comes out and they have to wait forever to read the next one in the series. This is a series you want to read from cover to cover. I can only hope that Shay West comes out with something new soon. She is one of my favorite new authors.

I received an electronic copy to help facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Amazon Description:
Alexis Davenport wants to go home. She hates her new school, her mother for moving her away from her friends, and her father for walking out. To make matters worse, Alex is haunted by images of strange girls reflected in her mirror. It’s bad enough juggling homework, a relentless bully, boys, and a deadbeat dad; now, she must save the world from an evil presence hell-bent on changing the past – and our futures. Who knew her A+ in history was going to be this important?

Narration: Third person through Alex

Opinions: This book is about a fifteen year old girl who finds out that she can travel back time through mirrors – usually an inopportune times. Therefore, the story should generally appeal more the younger young adult audience.

Some good things about the book include: Obviously the time travel. Alex is unsure how she able to go back in time, but whatever it is, it can take her to different times and countries. Luckily, for Alex that she is a wiz on history. Unlike usual history lovers that have a particular era that they focus on, Alex loves everything. The concept of having an evil man trying to change history and Alex has to save the day so history stays the same gives the story a new twist. It is also easy to read and moves quickly.

A few things that could have been better for me: This book ends in a cliffhanger. The protagonist and antagonist never confront each other in real life. The book ends without resolving her family’s situation. I feel like part of this should have been resolved in the first book. It doesn’t feel like many things are tied up by the end – like it should have been a chapter ending not a book. Also, I think there is an inconsistency with Alex’s movie taste – unless she lied to the one boy.

Overall, I think young adults who like history and time travel might enjoy this book. It’s a fun, quick read.

Standalone or Part of a Series: First Book in a series

I received this ebook to read in exchange for an honest review. Receiving this book in no way influences or changes my opinions.
Everything I loved about book 1 is present and continued in this book. I loved it just as much as book 1. It had the same excellent blend of real life teen-aged drama and fantasy with the time traveling. It is excellent (and intended) for young readers, as well as adult readers like me. I loved that this book introduced us to another “good” time traveler. Alexis deals with more boy angst, but as a teen girl this fits perfectly with the real life teen drama parts. Book 2 ends with me wanting me to know what happens to Alexis and hoping she finds that “perfect” someone to lessen that boy drama. Hints indicate that maybe she will (or that she already has the guy for her in her life), but that is just my assumption and hope; and I will just have to wait and see in book 3. Lucky for me book 3 was released this week (September 2014)! The sequel definitely lived up to and carried on the story of book 1. It is a book I am sure to reread in the future.
http://lostbraincell.weebly.com/blog/twisted-reflections-adventures-of-alexis-da...

This is a well-crafted young adult novel that is a great start to a series. I admit that I only purchased this ebook because I was given the second book in the series to review, but I am so glad I did! Time travel and young adult was as much as I needed to know before downloading book one.
The book is all about Alexis Davenport. Alexis is a freshman in high school who has just moved with her mom to a new town and started a new high school. She faces common adolescent dilemmas such as clothes drama, crushes and her parents getting a divorce. However, she is not just a typical girl. She time travels. At first she has no idea what is happening to her and wonders if she is going crazy, luckily she is not, or this would be a very different book. Alexis sees other girls’ reflections in mirrors. At some point she will then come to be in that girl’s body and time period. I loved the author’s building of why she has the gift of time travel and why exactly does she happen to be in these exact girl’s bodies at the moment she is. I will not give away the why, but we do get an answer. While we do get some answers we are still left with plenty of questions about time travel and how it works, which is good since this is a series.
Some of the chapters chance viewpoints and we catch a glimpse of two other time travelers. These time travelers are not good and the book gives only a little information about them. What information we get seems to set them up as the evil guys of the series, and I am eager to learn more about their backgrounds and why they use their time travel abilities for evil.
Alexis comes to realize through an encounter with one of these “bad” time travelers that other time travelers exist. I hope this means she will be able to find someone to help guide her in her abilities and show her ways to use her ability even better. I am intrigued by the possibility of another character showing up that may hold some answers for Alexis, there were hints in book one!
Alexis loves history and history books, a nifty hobby for someone who ends up traveling through time. It is fun to imagine the different time periods that she travels too. This book really weaves the typical, everyday things of adolescence with the fantasy realm of time travel. I really want to applaud the author, Shay West, for how she incorporates bullying into the story. The way she uses bullying can really help young girls who are unfortunately probably experience bullying like Alexis does. Shay West does not preach but shows bullying in a real light, and shows how today’s technologies have changed the way bullying works. Girls who feel like they don’t fit in, have been bullied, or even done the bullying need to read this book for the high school portions alone.
I am not a tween or teenager, but I could see even preteens loving this book. The content is definitely suitable for older preteens. I love that it is a book I can see so many different age groups reading and loving. It is just a little over 200 pages and I loved every page of it. At first I was concerned I was not going to love it because it did seem juvenile, but the action builds quickly and it becomes a perfect for any age YA book. I will be starting book 2 immediately and I can definitely see myself rereading book 1, which is always a sign of me truly loving a book!
http://lostbraincell.weebly.com/blog/dangerous-reflections-by-shay-west

First let me say I thought the cover of the first book was gorgeous. The second one is equally gorgeous.

In this sequel to "Dangerous Reflections” we find Alexis Davenport’s life is beginning to look up. In the first book she and her mother had to move into her aunt’s guest house because her father deserted them and cleaned out the bank account while he was at it. She has survived her first year of high school and being bullied. She has a gorgeous boyfriend named Drake and her mom is actually letting her date, in a way. She’s not allowed to go to dances, she’s not allowed to get her learners permit, and she is spending a lot of time working for her aunt. Her social life is beginning to go down the tubes. Worse than all of that is the Drifter is trying even harder to kill her. In this book Alexis meets someone like her and finds a way to travel to Scotland so that she can meet this boy and his master. She’s after some answers since she has learned that she has no master. Who is the Drifter and just what is his or his master’s ultimate goal? I was really surprised by a couple of things that occurred in the book. I was shocked by the way it ended. I flipped the page and realized there was no more. Talk about a cliff hanger. It was tied up neatly enough; there were just several questions I wanted answered.

I love historical fiction. In this case we have a teen, Alexis Davenport whose father has deserted her and her mother taking all of their money with them. They are forced to live with an aunt in her guest house. She is starting high school, which I itself is traumatic enough. She makes a couple of friends and then a very bad bully, enemy. One of the most popular girls is out to get her. Add to all of that the fact she keeps seeing someone else’s reflection in the mirror and you think things can’t get much worse. You would be wrong. Alexis finds herself drawn through the mirror. She soon learns that the history she loves is being altered. It’s a good thing she loves history so much. Now she must do what she has to do to save it, to keep it from being changed.

I was given an electronic copy from the author to read for this review. I definitely want to get a physical copy to put on my shelves. The author has done an excellent job of creating a character that teens will be able to identify with. They will understand so many of the situations she finds herself in and then be able to escape to another world or time period with the character. I believe this is a book that won’t stay on my shelves long. I look forward to the second book as well.