{Review} The Reluctant Sacrifice by Kerr-Ann Dempster

Posted by Melanie
Release Date: August 7th, 2015
Finished Date: December 27th, 2015

Publishers: Self-Published
Genre: YA, Paranormal, Fantasy
Source: For Review
Format: eBook

Pages: 263
Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US 

 

Centuries ago, sibling rivalry tore Aramith apart. As punishment, the losers were stripped of their immortal birthright and banished to Earth. There, they wasted away from old age and diseases. However, there is hope…

If a Shaw child, born on the 12th day of the 12th month offers her soul in a public sacrifice, then the exiles will be forgiven and welcomed home to Aramith.

Aubrey Shaw is that child, but dying for the exiles is not on her to-do list. Using her gift as a Jumper, Aubrey leaps between bodies to escape relentless shape-shifting hunters. Only, shedding her skin is not enough. Not when Joshua, her best-friend-turned-hunter, is hell-bent on dragging her to the altar.

Will Aubrey’s love for Joshua change his mind?

Or, will she have to trust the scarred stranger who shows up out of the blue cloaked in lies and secrets? Doing so means giving up on Joshua. But betting on Joshua's love could do more than break her heart.

It could kill her.

The Review: I am so glad that I took a chance on reviewing this book because it was fab!

As the synopsis states; Aubrey Shaw is meant to sacrifice her life for her people so that they can become immortal once more and return to the place of their ancestors. Aubrey's mother knew that something was up and ran with her daughter, which they have been doing ever since. When Aubrey and her mother ran, they left behind a husband/father, a daughter/sister and Aubrey's best friend/love of her life – all of whom are hunting her with a passion especially when it's revealed that Aubrey and her mother are 'jumpers' who have the ability to jump between bodies and assume the identity of the person into whose body they have jumped into. This is a pretty cool power if you ask me – apart from the fact that you start to lose sense of who you really are the more times you jump, so I took that as a sort of insanity.

It's quite close to the sacrifice date and the pursuit hots up for Aubrey with Joshua leading the way and when things seem dire, they receive help from an unexpected source but this particular time will have far reaching effects for Aubrey. It also introduces us to tall, dark and scarred hottie by the name of Coy – a hunter like Joshua – with his own agenda. I really liked the connection that Aubrey and Coy have, he helped her in her time of need and when he comes back.... there's some chemistry but Aubrey is still hung up on Joshua. I was always left feeling like I didnt know whether to trust Coy, I preffered him in the love triangle but it always seemed like he could turn on her whereas Joshua didnt hide what he was up to. Never the less, I liked how the relationships played out and as the story goes on it became clear where Aubrey's heart lay.

As the wait to the sacrifice date grows nearer we follow all of the characters as they deal with what is on the horizon. Aubrey tries to remain as normal as possible but the guys start to branch out into doing their own thing which wont always be in Aubrey's best interests. There are a lot of secrets to uncover and things that Aubrey must deal with in the run up to her doom.....but there will be a plan – the questions is.... will it work?

Another thing that I liked about this book is that it was different, this is the second book I have read by this author and both have been unique and unusual, they are also suspenseful, really get you thinking and also becoming so engrossed in the story that it's so hard to put it down. I thought it was well written, well thought out, flowed well and I thoroughly enjoyed it – give it a go!

Thank you to Kerr-Ann Dempster for giving me the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest review.