I was provided with an ARC in exchange for an honest review
When you don't know what to do yet with your life, just wait and see... things will go smoothly and probably unexpectedly.
That is what happens to the heroine of this story, Essalin (can I just say how I love this name? yes, yes.. very unique!) . I seriously think that she has no idea of what to do with her life before bad things started happening. In a twisted way, what happened here is a blessing in disguise for her because her life was so dull and nothing was going the way she wants to. It's really hard when the parents want different things. I believe that Essa needed to have a backbone... and that's exactly what she gets in this book. :)
Enter Farren... Well, Farren is our typical hero. He's protective, mysterious and he's hot. He's actually very good with Essa. He's patient and in all fairness, in their short time together, I felt like he really was into Essa. He's even sweet with her. :)
Surprisingly, despite the main characters' age difference, their chemistry is very good. I like how they are with each other. Essa may be unsure about many things, but she has no doubts when it comes to her feelings for Farren. Farren on the other hand, is very considerate of Essa. In between their road trips, the worries, excitements and fears, they fall for each other and together, they are a sweet couple and I think many would like their pairing.
The main plot takes them on a wild goose chase to find Haven, Farren's sister who's also Essa's best friend. The romance part? HIGH.. The action part? Hmmm.. not so much and I think it's not really the focus, if you ask me. It centralizes more on the mystery, the idea of what is really happening out there. They get to talk about how horrible it is and they get to experience it, but that's just for a few chapters. They didn't really dwell on it. I was actually hoping for more hard action parts. This only had a few near the end, which is probably the reason why I can't give it a higher rating. However, it has a good promise of more action on the next book. I really hope there are more. :)
All in all, the topic is quite new to me and this book entertained me, so I'm giving it a 3!