Review & Giveaway: Phoebe Pope and the Year of Four by @TheNyaJade

Author: Nya Jade
Title: Phoebe Pope and the Year of Four
Series: Shapers #1
Publication: October 30, 2012
Publisher: Dreamwell Publishing
Genre: Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Source: Author

Synopsis
The students of Green Lane Academy roam their halls unaware that below their manicured campus exists a prestigious school of an entirely different kind . . .

Sixteen-year-old Phoebe Pope has enrolled at the Campus Below: a spy academy for shape-shifters hidden deep beneath the grounds of a boarding school whose humans unknowingly protect it. There, thanks to a carefully planned schedule, she leads a double life: spy trainee Below and normal teenager Above.

As if two course loads, concealing a secret power she alone wields, and coping with her father’s recent death weren’t enough, Phoebe finds herself developing major feelings for actor and teen heartthrob Colten Chase, who attends the Campus Above and appears to be majoring in winning Phoebe’s heart. But when officials learn that Phoebe may be at the center of a startling prophecy, she becomes the target of shape-shifting assassins who will stop at nothing to suppress the truth.

Now Phoebe’s lessons about Shaper’s enemies and spycraft take on great importance as a menace stalks the campus, with Phoebe as its target. Meanwhile, what began as an unlikely relationship with Colten, quickly morphs into heartache when she suspects that something sinister lurks beneath this movie star’s glitter and fame. Suddenly, Phoebe’s caught in a mesh of lies, betrayals, and danger where she doesn’t know who to trust, and needs to rely on herself—and her secret power—to get to the  truth and to stay alive.

Thoughts: I want the next book, right now. I'm not going to do a run down of the story because the synopsis does a pretty good job with the details. Jade has written a beautiful story intricately woven with mystery, suspense and romance. There is character development, the plot flows steadily in a way that I could notice the author's musical influence because some scenes were so lyrical. The main character Phoebe is still carrying the weight of guilt from the death of her father, which she feels is her fault. So, following in his legacy she decides to enroll in the school to train Shapers and meets Hollywood heartthrob Colten Chase. I found her easy to identify with and she grew more confident towards the end of the book but she maintains a level of uncertainty about her that I think will lead to more growth in the next book. Colten makes for a great male love interest he's not overbearingly aggressive with Phoebe, he's actually quite sane...totally different from the norm for teen male leads in young adult literature. What I really about this story is that there is none of that insta-romance or love triangle yet the interactions between Phoebe and Colten have this sweet intensity.Jade balances all these elements so well that I didn't feel bogged down by too much romance or suspense. I was so engrossed in this book; I didn't want to put it down. Overall, the characters and mythology are well developed and crafted. Great Read!

AUTHOR BIO ~Website
Nya Jade is a singer-songwriter and author based in San Francisco. Her music videos have aired on the VH1, BET, and MTV networks. USA Today hailed Nya as a “young female troubadour worth keeping your eyes and ears on,” in an entertainment feature on up-and-coming singer-songwriters. “Her cool singing voice recalls Sade,” said the LA Times.

Between writing and performing new music, Nya took a musical sabbatical to focus on writing a novel—an endeavor she found quite daunting, until she began looking at each chapter as a verse in a very long song. Phoebe Pope and the Year of Four is her first novel.

In her free time, Nya enjoys hanging out with family and friends, searching for amazing gluten-free desserts, and bargain hunting for her next pair of funky shoes.

Nya holds a B.A. in Economics and an M.A. in Sociology, both from Stanford University.

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