Award winning sci fi fantasy author Jamie Foley loves strategy games gardening and making lembas bread She s terrified of red wasps and uses them for lightsaber training When she s not writing she s working for Enclave Publishing or the Christian Writers Institute typesetting or drawing maps to Cair Paravel Her husband is her manly astronaut preacher muse They live between the Texas Hill Country and the family cattle ranch where their hyperactive spawnling and wolfpack roam. More detailed review coming but overall I wasn t a huge fan of this It had its moments JET I LOVE HIM but overall there was a lot of lost potential Still I m being generous and rounding up my rating to 3 stars because for all its faults it helped keep me sane during this week of insanity Everything will be okay The world is not ending though it may seem like it is We will all make it through this together 2. 5 stars Jamie Foley The adventure beginsI m not one for thrillers or anything labeled supernatural it s just not my thing But Jamie Foley s Sentinel the first in a striking new trilogy is an exception. Darien Aetherswift s life isn t perfect And neither is his sister Tera s Their life is modest cramped into a tiny apartment and repair shop filled with frequent calls to their insane mother haunted by the memory of their father s death. An ex sniper Jet cares about two people and two people only The first is his sister Aleah The second well you ll see But Jet is seriously A WHOLE BUNCH OF MUSCLES AND A WHOLE BUNCH OF AWESOME He mentors Darien throughout the novel and hates his guts Jet and Darien should be every bromance s goal XD is desperately fond of people but still a military man at heart and is basically every character s Prince Charming to the rescue Seriously he s amazing Reason 10898945 you should read this novel Secondly the plot the writing Think a lighter Christian version of Rick Riordan but with angels besties and element wielding teens instead of Greek mythology and demigods Got a clear picture Yeah IT S EPIC DJust go read this book guys You won t regret it 3You may want to know There is a fair bit of violence along with some supernatural but allegorical elements. NOTE I received a free ebook copy of Sentinel from the author in exchange for an honest review All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own Read my original review at and Sage blog tour spotlight at Jamie Foley WELL THEN. I had the lovely opportunity to read this before it got published and I am a bundle of happiness This has been on my TBR for a LONG TIME A rather long time and I m so glad I finallyyy got my hands on this masterpiece. The main character is basically the best main character in the history of ever Seriously Darien is a dork but it made the book so much better His banter with the other characters and thoughts made him seem like a very realistic 16 year old thrown into an adventure book He kept me giggling and it made me melt inside as I saw him grow throughout the book DUDE AND THE WORLDBUILDING I m not sure how long the author has spent on building this world and I m not really sure if I want to ask There are so many cultures and histories and references from the past in this book that it makes my brain explode Not necessarily in a bad way sure I was confused sometimes by all the genius but as a writer myself I m very much in awe at how she s created this story. I m a kicker for books that keep making me giggle but still have plenty of intense moments to keep me on the edge of my seat seriously intense might be too weak of a word o. o So give this book a try so we can smirk over Darien s dorkiness together xD Jamie Foley Darien is a teenage boy living a regular teenage boy life with his older sister and guardian Teravyn After a string of world changing disasters they find themselves in the midst of the hated and feared pariahs the Followers at the Jade Glen Serran Academy This book follows Darien as his world is ripped apart around him and events drive him to question everything he thought he knew about life. This book was captivating from start to finish There wasn t a moment when I felt like the story was uninteresting or just dragging on until the next exciting scene It started quickly hooked me just as quick and had me holding on until the very end but gave me enough breaks in between to catch my breath Even with the story being as captivating as it was the climax was even intense Once it started about 75 80% through I couldn t put the book down An added plus in the intense action scenes the story didn t throw in small bits of detail for me to accidentally skip over when my adrenaline started driving me to read faster than my eyes would let me. Darien is a believable character with believable doubts and reactions to everything he observes and is told throughout the story He has several chuckle worthy one liners and great depth of emotion in the tenser parts of the book The other characters he interacts with are a mix of different cultures and personalities that make them all individually distinct and interesting and in turn give you clues that the world is that much diverse and yet to be explored by readers I loved finding out about each character as the story progressed It even teases at hidden nuggets about each of the main cast of characters driving you ever onward to find out about this or that character. This book poses deep questions about life and truth What if everything society has told us is wrong What if the truth were hidden Why do bad things happen to good people Who are good people There are several points when Darien has to question if certain actions are morally right even if they might be wrong at other times. 5 stars Ok that was awesome A little different than I expected but in a good way It s like a dystopian modern fantasy and I really loved the setting I had read the prequel novella before reading this and I m really glad I did since I remembered a few characters and names and had the backstory on Jet before jumping into this one I loved Darien as a MC He s a bit snarky and headstrong and basically just got himself in trouble the entire time But I loved how he gradually harnesses his power but isn t immediately awesome at it Or maybe that s just Jet hanging around ready to take him down a peg or five So Jet He s awesome A little frustrating at times but I loved the friendship that eventually forms between him and Darien The magic concepts were cool as were the different abilities you could have And the plot twisty thing with Jet at the end I need the next books please to see how this is going to work out The plot moved along really well I was completely glued to the book especially once the dystopian road trip started P So much humor and sass All the characters were really well developed and believable Some sad moments a few nail biting moments and plenty of funny moments This was a fantastic book and I m really looking forward to finishing the series Highly recommended Jamie Foley
The meteor storm wasn t such a big deal until a comet landed in the middle of the road Now Darien s car is wrecked his sister is bleeding out and the only medical aid is at the reclusive Serran Academy Some say the Serrans have blood bonds with angels Some say they have surreal mental abilities Some say the gods grant them elemental powers But when the Academy is targeted for harvesting its secrets and the collapse of modern civilization are the least of Darien s worries Sentinel The Sentinel Trilogy 1
WHAT DID I JUST READ I have no idea but I know I had an absolute blast and loved it so much DPicture a fantasy world with surprise modern times not here but similar to our time period and some fantasy elements like mind superpowers then add an apocalypse secret military agents out to wreak havoc lovable characters including an awesome sarcastic ex sniper snarky conversations and loads of humor all wrapped up in a layer of suspense with a dash of Christian allegory undertones and you have a unique well written good clean fun novel called Sentinel which reads almost like an action movie but funner Definitely outside of my normal reading and I ve never read anything like it but I so enjoyed it Reasons why this book is awesome Jet First I have to mention Jet Valinor who is a new favorite character and definitely a top reason for liking this He s my favorite kind of dark growly snarky mysterious dangerous but awesome with a heart of gold type character He s got mind power skills and military skills and generally you want him on your side when there s covert military ops attacks apocalypses or general problems of any kind He s also got excellent snarky lines What is not to love about Jet Even without all the other awesomeness of which there was lots Jet just totally made the book for me D Buddies who aren t I don t know about you but I LOVE stories about two characters who are thrown together and REALLY don t get along but have to work together And when one of them is a rather flippant teenage boy our hero Darien and the other is dark no nonsense Jet who is not going to put up with stupidity you know it s going to be awesome They kind of hate each other but are the best and have such excellent interactions AND I JUST LOVE IT SO MUCH Banter humor Coming right up on that last one there is SO much awesomeness in the form of Darien and Jet bickering and general snark and humor plus some of the writing is humorous too Right there you have four of my favorite things all rolled up in this book an awesome favorite character a buddy story where they aren t yet humor and hilarious snarky banter SO MUCH YES But oh you want reasons Fantasy Fantasy makes everything better Mind powers etc which are called Aether and the different kinds people can be include Arbiter mind things like telepathy or memories Sentinel use it like striking force Valnah emotions Vanguard making walls of force and rare ones like Healer or Sage seeing the future Road trip Okay so it wasn t a huge part of the story but I SO enjoyed Jet and Darien stuck in a car together with only Sorvashti to act as peace maker So much gold D So original and unique this world and everything is just new and I loved it It s well written and gripping The other characters are great too and the different cultures etc and mysteries and hints are really interesting Everything else just read it already Reasons why I thought I wouldn t like this book but actually loved it It s modern which isn t my favorite but it s modern in another world and somehow isn t the usual blech of many modern books It s apocalyptic post apocalyptic which is a close relation to dystopian which is a no no for me and in general I m not the biggest fan of the world ending but again being in another world I don t actually mind Plus we didn t actually see the end of the world happening since it was kind of off screen Looks like the apocalypse started without us one of my fave quotes in the book and I ve heard it s just going to move toward general fantasy world kinds of things with less technology in later books And because it s not OUR world I don t actually mind somehow It is definitely SUPER intense and suspenseful which might have gotten too much for me but the humor keeps rolling in to keep it a little light hearted. Warnings It s kind of violent intense scary but that s it Basically a great YA novel It certainly kept me breathless on the edge of my seat O_O I m not sure if I remembered to breathe in the last third of the book Whew collapses Overall I loved this book and can t wait to read the next one Largely because WHAT EVEN JUST HAPPENED AT THE END I need Arbiter right now I m quite hooked by this world and in love with these characters and I can t wait to find out where the rest of the series is headed D All in all an excellent if different book _ hugs it Favorite quotes Easy for you to say You already know what your power is They re called gifts Tera murmured and I m pretty sure yours is impatience Levi yelled something about volleyballs being expensive Darien racked his brain for the smallest reason he could have been summoned by something as scary sounding as the Grand Master council He squinted and found a fresh crack snaking from the right windshield wiper to a small spider web in the center Speaking of bad news you owe me a thousand credits It s the end of the world Cool So the world is ending but who cares right So it s the apocalypse and special forces are after us Awesome We re all gonna die Darien and Jet That s enough Jet said. Darien froze What Jet Would it kill you to be nice Aleah shot Jet a disapproving look then gave Darien a sheepish grin I m sorry He s just introverted Jet snorted and looked back out the window. And a psycho Darien forced a laugh No problem Is Thracian his dad Why does he call his dad by his name and not Dad Jet barely contained a growl He could call Darien out on it again but this time it d be just as awkward for himself Note to self get him to build mental shields Immediately Darien s thoughts ran over Jet s like a freight engine Why not Because it s dangerous you idiot And untested and stupid Darien grinned Did you just call yourself stupid Jet sighed I should have left you in Katrosi I love them so much _ Review originally posted as a double review for this and Viper on The Page Dreamer Jamie Foley I was intrigued by the premise of this story The plot was pretty good with imaginative twists and turns What I hated was the cliffhanger ending Sigh Please stop doing this authors It completely turns me off My Rating 3 stars Jamie Foley Teenagers Elementals Strange happenings A mythical world An ancient religion Sound awesome I thought so too and I was not disappointed Jamie brings her story to life with colorful characters in a complex world of her creation The originality and creativity shine through on every page with endearing but unpredictable characters Once you follow Darien Aetherswift into his everyday life gone wrong there will be no putting this book down As the best first book I ve ever read I recommend this for both teens and adults Jamie Foley I won this book as part of Goodreads First Reads giveaways I enjoy YA fantasy and this novel of a teenage boy and his sister trying to survive in a dystopian society polarized by mass disappearances caught my attention from the start. Darien and his sister Tera are orphans living on their own Tera the older sister works to take care of her brother who is still in school Darien is a typical self absorbed teenage boy until the day his best friend disappears right in front of his eyes along with a good portion of the people who live in his home town The siblings turn to a secretive religious group the Followers for shelter and sustenance in the aftermath of the vanishing. Darien is soon separated from Tera and finds himself on the run after the Follower school he is attending is attacked by unknown terrorists He flees with a small group of survivors to a northern province for safety but instead lands in the middle of the conflict between official security forces and his friends Darien stumbles blindly along trying to find someone he can truly trust to help him locate his missing sister. The novel is fast paced and well written I enjoyed the descriptions of the beliefs of the Followers who have super human powers that are developed with the help of the Masters My one problem with the book is the character of Darien himself Yes he is a teenage boy and therefore rather impulsive but Darien takes impetuousness to a whole new level He jumps from one disaster to another usually of his own making He refuses to listen to the wisdom of the Masters or the advice of his peers instead making a series of bad decisions that draw the entire group into danger and even death. This is the first book of a trilogy and I look forward to reading the rest of the story I recommend this novel to any YA fan particularly those who enjoy fantasy Jamie Foley I don t exactly know what I just read but it was fun Sentinel feels like it waltzed through the Story Elements Grocery Store and picked up a few bags of fantasy a box of dystopian a bit of supernatural and a smidgen of alternate universe Throw in some generous helpings of action and humor and voila I don t know what it is is but hey Breaking genres is cool. See we ve got cars and cities and cell phones and satellites and the general population s relative ignorance about magic but then we have magic Except it feels like superpowers some of them reminiscent of Doctor Strange Anyway I ll stop rambling about the story s ingredients and get on to the rest of it What I Loved magic academy the whole aether magic itself was cool and I liked that there are four common gifts but also some lesser known rare ones and that you are naturally gifted in one but can train up to a certain point in others sibling relationship from the younger one s POV why does this seem so rare Darien is such a puppy and probably one of the realistic 16 year old boys I ve read about in terms of immaturity JET IS AWESOME Levi sounded exactly like Haymitch cough I mean Woody Harrelson in my head Sorvashti s language barrier Jet is Darien s mentor yay cue the snark What I Didn t Love so the above mentioned genre bending confused me for a bit at the beginning honestly Tera just kind of vanished for very questionable reasons and I would ve liked foreshadowing there the action and suspense was great but I felt a bit foggy on WHAT this bad guy Lynx group was really after The whole harvesting talented aethryns felt a bit underdevelopedOverall though lots of fun as long as my analytical brain shut up so I could enjoy the ride XD I imagine some of those questions will be answered later in the series For now suffice it to say I will keep reading because a WHAT WAS THAT ENDING AHHH and b JET. What better time to read a book about an apocalypse than when we re living through one now Lol This is my way of coping with the pandemic apparently: Suddenly Darien and Tera s barely manageable life spirals out of control and little do they know they re being hunted: First off CAN WE TALK ABOUT JET bc Jet had to be my favorite part of this book. I recommend this book for readers from young teenage years 13 14 or even mature pre teens to vintage readers with a taste for adventure. And with that ending I can t WAIT for Book 2 Jamie Foley 4, S To my pal Deborah Jet is definitely a lot like your most epic character Tare And I love both of them because of it 3 Jamie Foley..http www.jamiefoley.comLooks like the apocalypse started without us.And then the meteor storm comes.THIS BOOK Y ALL Just i cant words.P
