Energy- M.J. Schutte

Brighton and Lilian live together in their peaceful mountain town, but it is not long before Lilian's past catches up with her and she is snatched away. Brighton devotes his life to searching for her and hoping that she will return, even after he is told she is dead. At the same time, he must develop the enormous and unique power he has been given--the power to manipulate energy. The world is governed by people gifted with the ability to steal energy from other things, but Brighton's gift is different and this makes him a threat. Brighton is the only one who can save the kingdom from the tyranny of the energy-thieves, but first he must learn how to harness his unwieldy and terrifying abilities.

Overall Merit: When I saw this book online for $ 0.99, I figured it would probably be cliched and stupid, but I was bored so I decided to read it anyway. I was pleasantly surprised. I should warn you that it's very long and the beginning is kind of slow, but once you get into the story the action keeps you on the edge of your seat. Obviously there were still some things that bothered me (aren't there always?). One thing that annoys me in books is when people get resurrected a million times (sorry if this is a spoiler, actually I'm not, I don't really care if I spoil things for you). Once I'll buy, but more than that it's kind of like "Ok, really?" Anyway, it's a good read and definitely worth it if you have a bunch of time on your hands. Be patient though, it takes a while to get into. If it's any indicator, I have plans to read the sequel. Score-9

Characters: Strong characters definitely. They had distinct personalities and I definitely sympathized with them, which doesn't happen very often since usually I want to clock the whining female protagonist on the head with a sledgehammer. Brighton and Lilian were both complex and Schutte did a good job with the supporting characters as well, which is also unusual. This part of the book was very strong and for that Schutte has my commendation. Score-10

Blush Factor: This was sweet, I was a little skeptical at the beginning when Brighton (16) had the hots for Lilian (13), but it was pretty innocent so I didn't mind all that much. Their relationship is sweet, once they finally get back together, although I thought their whole "I've been waiting for you, love at first sight" was a bit much. Schutte should have given them a chance to get acquainted again after a few years of separation before they fell head-over-heels. They had a solid relationship though and it wasn't overly gushy or an overpowering factor in the novel, so I was pleased enough. Score-7.5

Structure: The perspective is third person close, following  Brighton and Lilian for the most part. Nothing unique was done here with perspective or narrative, but it was a solid quick-paced read. My main gripe, as I said earlier, was the slow beginning. Also, the concept of "death" was not as concrete as I would have liked. Score- 7.5

Plot: I loved the world that Schutte created and the magical abilities, while not entirely original, were refreshing. I enjoyed following the characters on their journey, I mean it was a pretty standard fantasy journey, but the fact that there was such conflict on the matter of good vs. evil was a new thing for me. Definitely worth reading if you have the time. Support self-publishing authors! Score-9

In summation: Read this book, please.

Vervain says: "Brighton can take energy from living things and channel it for his own purposes."