Hi there, and welcome to my stop on the DAUGHTER OF ISIS blog tour hosted by YA Bound Book Tours. For other stops on the tour, click here. Today’s Halloween SPOOKTACULAR feature is an UPPER YA Paranormal from debut author, Kelsey Ketch.
Daughter of Isis (Descendants of Isis, #1)
by Kelsey Ketch
Available NOW!
Summary from Goodreads:
“Her mouth parted slightly, waiting for Seth to breathe life into her own body, just like in the story. She wanted him to awaken her senses.”
Their worlds collide in California’s high desert.
The last thing Natara “Natti” Stone wants to do is to start anew at Setemple High School. She wished she had never left London. Yet the brutal murder of her maternal grandmother has made her life very complicated. The only clue related to her murder is an ancient, encrypted necklace Natti discovered after her grandmother’s death. And if trying to adjust to American life is not enough, Natti is being stalked by a mysterious, charming high school senior, Seth O’Keefe, who is annoyingly persistent in his attempts at seduction.
Seth O’Keefe is secretly a member of the Sons of Set, an order that worships the Egyptian god of chaos. Seth’s blessing from Set, his “charm,” never failed, except with one person: Natti Stone. Her ability to elude him infatuates and infuriates him, and he becomes obsessed with the chase. But the closer he gets to her, the more his emotions take a dangerous turn, and he risks breaking one of the most valued covenants of his order. The punishment for which is a fate worse than death.
The adventure this unlikely couple becomes engulfed in could cost them their lives and their souls.
*Note: Content for Upper YA*<<<Reviewer note: This disclaimer is not to be taken lightly
My review:
See that disclaimer? Read it. Remember it. This book, for YA, contains content that raised my eyebrows. I am no prude. Yes, sex happens. Kids take drugs. Etc. etc.
The difference between those events and the fiction herein, is this: the male characters use drugging and mind control to avail themselves of any and every female they desire wherever and whenever they desire them. And they see no problem taking whatever they desire.
Why?
Seth and his buddies and their fathers are members, and priests, of a cult to Set, the Egyptian god of Disorder. Their belief that they should destroy what is good and pure in order to obtain riches for themselves is dangerous to everyone within their influence.
Natti arrives in their world when her father moves them to Setemple, a small California town, after Natti’s grandmother is murdered. Oh, and her mother had been murdered 12 years before. (Both women had their hearts torn out.) Natti’s half-Egyptian, and is only now learning her heritage in tribute to her mother and grandmother–unknown to her father whose heart still grieves.
In Setemple High, Seth meets Natti and is intrigued to find one female who isn’t susceptible to his, er, considerable charms. (Translation: Dude get’s more play than a little league field in June. Even in school.) Seth’s buddies can’t figure out why he can’t hit it and quit it, but Natti’s truth-sensing power resists Seth’s mystical compulsion again and again.
Though Seth ascends to being a Son of Set, he begins to recognize the compulsion he wields is not as satisfying after meeting Natti. He experiences his mother’s long battle with sadness and confusion as a vacuous vessel for Set, created and used by his high-priest father, and knows this isn’t what he really desires. In fact, he’s rather tired of his dad controlling his every step. And, when Seth’s father meets Natti, he decides he wants her for a concubine further enraging Seth. (Yes, there are concubines in the book. Disclaimer, remember?)
As Seth develops a deeper connection with Natti, he learns she isn’t just an ordinary girl–she descends from a long line of priestesses to Isis and is a mortal enemy to Set’s worshipers. In fact, her mother and grandmother were murdered by Set Disciples for this very reason. Now that the Set worshipers have found Natti, her fate is sealed. Except Seth is still pining for her, and he may just be willing to defy everything he has been raised to believe in order to save his enemy, and his love.
As far as the story–it was super interesting. Had to fire up the Google-ometer and figure out the Egyptian pantheon for my own good so I could get ahead of the narrative. It also has a metric ton of Holy-God-I-Freaking-Hope-Ain’t-Nobody-Like-These-Set-Dudes-In-The-World, because they are some nasty, nasty, freaky, callous gents, let me tell y’all.
Remember that line from Spider-man? That one about great power and, IDK, responsibility? Yeah. These guys have ULTIMATE power and NOOOOO responsibility. So….as a gal, I was a bit creeped out by Seth and his Set pals, at least initially. Watching Seth’s mind change in the face of all his fantastic power is a remarkable experience, and gives the story it’s heart.
Interested? You can find DAUGHTER OF ISIS at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo.
About the Author
During her high school years, Kelsey Ketch could always be found tucked away in a little corner of the hall or classroom, writing her fantasy worlds and creating illustrations and maps. Today is no different, except now she’s writing in the break room at her office building or at the tables of the Barnes and Noble Café in Cary, North Carolina. She is also an avid reader, a part-time book blogger at Ketch’s Book Nook, and lives with her two orange tabbies and awesome and humorous flat-mate. Daughter of Isis is her debut novel.
Want to know more? Find Kelsey on Goodreads, Twitter and Facebook.
GIVEAWAY: (2 giveaways)
2 E-copies of Daughter of Isis (mobi or epub) + Swag (INT)
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