Troll

Interesting! Ashley comes through again with a great read. Vivid characters and a continuing storyline that keeps you reading. You don't want to stop reading. I really like this series.

I seriously loved reading this book by Ms. Ashley C. Harris! Yes she is a new author for me and it seems she only has a few books but what books she does have I will definitely have to get. Ms. Harris at first confused me with her constant shifts in points of view but after figuring this out I loved the way she tells a story that it instantly captivated and enthralled me! The story just pulled me in just from the beginning paragraph and chapter no wonder I voted for it on the kindle scout program and it rightly deserves it. Now another group of paranormals I can add are trolls that I enjoy reading about. Really I am not averse to reading any paranormal fantasy light romance or otherwise I am beginning to think I just really love how broad this category of books actually is. Even though this is a young adult novel I think the book is perfect for yes the teenagers and the young at heart like me that love to read YA novels. Several YA novels do not even feel YA except for maybe all the angst that drives the book but the themes are pretty resonant for older adults as well. Abby is a normal sixteen year old girl that would like to be invisible but that is not to be. Abby not only has to deal with her mom getting remarried hating her new stepbrother and fending off unwanted or maybe much wanted attention from the handsome new boy Wilhelm. In Abby I felt her angst and her pain. Ms. Harris really got into the mind of a sixteen year old girl quite easily that I really felt for her. I really could just associate and sympathize with her that I am grateful not to be that age again. Wilhelm on the other hand really kind of frustrated and exasperated me! Okay yes he looked good but that was the only thing I found worthwhile about him. Yes he tried to protect her but there was just something about him. Plus, I also liked that Abby didn’t completely trust him either because I felt the same way for him as well. I just didn’t feel close to him as a character and wanted someone better for Abby. I do wonder what happens with everyone and I hope the next book comes out soon. That is why I rated the book four stars can recommend it for anyone older than 14 years old due to the scary themes in the story might not be appropriate for anyone younger than that and will get more books from Ms. Harris!

3.5 Stars I'm going to get this out of the way first. This book is in need of a good editor or proofreader, due to typos, grammatical errors and extra/duplicate words. For that reason, it made it difficult to make sense of some sentences and took away from the story, hence the reason for lower stars. For me this started very slow, and it felt drawn out. That being said, I did like the premise of the story, since I have not read a book about trolls before. I liked the character of Wilhelm, and thought he was well thought out and written. The idea of Abby was primarily good, although I felt there was something lacking in her character. Michael was also a good character, and got better as the story progressed. There was plenty of action and adventure, and the usual teenage angst in this book, and got to be a page turner at about 60%. There was no cussing, and kissing and hugging was about it in the romance department. This wasn't a bad book, and was fairly easy to read and follow. I will be reading the next book, just to see what develops.

This book sucked me in and I couldn't stop reading it! You know a book has you hooked when you end up having dreams about it that wake you up at 4am and all you can do is pick the book up and start reading more!

Not only does Troll deliver a powerful punch in the message it delivers, there's also astounding character development! Abby, the protagonist is really put through the ringer in this one. The first chapter of this book is written in a prologue style. We get to meet Abby when she's just eleven years old, and her life is forever changed by an horrific event. The rest of the book is written in present tense when she's sixteen. I just loved the backstory and it very much helped me connect with the characters (especially Abby) that much more! I really enjoyed the way in which the author wrote her characters. They are very realistic, especially Abby. In the beginning of this story we get to witness Abby on a date. I could see myself reacting pretty much the exact same way that she did at her age, I loved it! If you would have told me I'd love a book written about Trolls I would have laughed at you, but alas I gave this one a chance and loved it! One thing I must hit on is the originality of this story. Have you ever read a YA romance based on Trolls? (There's more original twists but I can't tell you about them, you'll have to find out for yourself!) There is romance in this book and no love triangle! I will say that I believe the romance was more of a build up for the second book and am so pumped to see what happens! One thing I was a bit undecided about was the pacing of the plot. Now don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed it. But the pieces didn't really click until the last couple of chapters. (Actually around 98% through.) I think the climax of the book began a bit too late and made the middle of the book a bit slow. I couldn't have asked for a better ending to this story. There is a HUGE plot twist that completely shocked me! It was absolutely spectacular!

This is the beginning of an interesting and compelling story. Too bad it was the first rough draft that ended up being published! I've graded plenty of high school papers that were better proofed and edited than this. I cringe at the thought that young adults might think this is an appropriate example of writing. You may be able to get away with this in the self-publishing world, but no professional author, agent, or editor would publish this in this state regardless of how good the story.

Brilliant!! Just as good as ‘THE MYSTICAL MIRROR’ by PETER KILLICK