Book Review: The Prophecy of Arcadia, by M.H. Soars

The Prophecy of Arcadia
M.H. Soars

Initial Thoughts: Great ensemble characters. Loved 'em all.

My Rating: 4.5 Stars!

Summary:
Being a teenager is tough, especially when you have to pretend to be something you’re not, and you’re in love with someone you shouldn’t. 115 years ago, a small planet called Arcadia was invaded by a vicious alien race and nearly destroyed. Cut off from their resources, the Arcadians turned to Earth for help. A group of Arcadian explorers discovered a Prophecy that claimed their salvation lay in the hands of two children from Earth. To ensure their safety, the Arcadian Council sent their most gifted youngsters to Earth to act as protectors. Samantha is one of them.

To succeed in her mission she must learn to control her Arcadian powers and keep her true identity from her best friend, and the girl she swore to protect, Alexia. But Samantha will soon realize that nothing is as it seems. Someone is trying to prevent the Prophecy from taking place and the prophecy boy hasn't been found yet. There is also a new drug circulating at school that is turning students into freakishly strong menaces.

To make matters worse, distractions keep getting in her way. Such as her love/hate relationship with her “cousin” Matthew. Or her confused feelings toward popular and mysterious Julian. She wants nothing more than to be free to live her life. But the survival of Arcadia depends on her and her friends. Free will is not an option.

My Thoughts:

This is definitely a YA read with all the angst and drama attached to it. What is simply great about this, though, is that the author so effectively captured the emotions rioting through the characters. It has a very real feel to it, even though there are aliens jazzing up the drama-works. Basically, these guys are going through alien puberty, trying to manage their developing powers while dealing with raging hormones. Fun stuff. heh heh

Told in 3 POVs,which I adored, you get an in-depth view to what is driving the characters. It's funny, because the summary focuses mainly on Samantha, and I would have said that Alexia is the main character in this story. 

The POVs are from Alexia, Samantha, and Matt. But there are other "cousins" in this ensemble cast that simply can't be ignored. I'm almost hoping to see some other POVs in future books, cuz I would most definitely want to get into the heads of some of them.

Some of the plot twists were evident, but I don't think red herrings were the author's intent. Some of the characters you really didn't know whether they turn out friend or foe. The author draws mysterious characters with such finesse, you kinda want to get in the story and break the code yourself. If you're drawn to those bad-boy types. Which I am. 

So, what brings the rating down a 1/2 star, is some plot points that didn't make sense. Maybe it was addressed in the story and I missed it, but for one, if these 'cousins' are supposed to be protecting Alexia,why did they send Alexia to live so far away from all of the cousins? Since she only lived with her cousins during the summer, who was protecting her when they were separated during the school year? Why did Mel take so long in Arcadia for training when others only went for a few days, and why was she so angry when she returned?

Maybe these are minor complaints, but I think are worth mentioning. Really, those are not enough to ever stop reading the series, or to stop me from recommending this book (which I have)!