Blog Tour: Seeker by Veronica Rossi

Rating: 3.5 stars

Release Date: May 16, 2017

Publisher: Tor Teen

Genre: young adult paranormal

Format/Source: hardcover, from the publisher

Status: Book 2 of the Riders series (I think it's just a duology?)

Disclaimer: I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review as part of the blog tour, which was organized & hosted by BookNerd Blog Tours. This does not affect the content of my review. The full tour schedule can be found HERE. Please go give my fellow tour hosts some love!

Summary:

When Daryn claimed she was seeing visions during her sophomore year of high school, no one believed the truth. She wasn't losing her mind, she was gaining the Sight the ability to see the future. If she just paid attention to the visions, they'd provide her with clues and show her how she could help people. Really help them. Daryn embraced her role as a Seeker. The work she did was important. She saved lives.

Until Sebastian.

Sebastian was her first and worst mistake.

Since the moment she inadvertently sealed him in a dark dimension with Samrael the last surviving demon in the Kindred guilt has plagued her. Daryn knows Sebastian is alive and waiting for help. It's up to her to rescue him. But now that she needs the Sight more than ever to guide her, the visions have stopped.

Daryn must rely on her instincts, her intelligence, and on blind faith to lead the riders who are counting on her in search of Sebastian. As they delve into a shadowy realm where nothing is as it seems and where Samrael is steadily amassing power, Daryn faces the ultimate test. Will she have to become evil to destroy evil? The very fate of humankind rests in the answer.

Review:

Seeker takes place eight-ish months after Riders, but jumps relatively right into things. There's quite a bit of reminding readers what happened in the conclusion of Riders, but I do recommend doing a refresher read of Riders before you dive into Seeker just so the story and the dynamics are fresh.

One of Veronica Rossi's largest strengths is creating beautiful character bonds. In the Riders series, we have the four Horsemen and their Seeker, and I love the dynamics of this group! Everyone has their role to play, and it's wonderful to see how they work together in both smaller groups and as a whole. By far, this is my favorite aspect of both novels. Veronica just understands friendships and how to write compelling ones. I love reading scenes where the guys and Daryn snark at each other. The list of Reasons Daryn creates is new, but it serves both as motivation to keep going and as an opportunity to create some light-hearted moments in what otherwise could be a totally dark story. The friendships between Gideon, Marcus, Bas, Jode, and Daryn help create complexity in their characters, and I appreciate that so much.

Seeker definitely has more in the way of romance than Riders, and I like that too. In Riders, I had no idea if Daryn and Gideon would be endgame because everything was so uncertain--not just the two of them attempting to figure out how to balance something like romance with their world-saving powers, but because it was very uncertain if the world could be saved from the imminent demon dangers. Despite Giseon's temper and Daryn's stubbornness, these two are so sweet together. Like the friendships, their romance softens them and gives them an opportunity to just... be. Be two teenagers in love and enjoy things like kissing and sleeping together in a cramped uncomfortable space because they'd rather be squished together then move apart. Again, for a dark story, this is an incredibly adorable ship.

More things I like: Veronica's action sequences, which are always full of movement and very cinematic. I think she does a great job of explaining who's doing what and what's happening where, like she's very conscientious of body placement, which makes it so much easier to visualize. I also think Veronica is really good about making me care about characters, even side ones. On that note, Veronica is VERY good at making me cry. I do typically cry a lot when I read, but that's a good thing. If an author can make me feel enough to make me cry or laugh out loud or get angry enough to throw a book, they're doing their job.

A couple things I didn't love about the book include the pacing. Although Daryn starts the book by deciding to finally go after Bas visions or no visions, it stalls for a bit until the group reunites; similarly the ending seemed a bit rushed. I wish the beginning had been more compact, and the scenes at the Gray Fort to the end had been expanded. Also, I really liked the military aspect of Riders, but after one mission gone wrong in Seeker, that whole structure dissolved, which seemed unrealistic to me and was fairly frustrating.

Seeker is an action-packed finale (I'm pretty sure Riders is a duology) to this military-meets-apocalypse-meets-adorable-new-love story. Fans of Veronica's engaging writing won't be disappointed!

Purchase Links:

   

Praise for Riders:

“Rossi has laid the groundwork for an intense new series sure to be loved by the author’s fans. Intense enough for reluctant readers yet sophisticated enough to entice those who enjoy books with a military background and lots of action.”―School Library Journal, starred review

Praise for Seeker:

"The feeling of imminent danger and the constant battles with terrifying creatures help bring this vivid story to life. However, the depth of characterization is what will make readers connect to this small group of teens on a mission to save humanity. Gideon and Daryn display a powerful chemistry from their very first meeting, while the personality conflicts between Gideon and his fellow horsemen keep this adventure both intense and humorous."―RT Book Reviews, Top Pick!

About the Author:

Veronica Rossi is a best selling author of fiction for young adults. Her debut novel, Under the Never Sky, was the first in a post-apocalyptic trilogy. Released in January 2012, it was deemed one of the Best Books of Year by School Library Journal. The series appeared in the NY Times and USA Today best seller lists and was published in over 25 foreign markets.

Her second series for young adults will begin with Riders (published February 16, 2016), the story of four modern day teens who become incarnations of the four horsemen of the apocalypse, and the prophetic girl who brings them together.

Veronica completed her undergraduate studies at UCLA and then went on to study fine art at the California College of the Arts in San Francisco. She is a lifelong reader and artist. Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, she has lived in Mexico, Venezuela, and all over the United States, to finally settle in Northern California with her husband and two sons.

When not writing, Veronica enjoys reading (it’s worth repeating), painting, and running. She does NOT like anything involving numbers, the addition of them, subtraction of them, you name it. They terrify her. Her obsessions generally lead to fictional works. Currently, she’s exploring New York City during the Revolutionary War.

Don’t tread on me. (If you know what that means, then you are my people!)

What else? This is getting more fun, isn’t it?

She–okay, I–am a huge fan of the SF Giants and the Golden State Warriors. I know, I know. Book types and sporty types shouldn’t be one in the same, but what can I say? I’m breaking the mold. Continuing. I have an irrational love of elephants. They make me cry, but it’s the best kind of cry. On other end of the spectrum, I abhor the shrill squeak styrofoam makes when it’s coming out of a box. Just typing that sentence made me want to scream. Needless to say, Christmas is great, but also really tough on me.

It’s probably time to wrap this up. If you’re here, it’s likely because you’ve read one of my books, or because you’re thinking about reading one of my books. Either way, thank you. Writing fulfills me like nothing else and I feel exceedingly fortunate to also call it my profession.

Author Links:

    

Giveaway: 

Giveaway is open INT. | Must be 13+ to enter.

10 Winners will receive a copy of Seeker and swag (glow-in-the-dark bracelet and stickers) by Veronica Rossi.

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