Final Life by Rose Garcia Series: The Transhuman Chronicles #1
Published by Self-published on May 15th 2012
Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult
Format: ARC
Source: Provided by author for honest review
Goodreads
Nothing sucks more than being forced to move cross country during senior year. And Dominique Wells doesn't think things can get any worse until she's invited to a quirky neighbor's party. When pressured into playing a magical card game, Dominique's life goes from sucky to terrifying. She begins having visions of a red desert and an evil presence--a presence who hints at past lives and promises to kill her.
Plagued by fear and suspicion, and unaware of a family secret kept hidden from her, Dominique is determined to live. Together with a mysterious and gorgeous guy who's moved in while his parents are away, and a hot, popular guy from school, Dominique must seek clues to her past if she's to survive. That, and keep her emotions in check for the two guys she suddenly can't stop thinking about because if she doesn't she'll be dead. For real.
Julie’s Review:
I met Rose Garcia, a local Houston author at the Houston Book Rave in the fall. I was super excited that she gave me an ARC of Final Life when I told her I’m a local blogger. I read it quickly around Thanksgiving vacation, which was quite fun since the book starts right after Thanksgiving. Seriously, I laughed at all the weather in Houston discussions because it really does go from 80 to 40 in like a day. Also, I love reading books set in places I actually am familiar with, so I enjoyed reading this book.
I thought the plot was intriguing and unique with the type of paranormal characters and issues going on. Our main character Dominique is on her final life (out of 9 lives – no she’s not a cat!). Her parents are Transhuman, but she’s a regular human who is supposed to save the day (but she has failed 8 times apparently). The Transhuman hunter has succeeded in killing her all of her previous lives and if he wins again the world is doomed. But, this life is different somehow. Dominique doesn’t remember her previous lives, and as she learns about her identity and purpose, she has to prove she’s brave and strong enough for this final fight.
I think the only criticism I have is the love triangle aspect of this book. Dominique has feelings for Farrell, who turns out to be her protector (he’s obviously failed each time in the past so he isn’t much of a protector in my book). Then there’s Trent, a boy from school, who she can’t deny her interest in, even though she tries to push him away to keep him from getting hurt. I felt that this book was a bit lacking in the romance department as there wasn’t much emotion displayed (seriously, I couldn’t really find any good direct quotes to use for our That’s What He Said meme!). Trent and his family play a large role in helping Dominique succeed this final time (and this isn’t a spoiler because if she failed again this wouldn’t really be a book worth reading) so I really liked Trent and wished there were more scenes developing his character.
I wasn’t a big fan of the cover, but I hear this will be released with a new cover soon so I’m looking forward to seeing it. I did like the feather on the cover because it has a lot of meaning in the story. Overall I give Final Life 3.5 stars. This is a good debut – I enjoyed reading it and am curious about future books in this series.
Here is the book trailer:
