Sunday, November 13, 2011

Review + Blog Tour: Farsighted by Emlyn Chand

Title: Farsighted
Author: Emlyn Chand
Publisher: Blue Crown Press
Published: October 24, 2011
Pages: 206
My Rating: 3.8/5
Misc.: First in series
Alex Kosmitoras’s life has never been easy. The only other student who will talk to him is the school bully, his parents are dead-broke and insanely overprotective, and to complicate matters even more, he's blind. Just when he thinks he'll never have a shot at a normal life, a new girl from India moves into town. Simmi is smart, nice, and actually wants to be friends with Alex. Plus she smells like an Almond Joy bar. Yes, sophomore year might not be so bad after all. 

Unfortunately, Alex is in store for another new arrival—an unexpected and often embarrassing ability to “see” the future. Try as he may, Alex is unable to ignore his visions, especially when they begin to suggest that Simmi is in danger. With the help of the mysterious psychic next door and new friends who come bearing gifts of their own, Alex must embark on a journey to change his future.

Synopsis taken from goodreads.
My Review:
Emlyn Chand's Farsighted was a refreshing read. The author does an amazing job using descriptions to show us everything that's happening. Since the main character, Alex, is blind, she gives us detailed descriptions of smell, sound, and touch. And even though there are virtually no descriptions of sight, I was still able to picture everything clearly in my mind. Her writing had a certain flow to it, and everything was very nicely paced. The bits of prophecies before each chapter also added something to the story.

Let's talk about the plot. I've read books that contain psychic people or small psychic elements, but never an entire book about the topic. After reading this book with all the different types of abilities  it contains, I'm excited to find some more. The story centered around Alex and the development of his new powers. Along with that came new friends and journeys. There were parts where I actually gasped due to some small twist that was thrown in. The plot plays out nicely and in my opinion, very well paced.

However the one thing that I didn't really like was the dynamics between the characters. Separately, I loved all of them. But for me, the dialogue between them didn't always seem plausible, and the relationships developed really quickly. I understand that the relationships had to develop for the pacing to go as evenly as it did, but it just seemed off to me. But other than that, the characters were all great! All of the "good" characters were like-able and for the most part relate-able (except for the being blind part, I can't really relate to that. Though, as I said before, the author did a great job with that) while all of the "bad" guys were infuriating and frustrating.

If you're looking for a different, even paced read, Emlyn Chand's Farsighted is the book for you!




About the Author:
Emlyn Chand has always loved to hear and tell stories, having emerged from the womb with a fountain pen grasped firmly in her left hand (true story). When she’s not writing, she runs a large book club in Ann Arbor and is the president of author PR firm, Novel Publicity. Emlyn loves to connect with readers and is available throughout the social media interweb. Visit www.emlynchand.com for more info. Don’t forget to say “hi” to her sun conure Ducky!


More about the book:
Alex Kosmitoras may be blind, but he can still “see” things others can’t.  When his unwanted visions of the future begin to suggest that the girl he likes could be in danger, he has no choice but to take on destiny and demand it reconsider. Get your copy today by visiting Amazon.com’s Kindle store or the eBook retailer of your choice. The paperback edition will be available on November 24 (for the author’s birthday).

Cash Prizes:
Guess what? You could win a $100 Amazon gift card as part of this special blog tour. That’s right! Just leave a comment below saying something about the post you just read, and you’ll be entered into the raffle. I could win $100 too! Please help by voting for my blog in the traffic-breaker poll. To cast your vote, visit the official Farsighted blog tour page and scroll all the way to the bottom. Thank you for your help with that.

Giveaways:
Win 1 of 10 autographed copies of Farsighted before its paperback release by entering the giveaway on GoodReads. Perhaps you’d like an autographed postcard from the author; you can request one on her site.

Extras:
There's more fun below. Watch the live action Farsighted book trailer and take the quiz to find out which character is most like you!





**Quiz had to be removed due to malfunctions.