Book Spotlight: Scorched by Mari Mancusi

Scorched is the first book in the amazing new trilogy by Mari Mancusi and I made the mistake of starting this book right before bedtime.  I got so wrapped up in its storyline that I couldn’t wait to see what happened next.

Meantime, there’s a different voice whispering to Trinity, calling to her, telling her what to do…the dragon inside her egg is not ready to give up without a fight.

About the Author:

Mari Mancusi always wanted a dragon as a pet. Unfortunately the fire insurance premiums proved a bit too large and her house a bit too small–so she chose to write about them instead. Today she works as an award-winning young adult author and freelance television producer, for which she has won two Emmys.

Jennifer’s Review of Scorched

TITLE: Scorched

CHARACTERS: Trinity Foxx, Connor and Caleb

AUTHOR:  Mari Mancusi

PUBLICATION DATE:  09/03/13

ORDER LINKS:  Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:

Trinity–Don’t leave me here… It starts with a whisper. At first Trinity thinks she’s going crazy. It wouldn’t be a big surprise—her grandpa firmly believes there’s a genuine dragon egg in their dusty little West Texas town. But this voice is real, and it’s begging for her protection. Even if no one else can hear it…

Connor
He’s come from a future scorched by dragonfire. His mission: Find the girl. Destroy the egg. Save the world.

Caleb
He’s everything his twin brother Connor hates: cocky, undisciplined, and obsessed with saving dragons.

Trinity has no idea which brother to believe. All she has to go by is the voice in her head—a dragon that won’t be tamed.

REVIEW PROVIDED BY: Jennifer            NUMBER OF STARS: Five Stars  

REVIEW: Scorched was an amazing thrill-ride in an exciting new world where dragons are the way of the future.  Trinity Foxx is trying to hold everything together since her mother’s death two years ago and has been living with her grandfather while working at his roadside museum.  Money is tight and Trinity can’t wait until Christmas when she can open her beloved video game that is sitting under the tree.  Her grandfather comes home on Christmas Eve with a new exhibit for the failing museum.  A beautiful dragon egg from Antarctica that her grandfather had purchased with the last remaining money that was supposed to pay the property taxes on their house.  Trinity’s life is about to change with this beautiful new object, a destiny that will change the world and only she and a handsome young man from the future can stop the end of days.

I loved this book and I can’t tell you how much I loved this story!  I made the mistake of starting this book right before bed and I couldn’t stop reading until midnight.  The story is action-packed with enough twists and turns that will make you read one more chapter to see what happens next.  Trinity was a great character who seemed so much older than her teenage years.  She was trying desperately to hold everything together by managing the money for her flighty grandfather and being one step away from being homeless.  When Connor came into her life, I liked that even though she was presented with all this information about the future, HER future, she didn’t freak out.  It showed what a strong person she was and she would do anything to prevent this destructive future from happening.

I really liked Connor.  He came from the future to the past to prevent Trinity and her new dragon from creating an apocalyptic future.  He reminded me a lot of Kyle from Terminator.  A man coming from the future to change the past and falling in love with the girl with the power to make it right.  That was what endeared me to this book because of some of the similarities and the fantasy aspect of a world with dragons.  This was a great read for me and I can’t wait to read Shattered, the second book in the trilogy, out next year.