Review: Transcend by Christine Fonseca

| Wednesday, August 22, 2012
I am fortunate enough to have been provided an ARC copy of this amazingly beautiful book. Actual publication date is set for September 18, 2012. Put this one on your TBR, my friends. You will not be disappointed when you get to finally read it.


TranscendTranscend by Christine Fonseca
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I would like to thank the author, Christine Fonseca, for providing me with an ARC copy of this book to read and give an honest review. I am honored that she trusted me to read and review this totally different and new story.

Blurb from Goodreads:

All seventeen-year-old composer Ien Montgomery desires is an escape from his family's rigid expectations for his life; someone to inspire his music. When he meets a beautiful violin-prodigy, Kiera McDougal, his life music takes on new life. With her, he imagines a future outside of his parents’ control. That is, until a horrible accident tears them apart.
Sent to die in a sanatorium, Ien’s obsession for Kiera grows unbearable. Tortured by thoughts he can’t escape and the truth of his monstrous disfigurement, he flees, desperate to exact revenge on the people that ruined his life – his parents. But, vengeance is empty. Betrayed by those closest to him, Ien discovers that the price for his happiness may be his sanity.
Set amidst the landscape of New York's Gilded Age, and inspired by Phantom of the Opera, TRANSCEND exposes the fine line between love and madness.

Wow, I'm not even sure where to start with this book. First, I would like to say that it is haunting, disturbing, beautiful, poetic, lyrical, mysterious, dark, creepy and sad. It produced in me such a range of emotions, I wasn't sure if I was coming or going. I was surprised to find that I did not cry when reading it, as I thought for sure the sadness brought about by the main character's struggle would have surely thrown me over the edge. I have never read anything like this before. It is completely different from books in the YA Genre that are out there today. It is totally set apart from every other psychological thriller you can possibly think of. I could not put this book down and was unhappy when I had to! I just had to know what was going to happen next; where Ien would take us down his twisted road. If you are a fan of Phantom of the Opera, you will absolutely love this book and you must listen to the soundtrack while you read this piece of art. If you like to read Edgar Allen Poe, then this book will take you down his same twisted, curving roads. It is such a powerful and deep story it will leave you completely breathless.

Ien is such a tortured soul. There is no way not to feel sorry for this man. His reality is so totally discombobulated, it's hard to tell where his reality ends and his fantasy begins. Throughout the book I found it hard not to feel sorry for him and was routing for him to have everything he ever wanted: his music, his life with Kiera, the love of his family and friends. And yet, he was so sick, I just wanted him to get the help he needed so he would not think to hurt another soul. His entire life is consumed by his love for a woman with whom he finds a connection through music. You believe every word he says, every thought he has throughout the novel. And yet, things are never truly what they seem with him. He is completely fractured and my heart ached for him the entire story.

James is his best friend, wanting only the best for him, knowing he needs to help him. Kiera is the woman he loves. The woman he connects with through music. Jenna is his loyal friend, who also happens to be a servant for his wealthy family. His mother and father are tethered to their ideas of what it means to be known in high society, and they expect their children to act as such. And his brother Erik is someone with whom Ien has a push and pull relationship. All these characters play crucial roles in shaping Ien and his reality versus fantasy.

One of the most interesting parts of this story was how it was told from differing points of view. But not differing points of view of different characters, which was a total twist for me. Some chapters are written directly from Ien's point of view, delving into his thoughts and emotions so deeply, you wrapped beyond anything you could ever imagine. The other point of view is a third person narration point of view. Bringing the reader outside of any character's mind so that you are literally hovering above everything is is happening in each and every scene.

I love Christine's writing. She is a true artist with her words. As with her other novels, she completely captures you with her written word. And you do not want to be let go. I was entrapped in the writing, drawn into the book as it surrounded me with it's scenes, making me feel like I was right there with the characters.

Thank you, Christine, for trusting me to read and review this fabulously different novel. I don't think anyone who reads this will be disappointed in the least! Christine stepped outside the paranormal world and provided us with insight into the world of someone who has fallen into a crack in their own reality.

5 stars!!!

This review is also posted here:
http://thecovercontessa.blogspot.com

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