Whispers of Nowhere by Shannon Rohrer
Whispers of Nowhere (Whispers of Nowhere #1) by Shannon Rohrer
*3.5 Stars*
Overall, I enjoyed this book as it had an interesting plot filled with some Greek mythology, Gods and daemons. The character development and arcs were good and added to the overall plot. There’s a lot of action and a lot of things are revealed, but it’s written in an easier way to read so you don’t get lost in the chaos. You even get into the mind of the villain a bit which I always enjoy.
I appreciated that for this first book of the series, Rohrer focuses on friendships rather than romance. There are some subtle hints that maybe one of these friendships will evolve into a romantic relationship down the line, but this book was really about duty, justice, adapting and fighting the dangers plaguing the world rather than a love triangle like many YA paranormal books.
A couple things I didn’t like; Gwen disappears from her world on this quest but there’s barely any acknowledgement about her family. Has their memory been wiped? Given some lame excuse and they just don’t care? Have they been kidnapped? And the biggest issue I had with this, how does Gwen’s father have the artifacts and why is he bringing them home? There was a little explanation but there were a lot of holes, maybe this will be addressed in the next book but since she’s a high school student I felt like it should have been acknowledged in this first installment.
I also got a bit annoyed with Gwen herself at times. I appreciated that Gwen is at times scared and overwhelmed by her new duties and this whole new world she is thrown into. Although I appreciate strong characters, in other paranormal books it’s sometimes unrealistic that a character blindly accepts a world they knew nothing about and is all for throwing themselves into danger. I’m not saying those personalities don’t exist but I also believe that some doubts, questions and concerns should pop up and Whispers of Nowhere definitely brings these up. But at other times, Gwen is too concerned with what others think and freezes a time too many. There are great character arcs and developments in this story, but I felt Gwen didn’t grow as much as others in this book. Hopefully that changes in the next installment which I would definitely be interested in reading to see how this story continues.
*I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.*
Synopsis: When Gwen’s father gets home late from work, it’s just another typical night for the museum curator’s daughter. Still, there’s something strange about the artifacts he’s brought home this time, something so unique that she can’t help but touch them.
In a blinding flash, the artifacts vanish, and a mysterious man appears in their place. Only he’s not a man at all. Forneus is a daemon, an intermediary between gods and man—and the guardian of the very artifacts Gwen has just unwittingly sent back to their places of origin around the globe.
Gwen doesn’t have time to absorb this before a new figure emerges: Phenex, the human-personification of the legendary bird, himself. The next thing she knows, she’s being whisked away from the comfort of her home into a world beyond her wildest imaginings.