Review: Finding Kyler

Finding Kyler by Siobhan Davis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I positively adore the Saven series. I really need to get to work on reading the True Calling books. I’m now finding myself in love with The Kennedy Boys, after just one book.

Upon finding out the final Saven book was delayed due to a contemporary read, my inner fangirl started to die a slow death. Could I wait so long to find out how the amazing series was to end? I didn’t know, but my heart was beating out the tune of how I’m rather impatient when it comes to awaiting promise filled books. Despite this, I was more than a little bit intrigued to see what Siobhan Davis had to offer in her new series. It was something different, something away from her norm, and I wanted to see how it played out.

It’s a sad fact that when authors try a genre outside of their norm, things can go one of two ways. They can create something wonderful, thus leaving us all hooked. They can create something below par, something that leaves the fandom pointing them back towards what they know best. Fortunately, for Siobhan Davis and her fans, this is a case of falling into the former category. Whilst Siobhan Davis can write a wonderful young adult science fiction novel, she can also write a great young adult contemporary read.

Finding Kyler is the first in what is to be The Kennedy Boys trilogy, and from the very start you are pulled into the story. It begins on somewhat of a cliché note, but such a thing is necessary. It is one of those big events that turn the life of our main character upside down to set everything into motion. If you’re a fan of young adult contemporary reads, then you know to accept such things. These things are unavoidable, they’re necessary to get the ball rolling. Which is exactly what happens: the ball starts rolling instantly with our character being dragged across the ocean to start her new life.

Thrown from the everyday life and into the life of the reach, it is another aspect that has been done before – but as with her other work, Siobhan Davis works it in such a way that it instantly becomes her own. Our main character deals with this change in life in a way that very few characters do. After all, how many times can you say you’ve seen someone thrown into the life of the reach and famous get a waitressing job? It’s the seemingly little things that all come together to make this book unique, the apparently small aspects that make this book well and truly its own. I really could say so much about the tiny aspects that make the book unique, but I have no wish to spoil the fun. Thus, I’ll move on to the bigger things.

This book is filled with so many aspects. We have our main character finding herself. We have romance. We have revenge. We have lies and deceit. Nothing is limited to just one person – everyone seems to be involved in something. Siobhan Davis knows how to make an onion of a story, adding multiple layers, and this book is no different. Throughout we have questions, and whilst some things are made clear, by the end of the story we have very little by way of knowledge. We have no idea what is going on with certain characters, we have no idea what the truth is, and we’re left wanting to know more. All of these things come together so well, and it’s so much fun watching the way things develop throughout.

In terms of the romance, I’ll say this book will not be for everyone. I wasn’t sure how I felt about the whole cousin aspect of the story. I come from a rather large family, and whilst I’m not in contact with all of my cousins I don’t think I would ever be able to think about them in the way the main character thought of hers. Even those I know of only by name, those who live in another country, I wouldn’t be able to. It’s the mere knowledge of them being cousins. This, however, does play in with the whole prejudice aspect of the story. The way people think and react is important to the way in which the story plays out, adding more to the story. Whilst I wasn’t crazy about this aspect, I also didn’t hate it. Basically, just know this story will not be for everyone.

As for the ending… well. I knew something was going to come about at the end, but I’d been hoping it wouldn’t be that. I was crossing my fingers that things would go in the opposite direction. Of course, I cannot complain because it means there’s to be a lot of drama in the next book. Honestly, it has me so curious to see where things go from here. The number of lies and the deceit – wow. It’s one hell of a mess, and I really want some answers to everything that is going on.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one. Siobhan Davis has proven she is more than capable of writing outside of her science fiction norm, and I’m super excited to read the rest of the series.

As a final note, I would like to thank the author for allowing me to advance read this story.

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