It's Bonus Book Review Saturday! Today, we go a bit outside of our comfort zone and read about superheroic teenagers…

The Revealing Print

Marcus and Dylan were born right into the middle of a three thousand year old war. Only problem, they didn’t know it existed. My name is Marcus Peterson, the kid who plays with fire… My parents gave me up for adoption, and left me with nothing. Eighteen years later, I collected my inheritance: a set of ancient journals, the power to shoot fire from my hands, and the secret to who I really am—a Xarponian. I'm Dylan Perry, the coolest kid in town… It was cool when I found out I could shoot ice particles from my hands. Something like the Avengers —until the attacks started. Having random people try and kill me was not on my list of things to do. I don’t even know why they want me dead, I am not like them. I'm not even marked. I don’t know what I am. With the War of the Xarponians and Qihar taking place on Earth, Marcus and Dylan must learn to harness their new found abilities while balancing being sons, students, but most importantly, best friends.

My Review: 3.5 Stars

This book was a bit hard for me to read, I'm not going to lie. The writing is very solid, but there are a lot of "young" expressions (at one point the MC's phone was "blowing up") that take the level of intelligence down to a YA level. It may be meant as a YA book, but perhaps the writer could have kept things a bit more intelligent. It's definitely geared to a younger audience, so adults may want to avoid it. It's great for teenagers or older children who want an interesting read. The characters are fairly relatable, though they tend to be a bit shallow. There was no real character development throughout the story, but it was just a great adventure story. Some of the things that the story focused on seemed a bit inane to me, and the writer's inexperience shows through. There were no typos or visible mistakes, and there is a lot of promise in the writing. It may not be the best YA book I've read, but it's not bad at all.

Here's a Taste:

I watched my best friend’s hands and eyes on fire. Immediately I went with my first reaction and grabbed him at the wrist. Steam quickly filled the space between us. I must have somehow extinguished the flames because they were gone and so were the fiery eyes. “Fire and Ice,” I whispered still holding onto his wrist. “What are you doing,” Marcus squealed, snatching his arm away from me. “You were on fire that’s what just happened.” “Explain how you put it out then.” Cupping his hand around his mouth, he stared at me and began to examine my face. I’d seen that look before. “How did your eyes get blue?” he asked. “Is everything okay in there?” Mrs. Peterson said, banging on the door. “Yes Mom we’re okay. No need to come in,” Marcus panicked. “How long have you been setting things on fire? “About two months,” Marcus said pouting, plopping down on his bed. “WAIT! The pool, it was you heating it up, I knew it.” “Shhh! Keep it down. It all started when I noticed the temperature would increase around me and sometimes things would catch on fire, but never my hands. I was a little freaked out cause for the most part I wouldn’t remember what happened that’s why I didn’t tell anyone. What about you?” “For the past few weeks my eyes would turn blue at random, but prom night I froze—” “What did you freeze?” “I froze a cup of water I was drinking, and then just now.” “What do we do with all this?” I started to grab my belongings and headed to the door with the biggest smile on my face. “Where are you going?” Marcus asked. “You can stay here but I'm going to find the professor and join the X-men.” “What? Dylan this is no time for games.” “Yeah you’re right, The Fantastic Four could be a better fit for us, but they already have the human torch so you may be out of a job.” “DYLAN forreal. Let’s be serious about this.” “Awe man this is the coolest thing to ever happen to me.” “Why us though?” “Whoooo caressss...” “Wait can you be serious just for a split second. If we both have these…” “Superpowers.” “Right, these superpowers, then there has to be others out there with different abilities too right?” “Well that makes sense, but how will we find them?” “What if they don’t want to be found? Dylan I don’t think we can share this with anyone.” This was amazing! What teenage boy doesn’t wish that he and his best friend would wake up one day with superpowers? Amazing as it was, I had to agree with him. I’d seen too many movies where people with superhuman abilities were hunted down or experimented on by government agencies. “I agree. I don’t think we can tell anyone, not even our parents. How do you think we even got these powers? I don’t remember falling into any kind of toxic waste or being an alien from a distance planet,” I said. “Let’s just go on with our normal everyday lives and try to not use these powers okay”, Marcus urged. “Try not to use these powers? What if someone said you couldn’t run track because you were naturally fast? It’s not everyday people wake up and realize they’re so different they’re on a whole other level. We can be heroes Marcus! Just a minute ago you were saying how you wanted to give people second chances at life. Here it is, this is your chance.” “Relax. After graduation we will figure this whole thing out.” “I'm so looking forward to graduation.”

About the Author:

Dexx was born in Germany, grew up in Tennessee, educated in Alabama, and now residing in Texas. As a child his imagination was forever running rampant, spending time with imaginary friends and getting lost in fantasy and mystery books. When he was inducted into an elite writing club at his elementary school, he knew then he wanted to be a writer and novelist as an adult. As he got older, he suppressed his creative side and studied biology in college. It wasn't until the voices of Marcus and Dylan began talking to him day and night that he decided to pick up the pen again. Marcus and Dylan are the main characters in his series "The Chronicles of Fire and Ice." His debut novel "The Revealing" was the first of the series. His next installment "Redemption" is set to be released sometime early 2015. Dexx gives credit to his time in Iraq and the soldiers who served with him as inspiration for his first series. He also enjoys the finer things in life such as: greasy foods, sweet and unhealthy desserts, cheap wine, sleeping late, and Taylor Swift. Find the book on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Chronicles-Fire-Ice-Revealing-ebook/dp/B00NK2EHWM/ Hook up with Dexx on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DexxP Tweet at him: https://twitter.com/PRInCE_CHARMinZ Or visit his website: http://www.authordexxpeay.com/