Anew (The Archers of Avalon #1)

Anew from the lovely Chelsea Fine is one of those reads that I really didn't hear much about. There were some mutterings on Twitter and I had seen the book cover here and there, but not a huge upheaval like some other books. The story blurb sounded interested to me so I was super stoked to read!

First off, I know when dealing with books published independently, or out of smaller firms, you can run into more errors in the printing. Well, at least that's what I have noticed. Errors happen, then we get over it, but I saw a LOT of errors in Anew and it became sort of distracting. Lots of places where there were extra words, a couple places where there was a (,,,) instead of a (...), and then I thought I had a mild stroke before I realized my copy had two Chapter 50s.

Now that I got that off my chest, I adored Anew. The story behind the Archer bothers and Scarlet was really interesting. I still don't think Miss Chelsea has given all the juicy details there. But that's what I like! Give me something to think about until the next installment comes around! Not that Tristan Archer doesn't fill that void or anything...oi...more on that later.

The POV was interesting too! We get inside each of the characters heads throughout Anew. For anyone who knows me, I looooove me some boy POV.

The triangle between Gabe, Tristan and Scarlet is AWESOME! I kind of had an idea of where it was going, but was still pleased. Talk about sticky and juicy and complicated! It makes my inner drama queen giggle with glee. Let me just say that if you enjoy triangles like the super awesome Jem, Tessa, and Will triangle, you will enjoy this one. Anew's triangle is sort of a "lite" version, but still...yum.

Miss Chelsea's characters... Okay, let me start with Scarlet. This chick has been through a lot. She wakes up in a forest in the middle of nowhere and literally has to rebuild some semblance of a life. No friends, no family, no background, no memory, nada! With the help of a cooky, but lovable, best friend and a guardian whom I think has some major secrets of her own, Scarlet finds a small family to love. Scarlet is believable, if sort of timid still. I get the feeling she has an inner bad-ass tucked away, but I will just have to wait and see.

Gabriel is the super sweet, always trying to do the right thing, bring you flowers on your birthday sort of guy. He is hot, caring, and will love you forever...literally. He is super patient with Scarlet and does his damndest to make sure she is okay.

Tristan... Boy oh boy do I lust -- I mean LOVE me some Tristan. He is hot, sure, but Tristan has that extra bit of something that just makes you wanna get crazy. Where Gabe is sweetly hot, Tristan is dangerously hot. He will do what it takes to save Scarlet, even if it may not turn out so well for him. He has that 'all in' mentality that makes you think he's either certifiably insane, or beyond caring.

All through Anew, Miss Chelsea is building us up to something. Once we find out how Scarlet ended up the way she is, the wheels start turning and you start begging for more. The pace of Anew is steady and does not drag on nor does it carry you off too quickly. I also really liked the subtlety of the romance. For the most part, Anew is very sweetly romantic, with nothing too scorching. BUT! Then Miss Chelsea will throw in a line that gets your heart rate up. Here, let me give you an example. Nothing too spoilery...and quite possibly my favorite line in the book.

From my man Tristan's POV:

"'Um....' She bit her bottom lip and every nerve in his body wanted to go over and bite it right along with her."

So now you need to go out and get Anew so you can reread this line over and over until you have the thing memorized....like I do. *grin* Seriously had to fan myself. But Miss Chelsea does this throughout the whole book. Something normal something normal something normal BAM! super hot line! Something normal something normal. Love it.

Definitely looking forward to Awry this summer...yum.