Cat Johnson Braves Doll Lil’s Word Association Challenge!

Author: Amy Bartol
Title: Indebted
Release: April 2012
Series: The Premonition #3
Reviewer: Eowyn
Source: Publisher
Purchase: | Book Depository

I hang my head in sorrow for just a moment when I know I am truly alone. I feel like I’m going to my execution, just as he had said. Then I move forward again. I hop a fence of fieldstone and cross a field dotted with Queen Anne’s lace. Goose bumps rise on my arms as I pass the cluster of windmills that I have seen in a dream. The scent is sweet in the field though, not the scent of heat, like it had been when it was forced upon me in visions. I gaze down the hill, beyond the small, whitewashed house that I knew would be there. The church looms dark and grim with its rough-hewn, timber façade, capped by tall, oblong spires reaching to the sky. Black, ominous clouds have collected above the roofline, as if Heaven is showing me the way.

Once again Amy A. Bartol has pulled me in with a breathtaking ride of action mingled with just the right amount tender moments to pull at your heart strings and break your heart.

In INDEBTED we find Evie once again caught in an interesting dilemma. Based on clues from the Miracle angel Evie discerns that it is her mission to save her friends and hers alone. You know I want to choke her and admire her all at the same moment for her crazy bravery and then I do have to remind myself, she’s only 18! Remember when you thought you were invincible? Once again she leaves the safety of Reed and her friends to take on a new found threat to save Russell. The results of this adventure end with Evie necessarily spending most of this book with Brennus and “The Fellas”.

Brennus, oh how you hate to love him. Bartol has written a villain in such a way that we find him endearing and I even find myself occasionally rooting for him. I think this is a testament to the skills of Bartol that she can make us see Brennus and the Gancanagh(undead Fae) the way Evie must see them since she must live with them for six months out of a year based on their agreement. We find Evie being confused about her feelings at times as she actually begins to have feelings for Brennus in what I feel like may be a case of falling for your captor. At one moment she tells Brennus,

“How can I possibly describe what I feel for you, Brennus?” I ask, shaking my head and feeling the painful ache inside of me. “This isn’t like the love I have felt before. Whatever it is, it’s painful. If this is love, then I love you the way creatures like us ought to be loved – secretly and unwillingly, within the dark shadow between my heart and soul.”

Reed finds a way to touch Evie just in time, to bring her back and remind her who she is. The love of Reed, Russell and her friends is so touching. Reed often talks to Evie about the string of love that binds them and he tells her,

“Hold onto the string, love, until the current shifts and we can be together again.”

These are the moments that get you and Evie through and remind the reader as well as Evie how much she loves Reed and to not give up. In the span of eternity a few months is nothing.

While reading this book it does occur to me that this plot twist has a positive side for whatever plan there is for Evie. Brennus teaches her magic and helps her learn to fight in ways that the angels cannot fathom. One because they can’t do magic but also because being who they are they always do things the same way. I loved the training scenes with Evie and her power is growing exponentially. Her ability to wield magic is amazing and I am sure this is something important for her to learn. As usual you will find lots of humorous moments wrapped in with Evie’s time with the fellas as well to break up her captivity.

We also get a hint in this book who Evie’s father is, once and for all answering the question of whether she is fallen or divine. We are introduced to a few new species that we were thus far unaware of and some of them are quite scary if I must say so myself.

I am left with the feeling as the book comes to a close that Brennus may not be all twho we think he is from Evie’s limited perspective at the moment and wonder what is in store for us from him in the future. I’m also curious if he has ulterior motives behind training Evie to see what she is capable of. Ultimately this book is an amazing 3rd book that progresses the plot on to the next level where the stakes are getting higher and higher. I can’t wait to see what other talents Evie will discover that she has. If you haven’t started this series yet, what are you waiting for?

Paperback Dolls is made up of women from different parts of the world, with different backgrounds, different tastes and beliefs that were brought together through a love of reading. We like to think of ourselves as a cyber version of "The View" that focuses on books, authors, and reading. We are proof positive that one common love can unite the most opposite of people and form lasting friendships that introduce other ways of life and perspectives to each other.

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