Welcome to the book tour for Forgotten Scars by Natalie J. Reddy. Today you'll be checking out my review and a really amazing giveaway to enter at the end!
Forgotten Scars (Scars of Days Forgotten #1)
Publication Date: March 2021
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy/ Paranormal Romance
Forgotten Scars is the first book Natalie J. Reddy’s urban fantasy series Scars of Days Forgotten. Wren is a young woman with a past shrouded in mystery. She bears a scar on her face that she has no idea how she got. While she has no memories of her past she found happiness when she was adopted by her dads. But now in college fate is about to start throwing her some twists that she’s not prepared for. It all starts with a heartbreaking scene with her boyfriend and morphs into her being abducted by a stranger in a bathroom. The people who have her say that they are looking for her friend, Wendy, but Wren has nothing to offer them in the form of information. But it’s not like she’d be able to hide any secrets from them...since they can easily read her mind. Wren’s about to learn that there are humans who look like her, but are much stronger and that there are some who wish to be large and in charge.
Forgotten Scars is the first book that I have read by Natalie J. Reddy. I enjoy urban fantasy novels, and so this book piqued my interest with its blurb. Wren is an average character in my opinion. With the way that the story is written, I kept expecting something to be revealed about Wren that would make her stand out and bring some spark to the story. The spark honestly comes from the other characters and the hints of romance that come along later on in the book.
The mystery/conspiracy that is pointed out in the blurb takes a while to really surface in my opinion. I kept waiting for things to start coming together as to why Wren’s memory was blocked, and why the characters are acting like she’s so important. If she’s just a means to an end (acquiring information) then it makes her seem only minorly significant. But maybe there is something more to come in the next book. I will say this though...there is a ton of deception going on. You think one is being upfront with you only to find that you’ve been deceived and manipulated all along. That’s probably one aspect of this book that kept me page-turning. To 1) find out what the truth is and 2) see what Wren’s reaction to the truth(s) would be. So, a key point to this book when it comes to these characters...trust. No one.
This book needed another round of editing. There are words that while spelled “correctly” aren’t correct or used correctly. With another round of careful reading/editing, these errors would have been caught and could have been corrected. Some things I took issue with could be classified as “minor” and “easily dismissable” but when something catches my eye it’s hard to ignore. I’m not sure why but some words with “Psi” in them had the “p” capitalized. One example is “collaPsing.” Is there a reason for the “p” being capitalized? I honestly don’t feel that there is, so it’s distracting and unnecessary. Then there are words that are missing. An example would be “He waited for me and nudged my hand with his huge black head until I rested my it on the thick fur…” I’m sure you can see the obvious error there. Another example would be: “I heard shot footsteps coming up…” These are simple errors that would be easily caught and corrected, but obviously you can’t just rely on spellcheck to catch these problems.
As for the characters, I felt that Wren was the least likable overall. It would have been better if all the characters had really been allowed to show their emotions beyond some spots here and there with Wren being the heavy emotional focus. Wren gets to be irritated or mad at whoever, while everyone else pretty much walked around either stoic or with a smile on their face short of a few times to the contrary. I really wanted Darshan to really show his annoyance with Wren when she’s being petulant. I think that it would have added more drama to the story. I’m curious as to where things are going between them when it’s obvious that another character is vying for Wren’s affections. Yes, jealousy is rearing its ugly head. I’ll just say this...until he’s proven to be a bad guy...I’m team Darshan. LOL!
I’m deciding to rate this book 4 out of 5 stars. If the errors had been less noticeable then I’d have rated this book higher, but with the fact that they were so noticeable and being quite a few it’s hard to rate higher. There is a lot of deception in this book, so be prepared for the twists and turns as well. I’m hopeful that the next book will have more thrills and drama since this book really seemed to focus on setting the groundwork for what the story/series is really about.
Keep reading to check out an excerpt from the novel! This book is currently free on Amazon so if you're interested be sure to grab a copy while you can!
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Excerpt
Once the door closed, I flung the blanket off. The room looked like it could be someone’s study or office. I hurried to the windows and yanked open the drapes and the room flooded with sunlight. Daylight! I’d been out for hours!
There were no bars on the windows, but a quick glance outside revealed that I was on the second floor of wherever this was. Climbing or jumping down could be an option. A second story jump wouldn’t kill me, but it would likely hurt like hell.
I groped around the window frame for a lock or way to open it. I found nothing. Hurrying over to the next set of drapes, I yanked them open and found a set of French doors. Behind the glass, I could see a little balcony, and I reached for the door handle.
“Damn it!” The knob moved, but when I shoved against it, it didn’t budge. I shook my head. “People don’t go to the trouble of kidnapping someone, only to leave them in an unlocked room, you idiot,” I muttered to myself. Nothing was ever that easy.
Something heavy—that’s what I needed. If I couldn’t just walk out, I would break out!
I turned, and for the first time, I noticed the fire cracking in the fireplace along the far wall behind the couch I’d woken upon. On a second glance, the room looked more like an old library than someone’s personal office. The walls had deep mahogany wood paneling and were lined with books from floor to ceiling. There was a large matching desk stationed on the far side of the room. The room was almost the size of my entire apartment and was full of plenty of things that looked nice and heavy.
I pushed my mussed hair out of my eyes and walked over to an end table by the couch and picked up a large, very ugly candelabra. I studied it for a moment taking in the fat bronze cherub with its vacant and creepy looking eyes and grimaced. “Who would buy something this ugly?” I muttered as I moved back to the window. I would need to move quickly once the glass broke.
I moved swiftly across the room to the French doors, lifted the candelabra and swung—
“There’s a deadbolt at the top,” a voice spoke, stopping me mid-swing.
I shrieked, and whirled around to see a guy had entered the room. He held a tray in his arms, his lips quirked up in an amused half-smile.
“Um—what?” My heart hammered in my chest at the sudden appearance of someone in the room. How had I not heard him?
“Up at the top of the door.” The guy jerked his chin in the direction of the French doors. “There’s a deadbolt you can unlock if you need to get some air that badly. No reason to break perfectly good windows.” He crossed the room and set the tray down on the coffee table. “Not that you’d break them anyway. They’re made of unbreakable glass,” he added as he poured himself a cup of what smelled like coffee.
I watched as he added heaping spoonfuls of sugar and a dash of cream before heading to the couch, where he sat down like everything was totally normal and took a sip of his coffee. But normal people didn’t kidnap people or need unbreakable windows.
“You can put that down.” He motioned to the candelabra still held tightly in my grasp. “You won’t be needing it.”
“You going to let me leave if I do?” I dared to ask.
The amused smile that hadn’t left his mouth since he had first spoken grew. “I can’t let you leave, but I’m sure you’ve figured that out by now.” He lifted the cup to his lips and took another sip of his coffee.
I tightened my grip on the candelabra, the hard bronze managing to give me a small measure of comfort as I said, “I’d feel more comfortable holding onto this then.”
“Fair enough.” He nodded.
“Why bother telling me about the lock on the door if you aren’t going to let me go?” I asked.
“Letting you go outside and letting you leave isn’t the same thing.” He set his cup down and strode towards me.
Every muscle in my body tensed as he stopped a foot away. He wasn’t much older than me, and only a few inches taller, but his confidence made it feel like he was towering over my five foot seven inches. The smile had left his mouth as he studied me. His eyes were a light golden brown that could only be described as honey-colored, and they almost glowed against his light brown skin. His hair was a dark wavy mass that reached his collar.
Good looking didn’t even begin to describe this guy. He was the type of subject I’d normally love to sketch or paint, but given my current position, I wasn’t really in the mood. Although my situation didn’t stop me from noticing his strong nose and narrow jaw, or the way his lashes were long enough for a mascara commercial. I couldn’t help it. I saw potential art in most everything, especially beautiful things. And damn it, he was beautiful.
His mouth quirked to the side as if something amused him, but he didn’t say what. He just continued to look at me.
I straightened to my full height, refusing to shrink away. “Why am I here? Or are you not important enough to tell me either?”
He took a step closer, closing the gap between us and leaned in, his face a measly couple inches from mine. “I’m the reason you’re here.” He didn’t move away, and I glared at him.
“You’re in my personal space.”
“Am I?” He smirked as he flicked the end of my nose.
“Don’t touch me!” I smacked his hand away.
His teeth gleamed as he flashed a cocky grin, “Wake up on the wrong side of the bed?” The grin didn’t leave his face, but he took a step back and moved behind the desk. “Come sit down, Wren, and we’ll talk.” He sat in the deep brown leather chair.
The use of my name caught my attention. “How do you know my name?”
He nodded to the chair in front of the desk.
“I’m not sitting until you tell me how you know my name.” I stormed toward the desk and slammed the stupid ugly candelabra down in front of him with as much force as I could muster.
The jerk didn’t even flinch.
“I’m the one who arranged for you to be brought here,” he said. “It helps to find out the name of the people you’re kidnapping.”
He had me there.
“Now, sit down, please.” His words were calm but firm as he nodded once more towards the chair and crossed his arms, waiting.
I complied. For now.
He was silent as he shuffled through some files on the desk. A wiser person might have stayed silent and waited for their captors to speak, but I’d never been accused of ever being especially wise.
“Who are you?” I asked, trying to keep the edge out of my voice. “And why am I here?”
He glanced up and folded his hands on top of a manila file. He didn’t speak, he just studied me, his gaze dark and intrusive.
I shifted, clenching my fists so tightly, my nails bit into my palms.
“My name is Darshan, and you’re here because I need something and I’m hoping you can help me.”
“What makes you think I can help you?”
I searched my mind to come up with something, anything that these people might think I could do for them. I had little to offer anyone. I knew that. I wasn’t stupid. But, obviously, he didn’t know that, or maybe I’d been mistaken for someone else?
Darshan leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk. “I know you can help me, Wren.”
“I swear I have nothing of any value to you.”
“It’s not about what you have, but who you know.”
“What are you talking about?” I shook my head. Who could I know that these people would want?
Darshan flipped open the file and pulled out a photo. He slid it towards me. His face was hard without a hint of humor. “We want to know where this woman is.”
I looked at the photo to see… me. So not a case of mistaken identity, but very creepy. It took me a moment to take in the rest of the picture and notice the person next to me. My eyes widened.
“Her name is Maeve.” His voice pulled me from my thoughts. “But I believe you know her as Wendy, and others know her as a murderer.”
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About the Author
Natalie J. Reddy is a Canadian Author who spends her days trying to escape reality by making up stories about the characters in her head.
Natalie realized at an early age that she had a passion for storytelling and that passion followed her into adulthood. There is nothing she loves more than to be pulled into a fictional world whether it’s in her own writing or the writing of others. Natalie is the author of the Scar of Days Forgotten series, a New Adult Urban Fantasy series with characters who have supernatural abilities and dark and sometimes unknown pasts to overcome.
When she’s not writing, Natalie can be found having all sorts of real-life adventures with her husband and daughter or curled up with a good book and a cup of tea.
To keep up to date on upcoming books, subscribe to Natalie’s newsletter at nataliejreddy.com
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Giveaway: Natalie is giving away signed editions of all 4 books in her Scars of Days Forgotten series and artwork inspired by the books!
*North America Only
Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/0e7c6a8f322/
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