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Title: Katana

Author: Cole Gibsen

Genre: YA Fiction, Historical, Reincarnation

Rating: 5 Stars

Description/Synopsis: Skater girl or supernatural samurai? Rileigh Martin wants to believe that adrenaline gave her the strength to fend off three muggers in the mall parking lot. But adrenaline doesn't explain the voice in her head giving her battle tips and warnings.

 

While worrying that she's going crazy (always a reputation ruiner), Rileigh gets a visit from Kim, a handsome martial arts instructor, who tells Rileigh she's harboring the spirit of a five-hundred-year-old samurai warrior.

 

Relentlessly attacked by ninjas, Rileigh has no choice but to master the katana--a deadly Japanese sword that's also the key to her past. As the spirit grows stronger and her feelings for Kim intensify, Rileigh is torn between continuing as the girl she's always been and embracing the warrior inside her.

 

WARNING - SPOILERS MAY ENSUE BEYOND THIS POINT - REVIEW BELOW

 

I very nearly gave this book a 4-star review. In fact, I pondered over it quite a while before I settled on 5 stars. Why? Because there is so much of this story that was screaming "mary sue" at me when the story started. Here's this blonde haired, blue eyed girl who suddenly finds out she has ninja (excuse me, samurai) super-skills even though she's never taken a fighting class in her life... it's a walking talking example of what happens when you take an anime fangirl and give them a pen.

 

That being said, I'm still giving it five stars. The author managed to take something that should have been horribly mary sue and made it into an action-packed, captivating story. By the end of the book I could have cared less what mary sue qualities the book came with, it was awesome-sauce on a stick.

 

Now, I will agree that the characters (read: Rileigh and her ridiculous name) were a bit juvenile - but I didn't find it as annoying as I'd expected. This is a YA fiction after all, and I think the author did a decent job of making her characters fit the genre. They sounded like teenagers - take that however you will. I probably wouldn't recommend this book for a serious adult reader... but if you enjoy youthful imaginative stories or you're a YA yourself, then you'll probably love this story.

 

I think my favorite part about this whole book was Kim and Rileigh's relationship. Don't worry, there were no inappropriate scenes for the younger audience, but I can definitely say that their relationship was bordering on steamy. I had no problem imagining the pull of attraction between these two. I also really appreciated the friendships throughout this book - they seemed genuine.

 

I even liked the bad-guy (I won't spoil who he is) despite his betrayal. In fact, the only character I didn't particularly care for was the doctor. What a pansy... and it's creepy that he was dating her mom. It gave me the heebie jeebies just like it gave Rileigh the heebie jeebies. I could write more, but I think you get the gist: I really liked the book. It was engaging, fast-paced, and well written. Plus, I don't want to have to spell Rileigh's name ever again. For the love of all that is good in the written-worlds... don't name your characters ridiculously-spelled alternatives. Riley would have been okay.

 

 

The Social Media Experiment by Cole Gibsen will release on September 2, 2014.

 

 

 

The Social Media Experiment

 

 

 

The Social Media Experiment official blurb:

 

On the surface, seventeen-year-old Reagan Fray appears to have everything. She's popular, Ivy League–bound, and her parents are rich enough to buy her whatever she wants. Behind the scenes, Reagan is a girl with an anxiety disorder struggling to hold the fraying threads of her life together. It takes work to stay on top, and when that fails, Reagan's learned from her politician mother that a little social espionage never hurts. That is, until the day Reagan finds all of her texts and private messages printed out and taped to every locker in her high school.

Finding herself ostracized from her friends and on the receiving end of the bullying she used to dish out, Reagan won't settle into her new role as social pariah without a fight. Determined to get back in with her friends and reclaim her social status before her mother finds out and sends her to boarding school, Reagan has no choice but to team up with outcast Nolan Letner.

But the closer Reagan gets to Nolan, the more she realizes all of her actions have consequences, and her future might be the biggest casualty of all.

 

 

 

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

 

 

 

 

At seventeen, Cole found herself homeless with only a beat-up Volkswagen Jetta and a bag of Goodwill clothing to her name. The only things that got her through the nights she spent parked in truck stops and cornfields were the stacks of books she checked out from the library along with her trusty flashlight. Because of the reprieve these books gave her from her troubles, Cole vowed to become a writer so she could provide the same escape to readers who needed a break the reality of their own lives.

 

 

 

Social Links:

 

      

 

 

 

“A person’s true self isn’t something that can be seen, but rather how the world around them is affected by their presence.”

 

In my review of Senshi, book two of Cole Gibsen’s Katana trilogy, I mentioned that the ending was bittersweet and it was one of the things I found interesting about Rileigh’s story. Ah, but then I come across Shinobi, the third and last instalment, and - *POOF* went that heartbreaking moment. I thought Rileigh or Q would need to use their powers to alter Kim’s memories to bring them back or something. But it came back all on its own. Watching Rileigh having her lonesome moments felt short-lived. It was kind of a letdown… or so I thought.

 

I didn’t read the summary beforehand, so when I started leafing through Shinobi, I didn’t know there was some other adventure in store for Rileigh and Kim. That plot twist was a rather genius move!

 

The flashback stories from Japan during the past lives of the characters was the reason I was drawn to the Katana Trilogy. I love how those flashbacks were slowly pieced together. Now getting a hold of Sumi’s (formerly Chiyo) past life, I felt completely indulged. It was an interesting perspective. I really felt sorry for what Chiyo has experienced, and yet despite all that, it didn’t justify any of her actions at present. It only proves she hasn’t grown up at all even after a lifetime. This would have been her chance to start anew.

 

It was a little disappointing to see that aside from Rileigh, Kim, Quentin and Sumi, the rest of the characters were rather useless. Even in the previous books, they didn’t leave that much of an impression and the only help they provided was during patrols and hanging out with the main characters. Other than building a thoughtful bond of friendship, I would think this story would have gone on even without them.

 

Although I can’t truly say that things all went well for Rileigh; for a moment, there was a sense of failure that the characters have felt. But even though Rileigh didn’t get exactly what she wanted, she at least got a good consolation for her part. Overall, I think it was a pretty cool ending.  

 

*Thank you, Flux and NetGalley for the copy of Shinobi.

For more of my reviews, please visit my blog: 
The Blair Book Project @ www.theblairbookproject.blogspot.com

Being introduced to Rileigh Martin in Katana [book one of this series] didn’t exactly leave a memorable impression on me. I enjoyed reading the book but I voiced out a lot qualms about it in my review of Katana. The thought of having fun reading it was enough to make me give Senshi [book two] a try.I expected nothing special from Senshi. In fact, the first parts were rather annoying to me that I was beginning to feel like I didn’t want to continue reading anymore. I question a lot of Rileigh’s decisions. Like, this is probably petty but I couldn’t get it off my head, when she broke the car interior light so that it wouldn’t turn on once she opens the door [so it wouldn’t give away her location to the ninja]. Uh, hello?! From what I know all cars nowadays have that off switch for that? No need to break the little thing. Sheesh! Then again, she wrecked the entire car using her ki anyway so, never mind.Another thing I noticed was the simile she used to describe her pain, this probably another petty thing but I couldn’t help myself. She said, “Pain blossomed under my skin like an angry flower...” – which flower are we referring to and how exactly does it get angry? LOL. I’m sorry, I’m being sarcastic. Okay I’m going to stop there on the insignificant complains. Let’s move on to something else...In my review of Katana, I noticed that the skater side of Rileigh wasn’t exactly given proof that she truly was a skater. I don’t recall having seen her have a skate scene, and I just had as much of a fit over her complaining that she’s not about to sacrifice skating over serving the Network. Dude, nobody saw you skate at all! And speaking of the Network, I really didn’t understand her angst over it. She barely knows anything about it to begin with so it’s hard to find justice towards how she feels.I’m not exactly a fan of the sweet scenes between Rileigh and Kim. It was just too cheesy. It was hard to buy the idea. It feels forced and unrealistic. That is until Sumi’s character came into picture. Well now, I didn’t see that one coming. And goodness, how I loved that! I only came to appreciate Rileigh and Kim’s relationship then, and also during the flashbacks on how Senshi and Yoshido met in Japan. I also loved the story on how Senshi came upon becoming a samurai. So this is where my feelings about Senshi changed. Ah, finally! I see all the fuss about these two lovebirds. And I finally get to see the other characters get the recognition they deserve; Quentin most of all. At least now, every single one of the members of the group had a very significant role to play, even the villains. By the way, the revelation of who the kuniochi really was... that was a good one! That just caught my breath there. And guess what? I finally got to see her skate! It was one quick scene, but better than nothing, right?The ending wasn’t exactly a happy one. But boy am I excited to see how that would turn out in book three. That’s one true test of love right there! I appreciated that more than the cheesy parts from the beginning, very touching. Senshi is an impressive follow up to Katana, and I guess this series is one of those that get better as it progresses. I will definitely be watching out for book three’s release. *Thank you, Flux and NetGalley for the copy of Senshi.For more of my reviews, please visit my blog: The Blair Book Project @ www.theblairbookproject.blogspot.com