Blind Sight Aniela Dawson by Eliabeth Hawthorne

Synopsis:

A blind girl drawing is abnormal even on the magical island of Edaion where leaves brush themselves into piles in the middle of the night. As an immigrant, Leocardo is not biased by accepted rules of magic and determines that Odette’s drawings are premonitions. Aniela grew up with magic and knows premonitions are impossible. She determines Odette is a medium channeling voiceless spirits. 

In this volume: While Aniela tries to escape a lifestyle where obligations take priority over friendships, she befriends Odette, a blind girl with the ability to draw. Almost immediately, concerns and questions arise as Aniela suspects that Odette’s gift is far stronger than any seen before. In the middle of family turmoil and a complicated romantic relationship with Odette’s brother, Aniela faces the realization that helping her comatose friend means disobeying her mother, something she has never done before.

Review:

I was asked to participate in the blog tour promoting both of the Blind Sight books, one written from Aniela's point of view and the other from Leocardo's. I think what interested me most about these two books is that it is essentially the same story only told from two different perspectives. And I have come to understand how different things can seem when they are scene from someone else's point of view. Another thing that was really interesting is that it wasn't done by just one author, who conceptualized the story and the characters and then wrote the book from two different perspectives. It was done with two separate authors, which I can imagine would be much more difficult, because you would have to make sure their are no inconsistencies as well as making sure the characters, while being written by two separate people, are still recognizable as the same people in both of the books. It is for those reasons why I found this book interesting, and agreed to review both of the books. 

From the minute I opened the book I started to think I was really going to like Aniela, but that I wasn't going to like her sister, and that was my initial impression from the prologue alone. Prologues for me either give way to much away or just seem so ambiguous that I wish they hadn't been included at all. But the prologue in this book, was enough for me to wonder what was going to happen next when Aniela was older, as well as wonder about what was going to happen to her family. 

The writing flowed really well throughout the book, and made it very easy to read. Although I do have to say for me the beginning of the book did start a bit slow, but that happens sometimes. And overall it didn't detract from the overall writing or plot of the book, so it is easily overlooked. I think the writing was done in such a way that it appeals to all kinds of readers. It doesn't necessarily have the feel of a YA book, but I could see how people who read YA would like this book. There is no gratuitous sex or cussing, so the book could be read by really all populations of readers. I always find it impressive when an author can appeal to a wide variety of audiences with one piece of work. 

As for Aniela as a character, she is both intricate and interesting. She is born a princess of a magical island, and one thing I always find interesting when you have royalty in the mix is how that person juggles the responsibility of power with what they want as individuals. Over the course of the book you really get to see her "come of age" if you will, and figure out her place in the world. The book starts with her being a young four year old, to really becoming a young woman. 

What I really like is how Aniela really becomes involved in the Odette story line, and trying to find out what is happening to her. I like the premise of Odette, that she is a blind girl that can still essentially "see" just in visions that she draws. It's such an interesting concept, and the twist even more on it that they leave her vulnerable makes it all the more interesting and intriguing. 

Overall I would say I enjoyed reading the book. I look forward to reading Leocardo's point of view, and see how different the world looks through another person's eyes. I would recommend this book to people who like YA books, as well as people who like Urban Fantasy, although it is a bit of different kind of UF. So if you are looking for something new and different this might be the way to go for you.