The Sentinel

When Eve is rescued from a horrific coach crash by her teachers, she is shocked to discover they possess super strength and speed.  But what happens next is even more harrowing.  
In the aftermath of the crash she discovers that everyone in her life from neighbours, doctors, dentists, teachers, shop keepers and even her family and friends are actually super strength Guardians sent to protect her.  They all have one thing in common, a single minded ferocity that she must be kept alive at all costs.
However, she is surrounded by secrets and lies.  Those in the know deny all knowledge of what happened that fateful night.  Everyone else carries on as normal, seemingly unaware of the new strange world that she has stumbled against. 
With the help of Seth, her best friend, Eve discovers the prophecies surrounding her true identity and the super strength she too holds. With her Guardians pledged to protect her, her closest friends ready to die for her, her own hopes and dreams are put on hold whilst she battles to control the amazing powers she has been bestowed with. 
But those that seek to destroy her move ever closer.  Will the Guardians be enough to protect her when so many are prepared to stop at nothing to see her dead? And will she be strong enough to fulfil her destiny when the time comes?
A fast paced fantasy adventure for young adults. 
With high speed car chases, airborne fights, amazing stunts and super powered beings, this is a story of loyalty, friendship and love.

My opinion: I have read so many good things about this on Twitter, and was spurred on by some fellow book bloggers to give it a go sooner rather than later!

I was totally hooked from the first page. Eve gets rescued from a bus crash, which by rights should have killed everyone and kick starts a series of events and revelations that will change Eve's world and outlook on life forever. She finds that her friends have been handpicked for her, her parents aren't who she thought they were, and even her dog had been lying to her. Luckily she as her friends had been picked to protect her, she is surrounded by people she knows and loves, including her best friend Seth, and they help her try to come to terms with the strange new things that are happening to her, and the prophecy about her future.

I literally couldn't put this book down and read it in about 3 sittings, including one sitting of 70%!! The writing is really great and pulled me in and really made me feel like I was experiencing the emotions of the characters. It is really fast paced, and even though I'm not a massive fan of fantasy, this book really captured my imagination.

Eve is a great character and is very mature. She didn't feel selfish or spoilt in any way, which I think could have easily happened with a character in her situation. Also, even though there are a lot of characters I didn't feel like I was losing track of who they are like I do with some books.

Eve's relationship with Seth seems impossibly close at the beginning - I too had a male best friend through high school so I found comparing the relationships a bit weird at first. It all makes sense later on though, and I was glad that it was clarified! The one thing I would say about the book is although it is set in England, in the main it doesn't feel particularly English or British. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, more of an observation.

I would definitely recommend this book and already have to some of my friends! If I were to compare it with other books, the storyline itself is incomparable, but the feel of it reminded me of a Harry Potter/Hunger Games hybrid! I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series.

My rating: A very well deserved five stars!!