About the Book:Title: Hinder (Guardian of Monsters #1)
Author: Kristin Ping
Publication date: May 15th 2018
Genres: Fantasy, New Adult, Paranormal
Rating: 3/5 stars
Synopsis:
Alex Burgendorf has been living in her aunt’s locket for the past sixteen years with her mother—a Fire Wielder, and her father—a Water Wielder. For sixteen years, her parents vowed to protect her, and they have, as she is the last Earth wielding witch. However, time is running out. Alex must find her Bender, or the fate of the Supernaturals might be at stake.Ethan Sutcliff seems like a normal seventeen-year-old—at least that’s what he’s trying to portray. In a secret society run by the Supernaturals, Ethan is what witches call a Bender. Benders are Witches’ Guardians, who are able to control a witches’ ability, bend it, or move it away from harming humans. In Ethan’s case, he is able to bend the Earth element. But at the age of fifteen, he lost all connection to it, and the reasons behind it could only mean one of two things: His Wielder is either dead, or hiding out somewhere.
Author Bio:Kristin resides in South Africa with her husband, two beautiful girls and two bulldogs that tries to eat her house.When she isn’t writing, she is spending her time with her family, or trying to teach her two bulldogs to not eat her house. You can find more about Kristin at www.authorkristinping.com
She has been writing for the past eight years and her first debut novel, Hinder: A Bender’s novel will be published 2018 by Fire Quill Publishing.
Review:
Hinder by Kristin Ping is a refreshing read that is fun and unique. Even though it's about magic, witches, and demons, Ms. Ping puts her own creative spin on the fantasy genre that many will enjoy. I would have loved to give this book 4 stars (or higher) but there were several things that made me lower my rating to a 3. I really loved the concept of this book and I'm excited to see where the series goes from here.
The story follows Alex and Ethan...two people who don't know the other exists but are trying to find the other. Ms. Ping immediately sweeps you away into a fantastical world of witches, benders and wielders, and an evil enemy. I truly loved this part of the story because it was so unlike anything I had read previously. I loved learning about this new world!! It was fun and exciting, and Ms. Ping offered plenty of twists that I didn't see coming. The more I read of this story, the more invested in the world I became. There are a lot of questions left unanswered by the end of the book so I'm excited to see how she continues to build the world up and answer some of these questions.
The story follows Alex and Ethan...two people who don't know the other exists but are trying to find the other. Ms. Ping immediately sweeps you away into a fantastical world of witches, benders and wielders, and an evil enemy. I truly loved this part of the story because it was so unlike anything I had read previously. I loved learning about this new world!! It was fun and exciting, and Ms. Ping offered plenty of twists that I didn't see coming. The more I read of this story, the more invested in the world I became. There are a lot of questions left unanswered by the end of the book so I'm excited to see how she continues to build the world up and answer some of these questions.
However, the one thing I had a small problem with in the beginning was that it was basically an "info-dump." The reader learns a little bit more throughout the book, but the first 2 chapters are where you find out all of the info that you need to set up/understand the story and plot. I do wish it was spaced out a little more but I didn't mind this too much. It just meant I could jump into the story faster.
Ms. Ping's writing is great and she gave her characters a lot of spunk. While marketed as an NA novel, I would say this could also be geared toward older YA. I personally loved the banter between the characters and the "adult" moments. Also, the fact that family plays such a huge role in this story really made me love it that much more. It was a welcoming change from most books where the family basically disappears and the main characters are left to fend for themselves. Instead, Ms. Ping incorporates them into the story and gives them a huge role to play as not only mentors, but as...wait for it.... actual parents . I can't stress enough how important this was because let me tell you, I'm all for parents who actually parent. This is rarely done in YA/NA books and I'm glad that Ms. Ping decided to incorporate them into the story!
For the most part, Alex and Ethan were developed as characters but I definitely would have liked a little more. The book is told from dual POV (Alex and Ethan), and Alex had a great internal monologue that I loved. She was the perfect lead for the story and I enjoyed her journey during the novel. I loved seeing her grow and become a more independent person. Ethan was also a decent character to follow--he's the typical good-guy jock. But I didn't like him as much as I wanted to...especially since he is the other main character AND the love interest in this book. Perhaps the biggest reason for this was the fact that he referred to girls as different animals. He repeatedly said throughout the book that he knew it was wrong to do this, but it never once stopped him. I wanted to see him grow out of this habit by the end of the book, but he never did. I felt this aspect of his character was unnecessary and it made me dislike his character a lot.
This series has a lot of potential and I'm interested to see where Ms. Ping takes the story! I would recommend checking the story out because it is a unique read and fun. There are a lot of plot twists that took the story in a different direction than I was expecting. I am excited to check out the sequel and see what new adventures await for both Alex and Ethan!
Happy reading :)
~Cassie
Thanks for hosting today, Caddie! This sounds like a fun and original read! :)
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