Protected (Ariya Adams Trilogy Book #1) by Anna Applegate – Review by Angela Hayes

Protected (Ariya Adams Trilogy, #1)Protected by Anna Applegate
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

 

Protected is the first book in the Ariya Adams Trilogy by Anna Applegate. It is a paranormal college romance story- with mystery, suspense, drama, angst, push-pull, secrets, supernatural elements, action… and more. This is definitely not your typical vampire story. Add in some werewolves, hidden agendas, betrayal, twists, surprising revelations, and this story takes off.
We meet Ariya Adams in her senior year at college. She has a great, close-knit group of friends, and is looking forward to her final year, wanting to get as much out of it before it all ends. But strange things begin to happen, and she starts to think that maybe she is going crazy. When danger come calling, and secrets are revealed, Ariya’s world is turned upside down. With her life on the line, and her friends threatened, what will happen? What discoveries will she make? Who can she trust? And can she find a way to thwart the sinister plot, and the danger that seems to be stalking her?
I did enjoy this book- even more so as the story unfolded. I did find that it was a little slow to get going as the author laid out all the framework to the story. But, I loved that this isn’t your typical vampire story and has its own identity from a lot of other book in the same genre.
It comes across as an adult paranormal romance, but I found that a lot of the content was more suited to Young Adults- as there was a LOT of ‘teenage Angst’ and it was very light on the romance side. Ariya and her love interest James did have a great connection and chemistry, but the angsty push-pull really drove me crazy and I feel that it went on for a little too long. I also feel that the author missed an opportunity to take this story to the next level, by having too much melodrama and not enough ‘romance’.
Don’t get me wrong, this story is very enjoyable and definitely worth the read- I just felt frustrated by so much push-pull/angst/melodrama. The story is set to continue in the next book, ‘Awakened’, and I have already jumped right in to it, to find out what will happen next.

Thank you, Ms. Applegate!

 

Reviewed by @angelahayes

View all my reviews

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