Title: Isla’s Inheritance
Author: Cassandra Page
Genre: YA/Urban fantasy
Date Read: 21/07/2016 – 22/07/2016
Rating: ★★★
Review:
This is the second book I’ve read by local author Cassandra Page, and I have to admit, I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to reading books set in Canberra (even if I do love recognising the locations).
At a seance on Halloween, Isla receives a strange message from a ouija board regarding her long-dead mother: “SHE IS NOT DEAD”. Soon after, she starts having strange dreams and develops a strange aversion to her father’s iron statues. Could her mother still be alive? And is she even human?
This book hosts a great cast of characters, from Isla and her dad, to the extended family who Isla lives with when she’s attending school (her father lives on a farm some distance away). There’s also Dominic, her new boyfriend, and Jack, a friend/mentor character who helps Isla come to terms with her newly-discovered identity.
The romance between Isla and Dominic happened quite quickly, but I did appreciate the fact that there was no typical mooning over the crush, like there is in so much YA. There is a bit of a Dominic/Isla/Jack love triangle in upcoming books. I’d like to hope the story doesn’t go down that route, but both some things that characters said and did are giving me that distinct impression.
The book is very easy to read, though it was one of those books were I flew through it, only to realise that not a whole lot had happened. The stakes never feel especially high, but having said, it moves along at a good pace and as you can see from the dates above, I finished it in under 24 hours. Judging by the ending, which was a little bit abrupt, the second book probably has more going on, and this one was really doing the setting up.
Overall, I can’t really say that I feel compelled to continue with the series, but I didn’t feel like I was wasting my time reading thsi one.
(This review is part of the Australian Women Writers Challenge 2016. Click here for more information).
A Keyboard and an Open Mind 
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