Review: Darwin's Children - Natasha Larry

Name: Darwin's Children

Author: Natasha Larry

General Release Date: 8th June 20011

Date I finished it: 9th August 2011

Type: Kindle Book

From: Review copy from author

My Rating: 4/5 stars

The author, Natasha Larry very kindly send me a copy of Darwin's Children to review.

When I first read the blurb about the book, I thought it sounded awesome, and then I saw the cover for the book.

We all know the old saying "Don't judge a book by it's cover", but I'll admit it, I do judge a book by it's cover.

Especially since entering the book blogging world, covers seem to be one of the first things that draw me into a new book, series or author. So I'll admit I was a bit disappointed when I saw the cover for Darwin's Children, it didn't draw me in, captivate me, or really make me want to rush out and read it.

Let me just say, I was so very wrong about this book!

I completely fell in love with the storyline and the characters from page one!

The story follows seventeen year Jaycie, who on paper has a fairly average life.

She goes to a school that she hates and she doesn't really get along with any of her class mates, though she does have a very loving and devoted father, and her live in nanny who has become a mother figure to her over the years, Jaycie even gets a part time job in a book store. Throw in a little romance, and you have a typical high school girl, right?

But Jaycie is harbouring a massive secret, she has both telepathic and telekinetic powers, her father is the strongest telepath known in the world and her live in nanny has super strength and speed.

Trying to get through a normal day for Jaycie is almost ridiculous with her powers, she can hear all the thoughts in people's heads, which can make her completely lose control. So she needs to be extra careful at school.

When a guardian (thats sort of like an angel to you and me), tries to set Jaycie on a path to befriend a girl, she soon discovers that this girl may have powers too and doesn't know about it.

The rest of the book follows the two girls and how their relationship grows, there are a number of unexpected turns in the book which I was totally not expecting. One of them being vampires!

The book itself is well written, and although there are a few gritty issues thrown up in the book, they are dealt with in a mature and honest way, which I really liked. In some books these types of issues can make the book too dark, but I think Natasha found the perfect mix in Darwin's Child. There is also a science fiction element to the book as well, there are a few discussions about genetics and evolution. I am in no way a science girl, but the terms used were simple and easy to understand, which I really appreciated. I felt that I had more of an understanding of the background story through these little snippets of information.

The characters are very well developed, at times I actually wished these characters could be real and they would adopt me into their family. You can feel the love and devotion the family have for each other through the pages.

Overall, I loved this book! It captures so many different elements in it, family dynamics, love, romance, paranormal elements, science and genetic elements and learning to deal with your past and love who you are now!