"Mortal Obligation" by Nichole Chase

First I have to say that I love the dark and mysterious, yet beautiful cover.

Okay so I downloaded this book off Amazon for only 99 cents and trust me you never know what you will get when you download one of these types of books. Let me just say that I was very pleasantly surprised. "Mortal Obligation" by Nichole Chase was something totally different - a fresh new paranormal idea which was pure fun to read.

The main character is popular, 17-year-old Ree McKenna, an artsy, strong independent girl who is still dealing with the death of her older brother Tristan. Ree has three main goals: finish high school, convince her crush Paden that she is more than his best-friend's little sister, and save money for college. When Ree finds out that she has been gifted by the gods with unusual powers she is shocked, but nothing prepares her for the news that she is to lead the battle to save the Earth from utter darkness.

Of course what is a good action-packed adventure story without a little romance? Paden is Ree's secret crush and he is her friend, protector and confidante.  Enter Roland to complete the love triangle, who is a mysterious bad boy turned good. (Come on admit it.... who doesn't love a good love triangle?)

This storyline could so easily come off reading as totally ridiculous but Nichole Chase's writing style is so engaging that it grabs the reader quickly and instantly takes you on a fast-paced, mysterious, at times romantic, thrilling ride right up to it's twisty 'turny,' surprise ending.

So why did I give it 4 stars and not 5? I just found I was a bit frustrated with the final big fight scene. I don't want to give away anything but basically I just wanted to see Ree use her powers a little more. Also I found myself frustrated with Paden's character. I want to hit him over the head and say wake up already. Finally there is Roland - I love his character and I wanted him to play a bigger role. His disappearance at one part in the story seemed odd.

But overall I really enjoyed reading this book and would highly recommend it. "Mortal Obligation" is the first book in the Dark Betrayal trilogy and I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

My rating