Review: Emerge by Melissa A. Craven

EMERGE
Series: The Awakening #1
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Release Date: April 1st 2015

Book Length: 424 pages
Publisher: Midnight Hour Studio
Source: Copy from author (Thanks Melissa!), Goodreads 
Review: 4/5 *Full Review Below.

Blurb:
Allie Carmichael has always believed life is simple.
You’re born.
You live.
You die.
She has no cause to believe that equation works differently for her, but there has to be a reason the world treats her like a pariah.
When an unexpected move to Kelleys Island brings Aidan McBrien crashing into her life, Allie is thrown by his reaction. He doesn’t shrink from her touch. He doesn’t stutter or make a quick exit. He smiles and welcomes her into his circle of friends, who aren’t exactly comfortable with Allie, but they seem to get her in a way most people don’t.
Finally, Allie has a real shot at normal and rides that high right up to her sixteenth birthday when she wakes in agony—an experience Aidan insists they have all faced. She struggles in ignorance, uncertain of what is real and what isn’t. When she emerges, Allie is different. She has always been different, but even among her extraordinary friends, she and Aidan are special.
As Allie struggles to maintain her tenuous grasp on the power that threatens to overwhelm her, she worries she will lose herself in this strange new world. A dangerous world where she will have to fight tooth and nail to defend the power and freedom that is her birthright. …only Allie hates to fight. 

This was such an impressive start to a unique new series. This story was well written but the characters are the true stars, they grew with the story and were portrayed realistically with their stroppy attitudes, tantrums and snark.

We have Allie the protagonist who has always felt alone and distanced from everyone, she’s moved from place to place and is always the new kid in school but the people there are all the same; they shy from her touch and taunt her endlessly. She soon arrives at a town to stay and literally runs into Aiden; a guy that introduces her to what she really is: an Immortal. Allie soon comes into her own powers and discovers she is more powerful than her new friends except Aiden, he's her equal in every way.

It started off a little slow and I wasn't fully immersed in the story until the second half. I was so confused in the beginning when everyone would avoid Allie's touch and we were given no clue as to why this was. However what slowed this book the most was the history of Immortals; how they came to be, their enemies, their way of life. Although some of this was important to the story, not all was necessarily needed. This compared with a large abundance in secondary characters had me troubled trying to remember who everyone was, plus we were given a look into various characters backstory, this again takes up a large amount of the book.

Regardless of these points the story soon picked up and we were thrust into a world were Immortals are hunted for their powers and this was extremely thrilling to read. The romance was good and bad (the good bad), as Allie and Aiden really hit it off in the beginning but when Allie discovers she’s an Immortal she pulls away and just wants to be best friends. The good part of this romance was that Allie and Aiden were equals, which was refreshing as it's usually the heroine who's the most powerful, these two seemed absolutely perfect together. The bad part of this was that Allie refuses to date Aiden and instead dates Vince a mortal as a way to have some normalcy to escape to. Although this drove me crazy because even Allie knew she was settling and could have the perfect relationship with Aiden. This was realistic, as you would completely freak out finding out that you are not human and will never die, this is the type of angst that I love to hate. I totally ship Allie and Aiden but she seriously needs to get her head together and be with Aiden.

Allie was a breath of fresh air when it came to heroines. She was totally badass, not afraid to say it how it is and doesn’t take any bullshit. For instance when Aiden confessed his love to Allie, she was able to take thought and not completely lose herself in the declaration but think ‘well he’s powerful like me, so maybe he’s just tired of being alone?’ I mean Allie is the only person who can touch him without quivering in fear, even his parents keep their distance… so YES, this is a completely valid thought! As I’ve said the character relationships and dynamics in this story feel realistic.

All in all this book wasn’t perfect but it was an excellent start for a debut novel with such original idea’s. I will definitely be reading the next instalment as I’m so eager to find out what happens next as this book was only just getting started by the end. I fully encourage readers to persevere with this one, it's fast paced at time but totally worth it in the end!