Pixie Dust Book Reviews: [Blog Tour] The Beast Within (The Elite #1) by Jonathan Yanez

In Jonathan Yanez book, The Beast Within, you meet Conner Moore who doesn't seem like anything too special until he meets Laren and then his world is turned upside down.

REVIEW

Title: The Beast Within

Author: Jonathan Yanez

Publish Date: March 2013

Publisher: Limitless Publishing

Pages: 166

Other Books in the Series: TBA

Buy the Book: Amazon

Rating: ★★★★

Once eighteen-year-old Connor Moore stumbles across an almost human species, he is faced with history’s darkest secret, a daunting future, and a love life he can’t even begin to explain.

Concealed throughout the pages of time, there has been a powerful race of human-like creatures manipulating mankind. This Elite race is made up of five ruling families, who have obeyed The Law and remained content to keep their identities a mystery. Now after centuries of secrecy, an ancient foe is forcing them out of hiding.

When a dark-haired mystery woman named Laren crosses Connor’s path his life is turned upside down. Soon Connor is taken on a heart-pounding journey that leads to a startling discovery of who he really is and a daunting future of what he is to become.

The cover is beautiful for this novel. I think it was what captured my attention when I first was considering what blog tours I was going to do and I knew right away that this would be one of them. I love when I get the chance to rave about covers because honestly, I cannot fathom how someone can create such a beautiful piece of basically art that fits so perfectly with the story. So, now, I am actually going to do my review.

The Beast Within by Jonathan Yanez is the story of Conner, a normal guy who is dealing with an awkward break up and the pending future of attending college. Even though he had been accepted into many different colleges and offered athletic scholarships, he knew that he could never leave his mom behind. He hates the idea of her being alone since his dad has never been in the picture. But his thoughts shift from his ex-girlfriend when he crosses paths with a secretive and mysterious woman, Laren. There is something about that girl that urges him to see her again until he suddenly finds himself entangled in a web of secrets that just might prove to be the end of him. Faced with a fate that seems to great for an average guy, Conner must discover who he is and his role is in this new world he finds himself a part of.

Conner used to be worried about simple things but now those things seem unimportant and he has so much more to learn. He is the type of the guy that seems curious about most things and he isn't afraid to ask questions. I like that about him but what I found more admirable was the way he seemed to know when he was pushing something to far. He was more conscious of the way his words affected those around him than most people and I think that makes him the type of guy you can trust. I know that I would have a hard time not wanting to trust him after I read about him. I think he is the type of guy that would be easy to have a crush on because of how he acts and what he does for people. Of course, I doubt I would be comfortable admitting such things if Conner were a real person but I can see why Laren and Katie would want to be with him. It surprised me once I got into the book that anyone would want to end a relationship with him. I would be inclined to say that she didn't know how great of a thing she had.

When I began reading and Laren made her first appearance in the story, I knew that there was something incredible about her. I came to admire her as the story progress, although she is nowhere near perfect but really, who is? The relationship between her and Conner is one that did not fail to peak my interest. Even as their relationship began, there was always a sense that it was forbidden and that she was going to have to keep secrets from him and from other people. Not exactly the best way to fall in like but to each their own, I suppose. She grew on me more as the story continued and it was hard not to like her by the time the book was over.

Overall, I really liked the story. It was beautifully written and had interesting characters. I encourage you all to go check it out.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jonathan Yanez was born and raised in a Christian household in Oxnard, CA. He was involved in everything from piano and saxophone lessons to swimming and track. Growing up hist parents encouraged him to read, and he did - anything he could get his hands on. Soon he developed a fascination with storytelling and characters that would follow him the rest of his life.

Graduating from BIOLA University with his BA in English Literature, he never lost his love for writing and creating. He now works part-time as a personal trainer and hopes to one day make the move to writing full-time.

Other than reading and writing, his passion is living life to the fullest. He loves: spending time with his wife and pets, watching movies, participating in mud runs, traveling, going to the gym, and pushing his limits in everything. This desire takes him anywhere from skydiving and motorcycle riding, to surfing in Hawaii and various types of martial arts. He has his eyes set next on archery and running with the bulls in Spain.

He is married to the love of his life and resides in Southern California with his husky, Daphne, and cat, Helen.

Twitter: @JonathanAYanez

Facebook: www.facebook.com/JonathanYanezAuthor

Blog: thebeastwithinbook.blogspot.com

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/user/show/13858613-jonathan-yanez

EXCERPT

As crazy as it sounded, Connor was beginning to accept his new reality. “So, where do I fit into all of this?”

“Well for that we’ll need a history lesson.” She cleared her throat. “Since the beginnings of mankind, there have been those individuals possessing more than just the normal set of abilities or skills. Call it what you will — natural selection, mutation, chance — but a select few have stood apart from the rest.

Every people or race has their own name for these beings. The Germans call them ‘The Rulers’ or ‘der Herrscher,’ the Irish — your ancestors — chose the word ‘Roghnaithe’ which means ‘Chosen,’ and in ancient Rome, the Latin word was ‘Beastia’ or ‘Animal.’ The abilities these individuals possess are closely related to many of the abilities found in animals; heightened senses, increased speed, and strength. Another bonus for these select few was the aging process. We still age, but at a much slower rate than our human counterparts.”

She paused in her lecture. “Following so far, Mr. Moore?”

Connor nodded. “I think I should sit down for the rest.”

“Probably a good idea,” she agreed, pausing long enough for him to take a seat.

“Now, with time, these gifted ‘people’ recognized their superiority and banded together forming clans or families. Soon these families began vying for power and rank; it didn’t take long for war to break out and humans were dragged into the mix. The war was so devastating to every side that only five families survived. These remaining five families called a truce and created a Council and a list of rules to abide by to ensure a war of this magnitude would never occur again.”