Harken Paperback – January 13, 2013

SEQUEL!!! I NEED SEQUEL!! Kaleb... you are a genius!! That ending... wow!! I don't even have time to process the thoughts and words I just read.At first, I didn't really know what to expect reading this only that its a Conspiracy / Supernatural story about a teenage boy named Michael who survived an assassination attempt. I don't know about you but, that sounds freaking awesome what?! So I'm just on my Kindle and reading Harken and I went about 20-30 pages in and I was hooked immediately.We start off introduced to Michael who has a gift of reading people's eyes meaning he can see their emotions and he's at the center of a worldwide conspiracy theory. He's one of those characters that the readers love but at some point also hate because he can be an idiot at some points. As the story went on, I grew to love him even more. He takes risks for the people he cares about and that is, to me, what makes a strong main character because I don't like witty protagonists and Harken is an action story. We need bad ass main and supporting characters to fulfill the plot and Mr. Kaleb Nation did that.This book involves a lot of action. It is definitely a fast read for me because most of the time I would just be like "Wait...WHAT?! How...But...HUH?!" and I would just keep reading 'till the end just to see how it answers all of my questions and when I sawTHE END OF BOOK ONEHalf of me was like "OMG WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?! I NEED THE SEQUEL!! ARC! GIVE ME ARC! And the other half ... left me in tears. I was more confused, it answered some of my questions and then left EVEN MORE questions.On with the supporting characters. Callista and Thad are the Chosens and they help Michael throughout the whole novel. Callista is an interesting character which I have ups and downs with. Sometimes she starts blaming Michael for things and that kinda gets very annoying even when Michael couldn't do anything about it. Still, she's a very strong character and I will grow more to like her. I adore Thad. He's loyal and he doesn't let his past bother him which is good for him, he's self-sacrificing which is amazing.Most YA novels, there are romance. In Harken, I wouldn't say there isn't any but there's a hint of a romance between Michael and Callista, but it doesn't really interfere with the whole plot.The chemistry isn't the main focus of the whole book but it was nice to see the relationship. It was nice and light and I'm definitely excited to see where it goes.When I got to the end, my heart just dropped and my brain just shut off. It left me wanting more. I just loved the ending. There is a cliff-hanger but it was a nice cliff-hanger and if you know me or read my reviews, I HATE CLIFF-HANGERS. I get so worked up about them because they are torture. It felt as if it left you hanging to continue the series and to realize that it's the end of the book and you should really read the next book to find out what happens.Overall, this action packed, thriller, and a touch of romance will keep you hanging 'till the very end. Pick it up on Amazon right now!! GO DO IT!! ITS AMAZING!! Don't be an apple. Go read it!!*Side note: I freaking love the cover. It's so mysterious and just the name HARKEN*Find more of my reviews on YA Book Reviews [...]

(originally posted at [...])There was an insane amount of hype surrounding this book, which made me incredibly nervous. I mean, not nervous enough that I didn't buy it at midnight along with the rest of Kaleb's army of devoted fans, but still a little bit unsure about whether or not I would like it.Luckily, I discovered early on that yes, the hype was totally justified. Harken is filled with awesome. The plot is intense and action-packed, and it had me constantly flipping the pages (er, pressing the button on my kindle) to find out what would happen next. The conspiracy elements and the supernatural elements combined a lot better than I expected them to, and the whole story was so complex. I was so impressed by how perfectly all the different pieces of the story fit together.The main character, Michael, is someone that you can't help but root for. He makes a lot of mistakes, and there were several times that I just wanted to shake him and make him stop doing stupid things, but that just made him feel more realistic. No matter what he did, I just wanted him to win. I wanted him to outsmart the bad guys, and I was cheering him along the whole time I was reading. Thad and Callista are awesome companions, and the trio deserves a place right up there with other famous book trios like Harry, Ron, and Hermione.Harken reminded me a bit of all the things I love about the Maximum Ride series--kids with supernatural abilities on the run from the bad guys--which was a pleasant surprise. The stakes were high throughout the entire book, and Michael was constantly on the move. There were no dull moments to sit and ponder about why all this weird stuff was happening to him. He just had to keep going, keep running from the people who were chasing him.This book makes me really paranoid that maybe the world is secretly being run by people more powerful than we can ever imagine. This supernatural conspiracy was written in such a way that it is not hard to believe at all, which is both awesome and terrifying.I predict that Harken is going to be A Huge Freaking Deal in the next few weeks/months/years. I'm talking a fandom with a movie adaptation and everything. I'm so excited to see how far this little book will go, and I especially cannot wait to read the sequel!

Many people, myself included, will know Kaleb Nation as fantastic YouTuber and all-round content creator. I've been a fan of his for years, followed the launch of 'Harken' carefully but, for some reason, never purchased it until now... and what a mistake waiting was!Beautifully paced, superbly written and genuinely engrossing. If you're a young-adult and enjoy novels such as 'The Hunger Games', 'Divergent' and Kaleb's other series, 'Bran Hambric', you will simply fall in love with this.

I really enjoyed the story of this book, but I think it was a little bit too American for me. Some of the phraseology and a little bit of the dialogue was very Americanised, that's to be Expected, as the author is American! The description was perfect And the narrative flowed brilliantly.

I follow Kaleb from youtube and while this book falls in to a genre i don't usually read i thought i'd give it a whirl. The result: awesome - really good book great characters etc.Buy it now! :)

Book one was great, still impatiently waiting on book two!