I am always thrilled to receive advanced readers copies of books, hoping I get to be one of the lucky few who steer others towards their next great read.  Unfortunately, once in a while, I have the unlucky task of writing a poor review.  I know how hard the author must have worked to get a book published, so this is not something I do lightly.  Toward A Secret Sky, by Heather MacLean, is just too full of cliches to be enjoyable, and has a main character who is so focused on a guy's attractiveness, that she seems blind to their faults.  Furthermore, there is a truly offense joke toward the end of the book that I found extremely hurtful.

Cliches:
You already know the formula: a suddenly orphaned girl finds out her parents worked for a secret organization that fights demons.  The girl meets a super hot guy who turns out is a warrior angel.   Will she get into all sorts of dangerous situations where he (or another guy) arrives out of nowhere to save her?  Will one of her new friends  betray her?  Will she and the angel fall in love?  I think you can guess the answers to all of these questions.

Characters:
I found Maren to be extremely superficial when it came to boys.  Even though she knows Anders (another hot guy at school) is a jerk, she seems all to willing to give him a chance because, after all, he is a lord, and rich, and gorgeous.  She also doesn't seem to mind that Gavin is over 200 years old.  Doesn't she find it creepy that he's hitting on her?  Oh, no.  It's okay because he's a hottie.

Although Maren's grandparents did seem like very kind and loving people, it didn't seem to phase them that their son, and his wife (Maren's parents) were secret agents.  If they were so concerned for Maren's safety, I highly doubt they would be so nonchalant talking about it.

Troubling "Joke":
As if there weren't enough problems with this book, there is an extremely hurtful "joke" toward the end of the book. 

    "I don't know, " he said.  "At least, I can't put my finger on it.  I adore you, you know, but there's something else.  Something special about you, Maren."
    "Yeah, 'Special Ed'" I quipped.


What the heck?

As a special education teacher, I am seriously offended by this.  The students I work with are kind, hard-working, and incredibly brave.  They must face the world with challenges this character couldn't fathom.  Making this joke is why parents often refuse support services for their kids.  They don't want their child to have the 'Special Ed' label.  Why perpetuate this stigma?  This has no place in books, particularly from a main character the reader is supposed to admire.

I have contacted the publisher, and asked that they review this section of the book.  I really hope they listen and take this out of further editions.  It was unnecessary, and cruel.

Grief has framed Maren Hamilton’s seventeen years of life. Before she was born, her father died taking her mother to the hospital. Now her mother is dead, killed in a way that is baffling. Maren found the body. When the graveside service dissolved in a massive thunderstorm, only the actions of her mother’s coworkers stopped Maren from climbing into the coffin to embrace the corpse. Being sent to live with her paternal grandparents in Aviemore, Scotland, has kept Maren reeling. She knows nothing of them, nor they of her, never having had any contact. Mercifully, they are welcoming, if a bit stiff. And who wouldn’t be upset? Having a teenaged granddaughter thrust into their lives can hardly be what they thought would consume their “golden years.” Slowly, and reluctantly, with their encouragement, Maren makes friends and begins to adjust. But she is haunted by strange dreams. Visions and feelings of déjà vu dog her steps. Suddenly a beautiful boy appears, and the girl who had never felt the pull of passion is smitten with love at first sight. A package arrives with cryptic messages of warning, and it becomes apparent that mom and dad were involved in something much more dangerous than computer programming. Is Maren’s life also at risk?

Despite the fact that the plot of this story is hopelessly derivative of Meyer’s Twilight novels and gushingly romantic to boot, I could not stop myself from enjoying it. The pace is fast, twisty, intriguing and well written. Maren’s character seems entirely genuine and occasional details of life in Scotland are comic. Of course, the villains iconic and the hero strong and brave, but then Maren is plucky and courageous too. 

It is a rare book that makes me want to reread it immediately after finishing the last page, but “Toward a Secret Sky” has that quality. One word of caution: If your name is Campbell don’t read this book.  

My thanks to Blink Books and NetGalley for providing me with an advance reader’s copy for this review.

this book is really really slow going, there's been nothing that really captured my attention and made me want to keep reading this.

A young girl, Maren Hamilton, finds herself in a world unimaginable after the loss of her mother. She is in a new country (Scotland), with unknown family (grandparents), making new friends, and discovering that the life she thought she had with her mother was not at all as it appeared. Upon finding an encrypted journal from her mother, Maren discovers a world that has demons lurking in every corner and she, herself, has talents that would aid in this fight of good vs. evil. I am not generally a fan of fantasy writing, but Heather Maclean has written this story in a manner that had me reading the characters with their Scottish accents, imagining the landscapes, feeling the sorrows and despair of a young girl, and finishing it in one day  If you are a fan of the DaVinci Code, you may just enjoy this Young Adult title.

I received an arc copy of this book for an open and honest review. 

From the blurb I thought this was a supernatural book but I didn't realise it'd be an Angel and demons story, so that was a lovely surprise. 
Contains Spoilers********************************
Issues - I'm going to get these out of the way.... I think the blurb is misleading and perhaps needs amending as it hints at a love triangle which isn't there isn't and also there are no booby-traps in the subterranean crypts........ Demons yes and personally I would have liked that beefed out more. I think Gavin and Maren fell in love a touch too quick but I liked the angst that was created.
Loved.......The rest was great, I loved it based in Scotland, I hope now Maren has joined the Abbey we'll have more puzzels and clues and secrets to uncover as I love things like that and I hope that coupled with her talents these will be fleshed out as I love this book,  it kept me interested and wanting more,not wanting to stop which is a sign of an interesting and well written story.

Toward A Secret Sky is about a girl who just lost her mother to only find out that it wasn't because of natural or earthly causes. There's more to the story than she realizes, yet she's still stuck in her grief before she realizes what is taking place.
This book is set in Scotland, which I absolutely loved. I am someone who wants to travel and this book made me feel as though I had traveled to Scotland. Maclean's writing was so descriptive that it really made you feel as though you were in Scotland, and it made you feel as though you were experiencing the whole story as if it were happening to you. While this is great it did make the description of the food a bit disgusting. While I'd love to go to Scotland I've realized that I wouldn't love their food.
This story did not grip me as well as I would've hoped. I had assumed that I would be hooked since page 1, and that I'd be thrown into the story right away. I feel as though the denouement just didn't grip me as well as I would've hoped. The action of the story happened too late into the book. The build up of the characters and the arc of the story was long drawn for me and made me feel as though the book were too long in the long run. I'm also not sure if this was because of my age. Weird thing to say, I know. But I've realized that if the writing is more attuned to a certain age level - like preteen or midteen - then I lose interest fast. Don't get me wrong I love Young Adult novels. But for some reason a certain writing style within YA will make me lose interest quick.

Even the lush depictions of Scotland couldn’t bring me to fall in love with this book.
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This book had me torn when it came to actually decided whether or mother I liked it. The idea this book is centered on is pretty cool, what with there existing a secret organization to keep us lowly ones safe, as well as the promise of some code-breaking. But the “romance” (I cringe even thinking of it) is so ridiculous to me, that it played a large part in why I disliked this book.

Why don’t I first start with the good?

Call me cheesy, but I loved the idea of the American girl having to start over in a foreign country. Living with family she doesn’t know, maybe she’ll be able to find out more about the father she’d never known, and explore the Scottish countryside as well. And of course, she’ll fall for the handsome some of a Scottish laird, and the two will live happily ever after – once all conflicts and whatnot are cared for, of course.

The whole ‘secret codes and mysterious organization’ thing was an interesting part of the story, too. The former actually ended up playing only a small part unfortunately, but I did feel that it was well done and more clever than I could have been, attempting to crack a riddle-like code.
When it comes to the mysterious organization, we do get an explanation of its existence, as well as learning of some of its members, but again, those moments are seldom, and I wish we could’ve gone deeper into its missions or pretty much anything interesting, really.

So…now on to the bad/annoying.

I usually am the biggest sucker when it comes to romance, typically loving even the super cheesy stuff, but Maren‘s infatuation/instalove when it comes to Gavin is so ridiculous! When she first meets him, she swoons, falling to her knees because he’s so good-looking. Then, whenever she’s in his presence, all she can think about is how hot he is, yadda yadda. This goes on for pretty much the whole book, to the point where I was actually cringing at her excessive descriptions.
Honestly, the “romance” was one of the worst things I had to deal with when reading this book.

Finally, when the book seems close to having a satisfying wrap-up, we’re given more conflict, and something terrible happens in Maren’s life. This terrible thing bothered me because I didn’t really feel it had to have happened, and of course it leads to more terrible things and me hating the last 2o% of this book. I’m guessing that the way this book ended, there’s going to be a book 2, though I hadn’t seen anything listed on Goodreads. Seriously though, if there isn’t a book 2, I’m going to really hate this book even more in the future.

I’ll only recommend this if you can get past the annoying instalove and really would like to read a book that has mentions of secret organizations and codes

This is a perfect summer book for a teenager!

I on the other hand, it nearly was a DNF.

I'm not going to talk about the cons. Pros!

As always with first books in a series, they have a bit of a slow start. It got better as you went, but the tempo never really picked up. The format was nice. It has a really good story in it, if you like the instalove with a bad boy that's good?

I loved the setting. Scotland. Pretty much all I need to say about that, because, Scotland. I found the main character, Maren, interesting. She's portrayed as intelligent and she's got this thing for solving puzzles. The story's well-written and the plot kept me turning pages, but I couldn't get on-board with the romance. Insta-love. Sure he's dreamy and whatnot, but the oh-my-God-so-many-feels drama was too over the top for me. Hopefully, the next installment will have less swooning and more action.

Toward a Secret Sky by Heather Maclean is Hush, Hush meets The Da Vinci Code in this fun and enjoyable YA read perfect for those who love adventure, romance and mystery.  

Seventeen year old Maren Hamilton’s mother has just died, and having no other relatives, Maren finds herself moving from her home in Missouri, USA to Scotland to live with the parents of the father who died before her birth. Heartbroken and alone, Maren struggles to get over her recent loss when she receives an encrypted journal from her late mother full of clues only Maren can understand. Piecing together the clues confirm that both her parents worked for a secret organisation tied to the supernatural and both their deaths were not the accidents they appeared. Along with the mysterious and swoon-worthy Gavin who sets her heart on fire, Maren sets out to find out the truth about her mother’s death, but with Gavin hiding his own secrets, Maren is about to discover that nothing is what it seems and there’s a battle going on between good and evil that will change her world forever. 

Lurching her readers straight into the thick of things, Heather Maclean details Toward a Secret Sky through the eyes of Maren, a likable and easy to follow character who has a strong backbone and a thirst for the truth. Set in the beautiful Scottish countryside, Toward a Secret Sky features a lush setting and adorable cast of characters who bring Maclean’s world to life. Personally I loved that this story was set in Scotland—I’m a lover of all things Scottish and Irish, and enjoyed being able to get a taste of Scotland through Maren’s eyes.  

Without giving away spoilers, I have to say I thought it was a sweet and interesting take on the supernatural beings featured in Toward a Secret Sky. Heather Maclean features beings we’ve all doubt seen before and gives them a roguish and Scottish twist as well as giving them a nice family base with the villages and individuals we get to meet. I’m hoping this is only the first of many interactions with them and we’ll get to explore their world and hierarchy’s the in future. Seeing as how the novel ended, I can only imagine we’ll have a chance get to uncover and experience the Abbey in the next novel as well as Gavin’s people. 

Full of forbidden romance and chemistry thanks to Maren’s love interest in the form of the cheeky, but sexy Gavin, Toward a Secret Sky is good solid YA reading that will entertain readers and leaving them excited to see how Heather Maclean plans to expand on the series after the thrilling ending of this first stellar instalment.

I really couldn’t tell you what made me want to read this book. Maybe the gorgeous cover in blues and purples with a flower that is in a Celtic knot. Perhaps it was the title: Toward a secret sky. It has quite the mysterious ring to it. Sounds like a true adventure book.

The books opens with Maren, the main character, burying her mother after a “freak” accident. Maren doesn’t understand how it could happen. Her mother worked for a computer company. She had a safe job. Maren is alone now. Her father died before she was born. To say Maren is devastated is an understatement. She is orphaned. As she is burying her mother the wind howls and there is an unearthly screech. The priest runs away in terror and three men in suits vanish. Maren assumes that it is a tornado but little does she know. Sent to live with her father’s parents in Aviemore, Scotland. Grandparents she has never even meet because they did not agree with the marriage of her parents. She feels utterly lost. Once she gets over her initial melancholy, she decides to go for a walk across the street from the house. While she is walking she encounters Gavin. Little does she know that Gavin is an angel and he will change her life in ways she never thought possible. She also meets a girl named Jo at the bakery counter in the local grocery store and they become best friends. Jo helps her dress for her first day at high school. She meets Anders Campbell, the local Lord. His family is very rich and has a huge house. Maren and Jo get invited to Anders birthday party. It’s a once in a lifetime thing. Jo tells Maren she has never been invited to the party before. While there, Jo gets a text that her Grandma had a stroke. She hurriedly exits the party leaving Maren alone with Graham, Anders cousin. Suddenly, Maren feels horrible, drunk, giggly. She realizes later that she was roofied at the party. It’s not until a few days later that she learns Jo is in serious condition at the local hospital. She finds out that Jo’s Grandma was perfectly fine and Jo lied to her. She has to find the antidote to help save her best friend. Will Gavin help her find it before it’s too late? Will Gavin toss aside all the angel rules to save Maren?

First off, the reason I only gave it 4 stars. The book didn’t get “good” until a little bit past 52%. That is a lot of book to read before anything spectacular happens. The other reason is that is really is a YA book. I knew it is a YA book to begin with. Sometimes, though, they teeter on the edge of YA and a little older than YA. The book was simply written and easy to understand. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. There is romance (a clean teenager romance) and friendship though there is a fair amount of death. If you are getting it for youngsters, there are important lessons about learning to love family members you haven’t even met. But more importantly, there is action and adventure. I will admit that I wasn’t entirely sure about this book as I read it. I started it with a 3 star rating and when I ended I had upped the ante to 4. I will certainly be on the lookout for the next two books in the series that the author has already said are coming. I have got to find out what happens to Maren and Gavin on their adventures.

Absolutely loved this book, and I can see many of my students loving it too.  I will definitely recommend it, and I cannot wait for the sequel.

It's been a while since I've read an angel/demon themed book, it's a welcome change to my usual books! I enjoyed the fact there's no love triangle (a welcome break from the cliche) and, though it took a while for Maren to grow into a less flat character, I enjoyed the book as the plot unfolded. The ending however is heartbreaking so there better be a second book!

I was pleasantly surprised by what a great book with an intriguing story line this turned out to be. Sometimes I pick up a YA novel and just struggle the whole time to connect to the characters and get into it, but this one was different. I liked Maren, the main character right away and feeling close to her led me to enjoy the rest of the book. There is a bit of a Twilight feel to this--especially when one considers how Maren feels during the absence of her love interest, but it was different enough that it didn't feel like a copy.

There is plenty of action in this novel to keep you going and the romance is sweet, but not overdone--as in it doesn't take centre focus on every page of the book. I liked the way the author portrayed the secondary characters as well. No one felt like useless padding and everyone served a clearly defines purpose within the story.

I am looking forward to seeing where she goes with this series, and to reading the next book. If you want a book that will keep you busy for hours and make you feel things--this is a good one to choose. The descriptions were lovely, the story was exciting and the ending made me want more.

This review is based on a complementary copy from the publisher, provided through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Toward a Secret Sky was a book that sounded extremely promising to me. I was so excited to dive into a paranormal book with mystery, action, spies, and romance. Unfortunately, I felt like this book did not deliver on all those aspects. 

My favorite thing about this book was the setting. I love Scotland, and I was so excited to read a book set in Scotland. The author did a fantastic job at describing Scotland. I felt like I was transported there! I really appreciated how much work the author put into the setting of this book. I thought the paranormal world the author created was interesting and fun to learn about. The world she created added a lot of mystery and excitement to the story. I also was not expecting how emotional this book was going to be, so I applaud the author for not being afraid to make some heartbreaking choices while writing this book. 

I am a HUGE fan of romance, but the romance in this book didn't really do it for me. This romance had a big case of insta-love. I mean, Maren basically fainted when she first saw Gavin and she CONSTANTLY thought about how hot he was. 



The romance felt extremely fast paced. The moments that were supposed to make me swoon actually felt just out of place and cheesy because I couldn't believe the connection between Maren and Gavin. The romance took away from the parts of the plot that I actually found very interesting. I started to get bored with the book because I wanted to get back to the paranormal world instead of reading about how gorgeous Gavin was. I am hoping that the future books will slow down the pace of the romance and have it on the back burner so the author can really showcase the intriguing world she created. 

The ending of this book set up for an intriguing new plot development, so it should be interesting to see how the author deals with that in the next book. Even though I didn't love this book, I think this book would be great for a younger reader who is looking for a new paranormal romance. 

2 / 5 Fangs

*This ebook was given to me in exchange for an honest review. *

I enjoyed the world that was built in this book and I look forward to seeing what kind of adventures Maren goes on in the future (I'm assuming there will be a sequel as it was certainly set up that way). The setting was gorgeous, the characters were fun, and there were a couple of minor plot twists that I didn't see coming. Overall, this was a very fun read and I'd recommend it if you like YA fantasy that is very much set in the human world.

Its been done. That's really all I can say about this book. The characters were flat and left me wanting and the plot and tone was old used and boring. I had seen so many amazing reviews and I was really excited to dive into this however I was disapointed. It was a reboot of every YA book ever. Two hot guys from two different backgrounds fighting over one girl.... sound familiar?

I will say this book is hard to get into at the beginning but well worth the work. I hope she will writing more books in the future.

In the beginning, the book was a treat to read! I liked the way I felt like I related to Maren, being sent over seas to new relatives you didn't even know, learning customs that made you feel kind of out of place. I also really liked the mysterious vibe added once Maren learns more about her parents' past. But then Gavin came along and ruined everything! Once he got on the scene, I felt as if the storyline suffered. Maren wouldn't be seen interacting with her friends as much to the point where I wouldn't even call them friends (more like acquaintances). Or she wouldn't think of herself in such a great light, thinking that if he didn't like her, it was all her fault, even at times when Gavin clearly states that the fault is his! Plus, with Gavin there, Maren doesn't have as much chance to be a hero, with him saving her all the time! I get that he's otherworldly, but come on! Maren shouldn't have to be such a damsel in distress because she has an otherworldy being on her side! And then there was the fact that the instalove is way too much for me in this book! It was extremely unbelievable, so much so that I cringed every time they were together.

Also, the plot seemed really unorganic to me. I felt that they were sacrificing some serious tension and suspense by just by explaining things right off the bat, not making the protagonist or the reader work for them. I don't want to read exposition that's lazily put in there just so that the story can move along. Overall, I felt as if the story could have been really something, but a lot of the potential, both in the character development and plot, was lost...

Well, that's all I have to say about Toward a Secret Sky by Heather Maclean. It wasn't my cup of tea, and has certainly taught me to be really careful with wishing on NetGalley, just as much as you have to be careful of requesting books that you'd like as well. I think that this might be a good fit for Twilight fans though, even if I didn't like it...

A thriller for young adults, throughly enjoyable and I look forward to the sequel (if there is one?!)