The Rampart Guards by Wendy Terrien

Book one in the Adventures of Jason Lex chronicles

Publisher: Camashea Press

Publication Date: February 26^th, 2016

Source: Ebook from Roger Charlie

Rating: 4 hearts

Synopsis (from goodreads)

After his mom disappears, Jason Lex and his family move to a small town where he has no friends, no fun, no life. Things get worse when he’s chased by weird flying creatures that only he can see—Jason thinks he’s losing it.

But when Jason discovers new information about his family, he’s stunned to learn that creatures like Skyfish, Kappa, and the Mongolian Death Worm aren’t just stories on the Internet—they’re real and they live unseen alongside the human race. Many of these creatures naturally emit energy capable of incinerating humans. An invisible shield keeps these creatures hidden and protects the human race from their threatening force, but someone, or some thing, is trying to destroy it.

Unsure who he can trust, Jason is drawn into the fight to save the people closest to him, and he finds help in surprising places. Confronted with loss, uncertainty, and a devastating betrayal, Jason must make a gut-wrenching decision:

Who lives, and who dies.

Review

I’m not a middle grade genre but I like some and this one is good, there is a lot of actions, some mysteries and family problems.

The Lex family is composed by the mother, the father, two sons, Kyle and Jason and a daughter Della. I won’t tell you the story because the synopsis is enough but there is some family bond in the story and maybe you can trust anyone.

I like Jason, he is mature for his age, and he’s only fourteen years old and has a lot on his shoulder. He sees things and he’s talking about them to his uncle, he’s discovering a lot of things about his family but he doesn’t really believe in it. He has a good friend, Sadie, she’s helping him a lot to think and to take good decisions.

Alexander is a great character, he’s a little creepy in the beginning but I like him, he’s important to the story and his dog Finn is so great, without her, the story wouldn’t be the same, she’s saving life of a lot of people.

All the secondary characters are very realistic, the good and the bad ones, you don’t have to love them but they give a thing to story.

Wendy Terrien has written a real adventure with some great hero, with suspense, friendship and mystery. The characters are young but very realistic in their reactions and feelings, there is no love attraction because fourteen is young but I like the relation between Sadie and Jason.

There will be a sequel and I will read it because even if the book doesn’t end on a cliffhanger, there are a lot of questions without answer. I need to know more about The Cryptics, The League of Governors and the Bad guy.

I definitely recommend this book if you want to go on an adventure full of mysterious creatures.

About the author

Wendy Terrien has been writing stories since she was in grade school. Her debut novel The Rampart Guards (February 26, 2016) is the first in her urban fantasy series.

Inspired by an episode of Bones that suspected a killer to be a fabled chupacabra, Wendy was fascinated and dove into research about cryptozoology – the study of animals that may or may not exist, or cryptids. Pouring over stories, videos and photographs of creatures others had seen all over the world, Wendy developed her own story to share with middle grade, young adult and grown-up readers.

Raised in Salt Lake City, Wendy graduated from the University of Utah and soon transplanted to Colorado where she completed her MBA at the University of Denver. Having applied her marketing expertise to the financial and network security industries, it wasn’t until a career coach stepped in that she fully immersed herself in her passion for writing. Wendy began attending writers conferences, workshops and retreats.

She regularly participates in two critique groups and is the Secretary of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and a member of Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. In 2014, she was a finalist in the San Francisco Writer’s Contest and in March, will release a novella in the anthology Tick Tock: Seven Tales of Time.

Wendy lives in Colorado with her husband Kevin and their three dogs: Maggie, Shea and Boon. All three of her dogs are rescues and Wendy is passionate about promoting shelter adoptions. If you’re ever in Colorado, you may even be able to spot her by her “Adopt a Shelter Pet” license plates.

Amazon – Goodreads