Review: Haven by Kristi Cook

Haven

Title: Haven                            Pages: 416
Author: Kristi Cook                 Source: Pulse It!
Publisher: Simon Pulse         Published: February 22, 2011
Series: N/A?                           Purchase: Amazon
Rating: 4 out of 5

Violet McKenna has a secret that she's tried to keep hidden from everyone else - she can see the future. Tragic visions starring only her loved ones weigh her down, making her feel different. She tries to warn everyone the best she can without telling them, without ending up in a straitjacket.

Then she is presented with the choice of leaving her hometown of Atlanta and living with her workaholic step mom, or living with her Gran. She chooses to instead go to Winterhaven boarding school, which she has felt inexplicably drawn to ever since she got the glossy brochure.

In fact, Winterhaven has that effect on people with similar talents to Violet's. Talents in telepathy, astral-projection, shape-shifting.. You name it, Winterhaven's got it. This comes as a shock to Violet, but realizes that Winterhaven is a safe haven. She no longer has to pretend to be someone she's not. She finally has friends, and maybe even a boyfriend - Aidan Gray, the hot, intellectual, mysterious mind reader.

But Aidan has his own secrets that are far worse than being able to read someone's mind. And when Violet and Aidan's destinies seem to link up, Violet realizes she might not have a safe haven after all.

I certainly agree with everyone comparing this to Twilight. It felt very similar to me, but better.

The characters in Haven were quite addicting to read about, although some of Violet's reactions were a little over dramatic. She comes across as a smart and different girl, one that doesn't quite seem okay in her own skin. She certainly grows throughout Haven and becomes braver and more comfortable with her abilities, not thinking of herself as such a freak anymore. I love when you can experience character growth in a novel, and Kristi Cook certainly did just that with Haven.

I loved Aidan, too. He was so mysterious and sexy, with how he couldn't seem to keep his eyes off Violet, even though he never took notice to any other girl at Winterhaven. I'm sure that's a lot of women's fantasies, to be the only woman in their man's eyes.

The writing in Haven was awesome, and it made me keep turning pages, even when I had other books I should have probably been reading instead. It was so addicting from page one, all the way to the last page. Granted that Haven seemed a bit clichéd, it totally worked and felt sort of like slipping into your most comfortable shirt and just diving into a book you know would make you happy. This was Haven all the way.

That being said, the plot of course was predictable. I saw the twists coming, save for a few of them, but I didn't care. I devoured it all.

So, if you do not liked clichéd novels, or ones that have the same feel of Twilight, Haven would probably not be for you. But if you just want a novel you know you'd like, one that is equal parts romance and action, then read this one.