Haven by Kristi Cook

Alright, I have been putting this off and am going to just bite the bullet.  I really loved Haven and want to do it justice.  Also, I've met Kristi and she is AMAZING!  Super smart and fun.  I loved meeting her at BEA.

That being said, I left BEA with a signed copy of Haven and I was chomping at the bit to read it.  Once night I got done with my nightly email/blog/Facebook time and tried to go to bed.  But of course, as always happens when I'm so tired I can't stand it- I laid there for 30 minute wide awake.  I thought, hey- I'll just read a few pages of Haven and it'll help me sleep.  Not what happened.  Instead, I learned that Haven is a cause of insomnia and not the cure.  Long story short, I was up until 5 AM and read the whole book.  Then when I did fall asleep, I had crazy dreams filled with Aidan.  Now let's get this out in the open, some people see similarities between Haven and Twilight.  I thought of Twilight ONCE during the entire book and it was over something small and just plain goofy.  Aidan is not Edward.  He is a hundred times better than Edward.  I'll get to the why later.  But I digress, on to the summary and review!

Violet McKenna transfers to Winterhaven School after moving with her stepmom to New York after the death of her father.  She thinks that she'll be attending a regular boarding/prep school where she'll fence and study.  What Violet doesn't know is that she didn't really choose Winterhaven, it chose her.  After arriving at Winterhaven, Violet begins to notice strange things going on around her as well as the handsome boy who is assigned to catch her up on her classwork.  Aidan doesn't pay attention to the other girls in school but he notices Violet straight away.  As the first day continues for Violet, she realizes that the secret that she has kept for most of her life is what makes her like everyone else at Winterhaven.  Winterhaven is a school for students with a little something more that makes them special.  Talents that they need to hide from the outside world.  As Violet settles in at Winterhaven, she learns more about Aidan and the two become closer.  But the "something else" that makes Aidan Gray special is something that Violet may not be ready to know about.  Once she does find out the truth, it sets her on a path towards her own destiny- one where she and Aidan fight together against a common enemy.

Aidan Gray 

Now for the litany of reasons why I love this book.  I'm going to start with Aidan.  I LOVE that he is a nice guy who is also a science nerd.  I was a biology major in college and all the guys who were majors (at least at my school) were jerks.  They thought they knew everything.  They wanted to be doctors that made lots of money and married models.  I could not stand them.  So, thank you to Kristi for redeeming the male science nerd in my eyes.  (And for making him adorable.)  Aidan is, in my eyes, WAY better than Edward.  He's a decent guy who trusts people, who tries to do the right thing and who keeps Violet safe without because obnoxious about it.  Edward could learn a few things from Aidan Gray.  I also love Violet because she is a good strong female character.  I love that she chooses to try the boarding school when the easier choice would have been to go stay with her grandma.  Instead she steps outside of her comfort zone and finds a place where she truly belongs and friends who understand her for who she is and not just most of who she is. Violet really opens up and is herself at Winterhaven and that is great to see.  Girls should have a place where they can be themselves and friends who support them in that.  The entire story was engrossing and I finished the book wishing that I could live full time in this world that Kristi has created.  I agree with my friend Yara at Once Upon a Twilight, Haven is that same kind of book that evokes the same types of emotions that reading Twilight did.  It is one of those books that just makes you feel like you want to be in that world, like you have a vested interest in these characters, and like you're dying to know what happens next.  And honestly, that is where the similarities between the two books end.  Both are epic and that is the only way in which they are alike.  I really hope that you all will give Haven a try.  I loved every moment of it and my husband is going to start reading it this weekend.  Please get your hands on a copy and read it.  I think you'll be glad you did.  I would reccomend this one for most readers.  I don't recall any real red flags so anyone 13 or so and up should be fine reading this one.  There are some make out scenes, I guess you could call them but nothing too serious.

You can find out more about the world of Winterhaven and about Kristi on her website.  You can also follow her on Twitter.  (And you should!  She has EXCELLENT taste in music and food!)

Haven receives 5 Fairies for the hotness that is Aiden and the wonder of this new world.