REVIEW: First Light (Project Five Fifteen #1) by Samantha Summers

 

Author: Samantha Summers

Series: Project Five Fifteen

Pages: 342

Genre: Young Adult

Publisher: Self

Amazon: First Light

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Synopsis. (Goodreads)

What do you do when you've always dreamed of a hero; your knight in shining armour, only to find when he arrives he isn't a hero at all? ... He's a killer.

Ronnie Rose is trying to cope with the loss of her father; now it looks like she might lose everything else that's dear to her too. Huge debts threaten to destroy her family, her childhood home and her future. Only one person cuts through her pain. Kalen Smith has just moved to town. He's trouble and everyone knows it. He and his mysterious friends keep to themselves and the town likes it that way. But when Kalen mourns at her dad's funeral, Ronnie wants to know why and her investigation plunges her into a dangerous world of murky government secrets, with deadly consequences. Ronnie knows she should walk away from Kalen before it's too late. Problem is, she's falling for him...

Can we choose who we fall in love with?

REVIEW: 3 ½ out of 5 stars

First Light is the first book in the Project Five Fifteen series and was kindly provided to me by the author, Samantha Summers in exchange for my honest review.

Veronica ‘Ronnie’ Rose is devastated by the recent death of her father and the news she and her sister Rachel are about to lose the family home and there seems to be only one person around to understand and offer support to her during such a tough time, Kalen Smith.

Kalen has recently moved to the small town of Clanots Ocean. He and his mysterious friends keep to themselves but are talked about endlessly; Kalen appeared at Ronnie’s father’s funeral, saved her from an embarrassing situation at a diner and seems to be around whenever she is in need of a bit of help but there is an air of mystery about him and he avoids many of her questions which made me quite curious about who he actually was and what he was hiding.

As a main protagonist, I felt for Ronnie, she has lost her father, is walked on yet still protects her older sister and has a best friend who wasn’t the most endearing person. Ronnie seemed lonely and naïve at times but showed strength when it was needed but there was something about her that I didn’t truly connect with; she seemed weak in her interactions with some of the characters, her sister and Jared in particular.

Kalen was such a complex, intriguing character who I was eager to learn more about; the tidbits of his past at the end of each chapter were heartbreaking; what he had been conditioned to do from such a young age was terrible and his foreseeable future wasn’t looking too appealing since he was always on the run. I also liked the connection he had to Ronnie’s father.

It’s difficult to reveal too much about the plot without giving spoilers but it does surround a secret government project known as Project Five Fifteen of the S.R.U (Special Requirements Unit) who believed child assassins would be the ultimate guise, a weapon no one would see coming - which Kalen and friends are a part of and now they are constantly on the move to avoid termination; Ronnie’s involvement in their life could possibly put her at risk as well, something Kalen is trying to avoid.

Besides best friend Mae, Ronnie’s sister Rachel and her partner Jared who I didn’t like whatsoever, I adored the secondary characters; Ace, Denver and Nash were wonderful and my negative thoughts about Laith rang true, Alexandra also became a great friend to Ronnie.

There were a few minor things which I didn’t really connect with; I was a little wary of Ronnie’s instant trust of Kalen and his group even though she knew there was something off about them; I would have run a mile when he admitted what they were but I liked their interactions and the trust they grew to have in each another. I also would have liked to have seen more interactions with the agency rather than with civilians, it wasn’t until around the last third of the book that they made an appearance. Also, I could write a whole essay on what I didn’t like about Ronnie’s sister Rachel and her boyfriend Jared, the way they treated her was unbelievable and the way she accepted it and easily forgave had me shaking my head.

I don’t know why I kept thinking of the Bourne Identity throughout this book; I love an action-packed movie and for some reason I connected this book to that series. It was certainly a thrill-ride and I am eager to read the next book in this trilogy, As You Were.

Despite the few things mentioned above, I really enjoyed First Light, the sweet romance, action, suspense and intrigue made for a compelling read and the even pacing and engrossing plot as well as Ms Summer’s writing made for much entertainment.