Thursday, July 19, 2012

Review + Giveaway: Dark Territory

J. Gabriel Gates & Charlene Keel
Paranormal Young Adult
504 pages
HCI Teens
Available Now
Received from TLC Book Tours for review

THE STORY (From Goodreads)
When Ignacio Torrez moved from the rough streets of Los Angeles to a small town dead smack in the middle of nowhere, he never expected to find himself in the midst of a gang war. But, he soon learns, these are no ordinary gangs. The wealthy, preppie Toppers on one side of the tracks and the working-class Flatliners on the other adhere to a strict code of honor and use their deadly martial arts skills, taught to them by the wise Master Chin, to battle one another for pride, territory, and survival. 

When Raphael, leader of the Flatliners, falls forAimee, a Topper girl, the rival gangs prepare for a bloody, all-out war. The only hope for peace between them lies within the dark territory of the abandoned train tunnels where the tracks cross. Under the direction of the mysterious and frightening Magician, the awesome power within the crossing sends the rivals on a terrifying mystical quest to fight the malevolent force that threatens the existence of Middleburg-and quite possibly, the world.

MY THOUGHTS
Dark Territory is an interesting jumble of elements, forbidden romance existing alongside a paranormal mystery existing alongside a small town gang war, and while each individual element is something that easily piques our curiosity, the combination of all of them together has us struggling for sure footing in this 500-page tale. This first installment starts out strong, newcomer Ignacio running afoul of rival gangs on his very first day of school, and continues to draw us in as the daughter of the richest man in town returns after a violent incident caused her father to send her to boarding school in Montana. There are just enough secrets in the opening chapters to have us itching to learn more, but as we continue on, we find Dark Territory to be an extravagant and almost unnavigable maze, tempting us in one direction only to lead us to what seems to be a dead end (possibly only a temporary one as there are more books) before taking us down another path that results in the same fate.

The synopsis leads us to believe that south central L.A. transplant Ignacio is going to be our protagonist, a witness to the Romeo and Juliet-esque love between leader of the Flatliner gang Raphael and Topper Aimee, however, this story surprises us a bit by bouncing around to a variety of other characters, each of whom raises more questions in our minds as we follow them for brief periods of time. The romance between Raphael and Aimee, perhaps the element that has us most intrigued, doesn’t really begin until almost halfway through, the flashes of them together captivating but fleeting as we’re quickly whisked to another part of the maze and given another road to travel.

As the final showdown between the gangs approaches toward the end, the story starts to unravel a bit, the strands of rope linking all the different elements and characters together fraying as the paranormal element kicks into high gear. What began as a tale of starcrossed lovers with a supernatural twist suddenly becomes something we can’t even begin to classify, worlds colliding and paranormal entities overflowing with nary an explanation in sight. It’s easy to grant this story a certain degree of suspension of disbelief as it progresses, hoping the concluding pages will hold some answers to the labyrinth created by all the characters and their various stories, however, no answers to any of our questions are provided. Instead we’re left a touch befuddled by the sheer number of events taking place simultaneously in the final chapters, longing for a return to the delightful simplicity of Raphael and Aimee’s relationship.

Despite some of the confusion Dark Territory leaves us with, the story itself is well written and often times extremely engaging, it just suffers from trying to do a bit too much in a single story to the detriment of characters who could have easily held our attention if their individual story was allowed to be more of a sole focus.

Rating: 3/5



GIVEAWAY

Thanks to J. Gabriel Gates, Charlene Keel, and TLC Book Tours, I have one copy of both Dark Territory and it's sequel Ghost Crown to give away on the blog today. To enter, please just leave a comment on this post with a valid email address so I can contact you if you win. Giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents only and will run through midnight on Friday, the 27th after which time a winner will be chosen and emailed. Good luck everyone!

34 comments:

  1. "With nary an explanation in sight" I am dying laughing here! I'm sorry. It sounded like Westside Story at first but then had me stumbling with the Magician and the underground railroad. I have no interest in reading 500 pages of this. Especially if the Romeo and Julietesque story isn't central.
    Thanks for the review.

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  2. I am not certain .... I mean the book sounds good but, I don't like being confused.. And I do not like waiting for things to happen, or for characters introduced. I always think it's important to get right into a story. I'm not a fan of slow beginners.

    But... I do love the Romeo and Julia theme and wished it would have been flashed out more.

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  3. You had me at *small town smack dab in the middle of nowhere* which is where I live lol
    [well, minus the paranormal events, but one can always hope ;D ]

    Anyhoo, thank you for this sweet giveaway!! I think I'd enjoy the complex jumble/maze aspect, especially as I need a new, good series to sink my *teeth* into~

    Have a fun week & stay cool <3
    Mary DeBorde M.A.D.
    zenrei57 (at) hotmail dot com

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  4. I hate being confused after reading a book too. It annoys me so much when my questions are left unanswered. The premise seems really interesting, but I don't really think that this is the book for me. Still, I'm glad you enjoyed the romance even if it's very minimal.
    Lovely review as usual, Jenny ! :)

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  5. First of all, I hats when covers have the same images! Obsidian has the same couple in the same pose. Even though the covers are different otherwise, its still confusing.
    I'm not sure I would pick this one up. It sounds like one I just wouldn't have the patience for. In that long of a book I would like answers. I'm glad it was still a somewhat good story though!

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  6. Hm...so glad for the above comment now cos I kept staring at the cover and wondering why the couple looked familliar

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  7. Ha! I knew something about that cover seemed familiar! This book sounds like it started off promising, but got hella confusing as time went on!

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  8. I don't think I have come across this before but it sounds interesting. Or I should say, the forbidden romance sounds interesting. ;) It's a shame the story was a little too cluttered but I'm glad you mostly enjoyed it overall. Great review, Jenny! :)

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  9. When I read the blurb, this book sounds like your typical forbidden romance mixed in with a gang war, but I'm glad it provided so much more than that! Lovely review Jenny! And seriously this couple are everywhere!! ;)

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  10. Hmmm, I haven't heard of this book before but haha, I love how Pepe and Stella are used as models in the cover too :P Like Jasprit said, this couple are everywhere, LOL. But this book sounds really interesting and I've always loved forbidden romance ;)

    Awesome review, Jenny! ♥ Glad you enjoyed it :)

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  11. Fantastically written review Jenny! This book sounds like it suffers humungous plot syndrome. Love how you used the word "nary"!

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  12. Hum...I'm not big on mazes and confusion and massive plots with lots of dead ends. The blurb is intriguing but I don't think it's enough to keep me moving forward. Great review, of course!

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  13. I'm not sure if I would like this book. Thanks for sharing and for the giveaway! As always, you rock Jenny!

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  14. A little to crowded, huh? I read a book like that recently. I loved the stories but they felt rushed like they should have been on their own.

    I love that cover though!

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  15. Ok What bothers me most is that this has the same characters that were on Armentrout's Onyx. A crowded plot and lots of characters, well it should make for an interesting read. I am glad it wasn't a terrible book. Thanks for the rundown!

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  16. Sorry for the lack of comments. I was out of town for a few days this past week and am just starting to catch up.

    Hmm....I don't know about this one. The concept sounds interesting, but I don't know if I have the patience to read books that start to fall apart at the end.

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  17. It seems that boy & girl are on so many covers...

    Nice review! Sounds a bit too crowded with characters to follow for my tastes, but interesting nonetheless.

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  18. It certainly sounds interesting enough, but it also sounds a bit more like Westside story than Romeo and Juliet. But then Westside story had aspects of that. Hm... this might frustrate me but still... 3 stars. Not bad at all...

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  19. I like to consider myself a traveler, but all those roads sound like a bit too much for even me. LOL Then again, a little extra mayhem isn't always so bad. I just wish the romance didn't take so long to develop.

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  20. They are the go to couple for book covers recently, aren't they?

    The book does sound interesting and I'd certainly like to give it a try.

    Melissa (melrailey@gmail.com)

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  21. I think the storyline sounds intriguing. I read one review that said something long the line of west side story with magic and that certainly has appeal. LOL I have found a lot of times book one will have a lot going on trying to get the world set and characters introduced and this sounds a lot like that. I would certainly love to give it a read and appreciate the giveaway opportunity.
    dz59001[at]gmail[dot]com

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  22. I totally agree with your thoughts. I liked what this book was trying to do, I just thought there was too much going on, and too many different character perspectives. It's interesting how even though it was packed full of plotlines the book still felt too long almost. I'm so curious about the next book and I'm definitely going to read it as part of this tour, but I'm hoping it will be less busy and stick to a main plot or two.

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  23. thanks for a great review! this book definitely sounds interesting... gotta go check it out ;)

    efender1(at)gmail(dot)com

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  24. Interesting review - sounds like something I would like!

    Leanne
    leannessf at gmail dot com

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  25. Sounds really good! Thanks for the chance to win!
    natasha_donohoo_8 at hotmail dot com

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  26. Great review! Thanks for this amazing giveaway! These books sound great and I would love to win them!

    susanw28 (at) mindspring (dot) com

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  27. The synopsis of this one sounds a little like West Side Story. Too bad it focused on so many characters and storylines.

    I can't look at that cover without thinking of Jennifer Armentrout's Lux series.

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  28. Excellent review. I want to read this!

    supersonic182(at)gmail(dot)com

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  29. Thank you for the opportunity to win this book! Looks fantastic!

    compelledbywords@live.com

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  30. Thanks for the giveaway. I really want to read this series. It sounds very good. Tore923@aol.com

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  31. This series looks like something I would enjoy. It seems really interesting. Thanks for the chance to win :)

    Chelle2006@aolDOTcom

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  32. Looks great! Thanks for hosting! :D

    compelledbywords@live.com

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  33. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this for the tour.

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