Review: Rare Form by Jen Crane

Rare Form
(Descended of Dragons, #1)
By: Jen Crane
Publisher: Self-Published
Published: Oct. 6, 2015
Genre: New Adult Fantasy Romance
Rating:

A Secret Past
Fiery redhead Stella Stonewall can’t decide between a margarita and a manhattan.
The rest of her life? Please. Stella has never really fit in, and her pretty world comes crashing down when she learns it was never her world at all.
Rowan Gresham is domineering, brooding, and as sexy as chocolate-dipped sin. When he transports Stella to the magical realm of her parents she recognizes her rightful place immediately. Gresham’s motivations are less clear.

A Scorching Chemistry
The enigmatic Gresham aids in Stella’s metamorphosis and their chemistry ignites, though a long-time girlfriend and a significant age difference stand in the way.

A Battle for the Rest of Her Life
Stella’s life fast-tracks to extraordinary when she enrolls at Radix Citadel for Supernatural Learning, an enchanted college whose students turn furry on the regular. As Stella learns to navigate the magical new world of Thayer she must also find her animal form, a task as elusive as her ancestry. Stella soon faces an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to learn to manipulate an animal form she never knew she possessed.

My thoughts…

Stella is about to graduate from college and has no idea what to do with her life. However, that all changes when she gets into an accident and the man who hit her vehicle is babbling on about being from another dimension and claims he has been looking for her. Of course, at first she thinks he’s crazy but soon she finds herself traveling to this other dimension and learning that there’s a world out there where humans didn’t just descend from primates but from all life forms. Plus, there’s a school out there for her kind to learn the ways of magic, their ancestry, and how to transform into their animal form. Soon Stella finds herself navigating this new world, making new friends, and learning things about herself that she never imagined.

I love dragon shifter books. The moment I saw this cover I knew I had to get my hands on it. The majority of the book focuses on Stella getting her bearings while at the new school. Heck, even for the reader it’s an adjustment. I mean, right out of the gate we are enlightened to the fact that Thayer is nothing like our world. The people there may sometimes resemble their animal half. For instance, Stella’s friend’s animal is a deer, and you can tell because she has big black “doe eyes”, a long and willowy body, and furry deer ears. One guy that Stella comes across has reptilian feet! I loved that the author didn’t just make everyone human in appearance. The fact that some of the characters resembled their animal was brilliant.

Throughout the story there are two things going on. Stella trying to figure out what her animal form is, and the kindling chemistry between her and Gresham, her mentor. I love that even though the cover of the book and the title of the series lead you to believe you know what Stella will be, the author has you second guessing yourself up until the moment that her other half is revealed. Not to mention, we have no clue as to what Gresham is. He kind of reminds me of Barrons from the Fever series by KMM. He’s broody, gives off a dangerous vibe, treats Stella like a nuisance but then is clearly attracted to her, knows more than he’s willing the share, and he doesn’t seem to fit any one of the other types of beings in the story. Even at the end I still don’t know what Barrons really was. I’m hoping that won’t be the case with Gresham.

I really enjoyed Rare Form. I liked the mystery, the magic, the danger, and just the whole feel of the book. I did feel that at times the dialogue and wording in the book seemed a bit stuffy and I didn’t see someone of Stella’s age using such words. Unless we are talking about using the “word of the day” in a sentence, because I’ve done that before. I could see Gresham speaking in such a manner but for a young college graduate, it just didn’t jive with me. Other than that, I thought the story was great. I mean, how could it not be with dragons, shifters of all sorts, sorcerers, and a sexy brooding mentor to boot? I’m so glad I have the second book already in hand because I’m dying to know what happens next for Stella. In case you are one of those folks who needs to know about cliffhangers… Rare Form ends on one. 😉

Favorite quote…

“I had to be weary of Rowan Gresham when I saw him at the coffee shop. Crazy doesn’t always look crazy. Sometimes it looks like the most handsome and refined gentleman ever encountered in one’s short life.”