Lani Wendt YoungCritiques

#ReadAroundTheWorld #Samoa

This is a chick-lit, rom-com featuring big, beautiful brown girl Scarlet, by Samoan author, Lani Wendt Young. Scarlet had left Samoa years before, her family believing she had brought shame on them. She is returning now for her sister’s wedding and meets a handsome stranger Jackson on the plane. The family she returns to is full of warmth and affection but also petty squabbles, sibling rivalry and plenty of blunt advice for the plus-sized and single Scarlet.

Rom-com is not really my genre of choice but on the positive side at least this one gives some insight into Samoan family life. Scarlet also puts a different spin on romance with her detailed sweet food analogies. On the negative side I don’t really enjoy the insta-love (well more precisely lust) trope and the need to be perpetually reiterating the hero’s physical traits every time he appears. I was also sad that Scarlet felt a handsome man wouldn’t be interested in a fat girl. At least he proved her wrong on this front. There is only really one sex scene in this book and there are suggestions of previous sexual trauma in Scarlet’s teenage years, but the details are not stated. Overall this was a good story, if I’m going to read rom-com let it be Samoan! 3.5 stars for me.½

" I am Daniel Tahi I have your name tattooed on my heart and you don't even remember who i am"...I loved being able to read the back story of pele and find out more about the modern day keawe and their protectors the olohe. "You will soar with wings my child and touch the heavens and hold the star bringer in your hands never forget you are drauki and i love you" I loved the character of Tahei and found the powers of the drauki very interesting." I was pele the daughter of Noalani the coventant keeper.I was broken . And now I am whole. I am Leila the daughter of Leila the covenant keeper.I was lost. And now I am found.I am Pele. I am Leila. I am Beloved" Great end to the series a lot of action through out.

This was a really good read - I fully enjoyed becoming submerged into the Samoan culture and learning more about Leila's life. The characters are well crafted and truly come to life: Daniel the sexy "super chunk" with his deep and caring nature; Simone the boy/girl with his absolute over-the-top crazy charm; Leila herself - angry and confused with events as she tries to piece together the world that she now finds herself thrust in to. From a field of supernatural/romance stories, this one truly stands out as actually being original. I am now, of course, anxious to read book two.

After her father's death, Leila travels to Samoa, on a quest to learn more about her birth mother - a mother who perished soon after she was born. At first things seem pretty good - sure, she may not get on so well with her aunt and uncle, but she's enrolled in a local school and adapts to the somewhat more rigid, respectful way of Samoan life. Indeed, she even catches the eye of the sexiest boy in school - the gorgeous Daniel. But something sinister is afoot - she's finding herself suffering constantly from night fevers and tormented by strange dreams and one day a woman turns up on her aunt's doorstep and turns her world inside out, plunging her in to the dark and deceitful world of the Telesa.

This is one book that deserves more recognition - because it is self-published it will never strike the mainstream like others of this genre, but in many ways it far usurps much of the teen paranormal/urban fantasy that I have seen. The relationships seem to form more naturally, the female protagonist is a strong and willful woman who can make up her own mind and fight her own battles, she makes wise decisions even though they go against her emotions and she makes mistakes, learns from them and improves. Overall, she is a far better role model than say Bella Swan.

The Samoan culture is richly and evocatively described - from the school life to the clothing, to the respect of the young for their elders, to the food. Oh yes, the food. One can tell that Lani has a strong connection - and love, of Samoa, it shines in every compelling sentence. And whats more, she makes you love it too.

This follow-up to "The Covenant Keeper" is as least, if not more, engrossing at its predecessor. Leila returns to Samoa, this time a stronger, more mature and more independent woman than the one who first made the journey to the island shores. However, she is still her hot-tempered, stubborn self and still flares up at the least provacation (although not it is more emotionally, rather than literally). The courtship between her and Daniel continues to be sweet, even if he can be a brick-headed chunk hunk at times. Simone comes more to the front in this novel, taking the role of "flamboyant best friend". However, aside from these formulaic moves, the plot has a freshness absent in many teen paranormal-style novels, the folklore behind the Telesa and their convenants is more fully explained, and the delightfully lyrical nature of the writing immerses one fully in the humidity of tropical Samoa.

I look forward to reading the final volume!

The sequel to Telesa: The Covenant Keeper and second in the Telesa series. I haven't read the first book in the series as it was unavailable but the story wasn't too hard to pick up. In the first book Nafanua and the Covenant Sisterhood were vanquished by fire goddess Leila, but if she thinks all her troubles are over, she is very wrong. A fellow Telesa is plotting her revenge and a stranger arrives on the island, one who she is strangely attracted to and who burns when they touch. Her boyfriend, Daniel, seems at one with the sea and how can fire and water mix? Her best friend fa'afafine Simone is an interesting character. Great cover.½

I started reading Telesa not knowing anything about Samoa and by the time I was finished I was in love! In love with the Samoa culture and mythology that Lani Wendt Young brought to life in this wonderful book.

Telesa has everything a YA book needs. There is humor, suspense, romance and all of it takes place in what has to be one of the most beautiful settings I have read about in a long time. The Samoa mythology is unique and anyone who loves Paranormal stories is going to love this.

The characters are fantastic and realistic. Leila is a teen trying to find her place this world after her father dies. She goes to Samoa, the land of her dead mother, in hopes of finding out more about her heritage. The people she meets and what she learns about herself is a story you won’t want to put down!

When I first started reading this book it was kind of slow getting started for the first few chapters, but don’t let that fool you. It was quite an adventure. Leila is an 18-year-old girl who has lost her father, is living with an overbearing grandmother, and decides to take off to Samoa to find out more about her mother. Upon arrival, she doesn’t feel any more welcome in Samoa than she did back home. Her Aunt and Uncle tell Leila that she shouldn’t have come, and they set strict rules for her. Leila doesn’t want to seem ungrateful, so she does as they ask. At school she ends up meeting the most beautiful boy she has ever seen, Daniel. She tries to ignore her feelings, but she is drawn to him, as he is to her. She also begins to feel ill, especially at night, feeling like she has a fever all the time, and on top of that, no one will tell her anything about her mother. It is as if the subject is taboo. As her relationship with Daniel intensifies, so does her fever, until something happens which completely changes everything. Then, she arrives home one day and finds someone there she never expected….someone she believed was dead….and Leila’s life as she knew it changes forever.

I found this book completely thrilling. Leila turned out to be a kick-butt heroine. The legend and myth of the Telesa incorporated a paranormal element that was fresh and exciting. I loved the romance. Daniel is quite the hottie. There are also quite a few other characters that were fun to get to know. Simone is hilarious and so well written, as were the other characters. The book, especially closer to the end, is action packed and filled with suspense. There is so much more to this story than I can put in a review, and I don’t want to give away any spoilers. This paranormal romance is combined with some kick-butt action, some supernatural women who can control the elements, in addition to a little mystery and suspense, with some really hot guys added in, which altogether make for a great read. Lani Wendt Young has done an outstanding job with this novel. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series, When Water Burns.