Ivan

I’ve been reading Kit’s books since early days, and when we moved from Sector 4 (the Beyond series), I was convinced I could never love Sector 1 as much, but with this second book in the Gideon’s Riders series I was proven dead wrong. A slow burn (so many longing looks and glancing touches!) built up to an explosive finish. The classic princess and her knight (bodyguard) story takes on new life here and the payoff is fantastic. Great character development. Kit really hit it out of the park with this one. (There are a lot of characters in play here, so I do recommend reading book one in this series, “Ashwin,” first.)

Wow! Kit Rocha has done it again…I loved this book! Not that I’m surprised, because reading Kit Rocha’s books is so comfortably easy – the writing is excellent (no distractions from spelling, grammar, or word use errors), and the stories just pull you in. I love that I can picture the people and the settings, I can hear the sounds and feel immersed in the experience. It takes a special writer to do this, and the team that is Kit Rocha is amazingly adept at building this world and the characters in it. In the newest book in the Gideon’s Riders series, not only did we get to watch Ivan’s and Maricela’s relationship grow and develop, but, all the while, we learned more about the other Riders (whose stories I can’t wait to read). I enjoyed the various perspectives in the book – in one chapter, I could look into Maricela’s thoughts and understand her reactions, then in the next chapter, I could do the same with Ivan. Interspersed in their story were chapters viewed from the perspective of other characters, so not only did I learn about Maricela and Ivan from their own perspective, but I also learned about them from these other characters…along with the added bonus of learning a little bit about those characters themselves (which will make their stories that much richer when they get told). As for the story itself, Maricela and Ivan are both weighed down by the expectations people have of them (and that they have of themselves), and this book is all about them learning how to reconcile their own happiness with those expectations. I love the realness of their feelings and their interactions with the people around them. I love the sense of family and that ultimately, even though it isn’t always easy, their happiness is what is most important.