Author: Martha Bourke
Pub. Date: Jan. 3, 2012
Acquired: From author, for review.
Find “Jaguar Sun”:
Amazon / B&N / Fishpond
DECEMBER 21, 2012 Will that fateful day destroy our world, or did the Mayans have something else in mind?
Maya Delaney knows. Unfortunately.
Maya Delaney is just an average sixteen-year-old. She’s busy dealing with exams, her soon to be ex-boyfriend and fitting in.
But Maya’s got bigger problems. She’s hiding a major secret from her dad and having strange visions she can’t control.
In her struggle to figure out who she is, she learns that she is meant to fulfill an ancient Mayan Prophesy and bring forth a New Age on earth.
Will the spirit magic Maya wields be enough to defeat Toltec, an evil society bent on keeping her from her destiny?
Or will that destiny destroy her?
In a time when December 21, 2012 is a very popular topic, I figured this book would be extrememly interesting to check out!
I have to say that my favorite thing about Jaguar Sun is the world-building. Ms. Bourke chose to make being a shifter something that isn’t a secret to the entire population. It’s not something that can be kept a secret from anyone due to a tattoo that shows up on the back of any shifter’s neck once they change.
Maya, our main character, is still in high school. She lives with her dad, because her mom ran out on them a long time ago (I expect there to be more to that story at some point in the future), and has a very close relationship with her grandmother who is a Mayan elder.
She also has two, very awesome, best friends…Twins, Lyssa and Damian. They end up playing a bigger part in this story than what we’d first think. But, besides all that, I LOVE these two! THIER relationship is so hilarious, plus the way they interact with Maya is just perfect. I love when authors choose to focus on friendships almost as much as they focus on the romance of a story.
Yes, there’s some romance. In the beginning of Jaguar Sun, Maya and her boyfriend, Matt, are having some relationship setbacks, but as the story progresses, we see some of the supernatural aspects in their lives just bring them closer.
I enjoyed the premise. I enjoyed having an original story that involved shifters, but also something far from what I’m used to reading. A world where a young girl has to save the world using her shifting abilities, but it’s all enveloped in a deep Mayan culture and history that just makes the story richer.
The only negative thing I can say, is that some of the characters felt a little flat to me. And that’s something that I hope can be addressed in further installments.
~My Rating~
~About the Author~
Martha Bourke grew up in Burlington, Vermont, often considered a hub of “free thinking.” She was encouraged to write and be creative at a very young age. Martha also had her father’s talent for languages, which later became her career. She spent fifteen years creating and teaching in foreign language programs for young children. She continued to write on the side, trying out a variety of fiction genres. Then she discovered YA – specifically, paranormal romance. She was hooked!
Martha and her husband of thirteen years have carved out their own little piece of Vermont in the Massachusetts countryside. When not writing, Martha loves spending time with her animals, good music, thrifting, and adding to her Converse collection. She is currently working on book two of the Jaguar Sun Series, Jaguar Moon.
