Review: Determinant by A.M. Hargrove

Title: Determinant
Author: A.M. Hargrove
Source: Copy given by author for honest review
Genre: Young Adult
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Caution: May contain spoilers

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January St. Davis, on her own since the age of sixteen and struggling to stay in college, thinks she’s scored in a major way when she lands a paid summer internship at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. One evening, after working an especially long shift, a chance encounter with a group of mysterious men alters the course of her life.

Rykerian Yarrister, a Guardian of Vesturon with unearthly powers and impossibly gorgeous looks, finds himself at odds over the human female he recently saved from certain death. When it seems he is on the verge of winning her over, she is ripped from his hands by a strange and powerful being, threatening to destroy her if his demands are not met.

Do Rykerian and the Guardians have the ability to meet this fierce barbarian’s ultimatums, or will January suffer a horrid demise?

~synopsis from Goodreads

My Thoughts:

The third book in this series is a little different that the first two. This book doesn’t follow Rayn and Maddie, although they do appear throughout. Determinant is told from January’s perspective as well as Rykerian’s. We met January while Maddie was in college, and we’ve known of Rykerian since Maddie was saved from her abduction. January’s story starts before Maddie’s did--on the day of her high school graduation.

When I started reading about what January went through, my heart went out to her. It was completely unexpected, the tale of her life. Then we see her through college and her internship. This part goes by quickly, which is nice to me since I’m most anxious to get to where book two left off. Once we get to that point, it starts to get interesting. Rykerian was at one point smitten with Maddie, even though she was meant to be with his brother, Rayn. I thought it was wonderful to see him fall for somebody, especially after his heartbreak. And that somebody, January, was definitely a wonderful person. I adored their relationship throughout.

Of course, it can't just end here with the two of them falling for each other... Enter Jurek. He’s not like anyone on Vesturon, his people are completely different. With these differences, he has a certain advantage over them. Because of this, he uses his powers to get them to help him rescue his family from the Xanthians, a people who are not kind in the least. At first, you want to hate the guy for what he is putting the Yarrister’s and January through, but then you see that he really isn’t that bad. At least, I grew to like him a lot. The bond he and January formed was pretty amazing. He helped teach her about things she wanted to know, and also needed to know.

As expected, Determinant was a wild ride, just like the others in the series. A lot of twists and turns and love and sadness. A.M. Hargrove delivers again! I can say that this one is my favorite of the three so far. I liked January a little more than Maddie, she was less, childish, in her manner of speaking and thinking. Seeing Rykerian finally find his happiness was great. And the introduction to Jurek, awesome. I cannot wait to see where the series leads to next!

My Rating:

Very Good: Stay up late