Serenade by Heather McKenzie
A YA Novel published by Clean Teen Publishing (04/17/17)
Summary:
Kaya lives a guarded life as the heiress to a medical company worth a fortune, but her father doesn’t ever want to relinquish control and will go to insane lengths to make sure his greed is satisfied.
Kaya wants to be normal, but when she’s constantly surrounded by her male bodyguards she doesn’t have a chance, until her father consents to let her run in a weekend long 125km foot race. All is well as she is fiercely protected until one by one her guards drop out of the race. Even her new Fiancé bodyguard must leave her to finish herself, but before she can make it to the end, she is kidnapped.
Keywords:
Foot Race, Ignorance, Bodyguard, Protection, Discovery, Past, Family Secrets, Corruption, Power, Money, Abduction, Fight, Motivation, Love, Friendship, Heiress
My Review:
Female heroine. Check. Adventure with high stakes. Check. Strong and powerful story with intrigue and secrets. Check.
I loved nearly everything about this story. As soon as I was fully engaged (at the mention of Death Race), I couldn’t put this one down. It had everything I hope for and love in a YA book.
Though I roll my eyes at instant love, the powerful bond of the love in this story swept me away and I believed it with every fiber of my imagination, just as Kaya does with every fiber of her soul. I’ve never read an instalove that I could believe in like that in Serenade.
The story was solid and the plot (when it got going) was so well developed and rolled out like a great action movie. Subplots kept me questioning every secret.
The best part of this book, however, was Kaya (and maybe the powerful storytelling/writing style). Kaya comes from a rich and entitled background, but she is not a spoiled princess. Yes she hurts. Yes she complains. Yes she gets emotionally overwhelmed. And of course she makes wrong choices! She’s only a teenager after all. But she is resilient and thoughtful and never gives in. She is logical and emotional and I can’t wait for more of her!
The writing style and powerful way the author can showcase emotions makes me eager to read anything McKenzie will write next- fiction, nonfiction, picture books, or anything.
I received an ARC of this novel.
This novel was published by Clean Teen Publishing on April 17th, 2017 and is available on Amazon here.
TL;DR Star Rating: 5.00
Links for more information:
Rachel Author Barnard 