Review: Hidden Gates by D.T. Dyllin

Title: Hidden Gates
Author: D.T. Dyllin
Series: Book One in the P.J. Stone Gates Trilogy
Published By: Dragonfairy Press (Feb. 28, 2013)
Source: ARC Copy Provided by the Publisher (in exchange for an honest review)
Genre: YA Fantasy
My Rating: 2.5 to 3 Stars!

Book Description:
 For P.J. Stone, being a “Seer” who has never seen anything is less than fun. And P.J. isn’t known for her patience.

To make matters worse, she must choose a suitable mate to continue the Seer bloodline. Duty always comes before her heart…at least that’s what her parents taught her. When she finds herself wanting someone who is considered off-limits, P.J. is forced to question everything she believes.

As if navigating her love life isn’t complicated enough, P.J. finally receives a vision—of a threat to her world that only she can perceive. But no one will believe a fledgling Seer’s warnings. With nowhere else to turn, she may decide to trust a stranger with her life, her world, and maybe even her heart.

 Purchase Link: B&N

My Review:  
   

This was one of those stories that is kind of like a soap opera, a really high drama, lots of teenage angst, love triangle mess. But yet, I still found myself getting involved in the story and turning the pages because, I just couldn't help it. I got caught up in the drama.

The thing with this storyline about Seers, Gatekeepers, Speakers and Guardians was great, really it had a lot of great potential, but it was very overshadowed with the tragic love drama going on. In fact, the first half on this story is really about P.J. and her star crossed lover, probably too much of it.

There was a great premises here there really was. I could just see the beginnings of it and then once again the love drama would take center stage and the rest of the story would get put on hold for a few chapters and we would only get glimpses of the battle and visions every so often. The world building over all was slightly lacking. There really should have been more upfront. More for the reader to get a better feel of the world she was in and why her role in it was so important.

Don't get me wrong, I still really enjoyed this, like I said, I couldn't help it, I got caught up in it but at times I really wanted to get to the meat of the story. I wanted to learn more about P.J.'s world and not a lot of that happened until closer to the last 30% of the book.

I understand after finishing it why the love interest was so important to the storyline but at the time while reading it, it seemed more like a romance than any kind of fantasy read.

I don't regret reading this and honestly I would pick up the next book, just out of sheer curiosity more than anything and of course that morbid draw to the drama I seem to have but I wouldn't make it a huge priority but I would read it and I can see the promise in the series.