By: Carey Corp and Lorie Langdon
Release Date: August 20, 2013
Pages: 395 (paperback)
Publisher: Blink YA
Format: Paperback
All thoughts and comments are my own.
SUMMARY:
Veronica doesn't think she's going crazy. But why can't anyone else see the mysterious blond boy who keeps popping up wherever she goes? When her best friend, Mackenna, invites her to spend the summer in Scotland, Veronica jumps at the opportunity to leave her complicated life behind for a few months.
But the Scottish countryside holds other plans.
Not only has the imaginary kilted boy followed her to Alloway, she and Mackenna uncover a strange set of rings and a very unnerving letter from Mackenna's great aunt—and when the girls test the instructions Aunt Gracie left behind, they find themselves transported to a land that defies explanation. Doon seems like a real-life fairy tale, complete with one prince who has eyes for Mackenna and another who looks suspiciously like the boy from Veronica's daydreams. But Doon has a dark underbelly as well. The two girls could have everything they've longed for...or they could end up breaking an enchantment and find themselves trapped in a world that has become a nightmare.
NON-SPOILERY REVIEW:
Entering Doon was a whirlwind adventure. Once I got into the book, I could not put it down. I was able to find this book in only two sittings. It took a couple chapters for me to become hooked, so you just have to troop through the world building, which is done fairly quickly. After becoming a Doonian though, the pages flew by. There is adventure, unbreakable friendship, and totally swoon worthy guys with accents! I could feel myself wishing to live in their universe throughout the book. The world consumed me and left me with the sound of bagpipes. This is definitely a good recommendation for fans of Outlander, but it is very different from Outlander. Even though both have super hot Jamies. Also, the writers in this book have instantly captured me as a lifelong fan with their hilarious pop culture references. One of my favorites included, "He looked like a goth kid with a Jedi complex" (page 117). I know, probably not very funny outside of context, but oh boy did they really appeal to my inner geek.
I found the characters to be extremely relatable and they quickly had me hooked. I felt the struggles that Veronica, our main female lead, faced in the beginning of the novel were realistic, but not to the extent that they were portrayed. I mean I'm sure that has happened to someone, but it just felt very overdone to make it seem tragic. Our counterpart to Veronica, and Veronica's best friend, MacKenna was also gifted with her own POV. She intrigued me especially as she grew throughout the book. Jamie and Duncan are the swoon worthy princes of Doon, and you will want to meet them ASAP! The growth of all of the characters by the end did not feel forced and was very reasonable for the circumstances faced.
OVERALL:
I absolutely loved this book. Jamie is my new Scottish prince book boyfriend. You will want to pick up this series before the final book in the series comes out. The twists and turns in the plot were, at least to me, unpredictable. I thought I knew what was happening, then it turned out to be something different all together and a completely different villain, but I'm also really bad at conspiracy theories. This was a beautiful first book of summer and be prepared to storm the bridge!
RATING:
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| DOON: 4.5/5 STARS |
I cannot wait to see more of them in the rest of the series and will be starting book two, Destined for Doon immediately. The series will be a quartet and will finish up in August of 2016. Stay tuned as I return to Doon and post more discussions, a spoilery review, and reviews for the rest of the series. Also, be on the lookout for more upcoming reviews this summer!
