Teenage heiress Kaya experiences her first taste of freedom when she’s kidnapped from her sheltered life. But as she forms an unlikely connection with her abductor, Luke, her adventure takes a strange turn. Now, as her father’s men and her devoted bodyguard scour the woods to find her, she wonders if staying in the arms of her abductor is the safer place to be. At least, that’s what her heart is … heart is saying—her head is saying run…
There is nothing magical about growing up in a mountainside castle, when it’s your prison. Kaya’s ruthless and powerful father keeps her under lock and key, watched every second of the day–and Kaya’s not really sure why. She’s just a normal girl…no one special. She doesn’t understand her father’s obsession with her safety – until she is kidnapped.
Dragged through a brutal wilderness, Kaya’s captor shows her the devastating truth, and even though he has dark secrets of his own, she is inexplicably drawn to him–when the stars are in your eyes, sometimes the line between right and wrong gets blurred. Passion obliterates common sense. Love… makes you reckless.
Dangerously passionate and darkly romantic, SERENADE is a page-turning thriller and seductive love story.
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Once I started this book I couldn’t put it down Its so amazing can’t wait to read more
Ah to be rich… but restricted in life and in love. Set in an iconic Canadian setting, this novel is an action-packed YA romance.
Kaya Lowen, by all appearances, lives the life that every teenager dreams about: She is the heiress of a billion dollar company and lives the life of luxury with her family in a castle in Banff, Canada. However, Kaya’s life is anything but easy as there are those that wish to assassinate her, meaning that Kaya is heavily guarded at all times and is nearly a prisoner in her own home. Smart and stubborn, Kaya is constantly at odds with those around her in a fight for her independence. Thankfully Kaya has a close bond with the people who protect her. Stephen has become more like a father to her since her own is never around and the youngest guard, Oliver, has begun to catch her eye. As that intrigue turns into love, Kaya meets a stranger on the evening of her 18th birthday that leaves her questioning her relationship with Oliver and the idea of love. Confused and distressed, Kaya’s world comes apart when she is kidnapped and starts to discover some of her family’s darkest secrets.
Kaya is a likeable and down to earth character, however she is naive which, considering her upbringing, makes sense. One of the things I loved best about Kaya is that she is an endurance runner. The first chapter drew me in with the descriptions of her running. The author must also be a runner to be able to describe that feeling so well. Kaya even wants to run the one of the most iconic Canadian ultras, The Death Race, which is a 125 km run in the Rocky Mountains.
As a Canadian living abroad it was also wonderful to get such beautiful descriptions of Banff, a place I have run and visited many times. It made me miss home. What was also great about this book was the intense pace it kept. There were no lulls in the story or with the romance and the scenes were adventurous and exciting. The last quarter of the book is riveting and the twist about Kaya’s father is jaw-dropping; that bastard is a selfish madman!
Additionally, the author, whether on purpose or not, shows what the beginnings of a controlling and unhealthy relationship looks like. Oliver eventually outright claims Kaya and strips her of her independence and makes her believe it is for her own safety. It was refreshing to see Kaya come into her own as a character in these aspects.
There were two aspects of this novel I wasn’t keen on, one is the title. It doesn’t seem to relate well to the novel but the story line is going to become a series so perhaps that will make a bit more sense later, or perhaps the author is going a similar title approach to the Twilight series. The second aspect of this novel I wasn’t keen on was the love at first sight that was introduced with the mysterious stranger that Kaya meets. I mean, I get it. It seems wonderful to think that you can be that swept off your feet and in love but it was a bit over the top for me. However, I seriously struggle with most romance as it is so for those that are more into romance than myself the author did a great job.
McKenzie is a promising author that is going to give readers and powerhouse trilogy that will be sure to be successful. I would recommend this novel for YA and romance lovers, as well for readers who are runners.
Once I started this book I couldn’t put it down it’s so amazing good I can’t wait to read the rest of the series to know what happens next!!!! 🙂
From start to finish I was drawn in. Not my normal type of romance read,but I loved the book. Kaya was an amazing character that experienced so much tragedy at such a young age. The happily ever after ending is not in sight just yet.
I loved this book and the series it’s in; it’s a beautifully written story about the twists and turns of life, even though Serenade is much more than that. I especially enjoyed the choices Kaya makes regarding her love life: following her heart and not staying with someone she thinks she may love.
This book is a bitter-sweet, love story. Personally, I think they could have made the build up on relationships a little better, but other then that, it was great! I cannot wait to read the next book. For any of you die hard romantics this is a perfect story of love at first sight.
I have so many thoughts on this book, I don’t think I can put them all into words. First off it was captivating and interesting from page one. I initially believed it to be a mix of Rapunzel and Cinderella and then it spiraled into something so much more. There is just so much happening in this book- deception, love, lies, action… it left my head spinning. I am extremely excited to see that there are sequels and fully intend to read them. I love Kaya’s character, her personality, her attention to what is wrong and right now that she has opened up her eyes. All of the characters are unique and have wonderful depth in my opinion.
OMG! This book! I haven’t read anything like it before. I was hooked from the very beginning! I had to stop a couple of times to catch my breath before diving back in.
Interesting story line and characters. Kaya is very ambitious and it’s amszing what she accomplished on the death run. Want to buy sequel but didn’t put this one down so holding off till I catch up on some sleep!
Great book series! Can’t wait til the next one.
The idea of a geneticist creating and using his own daughter to further his aims is a very interesting plot twist. Trying to pair his daughter with a son by another relationship is also a weird twist. Further books in the series could be quite interesting.
Trite and overdone.
Predictable and shallow
I can’t wait for the rest of the books to come out! I usually read every night until I fall asleep but this book kept me up at night until I finished it! Great action packed page turner!
It started off pretty good. Some parts didn’t make sense from a realistic standpoint. Part way through the book she makes a stupid decision for a really dumb reason. No one should ever do anything like it. It’s weird. The rest of the book was okay. It seemed like they changed authors or something because she seemed like a decently intelligent character, but then she turned stupid on me. I won’t be reading the next book in the series.
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.
When I received this book (from who I think was an editor for Heather McKenzie), I really didn’t know what to think. I don’t really read Young Adult novels any more and when I saw that it was published by Clean Teen Publishing … I REALLY didn’t know what to think. What I DID know is that the blurb for this book was intriguing. Here’s the deal, it’s not any secret that I appreciate a well placed f-bomb or a steamy sex scene in a book. While I don’t seek those things out when choosing a book, I also don’t mind them. But the words ‘clean teen’ made me think that there would be scenes that were a bit watered down. Dude. Not the case. I didn’t find this out until after I finished the book but Clean Teen is all about just letting the reader know what they will find within the pages – kind of like a rating on a movie.
Anyway, onto the book. THE. BOOK. Holy crap. I didn’t expect to enjoy this as much as I did. And maybe I went into it with some preconceived notions but those were all shot down VERY quickly and I was able to immerse myself into the interesting life of Kaya. Kaya is this amazing girl that has been through so much yet, amazingly enough, it didn’t kill her spirit. I think that she is a super strong character that needs to be seen more in Young Adult novels.
I don’t really want to get into any secondary characters because well, I don’t want to ruin the twists and turns on these pages. But I will say this, as a reader, you’re going to REALLY struggle with whom to support. The author did a great job of putting the reader through the push and pull of good and bad. Who is good and who is bad? Don’t worry. Your alliance will shift quite a few times as you steamroll through Serenade.
The story moves along quite swiftly but not jarringly so. It’s just the perfect pace. I didn’t find myself getting bored or skipping even a single sentence. It was a little shocking, how fast I flew through the words on these pages. I just couldn’t get enough of Kaya and her life – how things were, how things became and what could be for her future, if there was one. It’s nice getting to the end of the book and being left with absolutely NO questions about characters or the plot.
It’s been a long time since I’ve enjoyed a romantic suspense this much … probably since my last Sandra Brown and that is saying something. ESPECIALLY for a first book from an author. Are you kidding me?!? THIS is what you’re coming out of the gate with? Geez. I’m in trouble. I’ll be stalking library shelves indefinitely for this author – she had me hooked after the first page. Lifetime fan. SO good.
* I received this novel in exchange for an honest review *
I love this book. The characters are real. They make me feel what they are feeling. I am almost finished with this book, but thought I would go ahead and write a review. Because I know I love it and I have just purchased books 2 and 3 in the trilogy. I want to continue the journey with Kaya and find out how it ends. Then if books 2 and 3 are as good as Serenade, I will probably be sorry to see it end.
fair, rather predictable
I am so glad I grabbed this book! The story had me captivated from the 2 chapter with the detailed characters. I became invested in their stories and why they did what they did. The plot twists and action scenes make for a great read.