Valens Rise

Jemma Nix was orphaned at a young age and bounced around in the foster care system until she finally ran away.  Astrid Van Horn found Jemma living on the streets and convinced her to go to work for Dr. Gruen doing clinical research.  One day in her mid-twenties, Jemma is contacted by a lawyer who informs her that her sister (who she barely remembers) has died and left her entire corporation to Jemma.  Acting CEO of Legacy Corp, Griffin Hawke immediately gets to work trying to bring Jemma up to speed so she can take over as head of her late sister’s company.  He suspects her sister and her parents were murdered and that Dr. Gruen had a hand in it.  He also keeps insisting that Jemma herself is in danger.  He desperately needs her to trust him if he has any chance of keeping her safe.

This story starts off mysteriously, expertly pulling the reader into Jemma’s life.  Everything flows nicely until the truth about Dr. Gruen’s research comes to light.  From then on, the story feels rushed and really needs to be fleshed out with more details.  Jemma makes a lot of foolish decisions, and the way she and Hawke keep dancing around the big secret without actually discussing it is incredibly frustrating.  Even so, the author has created something fresh and unusual with the Valens, and readers will likely want to know more.  The final scene suggests the tale is not finished, successfully making one want to rush to find the sequel! 

Leslie Stokes