Seeker by Arwen Elys Dayton is a fantasy. Not knowing what that was I used my old friend, Google, and discovered that it encompassed a world of magic within the last several hundred years. That being said, it was a different book than than which I normally read. It opens with three teenagers, Quin, Shinobu, and John, all at the cusp of becoming seekers. None of them really know what it means and as we read on it it appears that over time, the position of seeker has changed.

It was an interesting book, if only to see what would come next. In the following several years, the trio would undergo many transformations. They were good characters, formed primarily by their life situations and choices that were taken out of their hands. The plot and settings were clever and different and that lent to their transformations, as well. It was an interesting book that will not leave me alone. That in itself is a recommendation.

I was invited to read Seeker by Random House Childrens. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #RandomHouseChildrens #ArwenElysDayton #Seeker

Getting what you want isn't always what you want.

Quin Kincaid is of the assumption that once she becomes a seeker, she will finally have everything she has always wanted. Only, not.

Quin, John, and Shinobu are to fight together to protect the weak and the wronged. Together they will stand as light in a world that so desperately needs it. Only. Who can Quin trust? Who are her friends? Are family ties binding?

This novel is the first in a complex family saga. Buckle up.

"Seeker" by Arwen Elys Dayton presents an exciting premise but falls a little short for me in its execution. Dayton's vivid descriptions bring the settings to life, but for me the narrative occasionally felt disjointed and confusing. While "Seeker" has its moments of intrigue, I struggled to stay engaged.

Seeker Seeker series Book 1 by Arwen Elys Dayton

450 Pages
Publisher: Random House Children’s, Delacort BFYR
Release Date: February 10, 2015

Fiction, General Fiction, Teens, Young Adult, Coming of Age, Sci Fi, Fantasy

The book is set in Scotland where Quin Shinobu, and John are apprentices training to be Seekers. The training is violent with whipswords but they are simulated instead of actual injuries. After their final virtual training, they have a real battle with Briac Kincaid, Quin’s father making the pass/fail decision. Quin and Shinobu pass and prepare for their Oath ceremony. Briac takes John to see a empty shell of a person to show him what happens if a person is not prepared enough and lets down his other Seekers. Quin and John were at the budding stage of their relationship and Briac does not approve.

The story jumps 18 months to Hong Kong. Quin is a healer with no memory of her past. Shinobu and his friend, Brian, spend days salvaging items for money then evenings in drug clubs. On one dive, he brings up an item he recognizes from his pass, an athame with a fox carved into the handle. The customer for the athame is none other than John. This event brings the three apprenticed back together again but now they are on different sides.

The book has a steady pace, the characters are developed, and it is written in the third person point of view. The story does not end at a cliffhanger but a step off to the next book in the series, Traveler. If you like young adult competition type books, like the Hunger Games, you may enjoy this book.

I'm reading old books in my queue. This is the first of a series that was published following the hype around other popular young adult series. I really tried to get into this one, but it did not captivate me like others did. I likely won't read the next. I did appreciate the characters, and the writing was decent. Thank you to the publisher.

Sadly this one just didn’t grab me as much as I hoped it would. I tried a few times but it fell flat.

DNF @ 33%

I have listened to a third of this book and I am so confused. Not only am I not exactly sure what is going on, I don't have the energy to find out. There appears to be a bit of a love triangle which I can deal with but one of the boys is the female character's 3rd cousin, so that's a nope from me. I did think that the narrator did a great job with the story but it's just not one for me.

ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley and a copy of the audiobook was borrowed from my local library.

I received this free eARC novel from NetGalley. This is my honest review.

This has been on my TBR pile for so long, and I'm glad I finally got around to it. I really enjoyed the storyline and seeing the characters change throughout the story was a great character development. The plot was great and kept my attention. I'm glad I got the chance to read this and will be on the lookout for more in the future!

This is an engaging first novel of a young adult series. Excellent exploration of young love and the being torn between doing what is right and doing what the person you love wants you to do.

This was an interesting premise. I struggled to finish it, as I had a hard time concentrating on it. It didn't really hold my attention. I'm not really interested in reading the sequel.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this book. I am sorry I did not get to read it before the archive date.

I received a free copy from NetGalley. I still don't know where or when this was suppose to take place. The mix of past and present and magic and science is just confusing. The love triangle made me say ick. And the ending just sets up the next book instead of really tying up anything in this one. I also kept thinking it was a second book in the series because I felt like there were things I should know/understand and I didn't. It just wasn't a win for me and took a long time to finish as a result of me putting it down to do other things.

Thank you for the opportunity to read Seeker. Unfortunately, I did not complete my reading of the book before it was archived in February 2015. I do not plan to finish the book.

Honestly, I was mainly sticking with this to review on Netgalley other than I'm not sure of the appeal of this story. The timeline has gaps and jumps and where the characters were is not explained. It has a weird cousin love triangle. There's a sexual assault involving a tweaking of a breast in too much detail. And yes the main problem being what the hell is an actual Seeker besides someone who kills families for corporate greed. Quin spends too much time in denial and having amnesia that as a reader we don't know the truth of her story either.

This was an interesting premise. I struggled to finish it, as I had a hard time concentrating on it. It didn't really hold my attention. I'm not really interested in reading the sequel.

This book i have three copies of ebook that an ARC a physical copy and an audiobook all before i read a single word and it worth it. I loved this world. There still room for the characters to grow within the series and i really want to know where this series goes that I already bought the next book. now i wished i just got to this book sooner, but such is life and the only reason it a four stars and not five stars read it a little slow in the beginning

I loved this book and it was so worth the hype. I have a hard time reading books that have all this hype around them, but I chanced it for this one and I'm so happy that I did. Seeker by Arwen Elys Dayton is amazing. I couldn't get enough of this book. I stayed up until the sun came up to finish this book. That's how amazing it is.

I received a copy of this via Netgalley back in 2015 and since then I have tried to read this book two other times before finally finishing it. I guess the third time is the charm? However, I was thoroughly underwhelmed.

Quinn, John, and Shinobu are teens training to be Seekers. They all come from a long line of Seekers and hope to take the oaths that will continue the tradition. This is something they have trained all their lives for and when the time finally comes for the oaths, they realize that maybe being a Seeker isn't exactly what they thought it would be. Suddenly it's a race across the world as ancient artifacts are claimed and stolen while everyone wonders just what it "right".

If that summary feels a little vague it's honestly because I still don't really understand what this book was about. Let's take Seekers for example. What are they, you ask? I have no idea. We are constantly told that they are people who "do good in the world" but there is no other explanation. What is their point? What is their main goal? How were they founded? This was one of the worst world buildings that I have ever read. Nothing made sense, nothing was explained and everything was just vague.

And this makes me sad because when I finally got past the same first two chapters that I've read multiple times, I really started to enjoy it and thought 'this is going to be a great book!'. But alas, I was so wrong and by 50% I was bored and didn't care about any of the characters -they were all kind of horrible. And what was with the "Intermission" section where we went back in time to see them as kids? It felt really out of place and did not flow at all.

I'm giving this two stars because it had so much potential but it got weighed down by its needless wanderings and random history lessons that came at the worst time. I'm unsure if I'll finish this series (I honestly can't even remember how it ended and I finished it last night). For now, I'm just going to leave it at the first book.

Overall: 2.5 - 3, very middle of the road for me. Received as an ARC from NetGalley.

While I finished the book, it was difficult for me to get through - which really surprised me, considering that the description of the book sounded so enticing! The story went up and down... at times, I couldn't put it down and at other moments, I found myself considering not even finishing (which is strange for me!).

I enjoyed it - and would've purchased or at least borrowed had I not received an ARC copy - but I'm not sure that I would purchase for my bookshelf to read again. I was hoping for more, especially given the description that it would be a series similar to The Hunger Games.

This book was somewhat slow in the beginning but picked up its pace later on. Personally, this book was interesting and a fun read, however, I think that it doesn't really stand out from any other Young Adult fantasy novel. The characters are forgettable, but likable. The romance was lackluster and didn't spark any excitement for me. I did like the action and the plot did begin to excite me near the end of the novel. Overall, I would say this book could pick up its pace sooner in the novel and add more depth to its characters.