Review: A Penny Lost by Aspen Bassett with Giveaway

 A Penny Lost

by Aspen Bassett

World Castle Publishing

Jan 13, 2018

YA Urban Fantasy

232 pages

Tour dates: April 23 to May 4, 2018

Content Rating: PG (There's a kiss and some mild violence)

Penelope Grace, usually forgotten under the shadow of her twin sister's perfection, tries her hardest to hide her freakish ability to see into anyone's soul.

Until she senses an unusual energy like a human-shaped void in the universe. When Penny investigates the source, she gets tossed through a crack in time along with the cute boy next door. The Void follows them through history, increasing the dangers as if testing Penny. But what is it testing for? And why does it claim to know her better than even she knows herself? Even as Penny searches for answers, she must fight to survive the tragedies of both the past and future in order to get back home.

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MY TIDBITS

This is a lovely mix of time travel with a touch of paranormal.

Penny is a teenage girl, who feels inferior to her sister. She's also trying to hide a strange ability to see souls and emotions, especially the black void. When she investigates the changing colors and vibes she's getting from a house, she ends up being pulled through time along with the time machine's creator, a boy who can't remember his own name. She battles through the different periods and situations, hoping she can return home.

Time travel can be a difficult topic to take on, but the author does a nice job of making this one come across naturally while never diving into the scientific specifics. It enables the story to flow and the reader to dive into the true plot. The added paranormal aspects, Penny seeing souls/feelings, gives the whole thing a wonderful, fantastical touch. Diving through history kept the pacing high, and the challenges Penny faced were always exciting and interesting at the same time. This is not, by any means, a slow paced novel.

Penny is a character who faces not only the problems of her strange ability and the uncertainties it brings, but also she needs to learn to trust herself. This character development makes her easy to cheer for the entire way through. She's kind, makes mistakes, but pulls through in the end. Her companion has a unfortunate name plight (she only calls him 'Stranger'), but the relationship between the two works well.

The writing flows pretty well with only a few stumbles in the wording here and there. The scenes and dialogue draw in and help root the quick-paced plot. Only the ending left me a little confused at times, but nothing which hurts the desire to dive into book two and see what happens next.

And here she is. . .

Aspen Bassett works at a library, telling stories and suggesting books. When she's not working, she's usually sipping hot cocoa and wondering what would happen if she had superpowers. She's been published in multiple anthologies including Oomph: A Little Super Goes a Long Way and Inaccurate Realities.

Aspen grew up learning about chakras and auras and the true power of imagination which slips into her writing whether she intends it to or not. In college, when she wasn't busy working on her degree in Creative Writing, Aspen also got her certificate in Women's Meditation (basically general energy work). Now, she's working toward a diploma in Integrated Healing Arts with a certificate in Hypnotherapy.

Connect with the Author: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Instagram

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