Moonstone

By Marilee Brothers

Allie Emerson is the girl voted least likely to save the world. At Peacock Flats High she can barely handle the bullies and drama queens; her mom's a loser and Dad's a no-show; so when an elderly neighbor gives her a magical moonstone necklace and strange thing start to happen, Allie can't quite believe she's meant to battle the nasty Trimarks of the world. Book One in the popular Unbidden Magic series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BelleBooks
• Release date: Aug 15, 2008
• ISBN: 9781935661283

Marilee Brothers

Marilee Brothers is a former teacher, coach, counselor and the author of ten books. Marilee and her husband are the parents of three grown sons and live in central Washington State. After writing six young adult books, Marilee is once again writing romantic suspense for the adult market. She loves hearing from people who have read her books. Feel free to contact her at http://www.marileebrothers.com.Her author page on Facebook is: www.facebook.com/marilee.author and she occasionally tweets @MarileeB. Marilee’s blog is Book Blather, http://bookblatherblog.blogspot.com where she features aspiring and published authors as well as some tidbits of her own.

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Praise for Marilee Brothers

"Castle Ladyslipper is medieval romance at its best. [Marilee Brother’s] writing is exceptional and will whisk the reader away to an enchanted time and place."

—Coffee Time Romance

www.coffeetimeromance.com

Readers won’t want to miss a word

—Reader to Reader Reviews

www.ReadertoReader.com

www.NewAndUsedBooks.com

"The book is such a wonderful read that you wish you had many more pages to turn!

—Donna Scofield, author of Marnie’s Mountain, Wild Rose Press.

The Unbidden Magic Series

Moonstone

Moon Rise

Moon Spun (2010)

Other Books by Marilee Brothers

Castle Ladyslipper (as Lee Grantier)

The Rock and Roll Queen of Bedlam

Moonstone

by

Marilee Brothers

Bell Bridge Books

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead), events or locations is entirely coincidental.

Bell Bridge Books

PO BOX 300921

Memphis, TN 38130

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-935661-28-3

Print ISBN: 978-0-9802453-4-9

Bell Bridge Books is an Imprint of BelleBooks, Inc.

Copyright © 2008 by Marilee Brothers

Bite Me (excerpt) © 2008 by Parker Blue

Printed and bound in the United States of America.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

We at BelleBooks enjoy hearing from readers.

Visit our websites – www.BelleBooks.com and www.BellBridgeBooks.com.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Cover design: Debra Dixon

Interior design: Hank Smith

Photo credits:

Girl - © diego cervo - Fotolia.com

Moon - © myper - Fotolia.com

Necklace - © Marie-france Bélanger - iStockphoto.com

:Exms:01:

Dedication

To Megan, Paige, Madelyn and Arianna Brothers . . . even a small star shines in the darkness.

Prologue

I’VE BEEN WONDERING . . . is there a normal way to become paranormal? Like, go to Google, type in Make me magic, click on a website and wait for a list of rules to pop up? I really need a list of rules. How else can an almost fifteen-year-old girl living in Peacock Flats, Washington learn to deal with special powers? Here’s how it started . .

Chapter One

ONE MINUTE, I was on a ten-foot ladder adjusting the TV antenna on the twenty-four-foot trailer behind Uncle Sid’s house, where I lived with my mother, Faye. The next minute, I sailed off the ladder, grazed an electric fence and landed face down in a cow pie.

Swear to God.

Though groggy and hurting, I rolled onto my back. A window in the trailer cranked open and I heard my mother scream. Allie! Ohmigod! Somebody call 911!

I was surprised Faye managed to open the window. She’d spent most of the last two years in bed since, at age thirty one, she Retired From Life. But really, call 911? We had no phone and I was the only other person in the area. Who was she talking to? Blaster the bull? I smiled weakly at the thought of Blaster in a phone booth, punching in 911 with one gigantic hoof.

Okay, technically, I landed in a bull pie, not a cow pie. The mess dripping off my face was compliments of my Uncle Sid’s prize bull, speaking of which . . .

It was then my wits returned. I felt the ground vibrate, heard the rumble of hooves. I reared up to see a half-ton cranky bull racing toward me, head down, mean little eyes fixed on my prone body.

Faye continued to scream shrilly. I moaned and crawled toward the fence, looking over my shoulder at Blaster who bore down on me like a runaway train. When I tried to stand, I slipped in the wet grass and landed on my belly. Oh God, he was just inches away. I wasn’t going to make it! I rolled into a ball and screamed, No, Blaster! Go back! Go back!

Laying on the wet grass, trembling with terror, I watched as Blaster stopped on a dime, blew snot out of his flaring, black nostrils and released a thunderous blast of flatulence—that’s what my teacher, Mrs. Burke, calls farting—and, of course, is the reason Uncle Sid named him Blaster.

Back off, Blaster, I said between shallow, panicky breaths. Good boy.

I hoped the boy comment wouldn’t tick him off, what with his fully-developed manly-bull parts dangling in full view as I lay curled on the ground looking up. Yuck!

Suddenly my vision narrowed and grew dark around the edges. It was like looking down a long tunnel with Blaster front and center, bathed in light. A loud buzzing filled my head. The next moment, Blaster took a tentative step backward, then another, walking slowly, at first, then gradually picking up speed until he was trotting briskly backwards like a video tape on slow rewind.

Mesmerized by the sight, I sat up and watched Blaster’s bizarre retreat back through the tunnel. At that precise moment, I should have known something strange was going on. But hey, I was a little busy trying to save my life.

As I crawled under the fence, my vision returned to normal and the buzzing faded away. I stood and swiped a hand across my sweaty face. At least, I thought it was sweat until a trickle of blood dripped off the end of my nose. Surprised because I felt no pain, I touched my face and found the blood was oozing from a puncture wound in the center of my forehead.

I glanced up at Faye, who continued to peer out the trailer window, her pale face framed in a halo of wispy blond curls, her eyes wide with shock. She inhaled sharply, and I knew another scream was on its way. I held up a hand. Come on, Faye, no more screaming. You’re making my head hurt.

But, but, the bull . . . he, he . . .  Faye began.

I wasn’t ready to go there. I know, I know.

I staggered around the end of the trailer and banged through the door. Two giant steps to the bathroom. I shucked off my clothes and stepped into the tiny shower.

You okay, Allie? Faye asked.

She peered through the open doorway, paler than usual. Her right hand clutched the locket that held my baby picture, the one that makes me look like an angry old man. The only time she took it off was to shower.

I’ll live, I muttered.

Weird, huh? Blaster, I mean. I heard you yell at him. Bulls don’t run backward, Allie.

When I didn’t answer—what could I say?—she waited a beat. Use soap on your forehead. Did it stop bleeding?

Yes, Mother. I reached over and slid the door shut.

Deep sigh. You don’t have to be snotty. I told you to be careful.

The TV blared suddenly. Oprah. Not that I’m a spiteful person, but I blamed Oprah for my swan dive off the ladder. Late last night, a sudden gust of wind knocked over our TV antenna. When I got home from school today, Faye insisted she had to watch Oprah. Like that was going to change her life. I finally got tired of hearing about it and borrowed Uncle Sid’s ladder. Moral of story: Never wear flip flops on an aluminum ladder.

I turned on the water, stood under the weak stream and checked for damage. Other than a slight tingling in my arms and legs and the hole in my head, I seemed okay.

I toweled off my curly, dark-brown hair and pulled it back into a messy ponytail. When I wiped the steam off the mirror, I saw a dark-red, dime-sized circle in the exact center of my forehead. I touched it gingerly, expecting it to hurt. But it didn’t. Instead, a weird sensation shot through my head, like my brain was hooked up to Dr. Frankenstein’s machine, that thing he used to make his monster come alive. I must have given a little yip of surprise because Faye said again, You okay, Allie?

I’m fine, I said. Just a little sore.

Did you check the mail?

The first’s not until Friday. Today’s the twenty-ninth, I said.

Sometimes it comes early.

The welfare check never came early. The state of Washington was very reliable when it came to issuing checks.

Yeah, okay, I said, not wanting to burst her bubble.

Wrapped in the towel, I took two steps into the living room/kitchen, reached under the table and pulled out the plastic crate containing my clean clothes. I dug around and found clean underwear, a tee shirt and a pair of cut-off shorts.

I slipped into my bra, once again thinking how cool it was I finally needed one. Though I hoped for peaches, I’d managed only to grow a pair of breasts roughly the size and shape of apricots. Oh, well, apricots are better than cherries. Our valley is called The fruit bowl of the nation, hence, my obsession with naming body parts after produce.

I slipped into my treacherous flip flops, headed out the door and spotted Uncle Sid darting behind the barn. Faye says Uncle Sid is not a people person but I thought he was just trying to avoid Aunt Sandra and her constant nagging. That woman’s voice could make a corpse sit up and beg for mercy.

I trotted down the driveway, stopping suddenly when I spotted a pair of denim-clad legs sticking out from under the Jeep Wrangler parked next to Uncle Sid’s house. Legs that belonged to Matt, Uncle Sid’s son and older brother to spoiled brat, Tiffany.

How can one kid—Tiffany—be so annoying and the other—Matt—so totally hot? I tried to avoid Matt because of the way I got when I’m around him. Though I’m normally loquacious (last Wednesday’s vocabulary word that I copied and vowed to use at least three times,) one look at Matt and I lost my power of speech. My jaw dropped and my mouth went dry. There’s just something about him—sleepy blue eyes, light brown hair that usually needs combing, a crooked grin and a sculpted, rock-hard body.

It wasn’t some creepy, incestuous thing since Matt and I weren’t real cousins. Sid was Faye’s step brother. Nope, we didn’t have the same blood coursing through our veins. Matt’s was probably blue, while mine came from the mystery man Faye refused to talk about.

I tiptoed past the Jeep to spare myself further humiliation. I’d almost made it when he rolled out on one of those sled thingies and grabbed my ankle. Hey, kid, how ya doin’?

The warmth of his hand against my bare skin turned my normally frisky brain cells to mush. Sure enough, my lower jaw was heading south. Uh, just great, Matt, I said, averting my eyes and licking my suddenly parched lips.

He released my ankle and stood up. Good, he said. Your mom still got that . . . whaddaya call it?

Fibromyalgia. As I said the word, I felt my upper lip curl in a sneer. So she says.

She getting better?

She’s trying to get social security benefits, you know, the one for disability.

The words tasted bitter in my mouth.

Oh yeah, Matt said. I saw Big Ed’s car here the other night. He’s her lawyer, right?

My hands automatically curled into fists. I narrowed my eyes and studied Matt’s face, looking for a smirk or maybe a suggestive wink. Even though I didn’t want to punch him, I could and I would. I knew how to punch. Faye had made sure.

No problem. He’d moved on. Wonder of wonders, he was looking at me. I mean, really looking at me with those sexy blue eyes. His gaze lingered for a long moment on my chest. Whoa! Was he checking out my ’cots? I was suddenly aware I’d outgrown my shorts and tee shirt. Not knowing what else to do, I shoved my hands into the pocket of my cut-offs and took a step back.

Well, hey, I gotta go check the mail. See ya, Matt.

His voice followed me as I headed down the driveway. Hey, kid. If you ever need a ride somewhere, let me know. I got the Jeep running real good.

Because my mouth had fallen open once again, I settled for a casual wave of acknowledgement even though I wanted to pump a fist in the air and scream, YES!

As I trotted to the mailbox, the late April sunlight warm on my shoulders, I pondered this strange turn of events. Even though he called me kid, clearly Matt had noticed a couple of new bulges on my formerly stick-like body. Hmmm. Had my tumble off the ladder, followed by the electric fence zapping, released some sort of male-attracting hormone?

In spite of my mini-triumph, Matt-wise, a dull headache began to throb painfully at the back of my skull. I opened the mailbox and, as predicted, Faye’s check had not arrived. There was, however, a familiar tan envelope from the Social Security Office of Adjudication and Review. Probably another form for Faye to fill out asking questions like, Are you able to push a grocery cart? And, Can you walk up a flight of stairs? Questions Faye had already answered No and No.

When I handed her the envelope, Faye sighed and dropped it, unopened, onto the pile of similar tan envelopes stacked between the bed and wall.

Big Ed’s coming tomorrow. I’ll let him deal with it. She looked pointedly at her watch.

I took the hint. It was time for Fay’s nightly ritual, two slices of peanut butter toast and two cans of Busch Light. The menu varied only on Thursday night. Big Ed night. He always brought burgers, fries and a fifth of Stoli. Not that I’m around on Thursdays. No way. But, when I come home on Friday, the place smells of grease and vodka.

Let me make this crystal clear. Big Ed was Faye’s lawyer, not her boyfriend. That was what Faye said. He’d been working day and night on her case for two years. That was what Big Ed said. Me? I had my doubts.

Later that night, I heard the sound of Faye’s rhythmic breathing and tiptoed back to the bedroom. I gathered up the empties and the plate littered with peanut butter-smeared crusts and tossed them in the garbage.

Tomorrow was Thursday, Big Ed night. I’d be staying with Kizzy Lovell, the town witch. That was what a lot of kids called her. Since I wouldn’t be home until Friday, I made sure I had clean underwear in my backpack.

As the evening wore on, my headache grew steadily worse. At ten, I turned out the light. I pulled the curtains back so I could see the night sky, a brilliant canopy of far-flung stars and a full-faced moon. I held my hand up to the window. Bathed in moonlight, my palm looked washed in silver, its tell-tale lines carved in dark relief by the unknown maker of my fate. I thought about the times Kizzy studied the lines on my palm and said, You’re a special girl, Alfrieda. Like it or not, you have the Gift.

Every time I’d say, What gift? Kizzy would smile mysteriously and say, You’ll see, which really irritated me because, clearly, the only gift I had was the ability to get all-A’s on my report card. Even that wasn’t a gift, since I hated Algebra and had to work my butt off.

I had no sooner wrapped up in my faded pink quilt and snuggled into the couch bed when I remembered the aspirin and glass of water I’d placed by the bathroom sink before I brushed my teeth. I groaned and switched on the light. The bathroom was only a few steps away. But in my present state—cotton-mouthed and head pounding with pain—the distance seemed as vast as the Sahara Desert. I swung my feet to the floor and turned my head slowly toward the bathroom. I could see the glass of water perched on the counter like it was taunting me, Come and get me, Allie.

I reached out a hand, thinking, It would be a whole lot easier if you came to me, and it happened again. The whole dark-around-the-edges, tunnel-vision, buzzing-in-the-head thing. The glass teetered back and forth, danced a little jig across the counter and shot into the air for a moment before it slammed onto the floor and shattered into about a jillion pieces.

What the hell’s going on, Allie?

I looked up to see my mother standing in the narrow hallway. My hand, still extended toward the glass that wasn’t there, shook violently. I dropped it. That’s all, I said. Go back to bed. I’ll clean it up.

Faye’s eyes narrowed in suspicion but finally, she turned and trudged back to the bedroom. When I opened the door and stepped outside to fetch the broom, I was greeted by a symphony of night music. Strangely, the pain in my head was gone. The soft spring air was alive with a chorus of crickets backed by a full orchestra of spring peepers, their mating songs accompanied by the tinkle of wind chimes.

But, hold on. We didn’t have wind chimes. We’d never had wind chimes. I walked to the back of the trailer and stared up at the gnarled old apple tree next to Blaster’s pasture. Nudged by a gentle breeze, long silver tubes bumped together, creating a melody with subtle variations as the air around them ebbed and flowed. It was stabilized by a dangling iridescent glass ball whose surface caught and held the moonlight.

Must be some prank of Matt’s. Vowing I’d figure it out in the morning, I grabbed the broom, opened the door and froze. A woman sat on my couch bed. A woman with flowers in her long, dark hair, wearing a pink-and-yellow, tie-dye dress embellished with a blazing purple sun. A woman, smoking what looked and smelled like weed. I opened my mouth, preparing to scream so loudly and shrilly the shards of glass on the floor would shatter into even smaller pieces.

The woman said, Hi. I’m Trilby, your spirit guide. Guess what? You just passed your first test. Isn’t that groovy?

Chapter Two

I STEPPED INSIDE and whisper-screamed, Are you nuts? while fanning the air and glancing back toward Faye’s bedroom. Thank God, the door was closed. Out! I said. I don’t care who you are. Get out!

All I could think was, Grounded for Life. Trust me, it’s no picnic being grounded in a twenty-four-foot trailer.

Trilby giggled. Oh, you’re worried about Mom. It’s okay. She can’t hear me. One of her fingers shot up. Or see me. A second finger joined the first. She got through smell and taste then stopped, looking puzzled. I know there’re five senses but I’ll be damned if I can remember the last one.

Who cares? I jerked my thumb toward the door. Outside, I ordered. My voice was shrill with panic.

Allie, my mother called. Who are you talking to?

My heart leaped into my throat then settled in my chest, banging so loudly I was sure Faye would hear it and ask who was playing the drums. I flapped my hands at Trilby, frantic to be rid of her. She blew out air in disgust and rolled her eyes but rose from the couch and, in a blur of color and a blast of frigid air, disappeared.

Nobody’s here, Faye, I said. I have to memorize something for school. I’ll go outside. I backed out the door reciting, We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union . . . 

Cool, huh?

Reviews for Moonstone

[vanyadrum · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is yet another book I got from Netgalley to review. It came in a bundle with the other 3 books of this series.
When I sat down to read it, I thought that it will probably be just like any other light book, but honestly - I liked it. It had a constant diary style voice, and in my opinion that fit with the narrator - 15 year old Allie (Alfrieda).
I loved her feisty character, loved how much she cared about the people she loved. Well, I didn't like it when she was trying to lie to her mom, but point for mom (Faye) - she always saw through the lies.

Also, until it came to be, I had no idea which of the boys would end up in a romantic relationship with Allie. But then came Junior Martinez - a total Latino hottie, who knew not to cross the boundaries with that particular girl. Because she's dangerous, powerful and not one to mess with.

The story was light, and at the same time intense. There was love, there was action, there was paranormal activity. In four words: it had it all.

Well, there were some grammar mistakes (missing conjugates and such), so yeah it kind of needs some minor editing. But really, nothing major.

The characters:
*Allie - Well she's a girl who can't be messed with. She protects her friends, and generally the weak. Sometimes she saves the bullies from the strongest of the day. Good thing is that she can also save herself, and she doesn't hesitate one second when she has to put her life in danger in order to protect her mom.

*Faye - Allie's mom who is a really irresponsible adult. She and Allie live in a trailer, and Faye doesn't care to do anything to change the situation. In many cases, Allie is the adult, while Faye is the disobedient child.

*Kizzy - that's who kind of got it all spinning. But without her, I think that Allie might not have had half as much confidence in herself as she does now.

*Junior - oh well, what can I say? He's absolutely yummy. He's the hot guy who grabs the girls' hearts and doesn't let go.

This is a very good book for 14-16 year old girls.

[iamindeed · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is the first of five reviews for this series, copies provided through NetGalley to be included in a review tour from IOB Tours. I was not compensated for this review, and all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Moonstone is the introduction to the series, and introduces Allie, the main character around whom all the action circles. Brothers has the ability to portray that innate goofiness and awkwardness that is all a part of teenage life. Add in poverty and a disabled and more than slightly dislikeable mother and the story has the potential for all of the angst common in many YA reads.

The story did have a bit of a slow start, and the pacing would lag occasionally: voiced in the first person there are some overly-wordy descriptions that often alternate with a lack of description that leave the reader wondering just what is going on. Sticking with it, the story does start to fall into place, and empathizing with Allie is not difficult, in fact often she is quite funny in her interactions and observations.

Sadly, there were some issues with the typeface with differences in font size and density, annoying typos and a few editing misses that were more annoying than truly problematical, but I do look forward to the next in this light and fun series to see just where it will lead, as this book was a decent introduction to the series.

[rhonda1111 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Moonstone by Marilee Brothers 4 starsI was given all 4 books in this series to read in exchange of honest review from Netgalley. I decided to write each book review seperately.Allie was living with her mother in a small trailer behind her Uncle Sid's house when she fell off a ten foot ladder into a electric fence. Allie had a whole in center of her forhead. She is starting to being able to move things with her mind.Allie takes care of her mom who has been sick for two years. She does not even know her dads name. Every thursday evening her mom's lawyer comes over and Allie goes to stay at the local haunted house with Kizzy. Kizzy is a rich lonely widow with one adopted daughter who only comes around when she wants money.Kizzy tells Allie that her hole is right their where the third eye would be. Kizzy gives her a moonstone that is powerful and that she is the one that was fortold to have it. Tells her to always protect it.The day that Kizzy is going to lawyer to sign a new will she is beaten up and left for dead in her house. Allie finds out at school and she leaves the school and looses her flip flops running when Junior gives her a ride over to Kissy's and than the hospital. Kizzy is in a coma and a Strange man posing as Kizzy uncle is looming over the bed. Allie is afraid that someone will try and harm Kizzy. Allie finds the prophecy with Junior;s help and finds out people want her moonstone for its power.With it Allie can hear people thoughts. She is told to choose well that one path leads to glory the other to death. To protect the moonstone and trust no one.I got caught up in the story and can't wait to start the next book in the series.PUB Bell Bridge Books

[ljldml · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What a fabulous book! I absolutely loved the characters. Allie isn't some rich, spoiled bratty kid who comes into supernatural powers. She and her mom live in a trailer in the backyard owned by a step uncle. Allie has a wonderful friend named Kizzy who helps with her newfound 'abilities'. What are her abilities? Well, she discovers, quite by accident, that she has telekinetic power. WOW...this is a unique book. Very different from the many of the other paranormal books I've read. Aliie becomes a member of an elite group who are sworn to protect the world from the evil enemy. She has a small star on her palm and a moonstone necklace given to her by 'the Guardian', aka, Kizzy. Her life is turned upside down because of these bizarre changes.Wonderful book, wonderful characters. They are rich and engaging. I can't wait to read the second book in the series.

[janarose1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Allie lives in a small travel tailor with her Mom, a woman who is more child than parent. After falling from the roof, Allie begins to have supernatural experiences. She confides in Kizzy, the town "witch" who gives Allie a moonstone pendant with supernatural powers. After realizing that she is part of a prophecy and a "star seeker" Allie's life is in danger by Trimarks, a group bent on evil and destruction.I thought the book was an interesting set-up for the rest of the series. I thought the characters were engaging and realistic. Allie was fun to read about and cheer for as her life is flipped upside down. Overall, I think many teenage girls will enjoy this book.

[lizard_698959 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Cute, Fun, interesting little read. I enjoyed the main character very much and loved some of the secondary characters. However her mother sucks badly. She could probably win the award for worst mother of the year. I however could over look her mother because she has made Allie (Main Character) the strong great person she is in spite of how she acts. The premise of the story is that Allie finds out she is a witch. Her best friend gives her a moonstone necklace that has a prophecy attached to it and Allie is the prophesied one. Will she follow the path of good or evil is the major question? Pick it up and give it a chance!

[krau0098 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I got a copy of this book through NetGalley(dot)com. This was a book I had had on my "to read" list for a while. It was an okay book, a quick read and the characters were likable but not incredibly original. There are two more books in this series so far Moon Rise and Moon SpunAllie lives with her chronically sick mother in a trailer on her uncle's property. Her life isn't great, but it could be worse. Then she gets zapped by a power-line and starts being able to move things with her mind. When an old friend of hers gives her a Moonstone that she says is prophesied to be Allie's, things start getting even stranger. Allie finds out that she may be part of a prophecy involving two ancient races that have been fighting each other for centuries.This book was okay. Allie is a likable enough character and even Allie's mom (who is definitely not mother-of-the-year) is somewhat likable at times. The boy who ends up helping Allie out is also easy to relate to. That being said none of the characters are very deep and they are all pretty 2D.The story is pretty simple, it basically involves Allie discovering her powers and trying to keep the Moonstone away from bad people. Nothing that happened in the story was very surprising or original. It was all just okay.Brothers writing style is readable and the dialogue natural sounding; the story was a quick read. Things were wrapped up nicely but a storyline was definitely left open for future books. The purpose of this book seemed to be mainly to set things up for future books, so I am hoping the future books in this series have more complex and deeper stories to them.Overall this was an okay book. It wasn't an exciting read, but it wasn't horrible either. When I finished it I mainly thought, "Huh, well okay guess I am done with that." I wasn't eager to read more about these characters or learn more about the world. If you are interested in a young adult book featuring a girl with telekinesis this may be the book for you. Personally though I would skip it or get it from the library. I don't plan on reading future books in this series.

[astults_3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Allie is a teenager living with her mother in a trailer on her uncle's property. Her mother, Faye, is busy trying to get disability. Allie acts more like a responsible adult than Faye. On the evenings Faye "consults" with her lawyer, Allie stays with Kizzy, the Romany gypsy the town likes to call "the witch". Allie notices strange things are beginning to happen when she receives an unexpected heavenly visitor.This is the first book of the "Unbidden Magic" series. Other titles include Moon Rise and Moon Spun. Allie actually seems like a teenager. She has two good friends she sticks up for, has a crush, and even takes the school bus. Brothers manages to make Allie ordinary and extraordinary at the same time. Allie discovers the power in the moonstone necklace Kizzy gives her and someone wants the necklace. Badly.I seem to find myself reading young adult quite a bit. This strays from the orphan who discovers supernatural powers in so many ways it stays interesting.

[ark76_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I received this book free on my Kindle and was very pleasantly surprised. This is a great young adult fantasy book. Anyone that enjoyed the Maxium Ride series will enjoy this book that also tackles the issue of who can a teenager with a special ability (paranormal) trust with her secrets and her life.

[macjest · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed reading this book. I started reading it at about the same time as Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Because of that, I could see great similarities between the two books. Both main characters have gone through life as an average kid with problems on the home front. Both discover they have special powers that they knew nothing about. One goes on a quest, the other has her own problem to solve. Both are introductions to a series. I finished both at about the same time.I enjoyed both of them, but was left with a taste in my mouth of wishing it could have been just a little bit more. Not quite sure what's missing, but I'm willing to give the next book in each series a chance to see if it gets even better.

[peaceloveandpat_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Alfrieda Carlotta Emerson, Allie for short used to be a normal teenage 15 year old. She lives in 24 foot trailer situation on his Uncle Sid's land with her destitute single mom who claims she has Fibromyalgia just so she can get some support from the government. Their situation was depressing but in real time there are people with similar situation. Allie's dad supposedly left when his parents threaten to disown him. Her mom then swore that she will never ask anything from him. But one day something weird happened, upon investigation and of course with the help of a hippy ghost named Trilby and her friend Kizzy she found out that she has special powers of Telekinetic. Not only that she was the "chosen one" from the prophecy. Kizzy gave her the Moonstone that have some awesome powers. To name one, when she rotated it she can hear other people's thought. What is this stone all about? A lot of people seems to want it to themselves. When her friend Kizzy got beaten up people called the Trimark sudenly wants her dead. This is the first book of the Unbidden Magic series, and it looks promising. Allie is a likeable character, she's smart, strong, charming and has a good heart. The story was comical, magical, suspenseful and the supernatural plot draws you to Allie's world.

[irisheyz77 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

What to say about Moonstone by Marilee Brothers? This is a tough one to review because its hard to pinpoint just what I didn't like about it. Perhaps its the plot that only seemed to build and then never fully delivered? Or maybe it was the characters. Most seemed to be just there, some held no real purpose and others just made you go huh? Allie, the main character was likeable enough but I also found her to be a bit annoying. She'd go from leaps of intellect and "ah-ha!" moments to moments of pure stupidity. I don't know it just didn't ring true to me, but maybe its just part of being a normal teenager. Her mother....well....don't get me started there. She's in her 30's mooching off pseudo-relatives and expects her 15 year old daughter to do all the caretaking because she's "retired from life"....lady you are a single mother you don't get to make that choice. You do what you need to raise your daughter. The writing while nothing to write home about wasn't as bad as other books I've read but it was never enough to lure me into the plot. Which I found to be a bit muddled and all over the place. If I didn't already have the sequel I'm not sure that I would read it. But I asked for both books to review and review both of them I will. Who knows...maybe book 2 will be a turning point in the series and things will take a turn for the better. Stay tuned to my blog to find out.

[jessica_reads · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This story is about a girl (Alfrieda aka Allie) who lives with her rather useless mom in a small camper trailer on her uncle���������s property. She gets electrocuted and knocked into a bull pasture in time for the bull to charge at her. But unexpectedly she thinks about the bull backing away and it happens. From there her world gets weirder and weirder when she gets a moonstone necklace from her friend Kizzy and things begin to get even crazier. Kizzy gets beat up and on her way there an unexpected friend helps her out. From there we have the introduction of a cute possible love interest in Junior. They dig for clues together and find things get harder and harder. With not knowing who to trust and who not to she finds herself in a battle to save her mothers life. An absent father rings in to help a little but indirectly and offers to get to know her after 15 years of not caring. How will this story progress?

Being the first for this series it was pretty good. I found that the flow of the book went well and I even liked Junior and Allie and even Corey. There were times that things seemed rushed but all in all at least it wasn���������t bugged down with too many details. I would definitely recommend and am looking forward to reading the next in line.

[jesssika-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This story is about a girl (Alfrieda aka Allie) who lives with her rather useless mom in a small camper trailer on her uncle���s property. She gets electrocuted and knocked into a bull pasture in time for the bull to charge at her. But unexpectedly she thinks about the bull backing away and it happens. From there her world gets weirder and weirder when she gets a moonstone necklace from her friend Kizzy and things begin to get even crazier. Kizzy gets beat up and on her way there an unexpected friend helps her out. From there we have the introduction of a cute possible love interest in Junior. They dig for clues together and find things get harder and harder. With not knowing who to trust and who not to she finds herself in a battle to save her mothers life. An absent father rings in to help a little but indirectly and offers to get to know her after 15 years of not caring. How will this story progress?

Being the first for this series it was pretty good. I found that the flow of the book went well and I even liked Junior and Allie and even Corey. There were times that things seemed rushed but all in all at least it wasn���t bugged down with too many details. I would definitely recommend and am looking forward to reading the next in line.

[sdpogue · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

With the final book coming out this summer, Netgalley had an offer for their reviewers – all four of the current books of the Unbidden Magic Series as one long e-book. The number of pages was daunting but that didn’t stop me from burning through the books in a matter of days. Allie is just a normal girl trying to survive what life has offered her. She lives with her mother in a travel trailer on a piece of her mother’s step-brother’s land. Her mother was suffering from a mysterious illness that prevented her from working. Poor didn’t even begin to express how they lived. That was until Allie fell off the porch and something strange happened. Her life would never be the same. Allie was meant for greater things that involved magic, demons, fairies and an upcoming war between the light and the dark. The stories are witty and entertaining. Maybe a little over the top but I think that’s what I loved about them. It’s tough to talk about a series without giving away too much information but I will say the thing that tickled me the most was Allie’s boy trouble. She’s awkward and brash but that doesn’t stop the boys from lining up and threatening her reputation. They compare this series to Sookie Stackhouse, not sure I agree but I will say these are a fun read and I’m not all that excited that I now have to wait for the 5th book. Especially since the fourth ended with such a cliffhanger.

[readingbeader · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Fifteen year old, Allie discovers she can move things with her mind. She’s not thrilled and would like this new power to go away. She’s given a beautiful necklace that seems to amplify her powers; unfortunately, there are others who also want it. I like Allie – she’s had to grow up a little faster than other 15 year olds, her mom has been in bed for last two years trying to qualify for disability. She doesn’t treat her new abilities as “oh cool – now to bash in whoever messes with me.” She’s a good kid who wants what best for herself and others. Her mom is a slacker but they do have a good relationship. I liked that Allie didn’t keep a lot of secrets from her mom. She realized that grownups sometimes have good ideas too. The first in the Star Seekers series, the potential romance looks good and I am looking forward to the next book.