Warped by Maurissa Guibord

Warped
by Maurissa Guibord

Genre: Young Adult | Time-Travel | Fantasy

Tessa Brody doesn't believe in magic. Or Fate. But there is definitely something weird about the dusty unicorn tapestry that she discovers in a box of old books. The wild, handsome creature woven within it draws Tessa, and frightens her too.

Soon after the tapestry comes into her possession strange things begin to happen. Tessa experiences vivid dreams of the past and scenes from a brutal hunt. When she accidentally pulls a thread from the tapestry, Tessa releases a terrible secret-one that has been contained for centuries. She also meets William de Chaucy, a young sixteenth-century nobleman with gorgeous eyes, an odd accent and haughty attitude to spare. His fate is as inextricably tied to the tapestry as Tessa's own. "His Lordship" is pretty hard to get along with but equally hard to resist.

Together with Will, Tessa must correct the wrongs of the past to defeat a cruel and crafty ancient enemy.

But what is she willing to sacrifice in order to do it?

warp

n. 1. the set of yarns placed in a loom that forms the lengthwise threads of a woven fabric. 2. a hypothetical eccentricity or discontinuity in the space-time continuum.

- from Webster's dictionary

Tessa and her father live above a used bookstore in Maine and by all appearances, she comes off as a normal teenager with a mundane part-time job, kooky best bud, and the usual school angst. Yet, her father's newest purchase (a collection of leather bound books and other unusual items from an auction estate sale) begins to strangely affect Tessa by causing vivid flashbacks of a long-ago life - a life she's certain she was involved with. When one small action brings the past to the present...Tessa realizes that sometimes souls (ie. "threads of human life") can be twisted to withstand the test of time and that immortality is the 'name of the game'. When dark magic, three mythological goddesses, and one well-built young man all collide in Tessa's humdrum life, can she finally make up for her mistakes in the past while continuing to have a future of her own?

I was presently surprised in how much I enjoyed Warped. Honestly, I expected the usual Young Adult read full of supernatural mystery and innocent romance, but Guibord wrote a very intriguing novel where both sides (good and bad) were in constant battle and it was truly difficult to predict which side would win come page 337. (the end!) Plus, all the characters were well-rounded (ex: Jackson Brody, Tessa's dad, was very warmhearted) and easy to enjoy (ex: Opal, Tessa's best friend, adds a lot of comical humor) throughout, which is always a great perk of a good book. Expect lots of twists and turn within the plot with also a nice amount of romantic intrigue and passion. Do yourself a favor and check it out!

Like: I highly enjoyed the story and was happy to have a complete finish for once. No more continuation in the next book of the series here, which is something I've been sadly dealing with in a few of my other previous reading adventures! Don't get me wrong, I love series, but it was refreshing and quite satisfying to finish a story in one book.

Dislikes: Personally, I was cracking up about the whole auction scene at the beginning because . . . that's my life! Seriously! I work at a Fine Auction House and bidding placards ("like a Ping-Pong paddle" pg 6.) are something I deal with on a monthly basis ---- so, sadly I kept thinking about work and NOT escaping into a new book as I wanted.

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