I was attracted to EMPATH by the original concept of supernatural "powers" that are viewed as flaws instead of gifts by the characters. The majority of paranormal books in general concentrate on using special abilities for some greater good or to help others, but in this book, the main character Jade tries to ignore her ability as much as possible. Ever since she can remember, she's had the ability to feel other people's emotions and while that sounds interesting, it has forced Jade to live a sheltered life. Her parents figured early on that strong emotions and being around people was difficult for Jade so they home-schooled her and protected her from society as much as possible.
It's kind of cliché to meet Jade as she tries to integrate herself in college life for the first time, but for some reason, it's a cliché that I really don't mind. It works for the story and we learn along with Jade how difficult it is for her to be around so many people. Her ability not only cripples her at first, but makes her almost unable to function and concentrate in her college class. With time, she learns to cope with her ability to a certain degree, but never fully controlling it. Because of her initial inability to control her empathy, Jade comes off as a weak person, a sheltered character. I found it hard to connect with her because her naivety was just a little too much, but with time she grew on me. Especially as she started to make friends with Cam and his sibling. Soon after she meets Cam, Jade discovers that he has his own flaw, but unlike Jade, he has learnt to make the best of it and see it as a gift instead.
One character that remains a mystery, even after finishing the book, is Logan. A professor at Jade's college, he comes in and saves Jade at the most opportunistic time, whether it's saving her from failing her first college class or saving her from a more physical threat. We eventually find out that he has his own special ability, and like Jade he sees it more as a curse. His ability has also forced him to live a secluded life, never getting close to anyone in fear of revealing too much about himself.
One thing that wasn't really explained was how the special abilities came to be. Jade and Logan seemed to have been born with them, or acquired them at a very early age, while Cam developed his after sustaining an injury to his head during a traumatic accident. Hopefully we'll get more insight about why these young people have these abilities, later in the series.
The antagonist of this story is a little too freaky for me. Personally, I never really like following the antagonist's point of view in a story because it always seems forced and not quite real. EMPATH is no exception to this irritation, and while it would be difficult to really get an in depth look at the antagonist's reasons without his point of view, it might have been advantageous to hear about him from a third party or through other means. We first really hear of him when Jade overhears a conversation between two college girls discussing a murder, but that's the only time Jade is made aware of him, and then ultimetely forgets about it. Media and news could have built on the thriller/murder mystery aspect of the story, and even if the antagonist's point of view was necessary, it could have built the suspense if Jade would have been more aware of him in the early parts of the book.
EMPATH will literally take you on a roller-coaster ride of emotions. At first, it felt like there was too much emphasis on the description of emotions but that was probably done on purpose, for us to really understand what Jade is going through. A decent beginning to a series, the flow of the story was bumpy at the beginning, and some scenes seemed unimportant and irrelevant. I did enjoy the ending and how the author left us with unfinished business, setting us up for a sequel.
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During the Empath Blog Tour (September 16th - October 20th), the first book in the Flawed series will be on sale for a discounted price of $0.99. Grab it for cheap while you can!
About the author
Becca J. Campbell is the author of the New Adult Romantic Science Fiction novels Foreign Identity and Gateway to Reality, New Adult Romantic Paranormal Thriller Empath (The Flawed Series #1), and Sub-Normal, a series of Science Fiction short stories.An avid lover of stories that tiptoe the line between fantasy and reality (even when they plunge off one side or the other), Becca looks for new angles on bridging the gap between the two. She holds a special place in her heart for any story that involves superpowers or time travel. Her passion is defying the limits of her own creativity. You can find her on her Author Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Pinterest, and Amazon.
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