Prelim Review: From the first time I read about this book I knew I wanted it. I've always been fascinated by stories with unicorns a this one had the added dash of history to it so all the better!

Full Review to be posted at Poisoned Rationality ( )

Warped opens with Tessa and her dad at an auction house bidding on some books and what seems like a random tapestry. After winning the bid she starts to examine the tapestry and the book that was wrapped in it and her life takes a sudden plunge for the strange as she starts seeing visions and having dreams of a different time.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. For the past two days I’ve been trying to figure out just what I enjoyed, I can’t pinpoint it exactly but here are a few things:
+ I enjoyed the telling of two stories in two different times. I’ve always enjoyed books form other centuries and while I’m not a fan of flashbacks these time flashes were wonderfully crafted.
+ My imagination ran wild. As I’ve started reading critically I’ve noticed a lot of books where the narrative tells me what’s going on instead of showing. I’ve found it distracting to the point where I need to put the book down and walk away, this is not a problem with Warped. In fact, it was quite the opposite - I had to stay up all night just to finish!
+ I loved that it kept me up all night just trying to figure out what will happen next.
+ The story touches on the Norns (Fates) and I don’t recall ever reading a book with Norse mythology.

I only had one complaint but it’s such a minor one that I didn’t want to bring it up. Right from the start we learn that there are seven missing threads (lives) and the Norns (Fates) want them back. Finding those seven threads, in one book, didn’t allow room for a lot of character development (minor characters) and while I enjoyed a lot of the characters, I wanted them to have more screen time - especially Opal and a few of the lost threads. However, it wasn’t a huge lost to the story and I’m looking forward to reading more from Maurissa. ( )

Plot: At the beginning of the novel, we are given two definitions of the word ‘warped’ which is the title of the book. One of the definitions had to do with weaving, the other was about traveling through time. I loved the fact that she took both meanings of the word and incorporated them into the story. This novel was a combination of action, danger, suspense, romance, fantasy and a bunch of other stuff all mixed in. Now on to what actually happened in the story! The beginning was slightly slow and the action didn’t start until Will showed up, but as soon as he got there, everything picked up. There are constant flashbacks that help explain why and how Will got stuck inside of a tapestry. They are really helpful in the overall understanding of the story and give us clues to what will happen next.

Characters: There were only a few characters in the novel, but that was enough to make the story great. I really liked Tessa and her best friend, Opal, but what I liked most about the two of them was their friendship. They are both very different; Opal is quirky while Tessa is the more rational of the two. When things in Tessa’s life start to get a little crazy and strange, Opal never doubts her and agrees to help right away. Basically, Opal is just awesome and a great friend that anyone would be lucky to have. I quickly became a fan of Will and was even happier with him and Tessa together. Tessa had a tendency of making fun of him which, at times was funny, but just make him feel even more out of place. He wasn’t used to anything from her world considering he was born 400+ years in the past and she should have been a little more understanding. However, my favorite part about Tessa was that she was just as sarcastic as I am. Oh, and did I mention that her dad owns a book store and they live directly above it?!
Cover: The cover is gorgeous and I love it almost as much as I love the story. It sort of reminds me of the Uglies by Scott Westerfeld cover which I also like.

Overall Impression: I loved this book! If there is a sequel, I will definitely pick it up. Actually, I’ll probably read any book by Maurissa Guibord. ( )

Warped is a nice little book. It's a young adult novel but contained most of the fantasy elements without any annoying aspects of urban fantasy. The finer point being put on nice since the book did not address any of the nastier aspects of falling in love with someone from the fifteen century. I've read books where the time warp from fifty years ago yielded more problems regarding inequality, racism, class or sexism. The book being young adult rather than urban fantasy spared us the trope of lairds taking their women for example.
[If you like that sort of thing that might be a drawback.]

Not to regurgitate the plot [that is only a good thing when a bird does it] but Tessa's dad owns his own bookshop. They get an evil witch's unicorn tapestry and diary by mistake at an auction.
Tessa starts to have nightmares about the glaring unicorn on the tapestry about him being hunted by villagers. The unicorn was really a noblemen whose life essence is stolen by a weaver.
I imagined the unicorn to look like Prince Blueblood from My Little Pony.

The book had it's fun moments from the villain, the Grey Lady, that reminded me fondly of a soap opera villain. She used her time and wealth on being a pop star among other things. I didn't feel sorry for her since I don't think anyone needs to live five centuries but time did suck for people back then.
The Norne, who are in control of weaving the threads of fate were interesting characters as well. I particularly enjoyed their misplaced blame on Tessa and interference of her life. ( )

RATING: 3 stars.

There are books that disappoint you terribly because you had high expectations; books you find were better then you expected because you had low or no expectations; and then there are those books that you like in spite of knowing they aren't that good. For me, "Warped" fits into the third category. While I read it I catalogued all it's flaws: weak characters, insta-romance, unrealistic premise and weak story. But... I still liked it. Because I also saw potential.

Now, I'm no professional judge of books and what is good or bad literature. I can merely give an opinion about a book, write about what I 'feel' would have worked better. It's a mostly subjective view although I do try to focus on character development, world-building and plot complexity. Which means that even if I liked a book I'll always find flaws. But even this attempt at objectivity doesn't always work.

All this to say it didn't work with "Warped". I liked the author's voice even if I thought she could have written a much better book. If only she had developed her characters better and had taken her story in a different direction.

"Warped" is a story about a girl and a tapestry. Tessa (the protagonist) comes into possession of an ancient tapestry that depicts a unicorn. She feels there is something strange about it but it's still very surprised when she pulls a thread and a guy pops out of the tapestry. He is William de Chaucy, 16th century noble, who was imprisoned within in order to provide the gift of eternal youth to the owner of the tapestry (who is, of course, a witch).

On the whole not a very exciting story. I found the plot simplistic and unbelievable, the characters too stereotyped and the romance flat and too instantaneous for my taste. Basically "Warped" has all the major flaws that your typical YA paranormal romance has. So why did it stand out for me? Because of the potential for more. Because of the Fates/Norns and the fact that the author hinted that Tessa was more than she appeared.

Overall: "Warped" is a very typical YA fantasy book. It definitely won't stand out; it's not even that good. Still I think Guibord intends to do more with the plot and characters so while this first book wasn't brilliant I think the concept can evolve into a great story. I am considering this an introductory book and hoping the second will be more intricate and complex. ( )