READ: REVIEW – Becoming Calder by Mia Sheridan. PDF, EPUB online free reviews.

Title: Becoming Calder
Author: Mia Sheridan
Series: Sign of Love #5
Release Date: October 5, 2014

There is a place in modern day America with no electricity, no plumbing, and no modern conveniences. In this place, there is no room for dreams, no space for self-expression, and no tolerance for ambition.

In this place, there is a boy with the body of a god and the heart of a warrior. He is strong and faithful and serves his family honorably. But he dares to dream of more.

In this place, there is a girl with the face of an angel and a heart full of courage. To her family, she is the vision of obedient perfection. But she dares to want that which she has been told can never be hers.

Becoming Calder is the story of good versus evil, fear versus bravery, and the truth that the light of love has always found its way into even the darkest of places . . . From the beginning of time, to the end of the world.

THIS IS THE FIRST PART IN A TWO-PART SIGN OF LOVE SERIES INSPIRED BY AQUARIUS. THE SECOND PART, FINDING EDEN, RELEASES SIMULTANEOUSLY.

Mia Sheridan has done it again. Becoming Calder is unlike anything I’ve ever read, delivering both breathtaking love and heartbreaking agony in one fell swoop. Calder and Eden’s journey was captivating, unexpected and overflowing with raw emotion – the kind of story that sticks with you long after the final page has been turned. From the very beginning, the pull between our hero and heroine was something special. They shared an untouchable connection that transcended the confusion and loss of control that surround them, easily enchanting readers with their pure and inimitable feelings for one another. As Calder and Eden fell in love for the very first time, I was right there beside them losing my heart with each stolen moment and whispered truth. I waited in anxious anticipation for each meeting of these two incredible souls and adored every sweet and steamy interlude that imprinted this couple on me just a little bit more.

“As long as we’re both under the same moon, we’ll always find a way to each other.”

Eden and Calder may just be some of my favorite characters from this author. Both courageous and incredibly fierce, their emotional transparency allowed them to steal my heart without hesitation. Mia Sheridan expertly utilized Eden and Calder’s sheltered upbringing to lay her characters bare. Raised beyond the constraints of prideful thought and shielded from any understanding of “normality,” Eden and Calder were frank with their feelings and unapologetic in their exploration of them. The resultant vulnerability was absolutely stunning and I found myself deeply connected to both characters in no time at all. I loved watching Calder and Eden come to life with one another, venturing into the unknown and making promises for a world they couldn’t possibly understand. Their innocence was utterly beautiful and incredibly addictive, making it impossible not to fall in love with and wholly invest myself in Eden and Calder’s hopeful hearts and kind souls.

“I will protect your sweet and hopeful heart. I vow to shield you from any ugliness in this world, and always be your shelter in the storm.”

It should be noted that Becoming Calder reads more slowly than most of Mia Sheridan’s other novels. She has a lot of world-building to do in Becoming Calder and that takes some time and patience on the part of the reader. While I understood the importance of establishing Acadia and the roles both Eden and Calder played amongst their people, I did find it difficult at times to reconcile my need to get to the heart of the story with the lack of action and overall slow pace. When all was said and done, I definitely appreciated the detail with which Mia Sheridan crafted our couple’s world, knowing that I couldn’t truly appreciate all that the characters had been through without first understanding the world in which they had been raised. Overall, the slow start didn’t so much diminish my reading experience as it made me incredibly anxious to get to the second book in Calder and Eden’s story.

“My love for Calder would serve as a mighty sword against Hector. There was nothing he could do to fight that, nothing he could do to enslave that. It was true and untouchable. It was ours.”

Once again, Mia Sheridan demonstrates an exquisite command of the written word. Her prose is poetic, her imagery vibrant and the emotional impact of this story incredibly powerful. Her writing is as beautiful as ever, words flowing across the pages in a stunning dance that both challenges and mesmerizes the reader until you’re left with no choice but to surrender to the author’s fictional world. Becoming Calder took me by complete surprise. This story was nothing like I had expected and yet it was somehow so much more. Not to mention that ending! I’m pretty sure my heart threatened to pound right out of my chest as I devoured the words that brought this book to a close, only to be left wanting so much more. Mia Sheridan has carefully constructed this enthralling storyline to keep readers guessing and I can’t wait to see where she plans to take Eden, Calder and Xander next. A true testament to the power of blind faith, unconditional love and unwavering hope, Becoming Calder is another must read novel from Mia Sheridan!

Mia Sheridan has proven time and time again that she can write just about anything and have it seep into your bones. The way she is able to consistently invoke such high levels of emotion is astounding, and even though I shouldn’t continue to be surprised, somehow I am. I’ve just finished Becoming Calder and I’m sitting here in a tangled mess of sensations, having the most difficult time forming words. This book was addicting, maddening, and above all, utterly consuming.

“The thing is, Calder, it’s not always a choice who you develop feelings for. You’re playing with fire in more ways than one. Any fool can see the way you two look at each other.”

This author has a knack for incredible world-building, sucking readers into an unforgettable story. Becoming Calder had quite a large scene to set, so the beginning was a bit slower paced than what readers have come to expect from Sheridan. However, Eden and Calder’s romance was a bright ball of light, and once those rays started to seep through, there was just no stopping the explosion. The juxtaposition of the sweet girl who questioned things with the devout boy who blindly followed his faith was eye-opening and made for such beautiful transformations. From the very moment we’re introduced to each of these personalities, there was just something special that drew you in, creating a compulsive need to see how it would all end.

“You had to live every minute of the hard part in order to get to the good. Maybe that made it all the sweeter though. If you could just skip over the bad parts in life, the good parts would start to feel bland and emotionless.”

One of the things I admire most about Sheridan is her ability to transport readers to different worlds. In each book of the Signs of Love series, I am taken to a new place with new characters and a fresh storyline. Too many times when I get to the later books in a series, I start to feel like they’re similar plots and the book feels stale. However, Sheridan keeps surprising me, drawing me in, and only leaves me wanting more with the stories she has to tell. Becoming Calder was no exception, particularly with how different the settings were from her previous novels.

“I feel your lips on me, Eden. When I close my eyes, when I’m awake. I taste you. You are my first breath, and my last. I feel you, and I hope you still feel me, too.”

I’ll be honest and say that the blurb of Becoming Calder made me a tad bit hesitant to read this in the first place; yet, it delivered with its butterflies and heart racing moments. The sweet, slow romance that blossomed between the characters drives the plot forward while simultaneously burrowing into your soul. Readers will not be disappointed in this angsty delicious read that delivers in spades. I’m definitely not ready to leave this one behind yet, and am certainly glad that there’s another book to continue on with. Mia Sheridan has done it again, and I can’t wait to see where she brings this story in its conclusion!