Review of The Beginning and Deception by Kelvin O'Ralph

Title: The Beginning (LS #1) and Deception (LS #2)
Author Kelvin O'Ralph
Published by: CreateSpace
Pages: 316 and 314
Source: Author
Format: ebook
Rating: ★★ and 1/2

Summary from Goodreads: When Stephen Wilson meets Lisa Morgan at his new school in Sloutenville, it is the simple act of extending his hand in greeting that flips both of their worlds upside-down. With the gesture, both discover that in some way they are connected, and that they share the ability to manipulate the elements, fire and water. Though their abilities vary, they share the gift of telepathy allowing them to communicate without words, which creates a bond between them stronger than either had expected.

As the two begin to spend more and more time together, David, Lisa's ex becomes wild with jealousy, launching multiple attacks on Lisa. In the fight against the dangers that await them around every corner, Stephen and Lisa soon discover that they are up against much greater odds than they had originally known, and that their struggles are far from over.

 I really liked the idea behind this book.  The whole thought of two people carrying around powers that don't manifest until they meet each other is cosmic.  I loved the X-Men type vibe I got from both Lisa and Stephen's abilities.  We don't know much about their power, since they themselves don't know much either, but it seems like they are polar opposites.  One can manipulate fire and the other water, and as we all know opposites attract.

As for Stephen and Lisa, I had a hard time connecting with them.  They were both ridiculously rich and amazingly beautiful.  It seemed the only hardship they had was connected to their powers, and the fact that someone was trying to kill them.  I wish both of these characters had a little more depth.  The one thing I thought was nice was the slow development of their relationship.  Of course they were attracted to one another, but they took things slow and very innocent.

Overall I was a little confused by why Stephen and Lisa had powers and where they came from.  As I said before we only know as much as they do so it's kind of a learning curve we have to work with.  The Beginning ends in quite the cliffhanger, so if you want to read this book make sure you have the next book on hand.     

Summary from Goodreads: Lisa and Stephen are back together as a new school year kicks off. This time, they're much stronger than they've ever been, plus their love life gears to the next stage. Everything seems perfect as they learn about Lisa's new abilities, until Lisa's father, Ben Morgan is attacked while receiving an award.

In this instalment of LS, the two lovers face what seems to be their greatest challenge. As they uncover the mystery behind the attacks on their lives, they are left to make a final decision. It's time to fight back.

Deception picks up right after the ending of The Beginning.  In this book Lisa's powers expand until she is doing really awesome things such as teleportation, telekinesis and mind control.  The questions is why are her powers expanding and what is she going to use them for?

I was a little disappointed in Lisa in this novel.  I felt she took advantage of her brother and abused her powers against others.  I'm sure if I had cool powers like these I'd want to test them out, but I felt like she didn't really have a problem invading others personal space or thoughts.

Stephen is one of those guys who are considered the nice guy.  He's thoughtful, considerate, and quite a catch.  I'm glad he's around to keep Lisa in line at times.  I think he really understands the need to balance his powers with respecting others.

There is a lot more action in this novel and we get to learn some more about Stephen and Lisa's powers.  As with The Beginning, Deception leaves us with another cliffhanger, but this time we'll have to wait until the next novel comes out to find out the rest of the story.