Becoming Calder - Mia Sheridan

Becoming Calder by Mia Sheridan

Book Babes Unite was lucky enough to get an ARC of Mia Sheridan's latest book, Becoming Calder.  This. book. is. AMAZING!!!!

Pre-order here.  It will be released on October 5th.  Put this one on your calendars!!!

Bella's Review:  5 STARS!!!!!

holy crapola.
my heart!
my stomach!
I need someone to hold my hand.

My review - I'm going to try to find words to review this story.

Mia Sheridan has blown me away with her writing. This story is so intense, so different from anything else I have read. I feel honored to have read it.

First off, this story is told in alternating POV. Love this! We get both Eden and Calder's side of things.

The hero of the story is Calder. Calder has grown up in a "community" that is off grid from the rest of civilization. Hector is the leader of said community. These people are living off the land - no electricity, no running water, no mainstream clothing, etc- except the leaders. The main house does have electricity, running water, heat, etc.

The heroine is Eden. Hector brings home Eden, a young child at the time, who is foretold to be his wife when she turns 18 and help all the people of their community into Elysium - their heaven/ultimate paradise. Calder is 10 when Eden joins his community. And right from the get go, he notices her.

Everyone looks at Eden as this "chosen one" but she just wants to be a kid like the other kids. She just want's to be normal.

And Calder treats her like a normal person. He starts calling her Morning Glory. As beautiful as a flower. As strong as a weed.

And so they connect. As the years pass, Calder grows into a glorious, gorgeous young man and Eden into a glorious, gorgeous young woman (I mean, the hero and heroine can't be hideous, right?) Calder knows that Eden is totally untouchable - she is destined to be Hector's wife when she turns 18. There is no way she can ever be his. But he wants her anyways. And Eden knows this too, but she can't help look at Calder as he works shirtless in the fields, watering the crops. Sigh. She wants him too. They are drawn to each other.

Here it is. Forbidden love.

"If I have to live in Elysium for eternity with someone I don't love, I thought maybe a kiss from you, even just one, would make it bearable."

Do you think they can stop with just one kiss? Uhhh, that would be a no.

These two people fall in love. They fall HARD. Calder and Eden are such genuinely good people, beautiful inside and out, that you just can't help falling in love with the way they love each other. It's precious. It's intense. It's so beautiful. It's real. It's right.

"You're mine, Eden. You always have been, from the very first second I saw you."

SWOON!

BUT.

The foretelling. Eden is destined to be Hector's bride and lead the people to Elysium when the floods come.

Hector notices that Calder wants Eden. And he's not happy. (That's putting it mildly)

Hector is the character you LOVE to hate in this story.

I don't want to spoil anything. But the second half of the story has this feeling of...foreboding. You just know the shit is going to hit the fan. And it's not going to be pretty.

Suffice it to say, this read is INTENSE. It sucked me in, it made me fall in love, and completely gutted me. My heart raced, my stomach churned. I was squirming in bed so much I woke up my husband. I was reading into the wee hours of the morning because I couldn't put this book down. It left me wanting to read Finding Eden so bad.

I. need. that. book. so. BAD!

Note: they will both be released together, so most people won't have this agonizing wait for the next book. Just those of us who received an ARC.

Let me just say that I LOVE Maya and Xander. Great secondary characters!!!

I love, love, love Calder and Eden, such great main characters.

I highly recommend this story.

This is one of those reads that is going to stick with me long after I finish it.

Oh, and Mia - THANK GOD for the epilogue. That's all I will say about that.

Christy's Review:  5+ STARS!!!

 

After reading Archer’s Voice, I thought there was no way Mia Sheridan could top it. It was one of those books that was so good, I was worried the next, no matter how fabulous just wouldn't measure up. I was so wrong. Becoming Calder was so different than any of her other books, but equally good as Archer for me. Both books have made their way into my top 5 so far this year and that is a huge achievement! This story exudes originality. It’s a captivating, unique, and epic forbidden love story. I was beyond impressed with the writing, the characters and the overall story.

Calder is a boy who doesn’t live in the same America that we do. His world isn’t modern and he’s used to that. It’s all he’s ever known. He’s been told to never question the way he lives and he never really has. But one blonde haired girl that comes into his ‘town’ will change everything for him. She is young, even younger than Calder when she’s first brought to their place. But she is the girl that everyone believes the God’s have been waiting for. The girl that will help lead them to their piece of paradise. Elysium.

When Calder and Eden meet they feel this pull to one another. Even though they’re just children, they share this bond. As the years pass, they don’t get to have much communication. Calder’s family comes form the working class, and Eden is treated much differently. But they still stay connected.
 
   

“Hi, Morning Glory.”


“Hi, Butterscotch.”

 

Eden never signed up for this life. She was brought into it as a child. She understands her ‘place’ in the community, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t feel things. Even though she doesn’t get to spend much time with Calder, watching him over the years, she falls more and more in love with him.
 

His smile… his smile lit up my world, even from afar. He was perfect. And I loved him. I loved him desperately.

As they grow from children to teenagers, their feelings continue to grow. They both know it’s something that can never happen, but the heart wants what the heart wants. It starts with butterscotches and morning glories, then it goes to a few smiles, a few lessons, some letters, and things just escalate from there. The little moments they have mean so much to each of them, and it gets them thinking... maybe, just maybe, there could be a life out there for the two of them.

 

Calder is torn. He knows he can’t be with Eden, but he also can’t imagine a life without her in it. His love for her is passionate, powerful and all consuming. And she feels exactly the same way. What they’re doing is dangerous. For the both of them. They both spend some time trying to fight their feelings, but you can’t fight your heart. What do you do when the one person you can’t be with is the only person in your life that you can’t be without?

 

Eden and Calder’s story took me through all kinds of emotions. My heart was happy, it was breaking, it was racing. I was all over the place while reading this one. There were such dramatic scenes- lets just say I couldn’t put this one down when I started reading. I started it and I finished it within a matter of hours. I did nothing else but read. It was one of those books that I devoured.

Both Calder and Eden had an extreme amount of strength. They were both beautiful people, inside and out. The risks they were willing to take and the love that they had for each other was just inspiring. Calder is one of those characters you can’t help but adore. The way he was with his sister, his best friend, and just the way he treated everyone in general had me falling for him from the start. Eden’s love for Calder was so beautiful, so pure. I loved watching them together but I was nervous for them at the same time. All I wanted was for them to be able to get away, to start somewhere where they could just BE.
 

“I’m going to take you away from here, to a place where my bed is your bed, and my home is your home. And in that place, I’ll never be more than an arm’s reach from you.”

 

There are so many books being released every day, I can imagine as an author it is extremely difficult to continually bring out original and unpredictable stories. But somehow, Mia Sheridan continuities to do it. There was so much I didn’t see coming, things were unexpected and surprising. And I have no clue what direction she’s going to take in the next book. That is a fantastic feeling for a reader.

Becoming Calder  is a book that shows you really can’t help who you fall in love with. Who your heart wants and who you’re destined to be with is just that powerful. It’s one of the best forbidden love stories I’ve read. The two main characters are both extremely lovable. The more I read, the more I loved, but also the more nervous I was. I could just tell something BIG was going to happen when it was all said and done. And I was right. The ending left me desperate to find out what will happen next. I can’t wait to jump into Finding Eden and continue their story.

If you’re looking for an all consuming and unpredictable romance, pick this one up! It's one of the best books I’ve read this year!