Official Review: The Hybrid by Venus Morales

[Heidi M Simone]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Hybrid" by Venus Morales.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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In a world full of vampires, gods, phoenacians (half-phoenix/half-vampire), deamonons, and archangels, Venus Morales introduces the immortal life of Arielis (Ari) Abrasax. The Hybrid is Morales's latest young adult novel and the first in The Hybrid Series. In her hometown of New Orleans, Ari, daughter of Ares (god of war) and granddaughter of Hera and Zeus, is unique. She is the only known hybrid princess, half goddess and half phoenacian, in her magical world.

Being a young princess, Ari has had experiences that someone her age wouldn't normally have. She has fought deamonons with her best friend (Ily), stood up for herself against the god of war (aka her dad), been up to Olympus, and lives in a building entirely by herself. However, one area of maturity she lacks in life is control over her emotions. As a young adult, she meets two very attractive, very different young men that awaken strange, new feelings within her; one man is a protective, careful archangel, and the other one is the mysterious, dangerous, dark prince of the underworld. Ari realizes she needs to make a choice between the two, but who will she choose?

In the meantime, Ari returns to her mother's phoenacian clan in the Bayou to claim her crown and rightful place as Queen. In order to earn her place as Queen, she must face some competitive trials to prove her worthiness. She is allotted seven days of preparation. While preparing, Ari is faced with a couple of issues. The first problem is that there are people who don't want her claiming the throne and will stop at nothing to prevent it from happening. Another is that Ari's inner darkness is one short pull away from taking control over her for good. This strong-willed lead character finds herself unsure of who to trust and what to do.

I really enjoyed reading The Hybrid. I especially like the character relationships Morales includes in the novel. One of my favorites is the one between Ari and her father. Even the formidable god of war, Ares, has a weakness: his daughter. She reminds him so much of his late wife; yet she has a spunk that he finds endearing. Morales does a wonderful job portraying the love they have for one another throughout the novel. Another strong connection that was brought out nicely is between Ari her best friend, Illariyia. They banter, are sassy, and rag on each other frequently, but the love and trust they have for one another is very special.

One theme that occurs in The Hybrid is summed up in the words of the Deity: “Sometimes, child, not telling someone the full story right away is the right answer to protect them” (end of chapter eight). I feel this quote relates Morales's world to our own world. Just like parents with a small child, many people don't give their loved ones the full story until they are ready for it. This particular theme comes up frequently in the novel, helping the reader better relate to the fantasy world.

The only part of the book that was a bit confusing was the disconnect between the beginning of the story and the rest of the book. In the beginning of the book, a significant event occurs that I feel needs to be solved and further explained. The story line seemed to take an abrupt turn and that opening scene is never mentioned again. It could very well be that Morales is planning on expanding this part in her later books, but I felt left in the dark about that event and kept wanting more details.

I rate The Hybrid 3 out of 4 stars. I would recommend this book to young adults who like a page-turning thriller with a strong leading character and a love story. I found Morales's creative world intriguing and gripping. I would consider following the series through, especially to find out what results from those beginning pages!

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The Hybrid
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Like hsimone's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Venusmorales]

Would you be willing to post this review on Amazon and on Barnes & Noble if possible. Pls

[Heidi M Simone]

Venusmorales, I would love to post my review on both Amazon and Barnes & Noble! It was a really good book!

[gali]

Venusmorales, I would love to post my review on both Amazon and Barnes & Noble! It was a really good book!

@"hsimone", please note that "The review is exclusive to OnlineBookClub.org, meaning you cannot post it on another website. If you have a blog or personal website, we hope you post a link to the review on your website, or you can feel free to write a different review of the book on your website, or summarize the review in different words on your website."

I suggest you contact Scott about it.

[Heidi M Simone]

Venusmorales, I would love to post my review on both Amazon and Barnes & Noble! It was a really good book!

@"hsimone", please note that "The review is exclusive to OnlineBookClub.org, meaning you cannot post it on another website. If you have a blog or personal website, we hope you post a link to the review on your website, or you can feel free to write a different review of the book on your website, or summarize the review in different words on your website."

I suggest you contact Scott about it.

I apologize for agreeing to do this. I did not realize it wasn't allowed, so I did not post this review anywhere. Would it be okay if I give the book an Amazon star rating?

Thank you for bringing that to my awareness, I appreciate the attentiveness.

[gali]

Venusmorales, I would love to post my review on both Amazon and Barnes & Noble! It was a really good book!

@"hsimone", please note that "The review is exclusive to OnlineBookClub.org, meaning you cannot post it on another website. If you have a blog or personal website, we hope you post a link to the review on your website, or you can feel free to write a different review of the book on your website, or summarize the review in different words on your website."

I suggest you contact Scott about it.

I apologize for agreeing to do this. I did not realize it wasn't allowed, so I did not post this review anywhere. Would it be okay if I give the book an Amazon star rating?

Thank you for bringing that to my awareness, I appreciate the attentiveness.

You can rate it or write a different review as was said above. You can also post a link to the review here.

Nice review by the way.

[bluemel4]

Great review. I love greek mythology. This seems like a good mix of already established myth combined with fresh new stories about the next generation of gods.

I am adding this to my to-read list.

[Heidi M Simone]

Great review. I love greek mythology. This seems like a good mix of already established myth combined with fresh new stories about the next generation of gods.

I am adding this to my to-read list.

Thank you! It really was great to read. It definitely is a good mix! When you get to reading it, hope you enjoy it!

[Venusmorales]

hsimone, I understand the rules of onlinebooclub, and I respect that you can't use their review you posted here for another establishment. My publisher asked if it's not to much to ask if you would write a few sentences with your same rating on Amazon.
We tremondouly appreciate you reading The Hybrid and liking it. Thank you

Venus

[chytach18-]

As a newbie to this website, I`d like to thank you, gali, for clarifying things we can or cannot do. Review is very good, though, as well as the book (I suspect). I think it is written in a nice way to invite young adults to take a journey into Greek mythology, something they might not be quite accomplished with.

[Heidi M Simone]

hsimone, I understand the rules of onlinebooclub, and I respect that you can't use their review you posted here for another establishment. My publisher asked if it's not to much to ask if you would write a few sentences with your same rating on Amazon.
We tremondouly appreciate you reading The Hybrid and liking it. Thank you

Venus

I would love to write a few sentences on Amazon. It was a really good book, thank you for writing The Hybrid!

[bookowlie]

Great review! You made the book sound so interesting. I am going to read the sample chapter on Amazon and possibly get the book. So many books, so little time.

[RussetDivinity]

Great review! This looks like a really interesting book, and I may have to take a look for it sometime, since I really like books based on mythology.

[Heidi M Simone]

@chytach18

I'm fairly new too, so it is good to know!

Thank you for reading my review and for kind words. I hope it does inspire young adults to try this book!

-- 09 Aug 2015, 10:02 --

@bookowlie

Thank you for reading my review! That's great hear you'll read the sample and possibly give The Hybrid a try! I understand though, you and I seem to share the same issue - so many books, so little time!

-- 09 Aug 2015, 10:06 --

Great review! This looks like a really interesting book, and I may have to take a look for it sometime, since I really like books based on mythology.

Thank you for reading my review, RussetDivinity! I appreciate your thoughtful words. If you do get around to it, hope you enjoy the read!

-- 09 Aug 2015, 17:58 --

Venusmorales, I posted a shorter review on Amazon, so it's all set!

[Venusmorales]

Thank you