Book Review and #Blog Tour #UltimateBlogTour @The_WriteReads – Catalyst (#2) by Tracy Richardson (4 stars)

Click to listen! Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Title: Catalyst (#2)

Author: Tracy Richardson

Published: 2^nd of June 2020 – Brown Books Publishing Group

Format: Ebook – 248 pages

Hello Hello! How are you?

I’ve had a bit of a busy day today getting some bookcases upstairs to organise my books on while we save to make our own, but I’m so happy to be bringing you this blog tour organised by Dave from The Write Reads for Catalyst by Tracy Richardson. I’m always so excited about the books Dave offers in his blog tours because they are so diverse and always so enjoyable, this one was just as good as I was expecting and actually really surprised me. Thank you to Dave for letting me take part in this tour and for sending me the book. All opinions are my own.

GOODREADS SYNOPSIS

Marcie is spending her summer working on the archaeological dig that her mother runs: Angel Mounds, a site of an ancient indigenous civilization. Soon after she arrives, she meets some intriguing individuals, and becomes wrapped up in a supernaturally-charged mission to save the planet from the destruction man has brought upon itself.

Marcie Horton has a sixth sense. Not in the “I see dead people” way, but . . . well, maybe a little. She feels a sort of knowing about certain things that can’t be explained-an intuition that goes beyond the normal. Then there was that one summer four years ago when she connected with a long-departed spirit . . . But nothing that incredible has happened to Marcie since.

This summer, Marcie is spending time working at Angel Mounds, the archaeological dig her mother heads, along with her brother, Eric, and his girlfriend, Renee. The dig is the site of an ancient indigenous civilization, and things immediately shift into the paranormal when Marcie and her teammates meet Lorraine and Zeke. The two mysterious dig assistants reveal their abilities to access the Universal Energy Field with their minds-something Marcie knows only vaguely that her brother has also had experience with. Marcie learns how our planet will disintegrate if action is not taken, and she and her team must decide if they are brave enough to help Lorraine and Zeke in their plan to save Mother Earth, her resources, and her history. It looks like the summer just got a lot more interesting.

MY REVIEW

Catalyst by Tracy Richardson is the second book in The Catalysts series which is a young adult, science fiction and fantasy series. It is the second book in the series and I haven’t read the first book, but I didn’t struggle at all to understand the plot, but I’m definitely going to try to read book 1 soon.

In this book, we follow Marcie Holton, the daughter of archaeologists working on a dig in Indiana on the site of an ancient native place called Angel Mounds. As soon as Marcie, her brother and her brother’s girlfriend get to the dig site, they encounter Zeke and Lorraine, two very strange people. Marcie has a special sixth-sense and she definitely thinks that there is something more to these people than meets the eye.

I have to say that this was a very unique book, but one that I was immediately drawn to. I had forgotten what the blurb was about by the time that the blog tour for this book came around, but I’m actually glad that I went in a big blind because I really connected with the story and it was all very surprising to me because of no prior knowledge.

I do really like books like these that are more than just a fictional story and that send a message to the reader, I really liked how the author, through the characters was able to make the reader aware of the problems happening today on planet earth and what we could potentially do to change things. I’m not sure about some elements because they were obviously fiction and I can’t really see them being very likely to happen, but I do know that the way forward is knowledge.

I don’t want to go into too much detail because you will end up spoiled, but I will say that Zeke and Lorraine are not what I expected. I do struggle with these types of books sometimes because I’ve not got a scientific mind, so I don’t really understand everything that is going on in science fiction, especially the sci-fi books that go into a lot of scientific, technological and extra-terrestrial detail, but for once, all these elements didn’t really bother me.

I really enjoyed all the archaeological aspects to this book. I’ve always been fascinated by archaeology and what you can unearth about the past from the ground, I would have really enjoyed having a bit more information about this, but I think it was really well handled anyway and quite understandable, especially for a science noob like me.

This was a really fast-paced read and I was captivated throughout, it wasn’t the sort of book that goes over your head and you end up rolling your eyes at the stupidity or unlikeliness of it, it was just enough of an unlikely scenario mixed with the possibility that it could happen to grasp my attention throughout and push me to keep reading.

I liked all the characters even though I think that this book was much more plot-driven than character-driven. Marcie is a very independent young woman, she has her head on her shoulders and she is not afraid to fight for what she believes in. I liked how she helped Leo come to terms with things and even though she was frustrated by his beliefs and his resistance to what was happening, I think that she understood that he had been brought up this way and that she had to help him to see the truth instead of shunning him because they didn’t agree.

MY THOUGHTS AND RATING

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I’ll be picking up the first book soon. I don’t think it’s necessary to read the books in order or both at all because they seem to both be independent but follow the same sort of themes. I have to admit that all the science and spiritual elements were a bit much at time and did sort of bore me, but that’s because I don’t really understand it, even though I do appreciate it and the possibilities.

I was surprised by this one and would have even liked it to be a bit longer, I did like how it ended, but I suppose I would have enjoyed it to be a bit more drawn out because the end part did seem a bit rushed. I’m giving this book 4 stars and would definitely recommend to anyone who likes science fiction or books that talk about things out of our own control, but also conservationists and climate change activists, people against fracking and other harmful practises to our earth. If you are like me, I would tell you to try this book and keep an open mind because even if you can’t understand all the scientific intricacies, I do think you will enjoy this book and the message it sends to its readers.

Thank you once again to Dave and Tracy for letting me be part of this tour and for sending me the book. It was a lovely reading experience and I’m looking forward to reading more books by this author.

That’s all for now, I hope you enjoyed this post, see you soon, stay safe,

Ellie xx

ABOUT THE AUTHOR – TRACY RICHARDSON

Tracy Richardson wasn’t always a writer, but she was always a reader. Her favorite book growing up was A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle. In a weird way, that book has even shaped her life through odd synchronicities. She has a degree in biology like Mrs Murry, and, without realizing it, she named her children Alex and Katie after Meg’s parents. Tracy uses her science background in her writing through her emphasis on environmental issues, metaphysics, and science fiction. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her doing any number of creative activities — painting furniture, knitting sweaters, or cooking something. She lives in Indianapolis, and, in case you’re wondering, yes, she’s been to the Indianapolis 500.

Tracy’s Links: Website – Twitter

If you would like to purchase this book, you can find it here: Amazon UK (affiliate link) – Amazon FR (affiliate link) – The Book Depository (affiliate link) – Amazon US – Barnes and Noble – Kobo