Jordan Frost and the Awakening by J.A. Simmons

A coming-of-age thriller packed with shadowy conspiracies and unburied legacies, Jordan Frost and the Awakening by J.A. Simmons is a YA adventure of slow-burning revenge and powerful self-discovery. Jordan, an orphan, has never met his parents, but after being swept into The Desert by a mysterious woman to avoid a malicious killer, he discovers the unbelievable truth of his ancestral origins. Quickly mastering the rigorous Ways of a secret warrior society, Jordan taps into a power he didn’t know existed to find the redemption he didn’t know he deserved. While the fast-moving story is undeniably exciting, the text requires a thorough edit, both for proofreading errors and to improve the believability of the dialogue, which tends towards over-explanation, rather than authentic conversation. That said, as the first installment of a new fantasy saga, the author has established a fascinating foundation that opens up many possible storylines.