Vortex: Return of the Effra by Lindsey J Parsons

Vortex: Return of the Effra Vol. 1
by Lindsey J. Parsons
June 2012
AFS Publishing

On a night when prophecies stir, an outraged dragon vents his anger, Damian is ripped from everything he knows and Sam's nightmares become real...

Sam isn’t enjoying university life, she’s disillusioned with her course and having second thoughts about her future. It doesn’t help that she keeps having a scary, recurring nightmare and when she thinks things couldn’t get worse a creepy man follows her back to her room.

Damian is unique, he has silver eyes, horns and wings, he is also being visited by a ghost girl. She looks so sad and frightened he feels compelled to help her, but the night he reaches out to save her from a dragon’s fiery breath he gets ripped from his life, his world, from everything he knows.

Now it’s Damian who’s lost in an unfamiliar world that’s devoid of magic and full of strange monsters. His only connection with home is Sam who he recognises as the ghost girl. Sam has to put aside her fear and disbelief in Damian’s explanations about himself to try and help him find his way home.

But in a world without magic is this possible?


First of all let me start by saying I love love LOVED this book, seriously it is made of the most awesome sauce in the world. The story is written in such a way that I felt as if I was watching a movie. I could picture every little detail, every facial expression and almost hear every sound. It was fast paced from the beginning and I was immediately thrown into the story, there was never a dull moment. Parson's writing is incredible.

My favourite character? Hands down Damien!! At first I wasn't sure what to make of him but after his first meeting with Sam, I fell in love. He is completely clueless about everything going on around him and this lightens the whole tone of the book, he is like a child when it comes to everything in the human world and it's impossible not to love him, especially the moment he thinks Sam doesn't like him, I was so sad for him that all I wanted to do was give him a cuddle. He also has a dark side that we only see glimpses of but it's enough to make me believe we will be seeing more of his 'true' nature, I think he is the perfect example of human nature at it's worst and it's best which is ironic considering he's not human.

And Sam? She is a REAL character and I say this because her reactions when first meeting Damien are what I would expect from myself if I was in her position. She thinks he's crazy and dismisses everything he tells her and it's a long time before she even begins to consider that he might be telling the truth, and even then she doesn't fully accept anything until she has seen it for herself. She is a typical teenage girl that has no clue what she wants to do with her life, she also isn't afraid to be mean to the people around her, typically speaking her mind wherever necessary, no matter the situation. I love that she hasn't been described as having a boring, mundane life which is typical of YA books but instead her life really is normal, sometimes boring but real and I appreciate that because I can relate.

I also loved how Parsons wrote from both of their perspectives as it gave me, as a reader such a good insight into how they are both feeling in every chapter. I was filled with tension throughout the whole book because I desperately wanted Sam and Damien to realise how they felt about each other and Parsons didn't disappoint. This story really puts to rest the old saying, never judge a book by it's cover.

I recommend this book to anyone that wants a good love story that is touched with humour, tinged with sadness and full of hope. Big thumbs up!!

Find out more about Lindsey J Parsons here

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- Stephanie