Anathema by Megg Jensen -- 4.5 Stars!

Forget prophecy. Make your own destiny. 

Sheltered from the outside world with no hope for escape, slave girl Reychel dreads her fifteenth birthday - when her master’s symbol is burned on the back of her bald scalp. Her best friend disappears the night before, leaving her to face the branding ceremony alone. She soon discovers nothing is as it seems when people desperate for freedom beg for Reychel's help.

Can Reychel learn to believe in herself?

 The Idea: 

Reychel has been a slave her entire life, not even realizing that she was "gifted" (a.k.a. has magical abilities). Her escape from her master begins a period of a couple months learning about her abilities, her destiny, and her very identity. Turns out she's the Prophet that her people have been waiting for for seven generations! Her abilities as the Prophet have given her master a LOT of money and power over the years, so after a couple months of desperate searching, he's still unwilling to let her go. He forces Reychel to choose either to turn herself in, or allow him to execute some of the very people she's supposed to save. BUT, it turns out someone else has been pulling Reychel's strings for years and she's even more dangerous...

 Some Particulars: 

Nothing about the world was particularly unusual -- it could have been earth in some medieval culture. The Malborn have enslaved Reychel's people, the Sereniens, and the council of the gifted have been rescuing gifted slaves in their search for the Prophet. Reychel's master lives in a castle, and is referred to as a lord and one of many nobles. 

Reychel was a likable, honest character who wasn't painfully sappy, overly dramatic, painstakingly sweet, or even unrealistically tough. She was a very down-to-earth, NORMAL girl, who turned out to have a really cool power: she can read the future, the present, and maybe even the past on the clouds! 

The other characters also came across well, most not particularly well-developed, but I'm hoping to see more of them in the next book! Mark, the main love interest, is guarded and puzzling, yet there's some kind of connection with Reychel that is enjoyable. Ivy is a cunning character that I loved to hate, Johnna was motherly and wise, and Tania was sisterly and fun. Grey and Ella I'm just dying to know more about because they were just barely there but so cool! They obviously will be coming back into the story, and are both capable characters that I'm hoping will become major players.

 My opinion: 

The concept of the gifted is done well, and the plot, while somewhat predictable, was engaging and very well-paced. Reychel was a refreshing character that could be honestly related to and you wanted her to figure things out. I really enjoyed it, and I think it will be a hit for YA fantasy fans! I can't wait to check out the next book in the trilogy!

Check out Megg Jensen's blog for more info about her other books!