Discovery of the Five Senses by K.N. Smith – 4 Star Review

Welcome or unwelcome. Fate has arrived.

Welcome to one of the May 2nd stops on the blog tour for Discovery of the Five Senses by K.N. Smith with Goddess Fish Promotions. Be sure to follow the rest of the tour for spotlights, reviews, and a giveaway! More on that at the end of this post.

Visit the previous tour stops I’ve hosted for this title to read some excerpts! February 17th, February 14th, January 31st

Please note that this post contains affiliate links, which means there is no additional cost to you if you shop using my links, but I will earn a small percentage in commission. A program-specific disclaimer is at the bottom of this post.

About the Book

The Urban Boys
Discovery of the Five Senses
by K.N. Smith

Published 15 September 2021
Two Petals Publishing
Cover Artist: Pauline Malt

Genre: YA Action-Adventure, Urban Fantasy, Thriller
Page Count: 340
Add it to your Goodreads TBR!

A suspenseful incident in a forbidden preserve heightens the senses of five friends. But furious battles confront the boys as they try to understand their sensory superpowers in a race to save mankind. With light beings and mysterious strangers complicating their plight, will the boys be able to defeat the evil Druth before it’s too late?

Amazon US | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | B&N | Google | Apple | Kobo

Excerpt

Exhausted, Joaquin stayed there for a few minutes while the forest absorbed the intentional, malicious act. Pained moans escaped him as he stood rubbing his  eyes, which were suddenly burning. 

Unable to see clearly, he stumbled out of the forest, going anywhere the night would take him. His eyes burned a furious, deep red. He would remain in an agonized condition for three long days. 

Terrified, Della and Juson guessed at what had just happened. Afraid to move, they had no choice but to show more patience than they had thought possible in their lifetimes. The scared couple clung to each other, wondering what new horror awaited them. 

The minutes seemed like hours, but they remained still, even as a bright light swept through the preserve. The light was sharp, electric against the blanket of darkness. It brought with it a clicking noise, which drove its way into their ears with a musical rhythm.

As the light zoomed in closer to Ross, it pounced against the leaf covering the two, then went dark as the clicks faded. 

As the night progressed, Della and Juson found the courage  to   make  their  move.  In  disbelief,   they   ran home, holding a frightening secret in their hearts. A secret of murder, committed under a striking, glowing moonlight on the most fateful night of their young lives.

My Review

My Rating: 4 Stars
Consider liking my review on Goodreads

I was granted complimentary access to Discovery of the Five Senses by K.N. Smith as part of my participation in a blog tour for this title with Goddess Fish Promotions. Thank you to all involved in affording me this opportunity! My thoughts are my own and my review is honest.

For full transparency, this book didn’t pique my interest the first time it was presented to me as a potential review opportunity. It came across my suggestions on NetGalley for the second time after accepting the review opportunity for this tour, but I’ve also featured it on my blog three other times. I am glad I finally gave it a chance because the 4-star average on Goodreads did not deceive, it’s a great book!

This book reads quite a bit more mature than what I’m used to in the YA category, not in an inappropriate or adult content sort of way but just in a tone and experience sort of sense. These characters feel like they’ve seen a little more in their short lives than YA high school characters typically feel. The quality and level of the writing gives the reacher a little more benefit of the doubt in terms of what they can understand and pick up on than a lot of YA that I’ve read as well. I can see how that might be a stumbling point for some reviewers, but it was refreshing for this very much not teenaged reviewer, and I think this is the sort of thing I would have loved to get my hands on when I was a teenager.

I do love a good hero story full of well-meaning vigilantes coming into their own as local heros, and this book doesn’t disappoint. As some other reviewers have pointed out, the acquisition of powers felt a little cliche, but I love the direction this book took and how absolutely real and genuine these boys feel as people, as kids on the verge of adulthood, and as heros.

My two main criticisms are distinguishing all the different focal characters, and the title itself. This book splits up the “main character” role between a moderately sized cast of teenage boys and they didn’t all come across as clearly distinct from one another as I would have liked to see. As for the title, this was honestly one of the big reasons I didn’t elect to review in earlier tours I hosted stops for with this book. Having read the book I understand where the title comes from, but without context the title feels very Magic School Bus. It sounds like it’s going to be targeted at a much younger audience, it sounds like it’s going to be science-based educational content that pairs non-fiction material with a fun plot, and as I hinted, it sounds like perhaps the reader should expect the appearance of a lizard companion or a ginger-haired teacher who should have been fired ages ago for endangering her students.

Thankfully that’s not the case and this is actually a well-written young adult fantasy adventure that’ll appeal to adults as well as teens.

About the Author

K.N. Smith, winner of the “Best of” in the category of “Outstanding Young Adult Novel” at the Jessie Redmon Fauset Book Awards, is an author, screenwriter, and passionate advocate of literacy and arts programs throughout the world. She inspires people of all ages to reach their highest potential in their creative, educational, and life pursuits. She lives in California with her family.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Amazon | Goodreads

Giveaway Alert!

K.N. Smith will be awarding a $75 VISA eGift card to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.