Review: Taken by Storm by Angela Morrison

Title: Taken by Storm
Author: Angela Morrison
Publisher: Razorbill
Pub. Date: 2009
Genre: YA
Main Themes: Grief, Religion (Mormon), Customs, Love, Deep diving
Pages: 291
Plot (from book jacket):
"Sometimes only love can save you...
Seventeen-year-old Leesie Hunt has rules: no making out. No sex. And definitely no falling for a non-Mormon. She pours all of her passion into poetry, thoughts of escaping her tiny town and getting into her dream school, BYU.
The Michael Walden arrives in Tekoa and everything changes. He is a free diver, which means he can hold his breath for minutes at a time. This is how he survived the storm that took his parents' lives, and the world as he knew it.
Leesie and Michael couldn't be more different: his dreams are tied to the depths of the ocean and hers to salvation above: Yet they are drawn to each other, even when jealousy, unbearable rules, and haunting memories threaten to tear them apart.
Every time Michael goes diving, Leesie is afraid he'll never come back up. He is drowning in tragedy and she knows it's up to her to save him. Somehow.
But when temptation becomes too strong to resist, who is going to save her?"

I can honestly say that I didn't expect to love Taken by Storm as much as I did, which is why I read it so long after it was released. I had heard mixed reviews and never found time to read it. When I saw that Morrison had a new book, Sing Me to Sleep, scheduled to be released in 2010 that I thought looked interesting, I remembered her 2009 debut. When I was lucky enough to get a chance to read Sing Me to Sleep and ended up really enjoying it, I ran out to get Taken by Storm! It took me forever to finally read it, but I am SO glad I did because it is an amazing novel!

One of the reason that I was hesitant to read Taken by Storm was the fact that one of the main characters, Leesie, is Mormon and a main focus is a romance between Leesie and the other main character, Michael. I wasn't really sure that I would like that combination... it isn't that I didn't think it would be "hot" enough or that their romance wouldn't be engaging necessarily, I just wasn't sure how in depth the religious aspect of the book would be and if I would find that to be a distraction. These factors all came together though to make great story with interesting and original details. The Mormon faith played in intersting role in Leesie's actions and motivations, without being overwhelming or overbearing. It helped that Michael was not at all chaste or religious: it created an interesting dynamic between the couple.

I'm a fan of tension between characters who are romantically involved and Morrison definitely delivers! I think that the romance between Leesie and Michael was way sexier than in novels that contain actual sex scenes. Morrison definitely delivered when it came to the romantic plot line of Taken by Storm!

Ratings (Out of 10):
Plot: 10
Characters: 10
Writing: 10
Romance: 10!!
Originality: 10
Total: 50/50 (A!)

Taken by Storm was an amazing novel from an extremely talented YA author! Having read both Taken by Storm and Morrison upcoming novel, Sing Me to Sleep, I feel confident when I say that Morrison is an author to watch. For those of you intersting in Taken by Storm or who have read the book, I've been told that there will be another novel continuing Leesie and Michael's story!! I was super excited to hear this! :)

Check out my interview with the author, Angela Morrison, here!
Enter to win a copy of TAKEN BY STORM, here!