Thirty Seconds to Die By: S. G. Holster

“Will you die for him?”

- S. G Holster, Thirty Seconds to Die

Image from Author's Goodreads

*Reviewer Disclaimer: Before I review this, I must mention Paranormal Fiction is not my specialty, but I took a step outside my box and read Thirty Seconds to Die.

In the Preface we meet a mysterious girl. The deep voice repeatedly asked her the same question, “Will you die for him?” This is when we meet Ren. At this point we don’t know much about them or their relationship, but we know it has to be a serious bond for someone to give their life away.

In the beginning, we meet Lexi, a seventeen year-old who’s mentally and emotionally recovering from a vicious attack from her past. We learn that Ren is actually a new student at Lexi’s school, and for some reason unknown to her, they have an instant connection. But as the reader, you suspect that Ren has some knowledge about why.

Every night, Lexi has this reoccurring dream. In the dream, she’s about seven or eight, and she’s with a little boy who’s a few years older. He does this thing with her where they lock pinkies together, and tells her, “My dad says that when we die our soul becomes a star.” Was it a coincidence that Ren did the same thing, and mentions a story about the Northern Lights?

“The Inuit people believe that the lights are souls on their way to a second life. Part of the myth is that the soul only has thirty seconds to die. If there’s a force strong enough, like enduring love, the soul will be drawn back to the earth.”

Lexi knows Ren is keeping something from her, but whenever she questions him about something, he has an answer prepared. But after the night at the dance, everything changed. Ren declared his love for her, and confirmed her suspicions of him knowing her from somewhere.

Ren explains to her that those dreams are real. That they are actually memories from her past, and the more that they are together, the easier it will be for her to remember. But then Ren tells her about the Sentori, and how they are after him. The Sentori’s job is to kill any reborn soul, and now that they’ve acknowledged the fact that Ren is a reborn, they have to kill him. But the Sentori doesn’t know about Lexi. The only choice Ren has is to leave Lexi behind. But he only leaves on the promise that one-day, he will come back for her, and that she never forget who he is.

But this is when the fun really begins in the book. Lexi’s position has been compromised, and the Sentori are officially after her. She has the flee them, and make her way to London where Ren is waiting for her. They spend most of the book running from the Sentori. She finally learns the whole truth after their trip to Zürich.

The further the story progressed; I was hoping Lexi would learn to trust her instincts, instead of questioning everything. I think at the end, she learned to look past her fears, and stand up.

I won’t tell you what else happened. But I really encourage you to read this book. The story of Ren and Lexi is inspiring when it comes to the matter of love. This book is full of car chases, romances and adventure, the ups and downs of love; lies, but also truths. I’m glad I had a chance to explore the depth of this book. It took a little time before it really got into the core of the plot. But it is worth the read. It might’ve changed my bias of paranormal fiction also. 

We’ll see when the continuance comes out sometime Fall of 2013.

-Tanisha (: