Two Brothers: Origin (A Ramtalan Trilogy – 1) by Sofia Diana Gabel
What teenage boy doesn’t want to fit in and have friends? That’s what Argus Dachel, 17, wants more than anything, but because he’s half alien, a New Breed, that’s not as easy as it seems. And it sure doesn’t help that he and his brother, Tai, are being pursued by a secret government agency. To top it off, now in their senior year at public high school, both boys risk exposure when Argus uses his extraordinary strength to defend himself against the school bully, falls for 16-year-old Lola and then learns that New Breeds are set for extermination by another group of hostile aliens. As government agent Max Jackson gets close to discovering the brothers’ identity and the hostile alien forces close in, what chance do Argus and Tai have of survival?
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Author’s Bio
Sofia Diana Gabel is a multi-genre fiction writer who was born in Sydney, Australia, but is now living in the United States with her family. With degrees in environmental science and archaeology, she enjoys being out in nature when she’s not glued to her desk writing or researching a new story idea. Writing is a true passion of hers, born from a love of the written word that can transport the reader to different places or worlds and deliver them back to reality, safe and sound.
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My Review
5 stars
Argus and Tai Dachel are seventeen year old teens that have been homeschooled and keep in the bubble of their Aunt Celeste’s house. But now she is going to let them attend high school for their last year. That would be a shock to anyone’s system but then they find out that they are half human and half alien that are called New Breeds. New Breeds rarely live past sixteen years so they are pretty special to begin with. But the boys have a lot more to learn. They are going to get some special abilities along with learning that they are going to be hunted from our government and another race of aliens that kills New Breeds.
Argus and Tai are twins and seem to have opposite personalities. Argus is caring and wants to help others. He is so easy to fall for. Then there is Tai who has a chip on his shoulder and a mouth that is going to get him into trouble. Then there is Max Jackson, an AURA agent that has to find proof of aliens or is out of a job. The story bounces between Argus and Max and things they both face. I like how Max is not the typical man in black but very self doubting and such.
This is a great story that will appeal to young adults and adults alike. It is the first book in a trilogy so there is a cliff hanger and the story is left open. But I still really enjoyed it. Now I can’t wait to read book two, Heritage.
I received Two Brothers: Origin from Reading Addiction Virtual Book Tours for free. This has in no way influenced my opinion of this book.
Giveaway
Tee shirt (L) and tote bag with book cover on them
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Excerpt
It was great to have a friend, his first friend in high school. He’d had friends growing up, but they were other home schooled kids, and none of them were anything like Lola. Not even close.
She turned and gave the ‘ok’ sign and came back. “You’re all mine now.”
Argus blurted, “What? Really?” Did that mean she liked him, too?
She tilted her head. “What? Come on. I’ll show you and Tai around. The bell won’t ring for about ten minutes, so we’ll have a little time.”
Okay, Argus, you’re acting like an idiot. She didn’t mean anything by that. Get a grip. He watched her as she opened the office door. She’s the ‘welcoming committee’ like she said before. It’s her job to be nice to new students. Then again, she did say she liked it when he kissed her hand.
Aunt Celeste spun around, her ponytail swishing. “Argus, Tai, be careful. Call me if you need anything or if you notice any…you know. Do you have your cell phones?”
Argus knew exactly what she meant by ‘you know’. Their abilities were increasing and becoming more pronounced. She told them, under no uncertain circumstances, to tell her right away if they noticed any changes or new abilities. She’d never explained completely why they had to keep their abilities a secret, only that it wouldn’t be good to let anyone know. She said she’d explain it all later.
Tai rolled his eyes. “Of course we do, Aunt Celeste. Can we go now?”
She nodded. “But remember, call or text if anything goes wrong. Anything.” She stared at them for a few seconds before getting back to the paperwork.
Argus glanced at Lola. He should say something so it didn’t look like he and Tai were a couple of wimps who needed a nurse maid. “Um, my aunt is over protective. She means well, but…”
Lola shrugged. “I think that’s nice. My dad doesn’t really care…I mean, he does, but he doesn’t…ah, never mind.” She seemed to force a smile.
Was she hiding something, or maybe she meant her dad was too busy to pay any attention to her. Another thing he’d have to find out. She motioned for them to go through the doorway leading to the rest of the school. Argus went first, but froze when an endless stream of kids hurried by. How were there that many kids in one place? Even at the mall during the holidays he’d never seen so many people.
Whispering in his ear, Tai said, “We’re not in Kansas anymore.”
“Kansas? This is another planet.” Argus watched two girls in matching cheerleader outfits skip by arm-in-arm. Their skirts were so short he could see their underwear or shorts or whatever they were. Their legs were long and tanned and they both had short blonde ponytails. He couldn’t take his eyes off them.
“This way,” Lola ordered in a loud tone very different from before.
“Easy, bro,” Tai whispered, “I don’t think your little girlfriend likes you staring at those hot cheerleaders.”
Tai was probably right, judging by the way Lola was stomping down the hall in the opposite direction to the cheerleaders. Mistake number two. Could she be jealous? He didn’t do anything but look. Okay, looking at other girls upset Lola, so no more looking. Except maybe when she wasn’t around. He jogged to catch up. If she was upset, then she must really did like him. There was so much to learn about girls.
Lola stopped suddenly at a door with a placard above that stated Boys Locker Room. She pointed to the sign and continued down the hall, dodging her way through the throngs of kids. Uh-oh, she wasn’t as friendly as before. Something was definitely wrong. Argus would have liked to look in the locker room, but Lola was almost out of sight.
Tai nudged him. “Our tour guide’s leaving. You know, you don’t have to settle for plain little what’s-her-name. The school’s full of babes.”
Argus frowned and stepped into the flow of bodies. “I like Lola, Tai. But I didn’t mean to piss her off.”
“Well, you did, bro.”
Everyone passing by had a backpack and almost everyone was texting on their phones while walking, occasionally bumping into other kids. Argus felt out of place without a backpack, but at least he’d picked out clothes that blended in; new dark jeans and a gray tee shirt. A guy, staring at his phone, bumped into Argus and muttered an I’m sorry. It was chaos, but an exciting chaos.
Argus caught up to Lola and was going to apologize for whatever he might have done, but she stopped at a set of double-doors with a placard that said Cafeteria. This time, she turned. “If you buy lunch, try to get in line early or you won’t get served in time. The super-seniors come in about ten minutes after the lunch bell rings and…well, you’ll find out.” She wasn’t smiling anymore.
“Lola, did I do something wrong?” Argus glanced at Tai, who pretended he was looking around.
“I’m sure I have no idea what you mean.” She frowned and twisted a curl of hair. “I think we have time to check out a couple of your classrooms.” She took a slip of paper from her pocket. “Argus, you have physics first period with Ms. Montgomery, same as me. And Tai, you have English. The English room is down that hall a bit.” She pointed to another hallway at an intersection. “And the science class is that way.” She pointed in the other direction.
Tai nudged Argus. “Hey, bro, why don’t I go and wait in the cafeteria? I can get a juice or something.”
Argus nodded. Thank you, Tai. “Yeah, okay, good idea.” He waited until Tai vanished through the double-doors of the cafeteria. “Hey, Lola, can you show me where the science lab is so I don’t get lost?” Now that he had her alone, he could find out more about her.
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