When Ronan Truelove's mother reveals that she is a member of the Blood Guard, a secret society of warriors charged with protecting 36 pure souls who prevent the apocalypse, he is thrust into a world of danger and intrigue. Assisted by opinionated but competent Greta and young guard member Jack, Ronan must try to get to safety as the forces of evil close in. Roy's first book hits the ground running and doesn't let up until the end, and his writing is up to the job. His cinematic fight scenes are clearly written, which is deeply important for a book filled with action. While balancing that, he also pays ample attention to his characters, giving each one time to tell his or her history without slowing down the overall pace. One major revelation at the end is telegraphed a bit too early, but by that point, readers won't care. They'll just be eager to know how Ronan's exciting journey will end and be left longing for the next installment.--Wildsmith, Snow Copyright 2014 Booklist

Roy's first novel is the humorous and exciting start of a new trilogy. Ordinary 13-year-old Evelyn Ronan Truelove's life is turned on its ear when he finds himself a participant in a mad car chase, his mother at the wheel, pursued by unknown assailants his mother identifies as "bad guys." When Ronan's mother reveals she's a member of a group known as the Blood Guard, he realizes his life isn't as normal as he thought, for he's unknowingly been a Blood Guardin-training his entire life. The mission of the Guard: to protect three dozen people known as the Pure, whose goodness balances out the sins of Earth's 6 billion other inhabitants. If the Pure die, the world ends. The bad guys are Bend Sinister agents, members of a group who've created a way to steal the souls of the Pureand bring about the world's destruction. The stakes are raised with a startling revelation that will have readers eager for the next book. The pacing is quick, with important details revealed evenly throughout. It can be sentimental in places but never sappy, and Ronan (please don't call him Evelyn) is a believable protagonist, gradually moving from ordinary boy to hero. Though it's a little on the derivative side, this iteration of the hero's journey will have readers chuckling all the way to the satisfying cliffhanger. (Adventure. 10-14)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Ronan thought he was just a regular kid leading a mostly normal life until his parents disappeared. He teams up with a former classmate and a two-hundred-year-old pickpocket for a life or death struggle against evil. As Ronan embarks on a hero's journey, familiar tropes of righting wrongs and self-discovery persist but nevertheless remain entertaining as mystery, mysticism, and action abound. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Debut novelist Roy (a pseudonym for agent Michael Stearns) launches a sharp and energetic trilogy with a breakneck opening and an everyboy narrator who becomes enmeshed in extraordinary circumstances. The improbably named (outside of fantasy novels) Evelyn Ronan Truelove's mother picks him up from school and takes him on a madcap car chase. Once they escape their pursuers, she explains that Ronan's many extracurricular activities-gymnastics, judo, etc.-were to help train him to join the Blood Guard, the secret organization she belongs to whose job it is to protect The Pure, the handful of humans so impossibly good, they balance out the sins of the rest of the world. Along the way, Ronan fights an evil organization called the Bend Sinister and teams up with a girl named Greta and a boy named Jack. The use of familiar fantasy devices is balanced by Roy's narrative verve and multilayered characters, who display genuine emotion and self-awareness. Breathless action, witty dialogue, and unabashed fun should keep most readers from noticing that the plot sometimes stretches itself thin. Ages 10-up. Agent: the Inkhouse. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Gr 4-8-When Ronan ("Don't call me Evelyn") Truelove's mother arrives unexpectedly to pick him up from school, Ronan assumes she's just there to give him a ride to gymnastics class.ÅInstead, Ronan and his mom are suddenly involved in a terrifying high-speed car chase by suited robot assassins.ÅBetween driving down stairways in a VW Bug, stealing a police cruiser, and wielding swords to deflect bullets, Ronan's mom explains that not only is Ronan's father missing but that she is a member of a secret society, the Blood Guard, dedicated to protecting the 36 Pure Souls, whose goodness must be preserved to stop the world plunging into darkness and evil. When his mother drops him off at the train station with only the cryptic advice "Trust no one," Ronan starts to understand why up to now his life has been a progression from one martial arts class to another-he was unknowingly in training for the Blood Guard all along.ÅConveniently meeting up with Greta, a sarcastic friend from a past school who happens also to be an expert in the use of firearms, and his assigned Blood Guard protector Jack Dawkins, Ronan sets off on a whirlwind adventure, to prevent the agents of evil from stealing the souls of the pure. Although Ronan's exploits are reminiscent of Alex Rider and Percy Jackson, the background mythology comes from the Christian Old Testament with a touch of Men in Black. Comparisons could also be made to Anthony Horowitz's "Gatekeepers" series (Scholastic), but Roy writes so well that the story is completely fresh and manages to be funny while dealing with superhuman enemies and apocalyptic terror.ÅRonan is an appealing hero, and readers will want to see what happens next.ÅA great new series for middle school students who love fantasy and adventure.-Jane Barrer, United Nations International School, New York City (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.