Identified: The Maya Price Story by Faith Mills Review

Reading Level: Young Adult
Self Published
Source: Author
First book in a possible series
*This was gifted to me by author for review*
Maya Price is a typical eighteen-year-old girl without many worries. Her biggest problems include getting ready to leave her hometown for college, figuring out how to avoid her ever-so-strange stepmother and trying to muddle though her feelings for her best friend, Pete. Yet, one of her last nights in her hometown, she and Pete are in a car accident. A stranger pulls Maya from the accident, leaving Pete behind, and takes her out of this world and into another dimension. Maya soon discovers that she has been taken to a dimension called Leets by a group of people that call themselves shifters. Shifters are of mixed human and onyx blood and have various abilities. These shifters are able to travel between dimensions, control the four elements (fire, earth, wind, water) and the five senses (sight, sound, smell, touch and taste). Their leader, Victoria, informs Maya that she, too, is a shifter and that she must choose to join them or risk being sought out by their greatest enemy, a shifter named Leonas. Maya joins Victoria and her ragtag group of rebel shifters at a training camp called Level One. he is teamed up with a group of seven other shifters, including a streetsmart girl named Luz, who is especially adept at controlling fire, her twin sister Espy, and a nervous boy named Lamar, who can manipulate sound better than any other shifter. Together, Maya’s team trains for the battles that will soon be inevitable. However, Maya soon learns that her purpose is not to just move the earth or send water flying into the air. There are rumors of a hidden prophecy and that the prophecy mentions Maya by name. Supposedly, the prophecy says that Maya will one day have to choose a side and will be essential in bringing her chosen ally to power...


Review
I was pretty impressed with this one. I really enjoyed the characters and the concept was really unique. The story was a little complex at times though. 

Maya Price has more to her than she knows. She must leave her family and go to a school for people like her. She must connect with her powers and find a prophecy that is supposedly based around her. 

I liked Maya a lot. But, I felt like we didn't get to see all of her. She had to potential to be insanely fierce. Instead she was just okay. I really wanted more from her because her role in the story is so huge. I liked her dedication to her family. I also liked that she never gave up. Maya had some amazing companions. They made a great addition to the story and I can't wait to see more of them. 

This took me awhile to get into. It has some fast moments but took some time to get there. There was some action but it was pretty much towards the end. I did wish for more in the first half. I liked that I couldn't predict the story. I liked the unique aspects such as the magic and the villains. I think this was a pretty good start to the series. I'm super excited to see where the story goes!