Magnetic Shift — Books, Beauty, & Buys

By: Lucy D Briand
Published Year: 2016
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Pages: 260

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I received this book in exchange for my honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): The ability to magnetize and manipulate metal with the flick of her wrist makes seventeen-year-old Lexi Adams a crack mechanic, but it’s a disaster in the making when her stepdad trades her skills to NASCAR team owner Dean Grant for an entire season’s worth of sponsorship ads.

Now Lexi has no other choice but to suck it up and hope she can keep her magnetic impulses under control—that is, until she runs into NASCAR’s hot new rookie, Colton Tayler.

When Carl Stacy, the ruthless team owner of the defending Cup Champion, discovers Lexi’s secret and plots to use it to ruin Dean’s race team for good, Lexi must either expose her ability to save Colton, risking Dean’s career and her own freedom in the process, or watch the only guy she’s ever fallen for race to his death.

First Impressions

As soon as I read the summary of this book it sounded like an old school Disney Channel Original Movie (think Motocrossed) and knew I needed to read it. The cover, on the other hand, did not impress me. I would not have picked it up off the shelf based on the cover alone. I don’t think it represents the summary very well either.

What I thought

This book was so cute and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. It took a little while to get into, but once I did I really liked it.

Lexi has recently been brought to work for a NASCAR team in exchange for a sponsorship for her stepdad’s scrap shop. When Dean Grant, owner of the team she is brought to work for, visited her stepdad’s shop, he noticed that Lexi was not being treated well. Having come from an abused childhood, Dean creates the deal with Lexi’s stepdad in order to bring her to work for him. Once there, Lexi meets the young driver Colton. In addition to dealing with learning the NASCAR community and a crush, Lexi also has to deal with her ability to control metal objects.

I think the strongest part of this story was the way that Briand built the setting. I am not a NASCAR fan, so I don’t know much about the sport, but Briand did a great job of explaining parts of it and making it entertaining. I found myself really looking forward to reading about the races! I also liked that Briand explained how and why Lexi has magnetic powers early on in the story. I also found that even though it was a big part of the story, there were a lot of other parts to the story so it wasn’t only about her magnetic powers.

Colton is very much the typical nice country boy. He is ridiculously good looking, nice, and talented, but not arrogant. Lucy is a bit moody and definitely a troubled teen. Their relationship is instant on her side, but I wasn’t annoyed by it. I remember what if feels like to crush hard on someone based on looks alone. I did like that she didn’t immediately start saying that she was in love with him, just that she really liked him and that it felt different from other crushes.

Briand also wrote some strong secondary characters. Dean and his family were so nice and the additional pit crew members were fun. I do wish that they had been a part of the story a little more, but the parts that they were in were enjoyable. While parts of the story were very predictable, it didn’t take away from my enjoyment of this book at all.

I think my biggest issue with this book is the cover, and I wish that it was different. I think if it had a bit more of a contemporary feel I would have been drawn to it a lot more. I also think it would reach to a wider audience, as right now it definitely leans sci-fi.