Review: The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

Goddess Test #1
YA Paranormal Romance  

EVERY GIRL WHO HAS TAKEN THE TEST HAS DIED.
NOW IT'S KATE'S TURN.
It's always been just Kate and her mom--and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear that her mother won't live past the fall.
Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld--and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.
Kate is sure he's crazy--until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride and a goddess.

IF SHE FAILS...

Source: Reviewer purchase

My review:

Kate and her mother move back to her mother's hometown, Eden. Kate's mother has been sick with cancer for years and her days are numbered. Making friends and dating has never been a priority for her. She manages to form a friendship with James and make enemies with Ava, the high-school it-girl. Ava invites Kate to a bonfire so she can get to know the rest of her school mates. Ava takes her through the woods and into Eden Manor. Kate realizes that she was tricked into following her. Ava tells her that she should stay away from her boyfriend, Dylan. Ava attempts to leave Kate stranded by swimming down the river. Then, something terrible happens. Ava is injured badly and is unresponsive. A mysterious, handsome stranger named Henry, shows up and asks Kate what she would do to save Ava's life. She tells him that she would do anything. He tells her to look up the myth about Persephone and that he will be back for her decision. 

With the help of Ava and James, Kate discovers that Persephone spent six months of each year with Hades, God of the Underworld. Kate's mother takes a turn for the worse and is in the hospital with a coma. Henry comes later that evening for Kate's decision. Of course, Kate thinks he's looney and refuses his offer. Henry takes back the life that he saved. Desperate to help save a friend, Kate goes to Henry to agree to his terms. Henry tells her that he is unable to bring back a life that has already passed, but agrees to give her mother more time as long as she stays. 

Kate is thrown into a world of Greek mythology. She has to go through a series of tests to rule with Henry as Goddess of the Underworld. At first, she's going through the motions just to get more time with her mother. As time goes on, her relationship with Henry grows. He tells her that if she were to not pass the tests, his position as ruler will end and he will cease to exist. Kate now has two reasons to pass the tests. There's also another problem, none of the former girls made it past Christmas, they were all murdered.

Will Kate pass all of the tasks to become Henry's wife and an immortal God? 

Or will she become another victim?

My thoughts...

I picked up this book for my return flight home. I have heard great things and have been dying the read it.  The story was invigorating and I couldn't put it down. Aimee has written an excellent work of fiction with just the right amount of mythology thrown into the mix. Kate's character did rub me the wrong way occasionally, but I think she grew up a bit by the end of the book. I thought I had everything figured out, boy was I wrong! The ending was totally unexpected and I loved it! I like when an author throws you for a loop. When a story gets predictable, it's not very entertaining. I had one chapter left and couldn't wait to finish it this afternoon. I will definitely be ordering the next book. 

Mail Call May 30th, 2012

Great week for some book swag!

Lets start off with my EPIC Swag pack from David Mayer, Author of Reswyt and Nekhet. 3 t-shirts, two of which have the book covers, pjs, an AWESOME Kindle case. Couldn't fit everything in one pic so there is a book that I won hiding in there :-) What a Boy Wants by Nyrae Dawn

My Insurgent bookmark from Sezzy's Sparkles

Onto my last haul. I have two books for review, The Pack and Bandits by LM Preston, my pre order copy of Fated by Alyson Noel, signed swag from Gracen Miller, a mug and post-it notes from Lily Crussell, and the items for the Reign of Blood swag pack giveaway.

Review(Adult): Go the F**k to Sleep by Adam Mansbach

Adult Humor (Parenting Humor-Contains language not suitable for teens)

Go the Fuck to Sleep is a bedtime book for parents who live in the real world, where a few snoozing kitties and cutesy rhymes don't always send a toddler sailing blissfully off to dreamland. Profane, affectionate, and radically honest, California Book Award-winning author Adam Mansbach's verses perfectly capture the familiar -- and unspoken -- tribulations of putting your little angel down for the night. In the process, he opens up a conversation about parenting, granting us permission to admit our frustrations and laugh at their absurdities.
With illustrations by Ricardo Cortes, Go the Fuck to Sleep is beautiful, subversive and pants-wettingly funny, a book for parents new, old and expectant. You probably should not read it to your children.

Source: Reviewer borrowed book from the library

My Review:
The whole book reminds me of an adult lullaby, not the kind that you would tell to a child. I happen to be one of those fortunate parents whose child doesn't put up much of a fight to go to sleep. But, there are those occasions where you are just flat-out exhausted. It's one of those situations that I don't think you would understand unless you are a parent. This book is a perfect example of how I feel in those moments. It was highly entertaining. If you have/had small children, this is a MUST READ!! Hell, even if you don't have kids it's still a funny book.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to review this book for the blog because of several reasons. HELLOOO, look at the title. I was trying to steer clear of profanity, just in case there are younger readers looking at the blog. I've been good, I swear! I cuss like a sailor and it has definitely been a challenge to not swear when writing my reviews. I think I'm entitled to at least one inappropriate post a month, right? :-)  I was also a little weary about adult posts. I wasn't sure if publishers would reject review requests based on some of the adult posts. Not that it matters right now, I was rejected several times of ARC copies. That's okay though, I'm still a newbie. But just so we're clear, this isn't a YA exclusive blog. I like to read a lot of different books based on my mood. I just so happen to prefer Young Adult novels.

There is a kid friendly version of the book called "Seriously, Just Go to Sleep"

http://www.akashicbooks.com/seriouslyjustgotosleep.htm

Review: Deadlocked(Deadlocked #1) by A.R. Wise

Deadlocked #1

Horror (Contains Violence and Mature Language...you have been warned!)

Blurb: David was caught in the middle of the city when the zombie outbreak started. His wife and daughters were at home, stranded on the roof as zombies waited below. He would have to fight through hordes of undead, merciless other survivors, and a series of death defying stunts to get home. However, even if he makes it there, how can he be sure they're safe? Deadlocked puts you into David's head as he struggles to get home. Then a final confrontation occurs that will guarantee his family's survival, but at what cost?

Source: Received the book from the author in exchange for an honest review. Did not receive any payment for review.

My Review:

Since this was a novella, I'm going to make this short and sweet!

I don't want to give too much away.

David is the narrator in the story. The story begins with him explaining the strange influx in Emergency Room patients. As far as the news tells them, it's the result of terrorist attacks. The news is on in David's office building, informing all that the situation is getting worse. People are dying in the ER and coming back to life. The video shows children attacking each other. The disturbing part is that they are eating people's flesh. David leaves the office to get home to his family. After leaving the office, panic ensues as zombies appear in the city. David overcomes many obstacles in order to reach his family.  

Will David reach his family before it's too late?

I'm going to stop there so I don't give anything away.

My thoughts...

I've seen plenty of zombie movies, but this is my very first zombie book!! I didn't know what to expect from this novella and I was pleasantly surprised. The visualizations I had while reading this book were quite creepy. There was a bit of gore, which I'm totally cool with. The events in the book kind of reminded me of Murphy's Law, what can go wrong, will go wrong. It was one thing after another, he could not catch a break! I kept wondering why this was a novella, why the author couldn't just put all of the parts into one novel. I didn't want to read the blurbs for the other books and potentially spoil this one.  Now I know why! That ending was BRILLIANT! I was not expecting it and I wouldn't have had it any other way. Does that make sense to you? cause' it makes perfect sense to me :-) Keep a look out in the future for my reviews of the next 3 novellas in the series!

A.R Wise

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Review: City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

The Mortal Instruments #5

YA Paranormal Romance

Blurb: The demon Lilith has been destroyed and Jace has been freed from her captivity. But when the Shadowhunters arrive to rescue him, they find only blood and broken glass. Not only is the boy Clary loves missing–but so is the boy she hates, Sebastian, the son of her father Valentine: a son determined to succeed where their father failed, and bring the Shadowhunters to their knees.

No magic the Clave can summon can locate either boy, but Jace cannot stay away—not from Clary. When they meet again Clary discovers the horror Lilith’s dying magic has wrought—Jace is no longer the boy she loved. He and Sebastian are now bound to each other, and Jace has become what he most feared: a true servant of Valentine’s evil. The Clave is determined to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other. Will the Shadowhunters hesitate to kill one of their own?

Only a small band of Clary and Jace’s friends and family believe that Jace can still be saved — and that the fate of the Shadowhunters’ future may hinge on that salvation. They must defy the Clave and strike out on their own. Alec, Magnus, Simon and Isabelle must work together to save Jace: bargaining with the sinister Faerie Queen, contemplating deals with demons, and turning at last to the Iron Sisters, the reclusive and merciless weapons makers for the Shadowhunters, who tell them that no weapon on this earth can sever the bond between Sebastian and Jace. Their only chance of cutting Jace free is to challenge Heaven and Hell — a risk that could claim any, or all, of their lives.

And they must do it without Clary. For Clary has gone into the heart of darkness, to play a dangerous game utterly alone. The price of losing the game is not just her own life, but Jace’s soul. She’s willing to do anything for Jace, but can she even still trust him? Or is he truly lost? What price is too high to pay, even for love?

Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series.

Source: Reviewer purchase

My Review
Ok let me start by saying Cassandra Clare has managed to do it again! Every time I think how can she make her novels any better than the previous, she honestly blows my mind.  I loved the pace of this book. It wasn't all action packed like the previous novel, City of Fallen Angels, but it didn't need to be. The story was so interesting that there was no need for action every second. That's what separates great authors from good, knowing when to juice up a story and when to just let it ride.  I really enjoyed getting to know Sebastian. He truly is a multi dimensional character. He lures you in with his seductive, charismatic attitude, then spits you back out leaving a nasty taste in your mouth lol. Then your wandering around in the dark thinking 'What just happened here??' That's the wonder of his character. I also really enjoyed Clary, she really did grow in this book. She stood on her own, and set out to do the unthinkable, even though she may not be able to return to the world she once knew. There are a lot of make-out scenes in this book, which may I say I enjoyed. You have to realize Jace is not Jace anymore so what he does as this other person is different than what the actual Jace might do. Simon was a big shining star and I honestly never can get enough of his witty, sarcastic, and loving personality. He goes through some family struggles in this book, but makes it through. I don't know how these books could ever survive without him. Alec I must say was the one sore spot for me. His insecurities about his relationship with Magnus have gotten the best of him,  and his curiosity may have gotten him into more trouble then he ever bargained for. The ending leaves us with a slight cliffhanger. A mysterious package is left in the institute for Maryse to find. I'm not saying what, but I'm very curious what this could mean.  Overall I must say I truly loved this book. I honestly could not ask for more. Now we  must wait for City of Heavenly Fire, which comes out March 2014. Its going to be a long wait, but Cassandra Clare never disappoints so I cannot wait!!

Review by Robyn

Review: Reswyt by David Mayer

Dreamline #1

Young Adult Paranormal Fantasy

Blurb: Sabine Jahn has more than an average teen's share of problems. She’s been forced to leave behind everything she knew growing up in Oregon to start high school as a transfer student in California. She’s lost her father to an automobile accident, and her grandfather, preeminent Egyptologist Daniel Jahn, has mysteriously disappeared. She hasn’t slept in months, and no one can tell her why. And now, as she sits in detention for dozing off in class again, she finds herself drifting from her Cameron High detention hall to a vast, eerie forest where immense astral wolves roam past her. Sabine has discovered a way to enter a realm where dreaming minds appear nightly as noble hawks, fierce wolves, and stalwart bears. She learns that the wild, beautiful world she has found is slowly becoming corrupted by the acts of a dead mind trapped within it. Now, the fate of that realm – and our own world – rests in the hands of Sabine, a long-dead French soldier, an Egyptian god, and a mysterious, profoundly gifted boy trapped between worlds.

Source: Received the book from the author in exchange for an honest review. Did not receive any payment for review.

My Review              

**I may be going back to add some things to this review. I haven't been feeling well and it has been impossible for me to form coherent sentences. lol **

Let it be said that I think it may be impossible for me to give you a review that will tell you the basis of the story. There is a lot of back and forth between reality and dream world and I obviously can't tell you everything that happens. The description above gives you a good gist of why she moved, so I will start with some of the character intros and the beginning.

Most of the book is written from Sabine's POV. I'm not going to introduce you to her just yet, you have the whole review for that. :-) Josh and Kim are Sabine's only friends since starting school in California. Josh is a star soccer player on the school's team and Kim is Sabine's best friend. Kim has a crush on the other star player of the soccer team, Dylan Court. Dylan is dating Bethany whom I'd like to call a high school mean girl. You won't hear much about them in my review, because frankly, I want you to read the book and they are part of the many twists and turns of the story. 

Sabine has not had a whole nights rest following her move to California. Dozing in class lands her a date with detention. After speaking with her teacher, she heads off to her locker to exchange some items for her next class. While there, her hair is yanked by another student causing Sabine to unexpectedly slip backwards. Her necklace falls off during the gaffe and she scrambles to get to the pendant before someone steps on it.  As soon as her hand reaches the pendant, a student steps on her hand crushing both to the floor. Sabine is a bit upset because the pendant appears to be ruined, the stones now moving freely around the loops. The pendant was a gift to her from her grandfather. She began wearing the pendant after her father died and her grandfather disappeared. Sitting in detention, she began to move the stones around the pendant and was transported to another realm where she lands near wolves that were speaking a language she didn't understand.  She later seeks the opinion of a teacher for the translation of what the wolves had said to her.  

Moving forward a bit...

Sabine uses the pendant again and encounters the wolves. They begin to chase her but are attacked by bears. After the wolves retreat, Sabine believes she is in danger from the bears as well and begins to run away. The bear tries to stop her and begins speaking. Well, Sabine does what everyone else would do if they hear a talking bear, she moves the stones around the pendant, taking her back to the real world. Her next trip to the realm fares a bit differently and she gets to know the bear named Brummbar.  He tells her about the dream realm and the evil Black Queen that has been creating an imbalance. The Black Queen is what they call a "dead mind" in the dream world. Her essence remained in the realm after her earthly body has long since past. She is trying to take over the realm for herself, hence creating the imbalance. Sabine eventually believes that she can help the animals with the Black Queen.

Okay, really, I need to stop myself here. I think its close to impossible to give you a quick summary of this book.

Now, for what I thought of the book:

I have never read a book quite like this. If you want a book that really gets the gears in the noggin moving, this would be it! There is no way that my review does this book any justice. I am completely in awe of how David has written this book. I will admit that it was a bit to process for about 30% of the way through. I was puzzled to be honest. The POV's would alternate between 4 characters while alternating between the Earth and dream realm. It was a lot of explaining of why things happened the way they did in the dream realm, then switching back to Earth and reading about Sabine's relationship with her friends and Dylan. But then, like every puzzle, the pieces started to fall into place and my mind was BLOWN!!! The story was beautifully woven together. Just when I thought I had everything figured out, he throws a wrench in there! But then he goes and throws you a bone and makes everything better again lol. I  am still at a loss for words to describe how utterly amazing this book was. There was a bit of action and some romance which makes for one happy Lauren! This book was positively addicting and I am seriously considering going into hibernation this weekend just so I can read the next one in the series. I am wholly convinced that David Mayer is a literary genius! This book definitely hits top 3 for best books that I have read this year! Oh, and don't tell anyone, but I cried only because I loved it, not because it was sad :-)

       

And yes, this was me several times during this book

 
You can find Reswyt on Facebook

Purchase on Amazon

Add to your TBR shelf on Goodreads

While I have you there, the next book is titled Nekhet, which is available now!
Nekhet on Facebook, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Goodreads

Review: The Company of the Dead by Marissa Farrar

Horror~ A collection of 6 Short Stories

Blurb:A teenage girl living with a horrific birthmark down one side of her face discovers the cure may be worse than the affliction in ‘Stained’.
A team of men digging the channel tunnel hit a coffin-like box buried deep under the ocean. Will opening it unleash the end of mankind? ‘The Tunnel’.
A drug addict wakes to find herself trapped in a room of her worst nightmare, in ‘The Tortured Room’.
A young girl suffering abuse at the hands of her father find solace in a porcelain doll, but the doll is out for revenge, in ‘Adeline’.
A woman suffering the loss of her husband in a car accident discovers her reality isn’t all it seems in ‘The Sickness of Grief’.
A hitchhiker gets the lift from hell in ‘Thumbing it.’
Six short stories of horror; ghosts, vampires and demonic dolls. This collection totals approximately 25K in length or 65 pages. Several of these stories have been previously published in the anthologies, ‘Masters of Horror: Damned if you Don’t’; ‘Their Dark Masters: Extreme Vampire Horror’; ‘Demonic Dolls: Satan’s Toybox’.

Source: Received the book from the author in exchange for an honest review. Did not receive any payment for review.

My Review:

I've always been a little weary about short stories, I feel like you don't get enough of a story out of them. Marissa has given me a change of heart! These stories were nothing short of spectacular. I started reading these last night and boy was that a bad idea. I love reading about things that go bump in the night and this collection slightly terrified me. When I say slightly terrified, it means I'm checking behind the curtain before I use the bathroom...how pathetic of me LOL.  I won't go into details about each story since they are short stories but I will tell you how I felt about each one. I'll start with 'Thumbing It', this story was the reason I gave it 4 1/2 stars instead of 5. I thought it was a little predictable for a hitchhiking story but I did get a little bit of a laugh from the very last line. I won't say what it is but I find it a little sinister of myself to find it comical. 'Stained' was bittersweet. I was not expecting that outcome and it was perfect! 'The Tunnel' definitely a nice twist on a vampire story. I feel like a lot of vampire stories these days are similar, this one was not the case. 'Tortured Room' this story was extremely disturbing, it felt like a bad trip. I can almost imagine something like this actually happening to a druggie on a bad trip. The description of the room was so creepy and made me wanna vomit LOL. 'Adeline' dolls are creepy...period! This just furthers my logic of staying away from the darn things. "The Sickness of Grief' WOW! I did not see that coming.  This one was a little sad but reading the last few lines were very sweet :::tears::: 

hahahaha this is perfect!

You can find Marissa on Facebook, Blog, Twitter, and her Amazon Author Page

Review: The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Blood of Eden #1YA Paranormal

The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden, #1)

In a future world, Vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity.
Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.
Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them. The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked—and given the ultimate choice. Die… or become one of the monsters.
Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.
Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend—a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.
But it isn't easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what—and who—is worth dying for.

Source: Reviewer purchase

My Review

Just when you thought "How could Julie Kagawa give us a better series than The Iron Fey," she unleashes her new series The Immortal Rules, Blood Of Eden, At first I was not too sure about another vamp book. I felt the world of vampires had been exhausted. Julia totally made me a believer!! She definitely made something old into something new and different. I was sucked into her post-apocalyptic, dystopian novel. Allison Sekemoto is a 17 year old girl from the fringe, living in a vampire run city called New Covington. In this world of vampires you can either live as a registered, and have to give blood twice a month in exchange for food and protection, or be a unregistered and have to fend for yourself in the fringe. Allie has chosen to be unregistered, so she and her small gang of human friends must fend for themselves. One day while hunting for food, Allison and her crew get attacked by Rabids. After watching her friends die she too was savagely attacked to the point of almost death. It was then that Kanin, a master vampire, came. He gave her the choice to either die now or live as the one thing she hated most, a vampire. This book just gets better and better from there. I must say I was very impressed by the creativity and thought that went into this book. I can hardly wait until the next book in the series comes out. All I can say is if you haven't read this book yet, what are you waiting for? Trust me, you will enjoy every minute of it.

Mail Call!

On the left I have some used book purchases from Bookies Facebook Page. If you live in the US they have some good ones to choose from, most are $5 and in great condition! Incarceron by Catherine Fisher, Catch a Mate by Gena Showalter, and Pride Mates by Jennifer Ashley.

My copy of Hush, Hush the graphic novel SHOULD have been her on Monday but I'm hoping my mail man will deliver it tomorrow :-)

Now for the exciting part of my mail.....

Swag from the wonderful Lily Crussell!!

How AWESOME are these bookmarks?!?

The bookmarks are double sided and when they connect 

they form a heart with Raziel and Elora's names in them <3

Lily made these herself and I love them! They are perfect, you can even see the wings behind the heart which makes them ever more awesome! I think I'll save them for a giveaway!

Check out my review for Of Darkness & Light by Lily Crussell, simply click on the link in blue and it will take you there!

You can find Lily Crussell on Facebook, Twitter and Wordpress.

Here are the links

Lily Crussell Facebook Page

Lily Crussell Twitter

Lily Crussell Wordpress

Purchase "Of Darkness & Light" 

~Ren

Review: Tempting the Best Man by J. Lynn

*** This is an Adult Romance which contains matter not suitable for Young Readers***

(I'm serious, if you are under 18, don't read this review. I'm watching you!!)

Adult Contemporary Romance

Madison Daniels has worshiped her brother's best friend since they were kids. Everyone thinks she and Chase Gamble would make the perfect couple, but there are two major flaws in their logic. 1) Chase has sworn off relationships of any kind, and 2) after blurring the line between friends and lovers for one night four years ago, they can't stop bickering.

Forced together for her brother's wedding getaway, Chase and Madison decide to call a truce for the happy couple. Except all bets are off when they're forced to shack up in a tacky 70’s honeymoon suite and survive a multitude of "accidents" as the family tries to prove their "spark" can be used than for more than fighting. That is, if they don't strangle each other first…

Source: Reviewer purchase

My Review

So, Madison Daniels has been fretting about attending her brother's wedding. Not because of the marriage, but because her lifelong friend/love with be there. Doesn't sound so bad, right? Well for Madison, it seems like it will be a week from Hell. You see, Madison has pined after Chase for most of her life. Chase is her brother's best friend and Madison has always been around them. I wont go into details, but Madison has felt rejection with Chase in the past. 

Madison is not pleased to learn that the vineyard has overbooked their cabins and she is forced to room with hottie Chase. As they are settling into their "honeymoon suite," they get into a heated debate that ends in a HOT HOT kiss. Chase freaks out and tells Madison to forget it ever happened. I'm going to leave you with that little snippet because this story is too good to write the entire review. You need to savor this goodness for yourself! 

Let me just say this book was FRICKIN' HOT!! Holy, HOT DAMN is all I can say. I feel like a hormonal teenager right now. This book was so hot, but not smutty hot. It was just the right amount of hotness to make you blush and need to fan yourself. Yeah, I am aware that I am saying hot too much, but DAMN! That's what this book should be named, The Hot-capades! That's not even a word but that is how I feel about it. Oh, and did I mention that it alternates POV's between Madison and Chase?? Oh Lord have mercy! Chase is so effin sexy. Jennifer L. Armentrout is a sexual frustration GENIUS!! If you haven't heard me say it before, I'm saying it again, you need to read her books NOW!! I'm not kidding, get your butt onto Amazon or BN and buy them, or you can check your library. Trust me, you want to buy them, because you will want to read them again. I'm still smacking myself in the face for taking 2 months to read Shadows and Obsidian.
Okay, I'm done raving...I need to take a cold shower asap!

Veronica Roth Book Signing

I am super stoked!!

This was my very first book signing, EVER!! Veronica Roth was awesome! I wish we were able to get photographs with her but I still loved it. I am in LOVE with the tree on the cover beneath the jacket, it is gorgeous. I have already read Divergent from the library but decided I wanted my own signed copy. I even decided to be a good little library employee and get a signed copy for the library, too :-) I can't wait to read this book. Hopefully get to start it next week. 

Review: Of Darkness & Light (Shadow of the Nephilim, #1) by Lily Crussell

YA Paranormal Romance



 

When Elora starts being followed everywhere she goes, she assumes it's paranoia, afterall, if you can't see it, it can't be real...can it? Things grow increasingly weird in Elora's world; the sound of wings, footsteps and physical attacks with no one in sight. Could she be losing her mind? When an attractive stranger saves her from her assailant, she can't help but think he might be in on it. Who can she trust when she doesn't even feel able to trust herself

Source: Reviewer purchase

My Review:
The story begins with Elora being followed and attacked by an invisible force, only hearing the song of wings beating. She starts to think that she is imagining it because there are no bruises or marks left from the attack.   Elora leaves school one afternoon and notices that she is being followed, but this time by an actual person. A beautiful male person. Turns out this beautiful male is an angel named Raziel. She has never been a religious person so Elora doesn't know what to believe. The attacks continue and each time, the assailant is invisible. Raziel believes they are Nephilim, a half mortal half angel breed, believed to have never existed.
Raziel reveals to Elora that he has been waiting centuries for her. Their relationship is wonderful until Raziel mysteriously disappears. Elora searches all over for him to no avail. She then suffers another brutal attack from the invisible creature.  Elora believes that the Nephilim are responsible for his disappearance. She tries to convince Barachiel, an archangel, that they do indeed exist. He is reluctant to believe her, having never seen proof that they are real. Elora accidentally meets Lucifer and is convinced that he isn't as bad as his reputation. She believes that he may be able to help her.


Can Elora find out who/what her assailant is? Will she find Raziel before it will be too late?

My thoughts...

I was on the fence between giving this book a 3 1/2 or a 4. I decided going with a 3 1/2 only because it was a little bit too long and I think it could have done without some of the scenes. Now lets get down to the nitty gritty, this story was AWESOME!! I enjoyed all of the biblical references, I find it refreshing. Some books don't give enough of the references. Elora's internal banter was at times hysterical. I'd like to add a line that I thought was just too funny, "He would probably choke me with the blossoms from my tree. How ironic that would be as one the plant's names is 'Angel's trumpet of death' because it is so poisonous. My imagination was my worst enemy sometimes, but better to thing the worst, than to expect the best and be disappointed." Raziel, of course, was a hottie! When you get to the end of the book, the scene is a bit gruesome to imagine but I loved it. The epilogue was perfect and I'm looking forward to reading the second book.  

Heres a sneak peak of "Of Blood and Feathers", the next book in the series!

You can find Lily Crussell on Facebook, Twitter and Wordpress.

Here are the links

Lily Crussell Facebook Page

Lily Crussell Twitter

Lily Crussell Wordpress

Purchase "Of Darkness & Light"