Since I won't be reviewing it here, I needed to talk about the book while I could. If you're interested in my written thoughts, I'll more than likely post a quick review on Goodreads later.
Showing posts with label angels and demons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label angels and demons. Show all posts
Just reviewed Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins on Youtube!
Since I won't be reviewing it here, I needed to talk about the book while I could. If you're interested in my written thoughts, I'll more than likely post a quick review on Goodreads later.
DNF Explanation: Dark Kiss
DID NOT FINISH EXPLANATION
Stopped at 72% in e-ARC
CON: Typical paranormal book
You know how it goes: Ordinary girl plus equally ordinary best friend have a lifelong, sisterly bond which triumphs over boys and stuff, OBVS. Girl A discovers herself to be a paranormal creature one way or the other, and *gasp* WHAT DO YOU KNOW? A boy with all the answers and a weird—to say the least—background crops up just as things begin to get wonky. He’s a supernatural creature, there’s this ugly, daunting mess, a divine mission, yada yada. And, OF COURSE, Girl A finds herself thrust in the middle of it. And, no, she doesn’t take her issues or this wacky situation to Girl B though they are THE BESTEST FRIENDS EVER. But Girl A does go off with this strange guy she just met to be part of his lunatic quest.
And it goes on. I don’t know if it’s the paranormal romance genre in general that’s driving me bananas with its formulaic plot lines or merely the books I’ve been reading, Dark Kiss by Michelle Rowen included, that has me so displeased with this story. All I know is: I kept waiting for originality to strike, but Rowen kept dropping the hammer.
CON: The oh so special heroine who is actually not
I keep seeing Samantha described as “perfect” or “nice,” when, in actuality, I perceived her as neither. She’s the ordinary girl
She has a hearty dose of sarcasm in the blood, but what YA paranormal heroine doesn’t these days? Either it’s getting harder and harder for characters to come off as original, or Sam has nothing about her that sets her apart. She is ordinary, but not in that fascinating way that makes you want to read about her and her escapades with supernatural beings of otherworlds. I could see sparks of bravery or smarts in her depths, but nothing about her particularly jumped out at me. She seemed far too gullible and distressed over the male species to really appreciate her. Her appeal, the chemistry with the love interest—none of it makes sense, because she isn’t really an intriguing person but for her background and involvement in the Big Mission.
CON: The love interest
Which brings me to Bishop. I didn’t get what was so awesome and attractive about this guy. WE BARELY GET TO KNOW HIM. All we do know is he’s some lost celestial being who has very nearly lost his marbles and has been especially selected for the Big Mission. All we do really know is how wonderful he looks, and all we’re exposed to is his demanding nature and that innate goodness about him. His personality came across as so bland, and rarely livened up the dialogue throughout.
My interest in Bishop really lay with his connection to Kraven, and they’re long, entangled history that no one seems to want to share. He carries many mysteries and the answers Samantha craves, but he didn’t stick with me, fill me up with neither desire nor swoon as opposed to a mild annoyance at the steady reminders of his physical perfection.
PRO: Dark, urban setting
For some reason, when I think of Dark Kiss by Michelle Rowen and its setting, I visualize cities like Chicago as the backdrop. Kind of dark, edgy, and, for some reason, rainy as well. It feels very atmospheric, sort of consuming your focus with wandering imaginings of what this place might actually look like. But dark, urban settings totally rock for these equally dark paranormal stories. It gives the story that much more of an edge, and so much playing room.
PRO: Kraven
I know it’s so cliché of me, but there’s a reason why I liked Luc Caine from Lisa Desrocher’s Personal Demons so much. The bad boy with the clever, snarky quips and dangerous, intimidating demeanor always wins out over the (relatively) nice guy. Kraven is a demon and one of the two who make up the team of four supernatural beings responsible for this divine mission to restore balance and blah blah blah. The point is this guy knows how to burst a moment, anger, deflate, put down, fight—I can’t say I love the guy, but he is certainly an improvement to the rest of the cast. He has a presence in the story where the others do not, and I found myself forming a quick attachment to his character.
However, even Kraven and all his smart ass remarks were not enough to keep me from throwing down the white flag and metaphorically shutting this e-ARC. What’s worse, I had such high hopes, such is the way with all brand new paranormal romance releases.
I wasn't impressed, wasn’t moved or stimulated. It’s not as if Dark Kiss by Michelle Rowen is a bad book, completely poorly-written. Because that isn’t true. It’s just so been there, done that that I couldn’t bear to keep wading through the predictability.
Have you read Dark Kiss by Michelle Rowen yet? Do you agree? Disagree? With what? Let me know down below with a comment!
Got something specific in mind? Dare I believe I might NOT have covered something you wish to know? If so, let me know down in the comments section. Don't be shy!
Got something specific in mind? Dare I believe I might NOT have covered something you wish to know? If so, let me know down in the comments section. Don't be shy!
Review: Forgiven (#3)
The following review contains NO SPOILERS!
my thoughts in a few sentences: Jana Oliver must be a determined woman—dragging me back into this series after my dislike of Soul Thief and providing me with a crystal view of what I could've missed out on. When Forgiven arrived on my doorstep, I resolved to never read it. Slowly, the curiosity arisen by its sudden presence in my life developed an effect akin to an obnoxious acquaintance poking me between the shoulder blades incessantly. Has that ever happened to you? It's quite unpleasant. Eventually, I crumbled and began to read. Imagine my surprise, and eventual pulse-spiking excitement, when the third book served up a reminder as to why I enjoyed the first one so much. Oh, joy! The demon-battling, the perfect collision of the paranormal, and the romance I've been carrying a jumbo-sized, blazing torch for gives Forgiven the addictive edge lacking in its predecessor.
hooking first lines: "Riley Blackthorne's tears were no more. She'd cried herself dry, yet she still lingered in the arms of a dead man"
Rating: Sud-Kissed | St. Martin's Griffin • Unsolicited • Paranormal Romance • 3/27/12 • $9.23
Review: The Mephisto Covenant by Trinity Faegan
The Mephisto Covenant
by Trinity FaeganGet the Deets: Goodreads»»
(What is Goodreads.com?)
Release Date: September 27, 2011
Publisher: Egmont
Source: NetGalley + Egmont
Purchase: Book Depo. | Amazon | Kindle
About the Book:
Sasha is desperate to find out who murdered her father. When getting the answer means pledging her soul to Eryx, she unlocks a secret that puts her in grave danger—Sasha is Anabo, a daughter of Eve, and Eryx’s biggest threat.
A son of Hell, immortal, and bound to Earth forever, Jax looks for redemption in the Mephisto Covenant—God’s promise he will find peace in the love of an Anabo. After a thousand years, he’s finally found the girl he’s been searching for: Sasha.
With the threat of Eryx looming, Jax has to keep Sasha safe and win her over. But can he? Will Sasha love him and give up her mortal life?
The Mephisto Covenant, while it's not one of My Favorites of the Year, it's definitely a solid read, including great mythology, a strong plot, and sweet, devilish characters that make me hope there will be more books for the rest of the Mephisto boys! Are there a few aspects that seemed slightly derivative? I guess. Too many issues that dogged me because they hampered the pacing of the plot? Yes. Did the romance feel rushed? At times, yes. But, it's the overall package that appealed to me and basically led me to finishing the book. It's entertaining, at points scary and eerie, and insanely engrossing! I blanked out all throughout my morning classes (kindles make it easier to sneak a few reads in, believe it or not)!
Despite the fact that Sasha is Anabo--in other words, totally pure of soul, not drawn into temptation--I did not ONCE see her as bland. I enjoyed her narration. She may not feel the darker emotions that we ordinary people do, but that never made her uninteresting. In fact, she struck me as oddly intriguing and admirable because of her inclination to always do good, it being in her relative makeup not being an issue. She's gorgeous, liked by most people, generally content, and a basically good kid. And she's humble about it, so she didn't annoy me to that extent. Being a goody-goody actually made her endearing to me. Surprisingly, what grated my nerves is her struggle over Jax. Probably because there is such a huge portion of the book devoted to her back-and-forth, indecisive thoughts aimed at Jax. I can't stand when it takes the MC FOREVER to decide. I might not give her that long because the book will end up back in my TBR, and might not get picked back up again. It's realistic, I suppose, because I could understand her logic, but I have no patience for that constant inner-turmoil crap.
The romance could've been set up as the ULTIMATE FORBIDDEN kind. Son of hell meets the daughter of Eve--or the human equivalent of an angel. But that's actually one of the focal points of the book. Jax NEEDS (and is allowed) to fall in love with an Anabo, like the other Mephisto, in order to... Well, I won't say, since that would be spoilery :P. But the pacing suffers because of Sasha's unwillingness to fall into it with Jax. Frankly, instead of reading about Sasha worrying over her choices, I'd rather have witnessed hot kissing, people falling victim to Eryx's tricks, meeting Eryx himself sooner, hanging with the Mephisto bros, etc. Anything but that agonizing internal monologuing going on. The plus side comes when Jax and Sasha really do starting gravitating toward a relationship; the chemistry between them is awesome. (Younger YA readers should be aware that there's a very sensual scene toward the end of the book...)
I think the plot is unique and imaginative, however at times choppy. I struggled through some of the descriptions and the inconsistent flips between Jax and Sasha's POVs, as it tended to get confusing. There's a lot of tension, an ominous threat looming close, but I do wish there were more fighting scenes. It would've been nice to have met the villain in person sooner, just because when I finally did, I thought he was wickedly bad-ass and deliciously evil. The sadness is there, too, what with everything that happened with Sasha's father before the book started, that happens with Sasha's mother and remaining family, some friends. It's sad to see how easily some of the characters get tempted to the dark side... and watching them pay the consequences.
Faegan's wording and pacing suffered some, but the writing as a whole is vivid and humorous. The characters popped and are easily accessible; it was easy to make a connection with most of them, thereby easy to feel sympathy or pain for them. And while I was happy with the book's ending, I did feel like it was a little too abrupt. I needed better transition and a bit more filling in.
The entirety of the The Mephisto Covenant acts as a striking, consuming read and, in spite of the bumpy ride, I ate up this book and read it fairly quickly, and enjoyed all that I found inside it's pages!
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He was bad news, she was sure of it.
Why, then, did she stay right here, staring at him and thinking he was absolutely irresistible? Why did her mind keep replaying lying in the snow, his warm body against hers? Maybe because it had been her first kiss. Watching him turn to look at her again, she wondered if it really had been as amazing as she remembered.
Only one way to find out. Closing the distance between them, she bent her neck to look up at him. "Will you kiss me again?"
"If you'll let me."
She reached up, slid his shades from his face, and dropped them to the snowy ground.
He rested his hands against her shoulders and looked as though he was at war with himself before he pulled her toward him, bending his head until his mouth was close to hers. "Remember, you asked," he whispered...
Review: Soul Thief by Jana Oliver
WARNING: If you haven't read The Demon Trapper's Daughter, book one in the Demon Trappers series, then it would probably be a good idea to stay away from this review.
Get the Deets: Goodreads»»
(What is Goodreads.com?)
Release Date: August 30, 2011
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Source: ARC/Blog Tour
Purchase: Book Depo. | Amazon | Kindle
About the Book:
Riley Blackthorne is beginning to learn that there are worse things than death by demon. And love is just one of them...Soul Thief starts off directly after The Demon Trapper's Daughter left off, and with that said, the same feeling I had while reading the first book came back to me. But it was short lived. To say I'd expected so much for the sequel is the absolute truth. And yet, for me, it didn't deliver.
Seventeen-year-old Riley has about had it up to here. After the devastating battle at the Tabernacle, trappers are dead and injured, her boyfriend Simon is gravely injured, and now her beloved late father’s been illegally poached from his grave by a very powerful necromancer. As if that’s not enough, there's Ori, one sizzling hot freelance demon hunter who’s made himself Riley’s unofficial body guard, and Beck, a super over-protective “friend” who acts more like a grouchy granddad. With all the hassles, Riley’s almost ready to leave Atlanta altogether.
But as Atlanta’s demon count increases, the Vatican finally sends its own Demon Hunters to take care of the city’s "little" problem, and pandemonium breaks loose. Only Riley knows that she might be the center of Hell’s attention: an extremely powerful Grade 5 demon is stalking her, and her luck can't last forever...
I think the pacing was the real problem. It didn't move fast enough for me, especially for a book set in a world full of demons and angels, and their captors and devotees. I keep feeling like a full-scale war, a big battle or something exciting and epic is looming closer, but still from a considerable distance. I enjoyed Soul Thief's predecessor, and made allowances for it's semi-slow pacing, because it was the starter book, the intro to the series. But in the sequel I expected more of a BAM! kind of deal. The search for Riley's dad was a bit tedious, in that she didn't explore any very intriguing avenues to locate him. The only aspect of her investigation that I found remotely interesting was being amongst the necromancers, but I came to find that they weren't nearly as exciting as I'd thought them to be. Since a good chunk of the book was consumed by the search for her father's corpse, I felt... bored. Where was the perilous action, the deadly fights against the hellish fiends everyone's so worked up about?
The fighting, especially toward the end of book one, was one of it's biggest appeals for me. That and Beck. And unsurprisingly, Beck and Riley's, I don't know, thing antagonized my already rising level of frustration with the book. In book one, the tension between the two was a good thing, even when Riley began seeing Simon (and don't even get me started on him), but during take two I just grew aggravated. Perhaps it's my innate impatience, that generally comes out while reading. But more likely it was the fact that their complex relationship was losing it's appeal... until the second half of the book.
Have I mentioned, yet, that my feelings for this book are also complex, like, immensely? One minute I was bored, the next faintly intrigued, leading up to engrossment, then down to frustration and annoyance, suspicion, concluding with a surprising eagerness for the sequel. My interest was piqued when, finally, a freakish demonic attack happens, the whole business with Ori and the reasons for his involvement with Riley are unveiled, and I got to learn some rather astonishing deets about the Prince of Hell and his role in the Good vs. Evil dilemma. Then when Riley and Ori's relationship turns toward the unexpected very quickly, the irritation came into play. Beck was no better, and I couldn't help but be angry at him for his reactions to some of the trouble that crops up toward the end.
By the end though, Jana managed to snag me again. To the point where I'm confused, edgy and restless to learn what's going to happen next, and that growing anticipation, that burning hope for what Beck and Riley could have, what--I'm hoping--they will have together has been rekindled somehow. And if I'm not mistaken, this is all boiling up to one gigantic, battle-tastic ending to the trilogy. I'm at the edge of my seat, and I'll be devastated if I'm even partially disappointed come the third book.
---------------------------------------------------
Riley dug in her messenger bag, retrieved a pen, and began a list on a crisp white napkin.
Find Dad
Bust Holy Water Scam
Save the World
Buy Groceries
Do Laundry
As she saw it, if number three on the list didn't work out, the last two weren't going to be an issue. (6)
"She and Simon have taken a fancy ta each other, did ya know? They were holdin' hands and kissin' before the meetin'. They didn't think I saw them."
"Kissin'?" Beck felt something heavy form in his chest, like a stone weighing on his heart. Had to be because of the demon wound; they always made you feel sick. It wouldn't do for him to think of Riley as more than just Paul's little girl.
"Ya didn't know?" the master asked, all innocence.
Beck shook his head. He'd known Riley and Simon were spending time together. They were both apprenticing with Harper and saw each other every day. But he hadn't realized their relationship had gone that far. She was only seventeen, and now that both of her parents were dead he felt responsible for her. Sort of like a big brother. Sort of something more. (9) About that brother part...*cough* Yeah, right. *cough*
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