One Hundred Candles

Goodreads
Mara Purnhagen's site
Series: Past Midnight #2
Copy obtained: e-ARC from NetGalley
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release date: Feb 15th 2011
Rating: 4/5

It's taken a long time for me to feel like a normal teenager. But now that I'm settled in a new school, where people know me as more than Charlotte Silver of the infamous Silver family paranormal investigators, it feels like everything is falling into place. And what better way to be normal than to go on a date with a popular football star like Harris Abbott? After all, it's not as if Noah is anything more than a friend….

But my new life takes a disturbing turn when Harris brings me to a party and we play a game called One Hundred Candles. It seems like harmless, ghostly fun. Until spirits unleashed by the game start showing up at school. Now my friends and family are in very real danger, and the door that I've opened into another realm may yield deadly consequences.

One Hundred Candles is the second book in the Past Midnight series, picking up a couple months after the end of it. I really liked Past Midnight, despite a couple issues with the main character. I ended up enjoying One Hundred Candles much more!

Charlotte has grown up a bit I think, and she's gotten stronger, despite still not being particularly confident. She's not burying her head in the sand the way she was in Past Midnight and it made her much more likable for me. I loved seeing a little continuation on the side from various plots from book one, particularly relationship based and I like how the issues Avery and Jared face haven't been ignored, but also aren't over done. The snippets we see of what they're going through now fit in just nicely without excessive description. I actually found myself really enjoying how Charlotte's romantic life developed as well. I love Noah so much, I was a little disappointed at the idea of there being another love interest, but how everything plays out is actually very well done and it's a love triangle I don't hate for a change!

I really enjoyed the main plot in One Hundred Candles as well with the different disturbances and how they linked up with the game early in the book. I found myself getting in to it very quickly and I easily finished it within a few hours. It's not a particularly long book and it made for a good afternoons reading! I liked the twists and some of it I didn't see coming. I also really enjoyed the extension to the world building. I think there is still more to learn about Charlotte's world that she herself doesn't know right now. I really felt for Charlotte with certain events and particularly towards the end, there is a heartbreaking moment and I was tearing up a lot! Overall a really good read, well paced, some beautiful, moving moments and great characters. I'm really excited for book 3, Beyond The Grave (out Sept 2011), to see what happens next! I've never been the biggest fan of ghost stories, but I'm loving this series!

The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller

Goodreads
Series website
Series: The Eternal Ones #1
Copy obtained: UK Book Tours
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Released: July 2010
Rating: 2/5

Haven Moore can't control her visions of a past with a boy called Ethan, and a life in New York that ended in fiery tragedy. In our present, she designs beautiful dresses for her classmates with her best friend Beau. Dressmaking keeps her sane, since she lives with her widowed and heartbroken mother in her tyrannical grandmother's house in Snope City, a tiny town in Tennessee. Then an impossible group of coincidences conspire to force her to flee to New York, to discover who she is, and who she was.

In New York, Haven meets Iain Morrow and is swept into an epic love affair that feels both deeply fated and terribly dangerous. Iain is suspected of murdering a rock star and Haven wonders, could he have murdered her in a past life? She visits the Ouroboros Society and discovers a murky world of reincarnation that stretches across millennia. Haven must discover the secrets hidden in her past lives, and loves¸ before all is lost and the cycle begins again.

I really wanted to like this book. I liked the ideas of it, it sounded a bit different to most of what I read and I thought it would make a nice change. It started out alright, although it took me several days to read about 60 pages because I was so sick, but then I started improving and was able to read more. And I realised just how slow it is to actually get anywhere to start with. Haven doesn't even meet Iain until halfway through the book, and then things start happening very quickly, but Haven can't make up her mind if things are good or bad and who the bad guys really are. Not to mention making a couple of very dumb decisions because Iain is hot and says the right things.

I don't mind books confusing me when it's hard to figure out what's going on. I do mind when it's because of a constant back/forth where things are one way, then they're the other but there isn't any real evidence of which way things really are. I got so tired of Haven that I almost didn't finish the book, and probably wouldn't have if not for having had 2 DNF's right before it (unheard of for me!) and not wanting to make it a third.

The thing is, this isn't a badly written book, nor are the ideas bad. I actually really enjoyed the premise and learning all about how reincarnation works in this story. How Haven discovers things and I really enjoyed the set up of her being in a small town and the issues involved there, along with the issues in her home life. Plus, I really loved her best friend Beau, and I also found myself really enjoying the small role Leah, a girl from Haven's school, plays as well. I enjoyed the flashbacks to Haven's previous life and seeing some of that play out and how it mirrored current events. But Haven and her attitude were too much for me. I didn't get on with her at all and once I was out of my flu haze, and paying attention to more than the words on the page, I was kind of annoyed that it took so long for Haven to actually get anywhere.

A lot of promise for sure, and a book I'm sure plenty could get on with very well. But it didn't work for me despite some very good moments, and some very interesting world building. I won't be bothering with the second book.

Lies by Michael Grant

This is the third book in the series, the previous two are Gone and Hunger.

September 2010, Egmont
Hardback, review copy
Young Adult (there is a content warning in the earlier two, because there are dark themes, lots of violence and cruelty).

Summary from Egmont

It happens in one night: a girl who died now walks among the living, Zil and the Human Crew set fire to Perdido Beach, and amid the flames and smoke, Sam sees the figure of the boy he fears the most - Drake. But Sam and Caine defeated him along with the Darkness – or so they thought.

As Perdido Beach burns, battles rage: Astrid against the Town Council; the Human Crew versus the mutants; and Sam against Drake. And the prophetess Orsay and her companion, Nerezza, are preaching that death will set them all free. As life in the FAYZ becomes more desperate, no one knows who they can trust.

Something I read this book thinking it would be the end of the series. Having just reached the end, I can say I was wrong. There's a fourth book! Nooo! It felt like it was so close to ending in Lies, and then it didn't.

Lies is actually quite different to the previous two books. The first two I would class a Young Adult Horror. I re-read the first one prior to reading the second. The second is so terrifying for me that I can't face re-reading it. It is that scary. Okay, I probably should mention that I generally prefer not to be petrified by books/films. But the series is so interesting! It's amazing how the children take sides, how they fall apart a little, how they figure out how to store food, to ration food and medicine, to form a system of law that doesn't always work. I'm digressing. Lies doesn't have that much horror in it. It felt like quite a light read, until I came to amazing revelations that will blow your mind away when you read the truth of The FAYZ. There was definitely more introspection by Astrid and Sam. They both reach the same conclusion in the end, its just unfortunate that Astrid takes so long to get there. Due to all the pressure he's under, Sam takes a step back and doesn't help as much in this book.

There are thankfully few mentions of flying sn*kes. There are still some pretty sick and twisted children in the FAYZ, both those who are talented and those who aren't. It's a prime example of how power can go to a person's head. There are quite a few hand to mouth moments. Equally, although I see the need for it to be a slightly tamer book, I think I was a little disappointed it wasn't more like its predecessors. I couldn't read books like this all the time - I always have to have a light read afterwards. But in a way I love it that I get scared so much. The ingenuity behind what happens in the FAYZ is awesome. I read the previous two books, and had a few ideas of what could be going on, but then the truth is revealed. Unfortunately most don't hear about the truth, and don't believe it when they do hear it.

I really liked how the normal children were ganging up against those with powers - rather than it just being those with powers fighting against each other, it demonstrated that people can view something as a blessing when other people view it as a curse. There were plenty of heads I wanted to bang together just so they would quit being stupid and work together to create a good life for them. Unfortunately mob thinking spreads very quickly, which means events spiral out of control. And it can be alarming how quickly the children cling to the hope the Prophetess provides. There's no way of knowing if she speaks truthfully. Or why she's accompanied by a girl who was barely mentioned in the previous books. As for the people coming back from the dead - that proves useful in a few cases, but the reason why they came back chilled me quite a bit. Where's the hope in the FAYZ if the enemies don't stay dead? Where will it all end?

I'm really looking forward to Plague, which will undoubtedly have more impressive plot twists.

Oh, the other cool thing about Lies....a quote was used from one of my reviews for the previous books! I'm in the comments section at the beginning. That was a nice discovery.

I lied (quite fitting with the title!). There is one more cool fact about the book. You see the electric blue on the cover? Every page edge is tinted that blue! I keep finding myself looking at it and smiling.

Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers

Goodreads
Courtney Summer's site
Series: n/a
Copy obtained: bought, pb
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Released: Jan 2010
Rating: 4.5/5

Climbing to the top of the social ladder is hard--falling from it is even harder.  Regina Afton used to be a member of the Fearsome Fivesome, an all-girl clique both feared and revered by the students at Hallowell High... until vicious rumors about her and her best friend's boyfriend start going around.  Now Regina's been "frozen out" and her ex-best friends are out for revenge.  If Regina was guilty, it would be one thing, but the rumors are far from the terrifying truth and the bullying is getting more intense by the day.  She takes solace in the company of Michael Hayden, a misfit with a tragic past who she herself used to bully.  Friendship doesn't come easily for these onetime enemies, and as Regina works hard to make amends for her past, she realizes Michael could be more than just a friend... if threats from the Fearsome Foursome don't break them both first.

Tensions grow and the abuse worsens as the final days of senior year march toward an explosive conclusion in this dark new tale from the author of Cracked Up To Be.

I am so, so glad that I bought Some Girls Are despite not really enjoying Courtney's first book, Cracked Up To Be. I wasn't going to, but so many people talked about it and recommend it, and Courtney's new book, Fall For Anything, that I thought I'd get it and give it a try because I know that just because I don't like one book/series from an author, doesn't mean I'll dislike all their work. And this is one time where it's really paid off because Some Girls Are is a fantastic book!

Regina was one of the popular ones, one of those dreaded Mean Girls, best friend to the top of the tower, Anna. But now she's frozen out. Everything Regina's done to other students in the past is being done to her. She's caught between fear, a desire to fight back and the knowledge of just what those girls are capable of. What she's capable of.

I was hooked pretty much from page one of Some Girls Are. It just grabbed me and didn't let go, I finished it easily within a few hours. It's heart breaking really, very painful reading, for many reasons. Regina is such an odd character to me, not because she's not drawn realistically, because she is. But because I did feel very bad for her, the things she was going through, how she was suffering. And yet at the same time, I kind of hated her too. Because of some of the things she's done, how she handled certain situations (in the past more than what we actually see). There was this constant internal conflict going on in my head trying to figure out just how I felt about Regina. The winning emotion though was pain. It's such a painful journey for her. It's kind of hard to understand why she was as she was, one of that 'Fearsome Fivesome' and yet, completely simple as well. But if it can be considered as such, it's the only 'simple' thing about this book.

It's so complex, one thing after another, one twist, one action changing everything over and over. Regina attempting to figure out how to survive high school with people who really hate her, surrounding her, how to connect with those who she'd previously 'ruined' in a similar way. It's so real, and so emotional I was in tears repeatedly but I barely put it down because I needed to know what happened next. I needed to see if it could get worse, because surely it couldn't...but it did. Some Girls Are is an intense, thought provoking read. It captures the harsh realities of both sides of that popular/un-popular high school social structure extremely well and how bullying can destroy lives with a few well placed words. There were times when Regina was struggling to breathe through her panic, and I felt almost as bad. It was just that intense! There's a little romance involved, but it's every bit as conflicted and confusing as everything else going on. And I loved it. How Regina's relationships with those around her develops over the course of the book is just excellent. It's such a painful book, but I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of this story. Fantastic work and now I'm really excited to get my hands on Fall For Anything and any future titles from Courtney. Just awesome.

Monday Wrap Up [5]

Welcome to my weekly wrap up!

The past week has been very up and down for me, but I did at least manage to get a reasonable amount of reading done through it. This is what I read:
Hate List by Jennifer Brown - finished it last Monday. Intense and caused a fair few tears, but very good.
Flash Burnout by L. K. Madigan - loved this! It's hilarious and dark, a little strange but fantastic.
Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers - wow. So painful, but completely brilliant!
All You Get Is Me by Yvonne Prinz - currently reading. I'm a little over halfway, will finish it today. I'm liking it, but not loving it at this point.

And on the blog:
Tuesday 1st Feb - Review - Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton [Angelfire #1]. I loved this book! Lots of action and a little romance, or, the potential for it anyways.
Wednesday 2nd Feb - DNF Review - small notes on why my double DNF books from the week before didn't work for me.
Thursday 3rd Feb - Review - Green-Eyed Demon by Jaye Wells [Sabina Kane #3]. Unexpectedly awesome! Funny, heart wrenching and left me wanting lots more!
Friday 4th Feb - On a more personal note... - I confess a secret love...
Saturday 5th Feb - Review - Hate List by Jennifer Brown. Painful, heartbreaking read, but very, very good.

Coming up this week
I'll be reviewing Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers, One Hundred Candles by Mara Purnhagen, and The Eternal Ones by Kristen Miller. I'll also have an IMM post at the weekend for sure because I didn't post on this weekend, I was just too exhausted. So it'll be two weeks worth of books to share.

Reading wise...
Well, there are a lot of books I'd like to read this week. But I have quite a lot going on, and my parents are going to be away from Tuesday til Sunday, which means I'll be having to do all those daily things that normally I don't have to. Which to most, would be nothing, to me, means a hell of a lot because it pretty much takes all my energy to do all those daily things of feeding the rabbits, loading/emptying the dishwasher, making sure I have 3 meals a day (cereal becomes the staple because I just don't have the energy to cook), etc. So while I'd love to manage another 3 or 4 books from my TBR this week, its not going to happen. So instead of stating what I'd like to read, I'm not going to. I'm just going to see how I'm doing each day and do what I can with it.

Hope you all have a great week!

Hate List by Jennifer Brown

Goodreads
Jennifer Brown's site
Series: n/a
Copy obtained: bought pb
Publisher: Little Brown
Released: Sept 2009
Rating: 4.5/5

"The list was my idea. I didn't mean for anyone to die. Will you ever forgive me?"

Five months ago, Valerie Leftman's boyfriend, Nick, opened fire on their school cafeteria. Val was as shocked as everyone else - but, despite her own serious injury, she's implicated in the crime because of the list. The list she and Nick made of people they hated. The list Nick used to pick his targets.

Now, after a summer of seclusion, Val is forced to confront her guilt as she returns to school to complete her senior year. Haunted by the memory of the boyfriend she still loves and navigating the rocky relationships with her family, her former friends, and the girl whose life she saved, Val must come to grips with the tragedy that took place, and her role in it, in order to make amends and move on with her life.

There is a comment from the author in the back of this book which states that while most would say that this is a book about a school shooting, for her it's about Valerie, it's Val's story. And, having just finished and still in tears, I read that and went 'no kidding!' because that's exactly how I felt about it. Yes, it starts off about the shooting, but within a couple of chapters it wasn't about that for me, it was about a girl who loved, who had something terrible happen to her, and is lost in a sea of confusion and desperately trying to find a way out, feeling unable to turn to anyone. I can relate to that, being lost in confusion. I felt so much for Valerie as she tried to deal with what happened, what it means for her, what is says about her and the role she played in it all.

There is no question this is a powerful, thought provoking, tear-jearker of a book. The descriptions, the power to the flashback scenes of the shooting itself actually made me flinch when the gun went off. I cried for Val as she realised what some people thought of her. I was proud of her as she took steps forward. I ached for her almost the whole way through the book. Val is far from perfect, but that just makes her all the more real. I like how she's so conflicted about events and herself; how she learns and grows through the book from her own views changing; the pressure and hurt from her broken family and the others in the school around her. Not to mention the therapist. I love all the adult involvement in this book! Not all of them are nice characters nor are they all trying to help Val, but they're there and play a very real role and add a presence so often wrongly missing from YA novels.

I found Hate List very hard to put down, and if not for certain issues, I think I'd have easily read it in a single day instead of two. It's paced perfectly, with such well drawn characters and descriptions of the mess of emotions and reactions that really got to me. I got kind of lost in Val's journey and I was sad to get to the end of it. But I do love where this story ends. I won't spoil it for those who've not read it, but I do love it. A heartfelt, powerful book. I'm not sure I can say I enjoyed reading it, because with something dealing with such raw, broken emotions, so much pain, it's hard to enjoy it. But it is excellent reading, and I love it. I'm so glad I read this book, and I think it's one that could maybe help teens who are struggling, or parents of teens who a struggling. With bullying, family issues, life in general as much as anyone who has had to face such a tragedy. And it's certainly a book I'd highly recommend.

On a more personal note...

Thought I'd throw out another of these posts where I stop talking about books and tell you a little about something else of my life. This time, a confession: I love jigsaw puzzles.

As a kid I loved jigsaws and then when I got sick at 11 and I was spending all my time at home barely able to do anything, they became a nice distraction. I didn't do them very often because they were too much effort a lot of the time, but I liked working on them when I could. I liked the challenge of hard ones, and I liked the 'break' if gave me from everything else. My brain would stop thinking about everything else and it was just about fitting the right pieces together and it was really kinda soothing in a way, and left me with a sense of satisfaction when I completed one.

I stopped regularly working on jigsaws a few years back. Then my mom bought me this one (apologies for poor pics):

All grey tones, no sharp detail...nightmare puzzle!! But I was so up for the challenge. I didn't get very far though because I had to shift it out of the living room to my bedroom and it ended up under my bed, mostly untouched for a year, looking like this:

 

That's how far I got with it over about 18 months/2 years. I'm sad about that, cause I always wanted to finish it. I worked on it some yesterday and managed to add about 20 odd pieces and join some sections up before I got too worn out so now it looks like this:

At least looks a little neater now!! For Christmas my mom gave me a new 1000 piece puzzle, this one:

Beautiful, but again, nightmare puzzle, the kind I love. So now I have a new plan, to complete both these puzzles by the end of 2011. I just started on the horse one this week and this is where I stand with it now:

I have it on a roll up mat, so I can shift it around really easily and work on it in the living room, where there is space, and then quickly shift it if needed!! The NYC one is still on a board, but now can be moved out from under my bed very easily so I can work on it at will as well!

Have to say, I've loved working on these frustrating puzzles this week!! I'd forgotten how much I love doing them. And now when I get fed up with the difficulties of one, I can switch to the other, making it more likely for me to get them both done.

Only thing is, working on these tough ones, makes me want to pull out my old favourites. The 300 piece one with lots of animals that I could finish within about 35 mins at one point, and my photographic one of the New York City skyline (pre 9/11) at sunset. Maybe I should work on them at some point too... And now I've stated my personal puzzle challenge on here, I'll have to make sure it's completed won't I? ;)

What about you guys, anything besides books you like to do to relax? Or for a challenge? Anyone else a puzzle fan? I am curious!

Green-Eyed Demon by Jaye Wells

Goodreads
Jaye Wells' site
Series: Sabina Kane #3
Copy obtained: e-ARC from NetGalley
Publisher: Orbit
Release Date: Feb 3rd 2011 (UK) Feb 22nd (US)
Rating: 4.5/5

Spoiler Warning: contains Major spoilers from previous books!!

The clock is ticking for Sabina Kane. She has to save her sister from her mysterious captors. And in order to do that, she has to broker a deal between the mages and the vampires before all hell breaks loose.

But as much as Sabina is focused on surviving the present, the past won't be ignored. Before she can save those she cares about, she's got to save herself from the ghosts of her past. Because the past is haunting her. Literally.

I liked the first book of this series, Red-Headed Stepchild, a lot. The second book, The Mage in Black, was also good but I didn't enjoy it as much. There was a heck of a cliff hanger in it though, which left me very much wanting to know what happened. Green-Eyed Demon did not disappoint and is easily the best of the series to date! I loved this book.

Green-Eyed Demon picks up a few days after the events of The Mage in Black with Sabina, Adam and Giguhl searching for Sabina's sister Maisie. There is plenty of action right from the start and it rarely lets up. It's a book full of twists, some seriously kick-ass fights, and a few awesome new characters. I loved the extension to the world building with more of a mages' power being explained and shown, along with some other aspects to various races we hadn't yet learnt about. Things always seemed so close to boiling point, ready to spill over and it created a tension that made the book very hard to put down!

But what I loved most about this book, was the development of Sabina. She's always been a loner. Working as an assassin it was something that worked for her. But now she has to learn to play with others and it's not been something she's been particularly good at. Here in Green-Eyed Demon though she takes a real step forward. I loved seeing her insecurities and how her relationships with both Adam and Gighul (who, by the way, is still as funny as ever, but so much more awesome in this book!!) develop as they work to find out where Maisie is being held and if they can possibly rescue her. It's heart breaking at times, but it's brilliantly played. I couldn't get enough of it!

The ending is seriously intense! It had me in tears (a couple of times, I confess) and wow! It packs the biggest punch. I had some issues with both the first two books, different issues and while they didn't ruin the books for me, they did stop me loving them as much as I could have. I had very few issues with this one and pretty much just loved it outright! It's fast and actioned packed, with a emotional background that kept tugging at me. It answers several questions and ties up a few plots while still leaving plenty to keep you guessing and wondering! Fantastic work! I can't wait for book 4, Silver-Tongued Devil (out in 2012 I believe) to find out what's going to happen now after the big events of Green-Eyed Demon!

Double DNF

Awakened by Ednah Walters
Goodreads
Copy obtained: UK Book Tours

I liked this one to start with, but gave up after about 150 pages and skimmed the last 100 of the book. I like the ideas, some of the mythology is really great! But early on I found myself irritated with the characters. The main character, Lil, has just found out what she is and that she's got these powers, and yet every single person keeps assuming (despite knowing she's only just discovered them) that she knows pretty much everything and is surprised when Lil has to remind them she knows nothing. It's something that improved a little, but then later on I found myself tiring of how the characters interacted. People seemed to be one way about something one moment, then the complete opposite the next without any justification. I struggle with flatter characters, and that's what I felt here. The few paragraphs towards the end I read made me glad I'd decided not to bother finishing it. Shame, I wanted to like this one, and I'm sure it'll work for some with the strong mythology, but the missing elements to character development meant it didn't work for me. I will say that the boy, Bran, is pretty hot though...


Possessions by Nancy Holder
Goodreads
Copy obtained: UK Book Tours

I liked the premise for this one and I really love some of Nancy's other works, but within 40 pages I'd had enough of the main character and there wasn't anything else about it that I was enjoying enough to make me continue. I'm not quite sure why I had such an obvious 'not for me' reaction to the book, but I did. I just didn't click with any of it and decided I'd rather move on and try something else. Again I'm disappointed because I do usually like Nancy's work, but it certainly won't stop me picking up her future titles!

Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton

Goodreads
Courtney Allison Moulton's site
Series: Angelfire #1
Copy obtained: e-ARC from NetGalley
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release date: Feb 15th
Rating: 4.5/5

When seventeen-year-old Ellie starts seeing reapers - monstrous creatures who devour humans and send their souls to Hell - she finds herself on the front lines of a supernatural war between archangels and the Fallen and faced with the possible destruction of her soul.

A mysterious boy named Will reveals she is the reincarnation of an ancient warrior, the only one capable of wielding swords of angelfire to fight the reapers, and he is an immortal sworn to protect her in battle. Now that Ellie's powers have been awakened, a powerful reaper called Bastian has come forward to challenge her. He has employed a fierce assassin to eliminate her - an assassin who has already killed her once.

While balancing her dwindling social life and her reaper-hunting duties, she and Will discover Bastian is searching for a dormant creature believed to be a true soul reaper. Bastian plans to use this weapon to ignite the End of Days and to destroy Ellie's soul, ending her rebirth cycle forever. Now, she must face an army of Bastian's most frightening reapers, prevent the soul reaper from consuming her soul, and uncover the secrets of her past lives - including truths that may be too frightening to remember.

It only took a couple of pages for Ellie’s voice to hook me, and then I couldn’t put then I couldn’t put Angelfire down. It’s pretty intense from the start. Ellie has been having nightmares and on her 17th birthday discovers that they may well not be nightmares, but memories. Of another time and place, where she is supernaturally strong, a hunter, killing monsters in the fight of good versus evil. 

She’s told that these things are real by Will. A guy who suddenly appears on the scene and yet she feels this connection with, like she’s known him forever. Which, as it turns out, is more or less true. They’ve spent hundreds of years fighting together, him as her bodyguard. Ellie just doesn’t remember it. Yet.

Ellie is a pretty typical teenager (although a well off one) who I found very easy to like. I wasn’t so sure about her while she was being so insistent that Will was lying, that she hadn’t seen some of the things she’d really seen. But then I stopped and thought about it, and really, having had no belief of the paranormal at all, then being thrown in to that world and told you are a key player in keeping evil at bay, is a pretty good reason to go in to serious denial! I really enjoyed her development over the course of the book, how she dealt with the memories, the nightmares, and the reality.

Likewise I really liked Will. He’s got that super sexy bodyguard thing going for him. He’s secretive and likes to keep things inside, but I fell in love with him anyway. He’s intense, and despite not knowing much about him for a long time, I always got this sense of so much more going on under the surface with him than was actually seen. It gives him a lot of depth when the facts are minimal and I really enjoyed getting to know him even a tiny bit, trying to figure him out. 

There is a lot of action in this book and every action scene was just spectacular. Several of them were so vivid they were practically playing out like a movie in my head while I was reading. Something that rarely happens for me with action scenes in books! 

A gripping, thrilling read. Great characters, fantastic plot and great use of mythology as well. There is what promises to be a beautiful love story involved as well, but it doesn’t start really showing itself until later in the book. It’s worth the wait and I’m hoping for more on it in book 2! The ending was fabulous, beautiful, sad and powerful. It leaves you in a place where you have some answers, but still plenty of questions and hungry for more. A fantastic debut and I cannot wait for books two and three! I’m just sorry it’s going to be such a long wait. A new favourite book and a new auto-buy author!