#Thursday Review - Jonah (The Styclar Saga #3) by Nikki Kelly #YALit #Paranormal @Styclar @FeiwelFriends

Series: The Styclar Sage # 3
Format: E-Galley, 352 pages
Release Date: February 7th 2017
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Jonah is the Vampire who saved Lailah from the appetites of an even darker evil: the Vampire Purebloods.

But to save Jonah, Lailah had to strike a deal with the universe―her existence for his. Now lost to the third dimension, Jonah must find her, before it’s too late. Back on Earth, forces from all the worlds prepare for the last battle…

Where Heaven meets Hell, Lailah must make a final stand, and an impossible choice―Gabriel, or Jonah?

An emotional roller coaster full of twists and turns, once again readers should expect the unexpected with the stunning conclusion to the Styclar Saga.

Jonah is the third and final installment in author Nikki Kelly's The Styclar Saga. Readers will find themselves right back to where Gabriel left off. Lailah made a deal with the universe to reverse time in exchange for saving Jonah's life. Now, it is time to find a way to destroy the third dimension and Styclar Pena. The Third Dimension is where Purebloods come from, better known in this world as Fallen Angels. It is a world that exists in a state of cold, dark matter where scavengers collect dark energy released in death by humans with dark souls.

But, nothing is as easy as one thinks. Not when Jonah isn't ready to allow Lailah to sacrifice herself for him. Not when Lailah and Jonah return to Earth to discover that (3) years have passed, and the world is facing the its end thanks in part to her own actions. Lailah has accepted both parts of her lineage, vampire & angel, which gives her a perfect balance of light and dark. It also makes her supremely powerful enough to defeat any challengers she faces. Now, Lailah must become someone she never wanted to be, the world's Savior.

She must work with the Sealgaire, including Phelan who is now their leader. Phelan and Lailah's relationship has never been what one would call cordial. He doesn't believe that vampires could be anything but evil. He doesn't believe that vampires were once human either. Lailah also rekindles her relationship, of a sort, with Darwin who is a theoretical scientist looking into dark matter. While there, Lailah has a vision of the future and the end. Let's leave that there because it definitely has substance to what happens at the end of this story.

One of the final worlds that we are offered, is that of Styclar Pena. It is a world where one might call it heaven if one were inclined. Readers were given a view of this place in the opening chapter. From the Garden of Eden, to the creation of the separate dimensions, how Zherneboh came to be, and how truly awful Orifiel really is. This is a world that Orifiel rules over. It is also the world that must be brought down by Lailah in order to bring about the desire outcome. 

As I said in my previous review of Gabriel, the hints were already there about what choice Lailah would make and why. I was okay with her choice and not because of any hatred of Gabriel. I liked Gabriel well enough, except where he had issues with Lailah's dark side. I found myself re-reading the final chapter several times in order to decipher what the hell just happened, and why. After I calmed myself down a bit, I have to say that Kelly makes a heart breaking, but right choice in how she wraps up this series. I do believe that to do it any way else, would have taken away from the choices that were made over the course of this series. 

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#Tuesday Review - Gabriel by Nikki Kelly #YALit #Paranormal @Styclar @FeiwelFriends

Series: The Styclar Saga # 2
Format: Hardcover, 384 pages
Release Date: October 27, 2015
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Source: Library 
Genre: YA, Paranormal

The handsome Angel from Lailah gets center stage in this continuation of Wattpad sensation Nikki Kelly’s romantic and action-packed series about mortals, vampires, and angels.

Gabriel is an Angel Descendant. He's also an ally to a generation of vampires who want to break away from the demon who controls them. His faith in the power of good over evil wavers, however, when he discovers that Lailah, the woman he considers his only true love, may be both angel and demon. Is their love enough to overcome the dark forces who are ready to go to war with Gabriel, the vampire Jonah, and the angel and vampire forces? And can Gabriel compete with Jonah, who is also in love with Lailah?

Once again, Nikki Kelly looks deeply into the heart and soul of good and evil to create a romantic, action-packed reading adventure.

Gabriel is the second installment in author Nikki Kelly's The Styclar Saga. As one would imagine, it took me awhile to get back into this series since it has been a year and a half since I read Lailah. Lots of books have come and gone during that wait. I had to remind myself how the first installment, Lailah, ended, and what one of my major hurdles was in loving the first book. Had to remind myself that Lailah is a character who isn't who she seems. She is much, much more. She doesn't age like others. She doesn't permanently die like others. And, she has a tendency of losing her memories. 

As with the previous installment, the author starts off the story with a prologue that introduces a new group of characters, plus one who has her own story to tell. This new group is given a new mission thanks to this mysterious woman. They must find Lailah and save her from herself before it is too late. Meanwhile, Lailah has been "resurrected" and has inherited her immortal lineage. She is both light and dark now, which means that the author once again tests the boundaries of what makes a person good or evil, or whether a person can actually be good and evil at the same time. 

Since Lailah is both Angel & Vampire, it is something she struggles with and puts a strain on her relationship with Gabriel who doesn't even want to broach the subject of her vampire aka dark side. They are soul mates. That particular side doesn't need to be part of her if she just ignores what her body needs. Lailah is both good and evil just by being half-vampire, and half-angel. The other issue she has is remembering who Jonah is. She remembers clearly Gabriel and her past with him, but the dark, handsome, stoic vampire is just out of reach of her memories. 

Even though the books title is Gabriel, the narrative is still Lailah's to tell. I would have liked to see chapters dedicated to Gabriel's narrative, especially since he has a bunch of issues of his own, and makes a drastic call that I have now predicted how the series will end. Jonah, on the other hand, is in a world of hurt. How can the girl he loves not remember him? How can she focus solely on the light side of her being, and ignore the part that makes her dangerous and a weapon in the war between Vampires and Angels? But, Jonah isn't innocent either. He does some things that I would not agree with, but that is who he really is after all. 

Unfortunately, this story ends on a highfalutin cliff hanger which will lead directly into the final installment in the series obviously named Jonah. Since the publisher was nice enough to approve me via NetGalley, I shall be reading the sequel shortly! 

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