Early Review - Rebel Heart by Moira Young

If you've read Blood Red Road, you know that Moira Young has a different way of telling her stories. It's as though we've taken a step back in time to the 1800’s southwest and found ourselves in a world that has gone to hell and the survivors live the squalid life. After reading the first book, the dialect actually becomes easier to understand and not so painful to take especially from Saba’s POV.

Saba, known as the Angel of Death for her actions in saving her brother, has a price on her head from DeMalo and the Tonton. Along with Lugh, Emmi and Tommo, they are supposedly heading towards the West Coast where they hope to find a new way of life away from all the dangers that have dragged on their lives and caused so much pain and suffering for all parties involved since we first were introduced to them.

Saba is emotionally damaged and drained to the point where needs some semblance of a break or someone to help her with her own personal nightmares. After surviving and killing off so many girls in order to survive, it’s no wonder she hasn’t broken down and become a shadow of her former self. Yet, Saba also can’t rest knowing that Jack has decided to travel back East in an attempt to meet up with Ike’s Molly.

Her brother, Lugh, is by far the most aggravating character you will meet in this series. He’s abrupt; he continually belittles and puts Saba down even though she risked her own life to save his. Readers may understand why he feels the way he does, but, I really wanted to throttle him to an inch of his life or have the TonTon take him out back and beat him to a pulp and leave him to rot for the rampaging wolves.

Young, unfortunately, decides that she can’t allow Saba to have any sort of solo relationship with Jack, and adds two other players to the mix. This comes after Saba believes that she’s been betrayed in the worse possible way. Jack is basically a tertiary character in that we know he exists, but he’s so far off screen that he really doesn’t have a role in the story until Saba learns a thing or two about what he’s been doing since they split.

Rebel Heart is a decent enough second installment to the Dust Lands series. The ending leaves lots of questions for readers to contemplate until the next book in the series releases January 2014. Naturally, there are more rough waters ahead for Saba and crew before they are allowed to sail into the sunset and retire forever. 

Expected publication: October 30th 2012 by Margaret K. McElderry 

Title - Rebel Heart
Author - Moira Young
Releases - October 30, 2012
ISBN13 - 9781442430006

Stacking the Shelves 10/20/2012

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends. I'm so glad you decided to stop by!

This has been a short week in regards to books so, let's get right to it!

From Netgalley for St. Martins Press

From Kensington Books

Thank you again for stopping by!

Don't forget to leave your link so I can return the favor.

Have a great weekend!

The RIft by Andrea Cremer

The setting for Rift is Fifteenth Century Scotland which is where the supposed Witch’s War started and also the creation of the Keepers, and the Searchers. This is where 16 year old Ember Morrow lives and knows that a reckoning is coming soon because of a debt her father is owed to the Conatus. If you are looking for a comparison, think of the Conatus as an off shoot of the Templars. They’re main charter is to confront the secrets of the arcane and defeat them before they can wreak havoc on society no matter the cost or time it takes.

Ember is more than enthusiastic about her opportunities to get away from her father's ridged rules and desires to marry her off to first person he can find to strengthen his land and position. If you are looking for a person to loathe in this book (besides the obvious villains), take a look no further than Ember’s own father. Ember is an interesting character in that she's impetuous and bullheaded as well as strong, determined and a courageous young lady. It seems she can easily handle various weaponry and takes to being a knight-in-training like a fish takes to water.

Naturally, there is the dreaded “feel” of a three way love triangle which I absolutely loathe and haven’t forgiven Cremer for her choices at the end of Bloodrose. Alistair Hart is a Knight of the Conatus, the third son of a noble, and has been in love with Ember for most of their lives which isn’t returned. Barrow Hess is another Knight of the Conatus who becomes more than just her mentor and trainer. In the end, I wasn’t at all surprised by Cremer’s decision as to who Ember feels comfortable with, or Alistair’s choice of direction in which he turns.

Rift is told in the third POV and flip flops between Ember and Eira a member of the so called Circle who was once part of the Guard. Eira is lured into the temptation of darkness by a cunning master of deceit who won’t take no for an answer. Cian is Eira’s sister and we can see that there is a difference of opinions in which way the Conatus should be taken.

Rift is the prequel to the entire Nightshade series. We’re supposed to find out how Bosque Mar, the Keepers and Searchers came about. I guess we’ll have to wait until the next book for further revelations since this book leaves readers hanging in the air waiting to see where she takes the story next and her characters next.

Overall, while the book was enjoyable, it was also pretty predictable in the choices characters made along the way. I liked the setting of Fifteenth century Scotland, but would have enjoyed it even more with a little bit more world building. This book skirts the whole idea between the Church and how it treats women and just happens to occur just before the whole Salem Witch trials hit not only America, but Europe as well.

Title - The Rift (Nightshade Prequel #1)
Author - Andrea Cremer
Released - August 7, 2012
ISBN13 9780399256134

Waiting On Wednesday 10/17/2012

"Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at “Breaking the Spine”, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. 

This weeks selection is...Crimson Frost by Jennifer Estep.

I am waiting on this book because this series gets better and better as the story unfolds.

I can't wait to see what happens next in the battle between good and evil! 

What are you waiting for?

Synopsis

For a moment, a face flashed before my eyes—the most hideous face I’d ever seen. No matter how hard I tried to forget what had happened, I saw him everywhere I went. It was Loki—the evil god that I’d helped set free against my will.
I should have known that my first official date with Logan Quinn was destined to end in disaster. If we’d gotten into a swordfight, or been ambushed by Reapers, I’d have been more prepared. But getting arrested mid-sip at the local coffee hangout? I didn’t see that one coming.
I’ve been accused of purposely helping the Reapers free Loki from his prison—and the person leading the charge against me is Linus Quinn, Logan’s dad. The worst part is that pretty much everyone at Mythos Academy thinks I’m guilty. If I’m going to get out of this mess alive, I’ll have to do it myself.

Expected publication: December 24, 2012 by Kensington

ISBN - 9780758281463

Vampire Hollows by Tim O'Rourke

Vampire Hollows concludes my read-a-thon of Tim O’Rourke’s Kiera Hudson One series. First time I have ever sat down and read an entire series back to back to back without reading something else first. I think it actually made the experience more enjoyable. A huge thank you, once again, goes out to Tim for giving me the opportunity!

The story picks up right where Vampire Breed left off with Kiera confronting Dr. Hunt and the group on the run from Elias Munn, Phillips, Kiera’s mother, and the Vampyrus who want to take over the world. Kiera, Kayla Hunt, Isidor Smith, and Sean Potter have somehow survived some serious trials and tribulations and Kiera has undergone an amazing transformation to become the group’s de facto leader and something of the chosen one as it were with wings, fangs, and claws.

Unfortunately, Kiera still needs to resolve some issues like who the real Elias Munn is, who the groups traitor really is, as well as whom her heart really belongs to Luke or Potter. She also must meet with the Elders who want her to make an important decision regarding the fates of both the human race and the Vampyrus. Kiera has been tried and tested throughout this series to the point where she doubts not only herself, but her ability to make the correct decisions when lives are on the line.

The one thing that was abundantly clear to me from the beginning of this series was that Tim was going to maintain Elias’s true identity until the very last breath of this series. It was actually fun guessing which supposed good guy really was the bad guy! I will say that I correctly guessed the identity of Elias Munn and his intentions towards Kiera. I appreciated the revelation into his identity as only Kiera was able to do with flashbacks and “seeing” the evidence play out before her.

As the story unfolds to his climax, Kiera and Gang have only one direction to go; The Hollows. Kiera and Kayla have never been there, but, it’s like a homecoming of sorts for Potter, Isidor, and Luke who is supposedly rescued from the zoo by Potter. If you’ve read this book, you will get my supposedly reference. If you haven’t, what are you waiting for?

As the story concludes its amazing journey which started with Vampire Shift and Kiera’s introduction to a world she never suspected existed, suspicions grow within the group as to the actual identity of Elias Munn. Character after character is brought to their knees leaving Kiera alone to make the awful decision as to which race, human or Vampyrus will she allow to survive.

As for the ending of the story, one can only hope that Tim has some ideas as to how he is going to wrap up Kiera’s story in the second part of her series. I would love to see her gets some much needed time out and a HEA with Potter. I was left with some minor questions like why Tim didn’t allow Kiera to face off with her mother. I think that would have made this book even better. I’m also wondering what Kiera has to do to finally get the monkey off her back and be left alone!

Author - Tim O'Rourke
Title - Vampire Hollows
Released - January 2012

The Athena Effect by Derrolyn Anderson

Caledonia (Cal) MacKenzie spent the first 17 years of her life living in obscurity with her parents who were something of scientific gurus before they ran away and hid from society. Living off the land, Cal quickly learned how to hunt, protect herself, read every book she’s ever been given more than once, and became extremely good at changing animals behaviors from aggressive to mellow. Cal also has the ability to perceive visible auras of people which allows her to change their moods when they threaten her safety.

Cal’s world is changed forever when her parents are killed in a bizarre accident. Sent away to live with an Aunt (Angie) she had no clue existed, Cal is forced to deal with the reality that until she is 18 years of age, she has no options nor does her wishes matter. She is forced into going to a real school for the first time in her life and quickly realizes that she is lost in a civilization that grew up around TV’s, computers, and of course, the Internet. She is basically forced to deal with High School shenanigans and quickly learns how to avoid becoming the girl everyone loves picking on.

Cal also learns the facts of life when she has to thwart more than a few advances of Angie’s boyfriend Paul who really grated on my last nerve just by being in this book. After running away from her aunts Condo, Cal helps a rugged looking boy get out of a tough jam. She later learns that the boy’s name is also Cal, for Calvin, and it quickly becomes a game of cat and mouse for which she is the target. Calvin sees something in Cali that he never saw before. She’s not like the other girls in school who throw themselves at his feet. She wears out of date clothing. She carries a knife on her calf. She’s got mixed eyes, (one green and one blue) and seems to have a relationship with animals. Calvin is forever lost, and the only cure happens to be a girl who is as unique as she is beautiful.

The Athena Effect was kindly provided to me by the author Derrolyn Anderson in return for an honest review. Thank you very much!

The Athena Project is a combination of romance and certain paranormal aspects. No, it doesn't have vampires, Fae  werewolves, or any other noted paranormal race within its pages. The idea behind Synesthesia is an interesting one that I've encounter previously and found to be interesting. It also didn't surprise me when we are introduced to the mad scientist who knew Cali’s parents and were the reason for them dropping out of civilization entirely and hiding Caledonia from him because of his actions.

Caledonia is an extremely intelligent character even though she’s never stepped a foot into any school until after her parents tragically die. You could call her book smart, but she always finds a way to remain one step ahead of her detractors. She knows how to protect herself and fights for those she befriends along the way like Cal’s brother Jarod. She finds a way how to escape from the mad hatter and reunites with Calvin who has slowly become the love of her young life.

I think readers will enjoy reading about Caledonia’s exploits, and especially the romance between her and Calvin. The second novel in the series, The MacKenzie Legacy, releases sometime in 2013 and I’m actually looking forward to reading that story as well.

Title - The Athena Effect
Author - Derrolyn Anderson
Released - August 30, 2012
ISBN13 - 9781476059273

Breaking the Devil's Heart by HA Goodman

Breaking the Devil’s Heart is a ditty about two Observers – Stewart Willoughby and Layla O’Toole– who turned down the opportunity to become Angels in an attempt to rid the world of evil. The idea is that Demons are peddling a product called The Formula to unsuspecting humans, manipulating them to the dark side of their psyche where they then end up in Hell for the rest of eternity. It’s also a statement on the fact that God appears to be a non-entity when it comes to preventing some of history’s most violent acts of murder and devastation since he basically gave humans free will to do what they please.

The story is told mainly from the POV of Stewart and we get a look at the so called inner workings of Hell from its Marketing Department, and Telemarketing Department to its Stock Market where souls are bought and sold by the acts of the particular human being. It’s a place where Satan is really a female Fallen Angel who controls Hell with an Iron grip.

Stewart and Layla have the ability to travel throughout time and space and visit different planes of existence. Stewart is an interesting character to review. He was a part of the CIA for a time, before becoming a teacher where he met Layla and later was brutally murdered by so called friends. He really believes that there is a way to prevent acts of evil against humans by finding out and exposing the truth behind Hell’s nefarious schemes.

As for Layla, she is probably the most interesting character in that she is given a particular storyline and you have to guess whether or not she's actually who she wants you to believe she is. She is also Stewart's conscious in many ways. I believe Stewart would have been a lot more devious in his attempts at thwarting Hell without Layla around.

Breaking the Devil’s Heart could be considered a philosophical one in that Goodman explores what it means to be human and have free will. Are there really good and evil beings whispering in our ears on a daily basis telling us to do things that go against our very nature? Is Hell really selling a Formula to evil groups to do their bidding and thus gaining more souls? Why hasn’t God or the Angel’s in heaven stood up and fought back against Hell’s minions and attempts to control humanity by planting sweet evil into their ears?

I received this book from the author H.A Goodman in lieu of an honest appraisal and opinion of his work. Breaking the Devils’ Heart is intriguing and you will find yourself debating the ideas behind this book if you are faithful to your religion. I found the idea that there are different faiths in Heaven interesting. The subject matter is also dark at times and really exposes the reality behind the ongoing war between Heaven and Hell for our very souls.

Title - Breaking the Devil's Heart
Author - HA Goodman
Publisher - Outskirts Press
Released - April 5, 2012