Giveaway: Charley Davidson Series

To help celebrate the 8th book in the hugely entertaining Charley Davidson series, I have a very special giveaway (prizing and samples courtesy of St. Martin's Press) to share with you all today! I've only read the first book in this series (SHAME ON ME!), but if you have yet to meet Charley (and Reyes!), then you're going to want to make time for them immediately. So. Good.

Before we get to the giveaway though, here's a brief introduction for those of you who are new to this series:

First Grave on the Right is the smashing, award-winning debut novel that introduces Charley Davidson: part-time private investigator and full-time Grim Reaper..

Charley sees dead people. That's right, she sees dead people. And it's her job to convince them to "go into the light." But when these very dead people have died under less than ideal circumstances (i.e., murder), sometimes they want Charley to bring the bad guys to justice. Complicating matters are the intensely hot dreams she's been having about an Entity who has been following her all her life...and it turns out he might not be dead after all. In fact, he might be something else entirely.

While 8 books is an intimidating number, I have little doubt they'll all fly by, so I can't wait to get caught up! Eighth Grave After Dark is out now, so here I come with the binge-reading Charley and Reyes!

 

Sometimes I wonder if the purpose of my life
is to serve as a cautionary tale to others.
--T-shirt

Charley Davidson has enough going on without having to worry about twelve hellhounds hot on her trail. She is, after all, incredibly pregnant and feeling like she could pop at any moment. But, just her luck, twelve deadly beasts from hell have chosen this time to escape onto our plane, and they've made Charley their target. And so she takes refuge at the only place she thinks they can't get to her: the grounds of an abandoned convent. Of course, if hellhounds aren't enough, Charley also has a new case to hold her attention: the decades-old murder of a newly-vowed nun she keeps seeing in the shadows of the convent.

Add to that the still unsolved murder of her father, the strange behavior of her husband, and Charley's tendency to attract the, shall we say, undead, and she has her hands full…but also tied. While the angry hellhounds can't traverse the consecrated soil, they can lurk just beyond its borders like evil sentries, so Charley has been forbidden from leaving the sacred grounds. Luckily, she has her loyal team with her, and they're a scrappy bunch who won't let a few thirsty hellhounds deter them.


While the team scours the prophesies, searching for clues on the Twelve, for a way to kill them or at least send them back to hell, Charley just wants answers and is powerless to get them. But the mass of friends they've accrued helps. They convince her even more that everyone in her recent life has somehow been drawn to her, as though they were a part of a bigger picture all along. Their presence is comforting. But the good feelings don't last for long because Charley is about to get the surprise of her crazy, mixed-up, supernatural life….

Read an excerpt!

• • • • • • • • • • •

DARYNDA JONES

Photo: Donita Massey Privett

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author DARYNDA JONES won a RITA Award for best first novel for First Grave On The Right. As a born storyteller, she grew up spinning tales of dashing damsels and heroes in distress for any unfortunate soul who happened by, annoying man and beast alike. Jones lives in the Land of Enchantment, also known as Albuquerque, New Mexico, with her husband and two beautiful sons, the Mighty, Mighty Jones Boys.

Website • Twitter • Facebook • Pinterest • Goodreads

• • • • • • • • • • •

GIVEAWAY

Thanks to the generosity of St. Martin's Press I have a No Rest For the Dead prize pack to give away today! One lucky winner will receive:

• Branded coffee mug and Grim Reaper nail decals
• The complete Charley Davidson series!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Interview: Camille DeAngelis + Bones & All

Today I have the pleasure of welcoming author Camille DeAngelis to the blog to answer a few questions about her newest release, Bones & All. Bones & All is a slightly strange but intriguing tale of a teen cannibal, something I've never read about before, so I was excited to have a chance to pick Camille's brain (in a distinctly non-cannibalistic type of way, obviously). I hope you all enjoy the interview!

Maren is a highly unusual young woman given her desire to cannibalize anyone who shows her affection. If she had to describe herself to those who have yet to experience her story, what three words might she say are most fitting?

I'm sure Maren would employ the same words we'd all tend to use when journaling about ourselves at age sixteen, when the tempestuousness of our feelings magnifies every disappointment and every failure: words like trapped and hopeless and desperate. I have never eaten another person and I haven't been a teenager for a good fifteen years now, but I still recall those feelings of frustration and helplessness; and as disconcerting as it may sound, that was all I needed to write a good monster.

One of my recurring nightmares always involves getting eaten–mostly by sharks–but now thanks to this book, humans are joining the list ;-). What’s one thing you weren’t necessarily scared of before that a piece of fiction made absolutely terrifying?

I recently read Pet Sematary, which was my very first Stephen King novel—crazy, right??—and I kept putting myself in the little girl Ellie's shoes, having all these prescient nightmares in the days before my whole family falls apart. That novel made me afraid of evil, an ancient and completely unfightable kind of evil, precisely because the author nailed all the mundane domestic details. I would read a line of dialogue from one of his child characters—the breathless excitement and impatience, so perfectly captured—and think “even if I didn't already know this guy had kids, I'd know it from reading this book.” We're conditioned for stories in which good wins out in the end, so it chills you to the core to realize that the hero and his family really do not have a snowball's chance.

If you suddenly found yourself face to face with a cannibal bent on making you their next meal, what would the first words out of your mouth be to convince them otherwise?

Wouldn't you rather find someone with a bit more meat on them?

If you could choose one author, past or present, to write a retelling of Bones & All, whose version of this story would you most like to read?

Ooh, this is a great question! I'd have to say Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, the Anglo-Irish gothic writer best known for his story collection In a Glass Darkly. His vampire tale, “Carmilla,” predates Dracula by about twenty years, and I admire it partly for the lesbian undertones. It feels so ahead of its time. I like to think of Le Fanu as one of my literary godfathers (I can have more than one, right?), so it's only fitting that I should choose him. (You can read about Le Fanu's tragic real-life ghost story on my blog.)

http://www.cometparty.com/2009/11/yet-more-spookery/

What’s one thing about the way Maren’s story unfolds that, had a future version of you popped back in time to tell you about it once all was said and done, would have thoroughly shocked the you currently staring at a blank page?

At the Bones & All “click” moment—the everything-slotting-into-place epiphany that needs to happen pretty close to the start of a project—I was taking a shower and Maren began to talk to me, and I hurried out of the tub and started scribbling. But in that first exhilaration of a new story it did not occur to me that I wouldn't ultimately be able to provide Maren with some sort of redemption. Her curse isn't like an addiction—it can't be battled through and overcome. It is literally in her genetics.

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions Camille!

• • • • • • • • • • • 

BONES & ALL

(available now from St. Martin's Press)

Maren Yearly doesn’t just break hearts, she devours them.

Since she was a baby, Maren has had what you might call "an issue" with affection. Anytime someone cares for her too much, she can’t seem to stop herself from eating them. Abandoned by her mother at the age of 16, Maren goes looking for the father she has never known, but finds more than she bargained for along the way.

Faced with love, fellow eaters, and enemies for the first time in her life, Maren realizes she isn’t just looking for her father, she is looking for herself. The real question is, will she like the girl she finds?

Amazon • Goodreads • B&N 

• • • • • • • • • • • •

CAMILLE DeANGELIS

Camille DeAngelis is the author of Bones & All (St. Martin’s, 2015), Petty Magic: Being the Memoirs and Confessions of Miss Evelyn Harbinger, Temptress and Troublemaker (Crown, 2010), and Mary Modern (Crown/Shaye Areheart, 2007), as well as a first-edition guidebook, Moon Ireland (Avalon, 2007). She is a graduate of New York University (B.A. in Fine Arts, minor in Irish Studies, 2002) and the National University of Ireland, Galway (M.A. in Writing, 2005). Her fourth novel, tentatively titled Immaculate Heart, will be published by St. Martin’s Press in 2016. She is a board member of the Writers’ Room of Boston.

A longtime vegetarian, she went vegan in April 2011, and in June 2013 became a certified vegan lifestyle coach and educator through Victoria Moran’s Main Street Vegan® Academy. She is also planning to receive her yoga teacher training in 2015.

Originally from New Jersey, Camille now lives in Somerville, Massachusetts.

Website • Facebook • Twitter

Review: Fangirl

FANGIRL
Rainbow Rowell
Contemporary New Adult
405 pages
St. Martin's Press
Available September 10th
Source: BEA

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Cath is a Simon Snow fan.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan . . .

But for Cath, being a fan is her life — and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?

Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?

And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

MY THOUGHTS
Fangirl is a story that instantly resonates, Cath's passion for a beloved book series and its characters something that makes us feel connected to her from page one, easily becoming members of her online community through our shared love of fiction and the worlds it paints word by word. Seeing our love and the very thing that makes us so happy reflected in someone else, even a fictional character, is like a glorious validation of our feelings, the acknowledgement from Cath that we're not alone in something that people outside a specific fandom – whether it be books, movies, games or comics – might not fully understand causing us to want to stop reading for a moment and just give Fangirl a monstrous hug for telling what feels like our own story.

Cath is a young women perched precariously on the threshold between stasis and change, scared to move forward when her life up until this point has been as she thinks she wants it, wrapped up in family, writing, and her unending love for the Simon Snow book series. What's so comforting and heartwarming about Cath's story is the way change happens for her; the new people and new experiences in her life are in no way indicators that her life before was less-than or in need of new direction, but rather they are the opposite, embracing the woman she is and showing her it's safe to expand her world outward without losing touch with what's she's already so painstakingly built. Change for Cath is a stunningly gradual process, and our faces simply can't help but break out into a giddy grin as she takes baby steps into uncharted territory even as she maintains a death grip on what's familiar to her.

The romance in this story is woven lovingly into the gradual change process, Cath's extreme hesitancy to explore any type of relationship with Levi after being burned initially a refreshing break from the insta-love and insta-lust of so many fictional relationships. Trust is of the utmost importance to her, and she makes both Levi and herself work long and hard at building a foundation that won't crumble at the slightest shake, opening herself up an inch at a time until she's absolutely sure Levi won't take up the slack in her rope and hang her with it. Their banter is adorable and so sweet we can hardly even stand it (in a good way, not an overly-saccharine way), and their romance shares the spotlight spectacularly well with Cath's writing and her various family challenges, ensuring her life feels utterly genuine in its highs and lows.

Those readers looking for an action-packed read or a grand, sweeping romance will not find it in Fangirl, instead we're all treated to four hundred pages of life – sometimes it's a bit slow, sometimes frustrating or painful, but it's also sometimes so magnificently satisfying and intense the warmth of our glow doesn't fade for days. In between the chapters of Cath's life we're also gifted with snippets of both Simon Snow canon as well as excerpts from Cath's Simon Snow fanfiction, as caught up in the Harry Potter-esque world as Cath is. We revel in the seriousness with which she approaches the fandom, pleased her dedication mirrors our own to whatever book series we love most, and we're simply grateful to see that love expressed so beautifully by Ms. Rowell.

Rating 4/5
 

Find Rainbow:

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads • Amazon

This book was given to me at BEA free of charge by the publisher for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

Tempest Blog Tour: Character Interview with Jackson + Giveaway

I'm hugely excited today to be a part of the promotional tour for the paperback release of Tempest, a young adult time travel tale by Julie Cross. Protagonist Jackson has kindly agreed to sit down and answer a few questions for me about his relationship with Holly and his experiences traveling back in time. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to those who enjoy a good time-bending story with a strong romance added in!

If you could jump back in time and experience one significant historical event, which one would you choose to be a part of?

I ask myself this question all the time and my answer changes almost daily. On one of my trips to Europe I was forced into a tour of a concentration camp…man that was depressing. But after that, I think I wouldn’t mind watching them tear the Berlin wall down. And there’s a few World Series games I’d love to see, but then again, if I already know the outcome, I don’t think it’d be much different to see it in person than to watch video footage. I’ve heard the Beatles used to perform at this dive bars in Germany before they became big and every concert broke out in a chair throw, all out bar brawl. I’d want to be hiding in a corner somewhere out of the line of fire, but it’d be cool to see one of those concerts. 

What would you say is the biggest difference between the Holly of 2007 and the Holly of 2009?

Honestly, 007 Holly makes me a little nervous. Not just because she’s always climbing things and flipping off of them, but because 009 Holly knew exactly what she wanted and why and I just keep thinking that maybe older Holly was sure of herself because of all the events that happen between 2007 and 2009. And what if I’m messing that up? I guess it’s just a lot of pressure with 007 Holly, being the one who knows more. I’m not used to that responsibility.

In the same vein, if Holly could time travel and was able to meet the Jackson of 2007, what might she say is the biggest difference between him and the one she loves in 2009?

First off, the 17 year old version of me would NOT have asked 009 Holly out. Not in a million years. She would have scared the crap out of me. All her talk about the future and what she wanted to do with her life…I’ve made some progress in two years, but even the 19 year old me struggled with idea of Holly being more than a summer fling. Just because I was too afraid to call us anything at first, that doesn’t mean I ever wanted to give her up. It’s complicated. Very complicated. And that’s proof that younger me, would have run away at the first sign of his attachment to this girl.

What’s your favorite time travel-related movie or book?

Back To The Future, hands down. The second movie is my favorite.

If you could travel back to just before Julie started putting you on paper and plant in her head one characteristic or facet of yourself that you wish she’d included in your story, what would it be?

Before Courtney died, before my life got all screwed up, my dad and I were really close. He even coached my Little League teams all the way through 8th grade. In middle school, I wasn’t really into girls yet or parties or drinking. I was all baseball and comic books and music. Courtney, on the other hand, was an angsty, whiny, typical 13 year old girl and I think hanging out with me, was a nice break from her girl drama for my dad. So, I guess it’d be nice to have that part of me back that looked at my dad as someone who always had the answer and always did the right thing. He was strict and old fashioned when it came to manners and responsibility, but he let me screw up and didn’t judge me. He and I are totally cool now, but we had a rough few years and I’d love to have him there for me in those years after Courtney died. But I get why he pulled away.

What year do you think Adam would most like to visit if he was able to accompany you on one of your time jumps?

The depths of Adam Silverman’s mind are honestly too great and mysterious for me to be able to answer this question.

Let’s say you suddenly have a glitch in your ability and you can only travel back to one specific moment with Holly. Which moment would you be content to relive again and again?

Is this blog PG only? Oh well…you asked so, I’ll answer. I’d easily go back to the first night we slept together but only if it includes the hours that followed. I’ve replayed all of it so many times I might not even need to do a time jump to feel like I’m there. Maybe that seems shallow or overly-hormonal but you know what? It really was pretty awesome. And even though I couldn’t say it at the time, I think that’s when I stopped falling in love with her and let myself start being in love with her.

Give us a one-word teaser that describes what you go through emotionally in Vortex.

Shell.

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions Jackson! This is the second-to-last stop on the tour, so be sure and check out the conclusion tomorrow at Through the Looking Glass! You can also view the full schedule to go back through all the fun guest posts, interviews, and giveaways over the course of the tour. More information on Julie and her books can be found here:

Website
Twitter
Facebook
Amazon Buy Link

GIVEAWAY

Thanks to Sara at Through the Looking Glass and Julie Cross, I have one signed paperback copy of Tempest to give away on the blog today! YAY! To enter please just fill out the Rafflecopter form below. This giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents only and will run through midnight EST on Monday, December 17th after which time a winner will be chosen and emailed. Good luck everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

TEMPEST

The year is 2009. Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun.

That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future.

Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities.

But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler. Recruit… or kill him.

Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly… and possibly the entire world.

Review: Tempest

TEMPEST
Tempest #1
Julie Cross
Young Adult/Time Travel
352 pages
St. Martin's Press
Released in paperback this week!
Received from Through The Looking Glass for blog tour

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
The year is 2009.  Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun.

That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future.

Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities.

But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler.  Recruit… or kill him.

Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly… and possibly the entire world.

MY THOUGHTS
Tempest, like most time travel books, raises a series of fascinating philosophical questions; ones that start out fairly simple with various what-ifs, but the longer we think on them, the more complex they become until we’ve tangled ourselves in to a series of intriguing knots that keep us entertained for the duration of the story and long after. As fun, and sometimes mind-numbing, as pondering the ramifications of time travel can be, a perhaps more interesting aspect of Tempest is its focus on Jackson’s romance with Holly, as his return to the past alters his initial meeting with her and creates an entirely new path for their relationship to tread. It’s engrossing to watch as Jackson tries to charm a girl who’s already his two years in the future, and we can’t help but wonder how this change of events will affect them as a couple.

One of the more complex questions that arises from Jackson and Holly's unique situation is if love is in some ways circumstantial – are there such things as the right time and the right place to meet someone? Have certain events occurred in our lives to shape us into the people we are currently, thereby allowing us to fit snugly with someone else when we might not otherwise without those specific pieces in place? It’s made clear to us that the Holly of 2007 is a different young woman than the Holly of 2009, a spontaneity to this younger version that 009 Holly has traded in for a more reserved and careful demeanor, making her an almost entirely separate character from the girl we first meet. Thinking about Jackson’s struggle to adapt his feelings for the woman he knows intimately to the one that’s currently standing before him is something that keeps us up late at night, questioning our own lives and relationships and how they might have been if just one tiny event in our lives had turned out differently.

With many time travel stories, the sheer weight of possibility sits heavy on our shoulders, the aforementioned what-ifs at times requiring us to take a step away from the story to get our thoughts in order before we tackle the infinite complexity of defying time once again. Luckily for us with this tale, Ms. Cross manages to present the rules and parameters of her time travel world in rather simplistic fashion, not so simplistic as it feels dumbed-down or as though she’s speaking slowly to make sure we understand, but rather she gradually introduces us to the theories put forth by Jackson and friend Adam to give us ample time to absorb information before we move on to the next complication.

Overall, Tempest is a story that leaves a great deal of space in between the lines on the pages, providing us with plenty of room to make interpretations, question motives, and watch as the line between the good guys and bad guys blurs the harder we stare at it. We’re riveted from page one and never lose interest until we reach the last page, the conclusion of this first installment leaving our hearts full to bursting with questions and objections, even as we recognize the reasoning behind Jackson’s decisions. Only a month left until the release of Vortex, and it certainly cannot get in my hands quickly enough.

Rating: 4/5

*Be sure and check back tomorrow for a character interview with Jackson and a giveaway!

Review: Death and the Girl Next Door

DEATH AND THE GIRL NEXT DOOR
Darynda Jones
Paranormal Young Adult
274 pages
St. Martin's Press
Available Now
Received from publisher via NetGalley for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Ten years ago, Lorelei's parents disappeared without a trace.  Raised by her grandparents and leaning on the support of her best friends, Lorelei is finally beginning to accept the fact that her parents are never coming home.  For Lorelei, life goes on.

High school is not quite as painful as she thinks it will be, and things are as normal as they can be.  Until the day the school's designated loner, Cameron Lusk, begins to stalk her, turning up where she least expects it,  standing outside her house in the dark, night after night.  Things get even more complicated when a new guy—terrifying, tough, sexy Jared Kovach—comes to school.  Cameron and Jared instantly despise each other and Lorelei seems to be the reason for their animosity.  What does Jared know about her parents?  Why does Cameron tell Jared he can't have Lorelei?  And what will any of them do when Death comes knocking for real?  

Thrilling, sassy, sexy, and inventive, Darynda Jones's first foray into the world of teens will leave readers eager for the next installment.

MY THOUGHTS
Death and the Girl Next Door is a bit of a surprising read, the synopsis preparing us for a very familiar setup as we assume a love triangle is imminent between Lorelei, new stalker Cameron, and new student in general Jared, but instead we are refreshingly treated to an entirely different dynamic that has us devouring the pages like word consumption addicts. While Jared and Cameron are both competitive to a fault, the conflict causing them to continually and violently clash is thankfully not romantic in nature, allowing us to breathe a sigh of relief even as our anticipation over the true cause of their seemingly mutual hatred grows each time they face off. Every time we worry the story may be crossing into well-known territory, Ms. Jones either throws a road block in our paths to force us to change direction or she has one of her highly entertaining characters charmingly mock whatever situation they’ve found themselves in, thus ensuring we’re either too surprised or too amused to grow complacent.

Lorelei is a joy of a main character, an often self-deprecating woman with wit in spades who has us easily wrapped around her finger in the opening chapters. She at times exhibits typical teenage girl behavior, namely an intense appreciation for Jared’s physical attributes and the effect those attributes have on the butterflies currently taking up residence in her belly, but she prefaces these moments of swooning with a warning to us as readers that we’re about to witness what she calls a “sad part”, something that consists of heart palpitations and general feelings of fluffiness from her burgeoning crush. She’s absurdly adorable and manages to keep calm under stressful situations, and even on the rare occasion when that calm evaporates, she owns up to her reactions and takes responsibility for the mistakes she makes when she acts out of fear.

The highlight of this story is by far the relationship between Lorelei and best friends Brooke and Glitch, friends she’s had since elementary school who match her sparkling wit with enormous personalities of their own. They have a camaraderie that feels authentic and utterly genuine, the easy banter they toss back and forth attesting to the length of their friendship, and we are instantly at ease with all three of them knowing the casual insults they pass back and forth will never be taken as anything other than what was intended. They have no secrets from one another (except for one I believe may exist on Glitch’s part with regard to his feelings for Brooke) and it never once occurs to any of them to keep any information, however extraordinary or unbelievable it may seem, to themselves, instead opting to include the other two in anything and everything they do.

The only minor criticism of this humorous and engrossing first installment is the story at times seems to jump quickly from one plot point to another; a few extra spokes existing in the larger plot wheel than are necessary to move the story forward. There’s a brief snippet with a poltergeist causing problems for two of Lorelei’s classmates that feels a touch superfluous, and we can’t help but want to do away with any such small impediments that keep us from getting back to Jared and his relationship to both Lorelei and Cameron. Overall though, Death and the Girl Next Door is fun and flirty but not without an edge of darkness to balance the light, and Darynda Jones has just become an auto-buy author for me with this hugely gratifying young adult debut.

Rating: 4/5

Double Review: Soul Thief + Forgiven

SOUL THIEF (Demon Trapper's Daughter #2)

FORGIVEN (Demon Trapper's Daughter #3)

Jana Oliver

Paranormal Young Adult

St. Martin's Press

Available Now

Bought/Received from publisher for review

SOUL THIEF (the story from Goodreads)

*the synopsis for Forgiven contains spoilers from Soul Thief, so I'm leaving that out*

Riley Blackthorne is beginning to learn that there are worse things than death by demon. And love is just one of them…

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… 

MY THOUGHTS

Soul Thief and Forgiven are books that build beautifully upon their predecessor, giving us much-desired character growth while intensifying the demonic presence in Atlanta until we’re on the edge of our seats wondering what’s in store for young Riley both physically and emotionally. The world of the demon trappers is a dark one, the number of those fighting evil greatly overwhelmed by the number of demons intent on destroying them, but through it all we have characters who acknowledge they’re outnumbered and yet refuse to accept it, standing strong against an onslaught from Heaven, Hell, and humanity itself. Ms. Oliver does a magnificent job creating her world – one that’s close enough to our own as to be familiar and recognizable, and one that’s richly enhanced by each and every individual that occupies it.

The first book in the series introduced us to Riley Blackthorne, a strong and captivating young woman who challenged us at every turn. Our relationship with her was often troubled due to her relationship with fellow trapper Beck, her lack of maturity in dealing with him hindering our ability to fully support her, but in both Soul Thief and Forgiven we see her put in a great deal of effort to salvage a relationship with the man she’s wanted forever and who rejected her a few years prior. She’s infinitely more patient with him, accepting his verbal jabs without always returning one of her own, and all the while trying–though admittedly sometimes in vain–to open channels of communication with him instead of bottling up her hurt and anger until she can only release it by hurling an insult in his direction.

Riley and Beck are truly the highlights of this series, their relationship a painful dance of want and need accompanied by a healthy dose of fear that they are unworthy of the other person’s love. While both sides make huge steps forward in dealing with one another, things are in no way easy for them, and they often revert back to what they know best – defending themselves and their hearts through offense. Riley and Beck are both a colorful array of emotional bruises, making it extraordinarily difficult to watch as they poke the other person's tender flesh with a practiced finger, knowing just where to touch to inflict the most damage before retreating behind the armor both have painstakingly donned to protect themselves. Where the Riley and Beck of The Demon Trapper’s Daughter repeatedly cut one another with their verbal blades before retreating to separately lick their wounds, the Riley and Beck of Soul Thief and Forgiven don’t always run after leaving the other bleeding, instead they attempt to acknowledge the wound and the reasons for causing it so they can avoid the same injury moving forward.

Forgiven concludes with Riley and Beck both in difficult situations, but the final lines leave us with a great deal of hope for the future, everything we’ve learned about Riley thus far telling us she’s a fighter who won’t back down from a challenge. Foretold promises to be the most intense of the series, things between our two protagonists finally reaching the point where they’re going to have to decide if simply wanting to be together will be enough to make it happen, and I for one can't wait to get my hands on it.

Rating: 4/5