Summary: In mystic Sleepy Hollow, succubus Lily Night put her prom date, Campbell Jones, into a coma after a night of wild, unbridled sex. She has steered clear of mortals ever since, afraid of damaging them or worse, not to mention the inconvenience of knocking out the power every time they have sex.
Successful architect Campbell Jones has lived with strange powers and a sexy secret since that prom night. He’s buried himself in work to forget the woman who’d dumped him at the ER then vanished from his life without a trace.
Neither Lily nor Campbell have forgotten that night or the love they’d shared. Will a 1Night Stand help them bury their past?
Review:
REVIEW WILL BE POSTED AFTER 12PM.
About this Author: Multi-published author of HEALING HEARTS, a sensual Regency romance from Carina Press; SLEEPY HOLLOW DREAMS, an erotic paranormal from The Wild Rose Press; LIGHTNING and THUNDER, both erotic paranormals for Decadent Publishing's 1Night Stand series. A former award-winning newspaper reporter and columnist, Taryn currently slaves away in the booby-trapped field of law, escaping into the delicious world of romance every chance she gets. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, Hudson Valley RWA, RWA’s Beau Monde chapter, RWA’s Fantasy, Futuristic & Paranormal chapter, and RWA’s Electronic & Small Press Authors Network. She lives in the historical Hudson River valley region outside of New York City, where the shopping is fabulous, the scenery is awesome, and things can very often be relied upon to go bump in the night. Taryn loves to hear from you! Find her on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, and her author page at Amazon.com. Check out the CONTACT page to email her and feel free to leave comments on the BLOG.
Title: Bloodrose Series: Nightshade #3 Author: Andrea Cremer Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Supernatural Fiction Elements: Shapeshifters, Werewolves, Witches, Incubi, Succubi Publisher: Philomel Books, Penguin Group Format: Hardcover, 407 Pages ISBN: 978-0-399-25612-7 Release Date: January 3, 2012 Source: Borrowed from Wentworth Library Rating: 5/5
Tagline(s): Is true love worth the ultimate sacrifice?
Summary: Calla has always welcomed war.
But now that the final battle is upon her, there's more at stake than fighting. There's saving Ren, even if it incurs Shay's wrath. There's keeping Ansel safe, even if he's been branded a traitor. There's proving herself as the pack's alpha, facing unnameable horrors, and ridding the world of the Keeper's magic once and for all. And then there's deciding what to do when the war ends. If Calla makes it out alive, that is.
In the final installment of the Nightshade trilogy, New York Times bestselling author Andrea Cremer creates a novel with twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat until its final pages. A dynamic end to a breathtaking trilogy.
Review:
Bloodrose is the final book in the amazing Nightshade series. Bloodrose is full of twists and turns that will leave you reeling.
I viewed this book as really bittersweet. It seemed that for every victory there was a tragedy, for every joy a sorrow. There was a moment toward the end that left me completely heartbroken. I had to stop reading so I could collect myself.
My favorite part of the whole book was the romance. I enjoy reading stories involving love triangles and anticipating who will eventually end up with who. Though Calla decided she wouldn't choose between Shay and Ren until the war was over, I felt that Ren was never really given a fair shot. It seemed like Calla's decision was made that night in the garden with Shay in Wolfsbane. She always seems to be pushing Ren away instead of giving him the shot he deserved. As a member of Team Ren that kind of bothered me. There were a lot of great swoony moments between both couplings, but my favorite was the shower scene with Calla and Ren.
This is a completely personal opinion, and I'm not saying that I didn't like Bloodrose (I did indeed love this book), but I was kind of disappointed with how the book ended. It wasn't anything like I thought it would end. Most series finales leave a feeling that the characters are still living on and the story continues, but the end of Bloodrose seems more final. Though I didn't like the ending myself, I think that there will be quite a few who do.
This may be the end of the Nightshade series' main story, there is the prequel, RIFT, to look forward to in the summer.
Quote:
I'd always welcomed was, but when the last battle ends, what life is left for a warrior?
- Chapter 31, Page 395
Book Trailer:
About this Author:
Andrea Cremer spent her
childhood daydreaming and roaming the forests and lakeshores of Northern
Wisconsin. She now lives in Minnesota, but she thinks of her homeland
as the “Canadian Shield” rather than the Midwest.
Andrea has always loved writing and has never stopped writing, but
she only recently plunged into the deep end of the pool that is
professional writing. When she’s not writing, Andrea teaches history at a
very nice liberal arts college in St. Paul.
In the little spare time she can find, Andrea stares up at trees,
rescues infant rabbits from predatory cats, and invents names for pug
puppies with her husband. She has an unfortunate tendency to spill
things – white carpets beware!
Her debut novel, NIGHTSHADE, the first of a YA fantasy series, will be published in fall 2010 by Penguin (Philomel).
Title: If I Die Series: Soul Screamers #5 Author: Rachel Vincent Genre: Young Adult Supernatural Elements: Bean sidhes, Reapers, Incubi, Demons Publisher: Harlequin TEEN, Harlequin Books ISBN-13: 9780373210329 ISBN: 0373210329 Release: September 20, 2011 Rating: 5/5
Tagline(s): The last thing you hear before you die. / Nobody wants to be this teachers pet.
Summary:
The entire school's
talking about the gorgeous new math teacher, Mr. Beck. Everyone except
Kaylee Cavanaugh. After all, Kaylee's no ordinary high-school junior.
She's a banshee—she screams when someone dies.
But the next scream might be for Kaylee.
Yeah—it's a shock to her, too. So to distract herself, Kaylee's
going to save every girl in school. Because that hot new teacher is
really an incubus who feeds on the desire of unsuspecting students. The
only girls immune to his lure are Kaylee and Sabine, her boyfriend's
needy ex-girlfriend. Now the unlikely allies have to get rid of Mr.
Beck…before he discovers they aren't quite human, either.
But Kaylee's borrowed lifeline is nearing its end. And those who care about her will do anything to save her life.
Anything.
Review:
Characters
Kaylee Cavanaugh is a bean sidhe. She screams---or sings---for the souls of the dying. She's beaten and endured many challenges, but this time she may not be so lucky. With less than a week left of her borrowed lifeline, Kaylee will have to, somehow, get rid of the incubus pretending to be her math teacher, and come to terms with her own impending death. Tod Hudson is a reaper---and when he was living, a male bean sidhe. Tod has been trying to get Kaylee to realize that Nash (his younger brother) is not the right person Kaylee should be with. Tod will do pretty much anything for Kaylee. His feelings for her make his sadness over not being able to prevent her death even more unbearable.
Nash Hudson is Kaylee's boyfriend and Tod's younger brother. Being a male bean sidhe, Nash thought he would have hundreds of years to be with Kaylee. But the news of her impending death causes Nash to jump back on the frost bandwagon.
Sabine Campbell is a mara---a nightmare. She's Nash's ex-girlfriend, but she's still in love with him and trying to get him back. She's always there for Nash when Kaylee isn't. Especially when Nash was going through withdrawal from frost. Where Kaylee can't trust or accept Nash as he is now, Sabine does without question. With Kaylee's death on the horizon, Sabine is hoping to finally get Nash back.
Emma Marshall is Kaylee's best friend and 100% human. She's fallen victim to the supernatural elements in Kaylee's life countless times, and this time is no different. Emma falls under Mr. Beck's influence with ease until Kaylee comes to the rescue. But all the Netherworld creatures would never be able to tear Emma from Kaylee's side. The news of Kaylee's death hits Emma pretty hard when she realizes all the things they'll never be able to do together.
Mr. Beck is the new math teacher who just happens to be an incubus---another Netherworld nasty. He's very determined to have a son and will impregnate as many girls as it takes for him to finally have that son. But when Kaylee messes up his careful planning for the soul of his unborn son, he goes after Kaylee's.
Theme
Knowledge and acceptance of one's own death is one theme in If I Die. When Kaylee first learns that her borrowed lifeline is nearing it's expiration date, she's completely shocked and quickly goes into denial. As the initial shock wears off, she slowly begins to accept that there is nothing that can be done to stop her death. So she sets about doing one last thing to help those around her. This is her way of accepting and dealing with the knowledge that she's going to die.
Another theme is grief. Though Kaylee is not dead yet, her loved ones are in some stage of the grief process. Kaylee's father is in the denial stage and tries to find some way to keep her from dying. In his mind, she is NOT going to die. Tod is in the guilt stage because there is no way that he can prevent Kaylee's death. That causes him great pain and guilt. Nash is in the anger stage and tries to gain more time with Kaylee. He even goes so far as to use his Influence on Kaylee to get more alone time with her. Emma is in the depression stage and reflects on all that she'll never be able to do with Kaylee. This causes Emma to feel the loneliness Kaylee's absence will leave behind. And finally, Kaylee is in the acceptance stage. She knows there's no way to prevent her death. So she accepts it for what it is and tries to make it easier for those around her.
Plot
The plot leading up to the climax of the story is full of suspense and drama. If the wait for the release of the book wasn't enough, we're kept waiting even longer for the part everyone's waited for. But that's not a bad thing. The drama and suspense build up the excitement for the finale.
After we learn Kaylee's fate at the end, we're left wondering what could possibly happen next.
I like the use of the Dylan Thomas poem when Tod is speaking to Kaylee about her death:
"It's just a relief to hear you sounding less than rational and perfectly accepting of your own death. For a while it looked like you were going to 'go gentle into that good night,' or whatever. And that's not you, Kaylee."
"You like it better when I 'rage, rage against the dying of the light?'"
"I like it when you 'rage, rage' against anything. It makes you look fierce and...alive."
The poem itself has a message that no matter how one has lived their life or what one feels at the end they should die fighting. It implies that one should not die without fighting for one's life, or after life. That death is unavoidable, but one should fight death. Not for one's own sake, but for the hope and closure for those they leave behind.
For those who have never read this poem or don't know the meaning of it, it may seem meaningless and unimportant. But for those who do know the poem and message, they will see the significance.
Tod is telling Kaylee that she shouldn't be so accepting of her death. That she should be fighting to the very end, instead of just sitting back and waiting for it to happen. That even though her death is unavoidable, she should fight in the face of death, just as the always fought through life. And fight she does.
Setting
**ATTENTION!!**
**THERE ARE SPOILERS AFTER THIS POINT!!**
The school is the place where a lot of Netherworld activity is centered. It's also where Emma almost gets trapped by Mr. Beck before Kaylee interferes. It's the place where Kaylee kisses Tod and Nash finds them in the act. Kaylee feels humiliated after the very public fight.
The Netherworld is a place that Kaylee never wants to go back to if it can be helped. A place full of supernatural creatures. But Kaylee must cross over if she wants to save Emma from Mr. Beck. What she discovers there is something she never would have thought could happen. Tod has handed the reaper charged with reaping Kaylee's soul over to the hellion Avari. This is when Kaylee first recognizes her growing feelings for Tod, but she also feels regret for realizing it too late.
Lakeside is another place Kaylee never wants to go back to. Lakeside is the portion of the hospital that houses mental patients. It's the place Kaylee was sent for her "panic attacks." And even though she now knows she's not crazy, Lakeside still instills that fear in her that she really is. But if Kaylee wants to get rid of Mr. Beck, she needs to sneak in and speak to a former "student" of his. With Tod's help and support, she's able to accomplish what she set out to do.
And finally, there's Kaylee's home---specifically her bedroom. This is where Mr. Beck attacks Kaylee, fatally wounding her. But she does manage to pull the knife out of her stomach and kill the incubus. She's able to call Tod and he gets her to the hospital. On the way, Kaylee is more scared of seeing Tod crying than knowing that she's dying. Because reapers don't cry and she made Tod cry.
My Final Thoughts:
I truly believe that If I Die is the best book in the Soul Screamers series so far. It's full of suspense and drama, emotional overload, and hope in the face of death. It's going to take a lot to beat this one. What could possibly happen in the next book?
I really love the developments between Kaylee and Tod. When I first started reading the Soul Screamers series I was all for Nash, but once he started using frost he just became annoying. I really believe what Tod said when he told Kaylee that Nash wasn't the right person for her. I'm glad that Kaylee finally realized that as the truth. Team Tod forever! Kaylee is one lucky girl, that's for sure.
Quotes:
Chapter 10, Pages 136-137
"I'm not a saint, and I don't want to be. I just want to be normal. I want to have fights with my dad, and secrets with my best friend, and sex with my boyfriend. But most of all, I want to not be dead in a few days. I'm not done living! And I can't fit everything else I want to do into the next ninety-six hours, and no matter how many dying wishes I make, that's not going to change. And I hate it!"
Chapter 16, Page 244
"There's a good kind of crazy, Kaylee. It's the kind that makes you think about things that make your head hurt, because not thinking about them is the coward's way out. The kind that makes you touch people who bruise your soul, just because they need to be touched. This is the kind of crazy that lets you stare out into the darkness and rage at eternity, while it stares back at you, ready to swallow you whole. I've seen you fight, Kaylee. I've seen you step into that darkness for someone else, then claw your way out, bruised, but still standing. You're that kind of crazy, and I live in that darkness. Together, we'd take crazy to a whole new level."
About this Author:
A resident of San Antonio,
Rachel Vincent has a BA in English and an overactive imagination, and
consistently finds the latter to be more practical. She shares her
workspace with two black cats (Kaci and Nyx) and her # 1 fan. Rachel is
older than she looks-seriously-and younger than she feels, but remains
convinced that for every day she spends writing, one more day will be
added to her lifespan.
Title: Lightning
