Tagged: vampires
The Forever Song by Julie Kagawa
(Cover picture courtesy of (un)Conventional Bookviews.)
VENGEANCE WILL BE HERS
Allison Sekemoto once struggled with the question: human or monster?
With the death of her love, Zeke, she has her answer.
MONSTER
Allie will embrace her cold vampire side to hunt down and end Sarren, the psychopathic vampire who murdered Zeke. But the trail is bloody and long, and Sarren has left many surprises for Allie and her companions—her creator, Kanin, and her blood brother, Jackal. The trail is leading straight to the one place they must protect at any cost—the last vampire-free zone on Earth, Eden. And Sarren has one final, brutal shock in store for Allie.
In a ruined world where no life is sacred and former allies can turn on you in one heartbeat, Allie will face her darkest days. And if she succeeds, triumph is short-lived in the face of surviving forever alone.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
I seriously had my doubts about Julie Kagawa being able to end her Blood of Eden trilogy well. It’s a very complicated world with more problems than you can count so how could she possibly come to a satisfying conclusion? Even when reading it I had my doubts but I didn’t need to. Julie Kagawa pulled it off once again.
I’m seriously impressed. With that horrible cliffhanger at the end of The Eternity Cure I was very anxious about getting my hands on the final book. Allison is still brooding from Zeke’s death and she’s turning into the monster that her brother Jackal is, the kind of vampire Kanin tried to prevent her from becoming. I can’t go into much detail without some major spoilers but let’s just say Allie’s true colours show through when she finally decides what kind of vampire she wants to be.
The plot is insane. There are so many twists and turns that I could barely keep up. Some were completely unexpected whereas others were fairly predictable but overall it was an exciting, surprising plot. The ending wasn’t abrupt in the way that some authors end trilogies, but instead there was a nice detailed epilogue that gives you an idea of what will happen to this horrifying world of humans, vampires and rabids. There is, of course, a little ambiguity left but I was satisfied by the fact that most loose ends were tied off.
As usual, the characters were amazing. Allie changed so much over the course of the story and we learned quite a bit about Kanin and Jackal. All the characters that the plot centered around were well-developed and I really connected with them on a deeper level compared to the previous books. I was honestly very surprised about how connected I felt to the characters because I haven’t been emotionally involved in a book for at least a month now. It was a nice change.
Basically, if you’ve read the previous two books you’re going to love The Forever Song. I know I did. So go ahead and pre-order it! It releases on April 15 of this year.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz
(Cover picture courtesy of Confessions of a Book Addict.)
“When the Mayflower set sail in 1620, it carried on board the men and women who would shape America: Miles Standish; John Alden; Constance Hopkins. But some among the Pilgrims were not pure of heart; they were not escaping religious persecution. Indeed, they were not even human. They were vampires. The vampires assimilated quickly into the New World. Rising to levels of enormous power, wealth, and influence, they were the celebrated blue bloods of American society. The Blue Bloods vowed that their immortal status would remain a closely guarded secret. And they kept that secret for centuries. But now, in New York City, the secret is seeping out. Schuyler Van Alen is a sophomore at a prestigious private school. She prefers baggy, vintage clothes instead of the Prada and pearls worn by her classmates, and she lives with her reclusive grandmother in a dilapated mansion. Schuyler is a loner…and happy that way. Suddenly, when she turns fifteen, there is a visible mosaic of blue veins on her arm. She starts to crave raw food and she is having flashbacks to ancient times. Then a popular girl from her school is found dead… drained of all her blood. Schuyler doesn’t know what to think, but she wants to find out the secrets the Blue Bloods are keeping. But is she herself in danger? Could those vampire legends really be true?“
Where do I start with a book like this?
Since I usually gush about characters, let’s start with them, shall we? I hated the characters in this book. I didn’t just passively not care about them, I actively wished for their doom. Schuyler is such a stereotypical Mary Sue that I almost stopped reading. She’s the drop-dead gorgeous outcast who looks good in clothing that could be generously described as garbage. She does everything perfectly, is never wrong and Melissa de la Cruz always harps on how good she looks in her awful clothes. Bliss, the girl from Texas, is no less of a Mary Sue. She’s the typical bouncy, happy-go-lucky southern girl who is transformed into a posh New York upperclass girl by the resident It-Girl, Mimi. Don’t get me started on how awful Mimi is. She’s just the typical mean girl with no depth and not even a single trait added to make her even mildly different from the stereotypical It Girl.
The plot is non-existent. I felt like all of the characters were just wandering around aimlessly in their designer clothing (which is described in excruciating detail) waiting for something to happen in their vapid, meaningless lives. When we finally get introduced to the vampire aspect the premise could have been good, but it got lost in the tedium of the first part of the book. By the time Melissa de la Cruz actually got around to explaining anything I was already past caring. Oh, and of course the main character is special. She’s not only a vampire, but a special one at that.
It’s only due to my stubbornness that I finished this book at all. The writing seemed to be that of a wish-fulfilling teenage girl, the characters were just stock characters with no depth and the plot didn’t exist until the book was almost over. It sort of got interesting at the end of the novel, but not nearly enough to even make me consider picking up the next book. If you’re looking to read this series my advice for you is don’t. It’s a waste of paper and a waste of your time.
I give this book 0.5/5 stars.
From the Ashes by K.L. Kerr
(Cover picture courtesy of K. L. Kerr’s website.)
For a simple eternity, all Michael Roman has to do is let it all go: the mystery surrounding his maker’s murder, the memory of his mortal life, and the basic idea that killing is wrong.
“From the Ashes” chronicles Michael’s early vampire life spent fighting on the Tournament circuit and falling for another vampire’s familiar.
This is a Blood of Ages Companion Novel. It can be read independently of or in addition to the Blood of Ages series by K.L. Kerr; if reading as part of the series, it is advised to read at any point after “The Genesis (Blood of Ages, #1)”.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
In The Genesis we got to see Fox through the eyes of another person. But in some ways I actually like the companion novel From the Ashes even better because we get to see Michael’s evolution from regular guy to Fox, the toughened Tournament fighter.
The plot is not exactly fast-paced in the beginning because it focuses more on Michael’s character and his transformation to a vampire. Of course in the beginning he has no idea he’s a vampire until the mysterious Vincent rescues him from a police officer determined to turn him in to the ACA. After that the plot is a little slow while Michael gains his bearings in this terrifying new world of vampires. But then the plot starts to pick up when Vincent decides it’s time Michael became useful and throws him into the Tournaments to prove his fighting capabilities.
It’s there that poor Michael meets Amy, who is the familiar of Chino, the Tournament organizer. Falling for another vampire’s familiar isn’t exactly the greatest thing to do and it explains why Michael is so distant toward Catrina in The Genesis. Sometimes companion novels or novellas don’t really add any backstory or greater understanding of the world of the original novels, but this is certainly not the case with From the Ashes.
Sure, I suppose you could read From the Ashes before you read The Genesis, but then The Genesis won’t be nearly as awesome if you already know Fox’s tragic backstory. I don’t think reading From the Ashes will be required to understand the second book in Blood of Ages, but it certainly gives Fox and Dayson city a lot more depth. If you loved the first book, I highly recommend reading this companion novel.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
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Disarming by Alexia Purdy
(Cover picture courtesy of Kristina’s Books & More.)
The world has changed. One must adapt to survive or hold on to the crumbling shards of humanity.
April continues to hold her fragile world together, but the ties that hold her family together are quickly unraveling. Rumors of a massive human underground settlement draw her to the shadows of the city once more in search of other survivors more like her, even with the hybrid vampires opposing her every move.
The darkness hides secrets along with the continued threat the Feral Vampires create, but a greater evil hides within the city. Something tells April that the humans will be less than welcoming of her, and that’s if she can find them before the Vampires do. Joining sides with the enemy might be the only choice she has left.
[Full disclosure: Alexia Purdy provided me with a free ebook in exchange for an honest review.]
And April’s back, this time with more romance, more blood and more excitement than the first book!
Remember how the only thing I really had to criticize in Reign of Blood was the unrealistic dialogue? Well, that’s mostly resolved in Disarming, thank goodness. We get a lot more character interaction so good dialogue is essential and although it’s far from perfect, it’s so much better. As for the plot, it’s just as fast-paced as ever. We start out with April and the lovesick Rye trying to solve the mystery of a large colony of humans still living in the city and once we learn the truth of their colony everything spirals out of control.
I don’t think I’m spoiling too much when I say that yes, there’s a love triangle in Disarming. Is it annoying? No. Is it believable and does it develop organically? Absolutely! I love that huge twist Alexia Purdy used the love triangle to create because heaven forbid love triangles have a purpose in the plot other than to create needless drama. Just when you think everything will develop perfectly between April and Rye despite April’s reluctance, an old friend from the first book pops up and we have ourselves the first good love triangle in a long time.
April and Rye are still awesome characters and I have to say that April really did a lot more maturing in Disarming. She was already mature, but she becomes even more like an adult in this book because so much happens to her and her poor little brother. Some of the choices April has to make in the last part of the book show how much she’s changed and they definitely make me eager for the third book, Amplified.
Aside from the crazy fast plot, my favourite element of the book is the actual vampires. You have your feral vampires, your traditional sane vampires, humans and then there are hybrids like April. I don’t want to give too much away, but you’ll discover a terrifying new type of vampire by the end of the book. It just goes to show that not everything is as it seems and like all species, vampires also evolve as time goes on. Truly, even if you aren’t a big vampire fan you’ll love Disarming.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
V-Wars by Jonathon Maberry
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
A sweeping, threaded narrative of the global phenomenon known as the Vampire Wars! Mankind is silently infected by a millennia-old bacteria unknowingly exhumed by a scientific expedition in Antarctica. Now, in some rare cases, a person’s so-called “junk DNA” becomes activated, and depending on their racial and ethnic heritage they begin to manifest one of the many diverse forms of the “others” that are the true basis for the legends of supernatural creatures. These aren’t your usual vampires and werewolves – it goes much deeper than that. Conceived by Jonathan Maberry, V Wars features stories from various “frontlines” as reported by such contributors as Nancy Holder, Yvonne Navarro, James A. Moore, Gregory Frost, John Everson, Keith R.A. DeCandido, and Scott Nicholson (as well as Maberry himself, of course). The result is a compelling series of tales that create a unique chronicle of mankind’s response to this sudden, hidden threat to humanity.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
As much as I hate to compare the two books, there really is only one way to describe V-Wars: a poorly done vampire version of World War Z.
At first I absolutely loved the idea of Jonathon Maberry compiling stories from other authors and weaving them together to create a narrative of a vampire outbreak. I mean, it’s Jonathon Maberry! He did zombies so well in Dust & Decay that I was sure V-Wars was going to be a hit. What could possibly go wrong?
Well, the main thing that frustrated me was not so much the premise but the fact that I kept asking myself while reading: Could there possibly be a more complicated way to tell this story?! We actually follow the stories of quite a few characters but the table of contents seems to have been drawn up by a child picking story names randomly out of a hat. The vampire virus came out of Antarctica from a scientific expedition but we only actually meet the people who started the outbreak at the end of the novel. There is neither rhyme nor reason to the chronology or when a new character would pop up to tell their story. Or their stories would end randomly and we never heard from them again.
This lack of a logical timeline certainly affected my enjoyment of the story. Sure, some of the characters were compelling, but others were just plain boring. Besides, it’s hard to actually connect with characters when they randomly disappear, are forgotten, or barely get any page time at all. Michael Fayne would have been interesting if his story was told in a more linear fashion and I suppose Ruksana was compelling, but again there’s the seemingly random order of the stories messing everything up. This book is only 384 pages and yet I felt like I was reading a 1000+ page book where the novelist has decided to include the viewpoints of a cast of characters worthy of George R. R. Martin.
Due to the illogical ordering, I really had a hard time getting into V-Wars. Some stories were fast-paced and others were unbearably dull. It was sort of like getting an old car to start on a cold morning: just when you think you’re ready to go it dies on you. There is no real climax, no peak of the vampire war that makes you think humanity is doomed. Instead, the ending is ambiguous with Luther Swann basically saying that there are more vampires out there not declaring themselves and that humanity is probably in trouble if they keep persecuting them.
Overall, as much as I hate to say it, V-Wars was a flop for me. I wouldn’t recommend it; you’re better off reading World War Z, which is at least told in a logical order.
I give this book 1.5/5 stars.