Hex Hall Reviews

In order of submission... 

I Just Wanna Sit Here and Read!
The Eager Readers
Mel's Books and Info
My 5 Monkeys
Storywings
Poisoned Rationality

Shut Up! I'm Reading.
The Unread Reader
The Bibliophilic Book Blog

HBIC Reviews:
Parajunkee's View  
What Book is That?

Embers - Top Reviewer

Amanda-Lee @ Storywings!

Support Amanda's blog by becoming a follower!

Here is her review:

Review: Embers

Series: Embers – Book 1

Author: Laura Bickle

No. Of Pages: 359

Release Date: 30 March 2010

TRUTH BURNS.

Unemployment, despair, anger – visible and invisible unrest feed the undercurrent of Detroit’s unease. A city increasingly invaded by phantoms now faces a malevolent force that further stokes fear and chaos throughout the city.

 

Anya Kalinczyk spends her days as an arson investigator with the Detroit Fire Department, and her nights pursuing malicious spirits with a team of eccentric ghost hunters. Anya – who is the rarest type of psychic medium, a Lantern – suspects a supernatural arsonist is setting blazes to summon a fiery ancient entity that will leave the city in cinders. By Devil’s Night, the spell will be complete, unless Anya – with the help of her salamander familiar and the paranormal investigating team – can stop it.

 

Anya’s accustomed to danger and believes herself inured to loneliness and loss. But this time she’s risking everything: her city, her soul, and a man who sees and accepts her for everything she is. Keeping all three safe will be the biggest challenge she’s ever faced.

 

My Thoughts:

 

Embers wasn’t what it could have been.

 

After an interesting start things started happening that were just plain odd, and not in a good way.

The storyline about a fire investigator was intriguing, it’s just a pity that we had about two chapters of investigative work and the rest was filler.

 

Anya presents as an interesting character, she is intelligent, quick-witted and gutsy. Anya is a Lantern, a fire elemental, and I just wish in one book involving powers that someone would actually be inquisitive enough to explore what they can do and be completely ignorant of them until halfway through the middle of the story. It became quite boring seeing how much Drake, the evil guy who is also a Lantern could do that Anya couldn’t.

 

My favourite character would have to be Sparky, which would be inevitable for most people as he is a funny little creature who is like a playful puppy. Sparky is a salamander with a taste for electrical currents and a love for his plastic glow worm.

 

The other secondary characters didn’t really fit in with the story, some were meant to, but others just didn’t work.

 

Ciro was excellent, smart and dependable. Jules was annoying because he was an overbearing bible basher that took everyone around him for granted, he was too narrow minded to really fit in with what he was supposed to be doing. Max was a pointless character who caused too much trouble, not in a funny way though, in a what the hell are you doing kind of way. Max didn’t bring anything interesting to the table at all. Katie is a witch, but I kept getting the feeling that she was fake, for all of the magical beings around her she just didn’t square up with her massages and salt throwing, and yet she relied upon for her “talents”. She just didn’t really work as a character.

 

Brian goes both ways for me; he’s almost a nerdy version of tall, dark and handsome. He also seems too good for Anya, and he was. He fell into a coma early into the novel, and it seemed like that was just so Bickle could get him out of the way while Anya consorted with other men whilst trying to convince herself she was in love with Brian. 

 

The sex scene was kind of pointless, and I’m a person who likes a bit of smut in her novels, but the fact that the love scene was lacking the love interest and was just a one-night stand with some dude was completely irrelevant. 

 

I have been taught when writing that if it doesn’t attribute to character development or the storyline, it’s not worth putting in. Bickle has obviously never heard this saying.

 

I know I went on a lot about the characters, but they are what stood out to me this story. There was no storyline, it fizzled out in the first four chapters, it was all Anya, and it was boring.

 

If I manage to snag a free copy of Sparks, from a sale or a contest, I will read it, but I’m not going to go out and buy it based on Embers.

Hex Hall HBIC Review: Emily @ What Book is That?

Title: Hex Hall
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Page Count: 323 pages
Publisher: Disney Hyperion Books
Genre: young adult, fantasy
Copy for review compliments of the public library

50 words or less: Sophie is a witch, and not very good at witchery, which lands her at Hecate, a reform school for supernatural teens who lack self control. Sophie hopes that this will be a place where she can at least fit in and not maim anyone. If only things were that simple.

Oh, Hex Hall. Reading you was fun, for the most part, and that's always a good thing. You were sweet and at times so cute that I wanted to pinch your little cheeks. You incorporated some of my favorite elements; the boarding school, the quirky female narrator, the adventure, the PG but still adorable developing romance, the paranormal element. It was all there, and yet, for all that the ingredients were spot-on, the final product was missing...something.

The widespread influences on this story are pretty much immediately apparent. That wouldn't have been a bad thing, except I spent most of the book being reminded of events in other books and other series, instead of being able to focus on what was going on in this story. In many ways, I feel like Hex Hall was more of a cocktail of other stories than a unique offering in its own right.

Easily my favorite part of the story was Sophie's narrative voice. I loved the use of colloquial phrases, her unique perspective on things, and quotes like this:

There was a sensible part of me somewhere that clutched its pearls and hissed that I better not give up my V-card in a cellar, but when Archer's hands slid under my shirt and onto the skin of my back, I started thinking that a cellar was as good a place as any.

Archer, of course, is the love interest in the book, and while all the raw materials for good romantic tension were there, I felt like that facet of the book needed a little more development. Hopefully, especially in light of the BIG PLOT DEVELOPMENT at the end of the book, that'll be coming in the second book, because even at the end of the story, I wasn't sure what, besides your regular old boy likes girl, girl likes boy hormonal fireworks were attracting to these two.

Which brings me to what is probably my biggest issue with the book. I felt like, in light of how little Sophie knew about the supernatural world, the extent of her power, and the dangers facing her because of her parentage, that her survival to this point was kind of a miracle. I mean, she did have mishaps with her magic, like the dance debacle in the first chapter, but for someone who's a huge target, has unforeseen powers, and has all kinds of wacky creatures in her family tree, that stuff is pretty white bread. I also found myself feeling kind of annoyed after awhile with the fact that literally everyone else in the book knew what was going on, but Sophie didn't. My frustration was directed towards the adult characters, for the most part, because how was Sophie supposed to find out this incredibly important stuff without a) asking impertinent questions, or b) stumbling into situations that a little information would have prevented?

There comes a point where cuteness in a book has to give way to substance, and I didn't quite reach that point with Hex Hall. I'm hoping that more development happens in the next book, both in terms of plot and in character development.

Overall Grade: B-
Blog with Bite Rating: 2/4

*****
Discussion Questions: (possible spoilers ahead!)

Sophie is abandoned by her father for her supposed protection. Do you believe there is anything that justifies abandoning your child? I definitely feel like there's a lot that needs to be explained about Sophie's dad and why he made the choices he did. I get that supernatural creatures of his ilk are incredibly powerful and that that might be dangerous, even deadly, to people around him, but if that's the case, why did everyone tell Sophie she was a witch, instead of what she really was? What was the protection in her being uninformed? It seems like that was just begging for an incident to happen. And, considering how many times Sophie was humiliated by other people knowing stuff she didn't about her own life, family and heritage, it seems like all that came as a result of Sophie being alienated from her family was her not fitting into the supernatural world either.

Did Hex Hall remind you of any other series? Short answer? Yes. Harry Potter, Evernight, you name it. Some of the references were well-done, some were a little overt for my liking. I felt like this book needed a little more original content and a little less deus ex machina and themes that were already done in other books.

Normally when you think of Dark Witches and White Witches, you think good and evil. This series seemed to have a different take on that all together. It almost had an apathetic take on human life with only care taken if their secret might be revealed. Do you find this disturbing or real?Philosophically, I'm a believer that power is power, and what you do with it determines whether you're a good witch or a bad witch, so to speak. I think the doings of the dark witches at Hecate for me were more a reminder that these allegedly dangerous supernatural miscreants were still relatively unsupervised, which seemed like a pretty unwise thing to do.

Looking forward to the next book, or pass on it? Why? You know, I'll probably pick up the next book at some point, just to see how the threads of the story are resolved (or not) but I do think I'll be supporting my local library for that.

Hex Hall - Parajunkee Review

Hex Hall (Book 1) by Rachel Hawkins

Purchased from Amazon.com

Author Blog

PJVs QUICKIE POV:  A light, fun read, Hex Hall entertained me for the couple hours that it took to read this novel. A great book to pick up for a bit of escape time...fans of the teen paranormal genre won't be disappointed, unless you like your books to have some depth. Taken at face value, Hex Hall is what it is, light, airy and entertaining, much like if Wizards of Waverly Place were translated into book form. 

REVIEW: Sophie Mercer is a witch. She found out when she was 12 and since then has been trying to live by incorporating it into her lifestyle.  It is not going so well, especially when her spells inadvertently go wrong. Like the one she casts at prom that led to lots of screaming, some bodily harm, and the girl she tried to help screaming, "Witch!" Hence, the reason Sophie is now attending Hecate Hall, known to the creatures that are forced to attend, as Hex Hall.  Home to faeries, witches, shapeshifters and one vampire, Hex Hall is juvie for the Prodigium (paranormals).

In Sophie's first day there she has alienated and pissed off the three other dark witches (and popular group), crushed on the hottest boy in school and scored as a roommate the only vampire at Hex Hall and a suspected murderer. Sophie has quite a year ahead of her.

When mysterious attacks begin happening on the other witches of Hex Hall all eyes land on Sophie's roommate and only friend, which is only natural considering they have been drained of blood. Even though Sophie wants to believe that her only friend is not responsible for these attacks...she can't help but wonder. In order to exonerate her friend, Sophie must find out exactly who is responsible for these attacks, without becoming a victim herself.

Take Evernight, House of Night, and Harry Potter put them all in a blender...puree. Voilà -- Hex Hall. I can't tell you how they are alike for fear of spoilers so you will just have to take my word for it. Besides the obvious inspirations, Hex Hall did entertain and I found myself enjoying the read.  I was surprised though, considering this book is published through Hyperion Books for Children (Disney), with the amount of grammatical errors that peppered the pages. Tiny tid bits, but they were enough for me to stop and reread.  Someone was slacking in the editing department the day this one got approved. Nothing serious to detract from the overall of this book though.

Likes: Cute and fuzzy characters, I even liked the bad guys. The ending had me quite upset, those betrayals always hurt big time. I could see a younger teen really getting into this story...so kudos. The house/school was well laid out in words, I could totally imagine it and it would translate well to film if it was picked up. Twists and turns kept me on my toes...always finding out more and more as the pages turned.

Dislikes: That it had very obvious influences. It was a bit on the shallow side, Sophie had a lot to deal with and I think her emotions were very well...shallow.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Younger teens should really like this book and there is nothing in the pages for parents to worry about.  It might be a little too light for older readers.  Fans of the above mentioned books and tv shows should get into this one.

Have you read Hex Hall??? Submit your review to Blog with Bite today!



DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. Sophie is abandoned by her father for her supposed protection. Do you believe there is anything that justifies abandoning your child?

Unless Daddy is some kind of monster himself I think separating the child from their parent is never good and in the end wreaks havoc on a child's psyche. Nothing worse than a little girl with abandonment issues, especially when it comes to her future love life. 

SPOILER***

Poor Sophie, abandoned by her father and than later by the boy she is falling in love with, can you imagine how that will pan out in her 20s. Sounds like the makings of good Urban Fantasy novel to me. LOL

2. Did Hex Hall remind you of any other series? SPOILER***

Oh yes indeed. I think I mentioned this a lot in my review. I can see a future made for Disney movie in the making - oh wait I think they might have done a Wizards of Waverly Place movie like this one already.  Not to mention the obvious Evernight parallel: Girl is the paranormal, boy is in the secret society bent on killing said paranormals. Wanna bet what is going to happen in Demonglass??? Said boy realizes that these paranormals aren't what his family has stated they are...and he really loves her, lets run away together (could be wrong but that is what happened in the Evernight series). Then there is the wizarding/witch school which brings Harry Potter to the forefront of my mind, though it did not have that whimsical feel of the Potter series.  But, I do know of another series that is a boarding school, full of witchy vampires...House of Night series.

3. Normally when you think of Dark Witches and White Witches, you think good and evil. This series seemed to have a different take on that all together. It almost had an apathetic take on human life with only care taken if their secret might be revealed. Do you find this disturbing or real?

 Disturbing. I'm reading another novel Necking right now with similar don't-care-if-people-die mentality and personally I find it makes me really not enjoy reading about these characters. It might be real, if paranormals existed, would that uphold the sanctity of human life? Probably not. As a human do I want to think that? Nope.

4. Looking forward to the next book, or pass on it? Why?

I might pass on this one. Even though my tastes in literature run to escapism, I do try to read books with a bit more depth. You can still read light books, that still have an emotional levity to them.  When I pick up these bubble gum books, while entertaining, I still feel like I didn't get anything out of them, but a waste of a few hours while I read. Much like watching a reality television show (but at least when I watch those I feel better about myself in the end, cause I'm not like any of those loons on the tv).

Hex Hall Discussion Questions

1. Sophie is abandoned by her father for her supposed protection. Do you believe there is anything that justifies abandoning your child?
2. Did Hex Hall remind you of any other series?
3. Normally when you think of Dark Witches and White Witches, you think good and evil. This series seemed to have a different take on that all together. It almost had an apathetic take on human life with only care taken if their secret might be revealed. Do you find this disturbing or real?
4. Looking forward to the next book, or pass on it? Why?

Don't forget to vote for May's Blog with Bite selections! Polls over there <<<<<<<

Winner of Dusk!

Winner of Dusk by Lana Griffin

is

Onge!

Congrats...expect the pdf in your email box shortly!

May YA Books

Old Magic by Marianne Curley

His name is Jarrod Thornton. He has blond-red hair to his shoulders, nice clean skin and green eyes like fiery emeralds; but this is not why I can’t drag my eyes off him. There’s something else. Something disturbing…

Kate is at a loss. She meets a boy with extraordinary powers and a bizarre family history that can be traced back to the Middle Ages. But Jarrod doesn’t believe in the paranormal. When Kate tries to convince him that he has supernatural powers that need to be harnessed, he doesn’t take her seriously, and only puts up with her “hocus pocus” notions because he finds her captivating.

However, the dangerous, uncontrolled strengthening of his gift finally convinces Jarrod that he must take Kate’s theories seriously. Together, they embark on a remarkable journey – one which will unravel the mystery that has hung over Jarrod’s family for generations and finds them pitted against immense forces in a battle to undo the past and reshape the future.

Birthmarked by Caragh O'Brien

After climate change, on the north shore of Unlake Superior, a dystopian world is divided between those who live inside the wall, and those, like sixteen-year-old midwife Gaia Stone, who live outside. It’s Gaia’s job to “advance” a quota of infants from poverty into the walled Enclave, until the night one agonized mother objects, and Gaia’s parents are arrested.

Badly scarred since childhood, Gaia is a strong, resourceful loner who begins to question her society. As Gaia’s efforts to save her parents take her within the wall, she herself is arrested and imprisoned.

Fraught with difficult moral choices and rich with intricate layers of codes, BIRTHMARKED explores a colorful, cruel, eerily familiar world where one girl can make all the difference, and a real hero makes her own moral code.

Mistwood by Leah Cypress

The Shifter is an immortal creature bound by an ancient spell to protect the kings of Samorna. When the realm is peaceful, she retreats to the Mistwood. But when she is needed she always comes.

Isabel remembers nothing. Nothing before the prince rode into her forest to take her back to the castle. Nothing about who she is supposed to be, or the powers she is supposed to have.
Prince Rokan needs Isabel to be his Shifter. He needs her ability to shift to animal form, to wind, to mist. He needs her lethal speed and superhuman strength. And he needs her loyalty—because without it, she may be his greatest threat.
Isabel knows that her prince is lying to her, but she can't help wanting to protect him from the dangers and intrigues of the court . . . until a deadly truth shatters the bond between them.
Now Isabel faces a choice that threatens her loyalty, her heart . . . and everything she thought she knew.

Beautiful Dead Book 1: Jonas by Eden Maguire

 Something strange is happening in Ellerton High. Phoenix is the fourth teenager to die within a year. His street fight stabbing follows the deaths of Jonas, Summer and Arizona in equally strange and sudden circumstances.
Rumours of ghosts and strange happenings rip through the small community as it comes to terms with shock and loss. Darina,Phoenix's grief-stricken girlfriend, is on the verge. She can't escape her intense heartache, or the impossible apparitions of those that are meant to be dead. And all the while the sound of beating wings echo inside her head! And then one day Phoenix appears to Darina.
Ecstatic to be reunited, he tells her about the Beautiful Dead. Souls in limbo, they have been chosen to return to the world to set right a wrong linked to their deaths and bring about justice. Beautiful, superhuman and powerful, they are marked by a 'death mark' - a small tattoo of angel's wings. Phoenix tells her that the sound of invisible wings beating are the millions of souls in limbo, desperate to return to earth.Darina's mission is clear: she must help Jonas, Summer, Arizona, and impossibly, her beloved Phoenix, right the wrong linked to their deaths to set them free from limbo so that they can finally rest in peace. Will love conquer death? And if it does, can Darina set it free?

The Poison Eaters: and Other Stories by Holly Black 

In her debut collection, New York Times best-selling author Holly Black returns to the world of Tithe in two darkly exquisite new tales. Then Black takes readers on a tour of a faerie market and introduces a girl poisonous to the touch and another who challenges the devil to a competitive eating match. These stories have been published in anthologies such as 21 Proms, The Faery Reel, and The Restless Dead, and have been reprinted in many “Best of” anthologies. The Poison Eaters is Holly Black’s much-anticipated first collection of stories, and her ability to stare into the void—and to find humanity and humor there—will speak to young adult and adult readers alike.

May Books Adult Books

Playing with Fire (Tales of an Extraordinary Girl, Book 1) Gena Showalter

Earth, Wind & Fire aren't just a band anymore . . .
Used to be my greatest achievement was holding a job more than three days. Now suddenly I can shoot fireballs, chill your drink, or blow-dry your hair at fifty paces with a blink of my eye!
It all started when this crazy scientist dropped something in my Grande Mocha Latte. Of course I got wicked sick. Next morning I'm waking up with this total hottie bending over me. He tells me 1)his name's Rome Masters, 2)he's a government agent and 3)I can control the four elements with a thought.
He seems even less pleased by my (apparently irreversible) transformation than I am . . . Because now he'll have to kill me.


Second Glance Jodi Picoult
Do we love across time? Or in spite of it? A developer has slated an ancient Abenaki Indian burial ground for a strip mall, and now strange happenings have tiny Comtosook, Vermont, talking of supernatural forces at work. Ross Wakeman is a ghost hunter who's never seen a ghost-all he's searching for is something to end the pain of losing his fiance Aimee in a car accident. He tried suicide-any number of times. Now Ross lives only for a way to connect with Aimee from beyond. Searching the site for signs of the paranormal, Ross meets the mysterious Lia, who sparks him to life for the first time in years. But the discoveries that await Ross are beyond anything he could dream of in this world-or the next. Expertly entwining a powerful drama of the heart's redemption and the disturbing real-life history of the VT eugenics project of the 1930s, Second Glance asks if truth is always something that can be measured… and if what can be measured is indeed always true.


Bitten: Women of the Otherworld by Kelley Armstrong

Elena Michaels is the world's only female werewolf. And she's tired of it. Tired of a life spent hiding and protecting, a life where her most important job is hunting down rogue werewolves. Tired of a world that not only accepts the worst in her— her temper, her violence—but requires it. Worst of all, she realizes she's growing content with that life, with being that person.

So she left the Pack and returned to Toronto where she's trying to live as a human. When the Pack leader calls asking for her help fighting a sudden uprising, she only agrees because she owes him. Once this is over, she'll be squared with the Pack and free to live life as a human. Which is what she wants. Really.

Mind Games by Carolyn Crane

JUSTINE KNOWS SHE’S GOING TO DIE. ANY SECOND NOW.

Justine Jones has a secret. A hardcore hypochondriac, she’s convinced a blood vessel is about to burst in her brain. Then, out of the blue, a startlingly handsome man named Packard peers into Justine’s soul and invites her to join his private crime-fighting team. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime deal. With a little of Packard’s hands-on training, Justine can weaponize her neurosis, turning it outward on Midcity’s worst criminals, and finally get the freedom from fear she’s always craved. End of problem.

Or is it? In Midcity, a dashing police chief is fighting a unique breed of outlaw with more than human powers. And while Justine’s first missions, including one against a nymphomaniac husband-killer, are thrilling successes, there is more to Packard than meets the eye. Soon, while battling her attraction to two very different men, Justine is plunging deeper into a world of wizardry, eroticism, and cosmic secrets. With Packard’s help, Justine has freed herself from her madness—only to discover a reality more frightening than anyone’s worst fears.

 The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe

Harvard graduate student Connie Goodwin needs to spend her summer doing research for her doctoral dissertation. But when her mother asks her to handle the sale of Connie’s grandmother’s abandoned home near Salem, she can’t refuse. As she is drawn deeper into the mysteries of the family house, Connie discovers an ancient key within a seventeenth-century Bible. The key contains a yellowing fragment of parchment with a name written upon it: Deliverance Dane. This discovery launches Connie on a quest—to find out who this woman was and to unearth a rare artifact of singular power: a physick book, its pages a secret repository for lost knowledge.

Happy Voting!

Embers - BWB Reviews

my 5 monkeys   
Poisoned Rationality   
StoryWings   
Not-Really-Southern Vamp Chick     
The Bibliophilic Book Blog      
The Unread Reader      

Average BWB Rating: 3

HBIC Review Embers by Laura Bickle

Review Posted by Tina at Tinasbookreviews

Beginning Laura Bickle’s debut novel came with some hesitation for me, and only because this area of the PNR world is much darker than the ~emo~ Vamps or the in touch with their feeling’s werewolves or even the sparkly dancing faeries I love so much. Bickle’s words are for sure attention grabbing- immediately the reader is pulled into a situation of gloom and darkness, with a very weary and tired protagonist, from the first page you can sense that Anya is stressed and tired. Also within the first few pages we meet the gang of ghost hunters Anya works with and Sparky a torque necklace that comes to life as a salamander spirit and helps Anya defeat an evil spirit living in an old soda machine.

After reading through a few more chapters I honestly felt it was time to put the book down. Those of you who follow the Blog with Bite should know I’m defiantly the more cautious reader when it comes to demons. I can handle fantasy and magic and pretty much anything on the scary side when it comes to mythical creatures……but when we start getting into demon possession and taking spirits into yourself, that’s where my red flags come up. As a person who enjoys the paranormal and fantasy realm my lines have many gray areas. The one area for me that’s completely black and white is handling subjects like witches, mediums, demons and occult like activity teetering on the edge of Satanism.

In other words Sparky represented a demon and no offense to Ms. Bickle’s novel -but Sparky and I were not going to get on a familiar basis. Nor were me and Anya going to be pals for a few hours while she sucked demons into her body.

So to be fair- because I did not finish this book, I cannot give it a rating or opinion on the writing technique.

What I can tell you is I don’t recommend this for anyone who is cautious of demonic novels.

DNF- PNR, Demons, Arson, Ghosts

BWB Discussion Questions

1.So if you had the chance would you have a pet elemental, even with the inconvenience of broken microwaves? NO---I will live demon free thanks.

2.What did you think about the relationship between, Brian, Anya and Drake?

N/A --I didn't read enough to answer this question

3.Did the book make you want to visit Detroit or steer clear?

I don't have to read this book to stay clear of Detroit......have you ever driven through a rough part of that city.....scary.......

4.A big part of Embers surrounds paranormal activity and the whole Scooby style system....What do you think of shows like Ghost Hunter, Paranormal State and the such?

I think they are a crock...frankly it all just seems fake, if you've ever been a witness to real "paranormal activity" it doesn't look anything like those shows.


5.Do you believe in the paranormal world around us or chalk it up to complete fantasy and make believe?

I believe demons and angels are real, as well as believing that God is real. I think vampires, werewolves, faeries, goblins, ghosts, greek gods and what not are all myths.

Dusk by Lana Griffen - PJV Review

Dusk by Lana Griffin
eBook provided by Lana Griffin for review.


Buy DUSK at Ravenous Romance

Buy DUSK at Amazon


http://lanagriffin.blogspot.com

Synopsis from Ravenous Romance: 
Can an ancient voodoo priestess and her vampire lover overcome their "bad blood" to save the lives of ordinary humans?


Alexandra Leveau comes from an ancient voodoo priestess clan that's been feuding with sexy vamp Vadim Blerinca's family for centuries.  The mysterious "bad blood" between the Leveaus and Blerincas is what keeps Alexandra and Vadim burning for each other, yet it also makes them a very dangerous match:  by making love, each could kill the other.

Added to the erotically charged mix is Alexandra's ex-boyfriend, the poetic wraith Skipp, as well as a gargoyle who is devoted to Alexandra and will kill anyone who tampers with her.  Add one more wraith to the mix plus an insane vamp sire and the true Venus de Milos.  Now mix in elements of murder and mystery:  the deaths of elderly citizens for unknown reasons.

DUSK gives you all this and more.  A sexy, romantic romp of forbidden love and lust!


PJVs QUICKIE POV: As I get deeper and deeper into the PNR genre I'm realizing that my taste is very strongly geared towards the Urban Fantasy side.  Every now and then I like to pick up a romance and just let go, but really it is few and far between. This being said, I opened this review with that statement because I just didn't get into this book.  The characters were in-depth, they had a good background story and the setting and plot was interesting, but as I went page by page my  attention was always drawn else where. I would read a few pages and then find a reason to do something else. My reasons are as follows: one, it was very romance driven, two the romance was "fated" or basically reincarnated so it was that instant thing, and third the tone/writing of the novel was penned in a way you expect a historical novel would be, yet it was set in modern times, so I felt the outcome was odd. Once again, I did enjoy the characters, I thought they were well-formed, and actually enjoyed the first part of the novel. Yet, when the romance started I quickly lost interest, which is when you are supposed to get excited right??

RECOMMENDATIONS: Adults only, there are graphic, erotica areas. Fans of the heavy PNR tales will enjoy.