Review: The Chosen (Night World)

The Chosen is Book 5 in the Night World series by L. J. Smith and definitely one of the better reads in the series.  The protagonist, Rashel Jordan, is a sassy vampire hunter. When she was a child, she saw Hunter Redfern, master vampire of the Night World, feed on her brother, kidnap him and kill her mother. She ended up escaping unscathed in a most ingenious way, by framing Hunter Redfern for molestation! I loved that scene. I quote, ” “Help meeee! Help meeee! That man tried to touch me!” Poor Hunter Redfern. Serves him right for hunting near a playground.

Rashel grows up to be a  vampire hunter known as The Cat, who leaves her mark on her kills, a cat’s scratch mark using a backscratcher! One night when hunting with a group of other vampire hunters, they capture Quinn, a notoriously dangerous vampire who happens to be Hunter Redfern’s ex-son-in-law and the Redfern heir. Rashel can’t bring herself to kill him even though he is dangerous, and even lets him go, saving him from torture at the hands of the other hunters. She ends up regretting this when she encounters a girl running from vampire slave traders who are capturing girls for a “bloodfeast” event, something like a vampire buffet. Not surprisingly, Quinn just so happens to be involved. Rashel uses herself as bait and allows herself to be captured in order to save the girls. She and the other girls are then taken to an island where the bloodfeast is to be held, and she manages effect a rescue, with the help of Quinn who ends up being converted because (and who didn’t see this coming?) of their soulmate bond. After creating loads of fire and mayhem, they all escape, including Timmy, her missing brother who Hunter Redfern turned (paedo!), leaving Hunter Redfern and the rest of the vampires to roast.

I just love the tension between Rashel and Quinn in all of their meetings, and Rashel is totally kickass and way cooler than all those ‘ordinary girl’ heriones. Quinn had the usual traumatic past, but is way too ruthless and does way too many bad things to be a GaryStu. They definitely deserve each other. I quite liked Hunter Redfern the villain and I wish there had been more focus on him since he does have a sort of major reputation in the Night World.

Read this, it’s good!

See also: Secret Vampire, Daughters of Darkness, Enchantress/Spellbinder, Dark Angel, Soulmate,  Huntress, Black Dawn, Witchlight

Plot/originality: 3.5/5

Characters: 4/5

Writing style: 4/5

Total score: 11.5/15

Review: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is an adaptation of the original classic, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Oh, but it’s not like those wussy adaptations you’ve seen out there – detailing Elizabeth and Darcy’s married life and whatnot – this one’s a real keeper. Seth Grahame-Smith’s ingenious version includes zombies – that’s right, ZOMBIES. This hilarious alternate universe has Elizabeth and Jane training in swordplay and martial arts as warriors in the struggle against the undead, whilst keeping up reputations in society by attending balls with their sisters and mingling with the townsfolk.

There’s only so much I can say to convince you to grab a copy of your own, so… Snippet, ho!

“You are dancing with the only handsome girl in the room,” said Mr. Darcy, looking at the eldest Miss Bennet.

“Oh! She is the most beautiful creaure I ever beheld! But there is one of her sisters sitting down just behind you, who is very pretty, and I dare say very agreeable.”

“Which do you mean?” and turning around he looked for a moment at Elizabeth, till catching her eye, he withdrew his own and coldly said, “She is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me; I am in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men.”

As Mr. Darcy walked off, Elizabeth felt her blood turn cold. She had never in her life been so insulted. The warrior code demanded she avenge her honour. Elizabeth reached down to her ankle, taking care not to draw attention. There, her hand met the dagger concealed beneath her dress. She meant to follow this proud Mr. Darcy outside and open his throat.

But no sooner had she grabbed the handle of her weapon than a chorus of screams filled the assembly hall, immediately joined by the shattering of window panes. Unmentionables poured in, their movements clumsy yet swift; their burial clothing in a range of untidiniess. Some wore gowns so tattered as to render them scandalous; other wore suits so filthy that one would assume they were assembled from little more than dirt and dried blood. Their flesh was in varying degrees of putrefaction; the freshly stricken were slightly green and pliant, whereas the longer dead were grey and brittle – their eyes and tongues long since turned to dust, and their lips pulled back into everlasting skeletal smiles.

A few of the guests, who had the misfortune of being too close to the windows, were seized and feasted on at once. When Elizabeth stood, she saw Mrs. Long struggle to free herself as two female dreadfuls bit into her head, cracking her skull like a walnut, and sending a shower of dark blood spouting as high as the chandeliers.

As guests fled in every direction, Mr. Bennet’s voice cut through the commotion. “Girls! Pentagram of Death!”

Elizabeth immediately joined her four sisters, Jane, Mary, Catherine, and Lydia in the center of the dance floor. Each girl produced a dagger from her ankle that stood at the tip of an imaginary five-pointed star. From the center of the room, they began stepping outward in unison – each thrusting a razor-sharp dagger with one hand, the other hand modestly tucked in to the small of her back.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There are far too many scenes that I love in this book – in particular, my favourite was the epic battle between Elizabeth and Lady Catherine, which had them flying about, ninja-style, as they dueled using nun-chucks and katanas. A close second would be Elizabeth assuming the Crane position in her mano-a-mano battle against a zombie (she actually has her own battle cry!) The fighting scenes had me giggling like a madwoman and actually crying tears of laughter as I progressed through the story. There’s just something inherently amusing about the stark juxtaposition of Victorian era dames and the undead, no?

A highly entertaining spoof of the Jane Austen classic. Recommended!

See also: Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters

Plot/originality: 4/5

Characters: 4.5/5

Writing style: 4/5

Total score: 12.5/15

Review: Enchantress / Spellbinder (Night World)

Enchantress, or Spellbinder in some editions, is the third book in the Night World series by L. J. Smith. This book is basically one big catfight between two witch cousins, brought up to be as close as sisters, which obviously doesn’t count for much when you’re fighting over a guy. Typical good girl vs bad girl. Thea is the goody-two shoes who rescues animals while Blaise is the evil witch who treats guys like toys and is the one responsible for their 5 explusions from high school so far. The book begins with their first day at a new school where Thea rescues a rattlesnake from being stoned and saves a cute boy, Eric Ross, from a poisionous snake bite. Eric is the epitome of do-gooderness, captain of various sports teams, aspiring veterinarian and animal-lover. He also happens to be Thea’s soulmate. When Thea ends up falling for Eric, she (stupidly) tells Blaise, who then like any other self-respecting Night Worlder, feels that she has to protect her beloved cousin from the lower life form (Eric) by getting rid of him. Desperate, Thea ends up accidentally summoning a pissed-off spirit from the underworld who kills her victims in a typical asian-horror flick way, strangling with long hair. Cue mass mayhem and eventually everyone gets caught. Thea has to answer for her actions to the Inner Circle of the witches who happen to be in the area, choosing to have her memory erased so she can live with Eric as a human and Blaise saves the day with iced tea!

While the plot may be a tad idiotic, Enchantress is overall a fun read, with the universal catfight by girls over a guy, witch-style! Surprisingly, or not, Thea ends up causing the most trouble with her evil spirit summoning, which came about in a totally crack! way, while Blaise is totally lovable with her bad-ass persona and human-despising ways. Eric is totally 2D, but he’s not the main character anyway, so it’s all good.

See also: Secret Vampire, Daughters of Darkness, Dark Angel, Soulmate, The Chosen, Huntress, Black Dawn, Witchlight

Plot/originality: 2.5/5

Characters: 3.5/5

Writing style: 4/5

Total score: 10/15

Review: Hunting Ground

Happy Hunting Ground Day!

Hunting Ground is the long-awaited sequel to Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs. The series takes place after the events in the Alpha & Omega novella in On the Prowl. While Cry Wolf focused on Anna’s adjustment to Montana and her new relationship with Charles, Hunting Ground takes place a few weeks after, where the two are more settled with their freshly-established mating bond.

Bran sends Charles and Anna to Seattle, where Charles is supposed to head a conference to the Alphas of various werewolf packs about coming out to the public. Needless to say, not everyone agrees with this notion, and there’s a fair bit of political conflict. Cue dominance battles, cold-blooded murder, attempted kidnappings, and numerous incidences of bloodshed and decapitation. Any attempts to put down the book will likely be thwarted by the constant new developments in the story – I had quite the full bladder at the end of it all.

We get to observe Anna settling into her omega influence here, and the impact of the mating bond on her existing powers. We get more insight on the Charles/Brother Wolf combo, which was pretty refreshing. Anna’s inner wolf also makes a quick cameo – blink and you might just miss it.  Fans of Charles and Anna will enjoy the progressing of the duo’s relationship, both emotionally and physically.

Overall, it’s an action-packed plot with excellent characterisation – the new characters introduced to the series were likeable and nicely fleshed-out. You might recognize Moira and Tom as characters from Strange Brew (which details how they met). A lovely read from start to end.

And my favourite quote from the book? It was close, but it’s just got to be -

“Women are the bloodthirsty sex,” said Ric sadly. “We get the reputation, but it is only because the women stand behind us and say, ‘Kill it. Squish it.’ “

Highly recommended.

See also: On the Prowl, Cry Wolf, Strange Brew

Plot/originality: 4.5/5

Characters: 5/5

Writing style: 4.5/5

Total score: 14/15

Review: Divine by Mistake

Divine by Mistake is the first in P.C. Cast’s Partholon series, focusing on schoolteacher Shannon Parker, who is magically transported to a parallel realm when she purchases a mysterious antique vase. Unlike the Goddess Summoning series, a collection of standalone stories, the Partholon series closely follows Shannon’s adventures in the fantasy realm.

I tore into this book with a morbid sort of fascination – I’m a notorious page-skipper, and I tend to skim midway of all new books before actually starting from the beginning. ‘Lo and behold, my eyes caught onto words like “centaur” and “husband” and “mating”. I just had to read it after that.

This book just might be intended for an older audience – the main heroine is 31 (but apparently still bootylicious) and residing as a schoolteacher in Oklahoma. When she buys an old vase with the Celtic goddess Epona on it, the last thing she expects is to get sucked into an alternate realm, with no electronics or comforts of the 21st century. Instead, she finds herself priestess of Partholon, engaged to be married to reluctant centaur ClanFintan.

Apparently, she’s swtiched places with evil priestess Rhiannon (her lookalike with quite the bad reputation). Shannon must struggle with adjusting to her newfound visions, as well as to her centaurian husband ClanFintan.

And the centaur smut: nay, there was none to speak of. There was smut, naturally – just not the centaurian/human kind (though there was one particularly disturbing scene in the forest that was a real head-scratcher). All too conveniently, ClanFintan can shapeshift into a human for the actual sex part, which is too, too boring. Blast it all!

I found side characters to be pretty two-dimensional, and I was disappointed that Cast wasn’t more creative with them. Best friend/maidservant Alanna was pretty much a cardboard stereotype cutout. Her beau was just… boring. Medicine man/advisor? Too predictable to be engaging.

The writing is quick with wit, with Shannon making for a likeable heroine. I enjoyed the scenes of her and ClanFintan getting to know each other (the younger centaurs are hilarious!), though the predictable plot resolution and the simple, linear flow of events was vaguely annoying to read. The Partholon series is a female-empowering one – Shannon carries most of the story, with ClanFintan and well, others left to pick up the war/battle slack. I would probably have enjoyed it more if Cast had put a heavier focus on ClanFintan; he’s got oodles of potential and he’s a friggin centaur, for crying out loud.

See also: Divine by Choice, Divine by Blood

Plot/originality: 3.5/5

Characters: 2.5/5

Writing style: 3/5

Total score: 9/15

Review: Soulmate (Night World)

Soulmate is the 6th book in L. J. Smith’s Night World series, and by far the lamest. The soulmated pair in this one is Thierry Descouedres, a vampiric Lord of the Night World and Hannah Snow, a girl who seems ordinary in every way other than that she writes notes to herself - notes with disturbing contents such as ‘dead before seventeen’. Of course Hannah isn’t ordinary - she’s an Old Soul, a soul that keeps on reincarnating through the ages, and she’s known Thierry from a long, long time ago (animal skins!! And stone knives! Since we do still wear animal skins).

Their tale isn’t all lovey-dovey, naturally. Hannah has been seemingly killed by Thierry in all her past incarnations, except that it isn’t actually Thierry but Maya, Thierry’s ex, wearing an illusion. Hell hath no fury like a vampire scorned, I must say. Maya also happens to be THE original vampire, and ex-witch, turned that way in her search for immortality (an obvious success!) way back in the near-caveman era via a few baby-killings. Hannah is by far the wimpiest female protagonist in the NW series. She vacillates between believing Thierry and Maya and at the beginning, was actually seeing a therapist to solve her note-writing problem.  An idiotic therapist whose only role in the book is to shoot a couple of bullets and to hypnotise Hannah showing her her past lives. Her disbelief/denial will totally kill you. Even the therapist believed something was going on.

This story is just too contrived and only L. J. Smith’s superb writing style could have saved it from dreariness. The one highlight would be the appearance of the soulmate pairs of the previous 5 books of the series with their interactions really livening up the far-fetched plot. Improbable elements in this book are everywhere, from the whole reincarnation thing to the hypnotism actually working and her past lives are so.. far-fetched! (Three Rivers shaman-trainee? Egyptian priestess? Puh-lease), to Maya’s unbelievable jealousy. I mean if you’re THE first vampire, with the jadedness that the ages bring, I doubt you’ll keep harping on some failed relationship, and be so unhinged as to track your so-called love rival through centuries. I would have just found another expendable boy-toy already. While we’re on this topic,  I doubt it would have really taken Maya a couple hundred or more years to ‘discover’ that vampires don’t reincarnate and hence to break the ‘cycle’, all she would have to do is turn Hannah then stake her. Also, plot resolution was crap, I mean, a random lackey just randomly deciding to betray Maya by telling Thierry their location? and Maya was dispatched with way too much ease, just a casual stabbing by a lump of rock? So much for being the mother of all vamps. Thierry could probably have killed her a few lifetimes ago. WHERE IS THE LOGIC AND SENSE? Not to mention, Thierry is so two-dimensional! All angst and no action.

Not highly recommended, but I guess you can read it anyway, if only because it’s part of the Night World series. Just read it for the few pages of Ash/ James/ Poppy/ Rashel/ Quinn/ Thea/ Eric/ Gillian/ David cameo appearances in Thierry’s cool and really expensive mansion.

See also: Secret Vampire, Daughters of Darkness, Enchantress/Spellbinder, Dark Angel, The Chosen,  Huntress, Black Dawn, Witchlight

Plot/originality: 1.5/5

Characters: 2.5/5

Writing style: 3/5

Total score: 7/15

Review: Vampire Kisses

If you’re here to decide if you should buy Vampire Kisses by Ellen Schreiber, let me be a pal and dispense the best advice you will ever receive. DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK. Do not even contemplate reading it. If a friend recommends it  and offers to loan it to you, break off that friendship immediately, because that ain’t your friend talking. That’s an empty shell of a person – a living, breathing shell that has knows no judgement and is more likely to have the phrase “quantity over quality” tattooed in her ass crack. CHECK THE ASS CRACKS of all your friends who offer to lend you books (especially rubbish books like this one).

I picked up a copy of Vampire Kisses back when I was fresh into the whole paranormal romance craze, and I think it’s safe to say that it’s been the biggest regret of my life. The story revolves around teenage goth girl rAvEn (okay, without the crazy caps – but it’s pretty obvious that it wouldn’t be out of place even if it was) and her vampire boyfriend Alexander. I don’t have anything against goth fiction, but I do harbor a burning hatred for this one.

I’ll be blunt. Characterization was non-existent. Raven is a self-centered, whiny bitch. Alexander made me want to get my tubes tied.

Plot-wise… what can I say? You know that feeling, that painful buzz when that radiates from your elbow when you accidentally slam it against something? Yeah? Well, multiply that thousand-fold and you have this book. The entire story is so utterly linear and non-engaging that it’ll make you feel like you’re reading straight out of some crazy teenage chick’s fantasy diary.

Let me elaborate. Raven’s a hardcore goth girl that’s determined to expose hot goth boyfriend Alexander, a.k.a the new kid in town, as a vampire – it’s the stuff of dreams, and her favourite author’s Anne Rice (omg!!!one lyk who culd’ve guessed). She attempts to expose his true identity by doing weird creepy stalker stuff, like trying to make him breathe in garlic. Her ideal date is a picnic in a cemetery in the middle of the night, with black wax candles to illuminate the darkness of her soul. Yep. It’s bad. And Alexander ends up leaving her in the end. That’s right, Alexander! Run as far as you can from this broad!

Sadly, there are follow-up books in this series, in which rAvEn qUeEn of teh gOth sCenE manages to sniff poor Alexander out. But that’s a horror story for another time.

You might’ve noticed that I have added a new tag in honour of this book: “crap”.

DO. NOT. READ.

See also: Kissing Coffins, Vampireville, Dancing with a Vampire

Plot/originality: 0/5

Characters: 0/5

Writing style: 0/5

Total score: 0/15

Review: Wolf at the Door

Before I begin…

SMUT ALERT! SMUT ALERT! SMUT ALERTTTT

Now that that’s all taken care off, we can move on to the actual review. Wolf at the Door is the first in The Others series by Christine Warren, and it centers around Foxwoman Cassidy Poe and Lupine Quinn Sullivan. No, this is not an episode of the Justice League – there’s no spandex involved and lots of randy sexxors! (Which would be totally inappropriate in the JL, since we all know any sexxors that happens there requires copious amounts of spandex and oodles of kinky stuff whoooo)

…I digress. Wolf at the Door was actually a pretty entertaining read for me, despite all the smut. Warren builds on the social hierachy of The Others, a collective term used in reference to otherworldly beings running the gamut from faeries to living gargoyles. The story takes place in New York City, opening with Irish lupine Quinn quite literally chasing the girl of his dreams around a greenhouse and off onto the busy streets (as a wolf, no less!). The main couple were a little quick to jump into the sack (a few months too early, I’d say) but Quinn’s character was so utterly endearing that I was quite ready to overlook this. Plus, he’s Irish! Everyone knows Irish blokes are made of win.

Warren has a quirky and amusing way of writing, quick with witty barbs and electric characterizations. The political structure of the council is well fleshed-out, and the plot really picks up in pace in the second half of the story. The action sequences weren’t half-bad, either, but the real selling point of this book would have to be the dynamic interactions between the different characters, which livens up the story considerably. On the whole, Wolf at the Door is a promising start to the series – if you enjoy urban fantasy romances with a dash of adventure (and the occasional smutty interlude), you’ll want to follow up on the second book in the series, She’s no Faerie Princess.

See also: She’s No Faerie Princess, The Demon You Know, Howl at the Moon, Walk on the Wild Side, One Bite with a Stranger, You’re so Vein

Plot/originality: 3.5/5

Characters: 3.5/5

Writing style: 3/5

Total score: 10/15

Review: Secret Vampire (Night World)

Secret Vampire is the very first book in the Night World series by L. J. Smith and was published over 10 years ago. It serves as an introduction for us to the ‘Night World’ created by Smith, which is a secret society of vampires, witches, shapeshifters and werewolves that live among human society, with 2 main laws: 1) Never let them find out that the Night World exsists and, 2) Never fall in love with one of them. Secret Vampire (and basically every other NW book), showcases what happens when these laws are broken.

The female protagonist of Secret Vampire is Poppy, a normal teenager who is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at the beginning of the book. It is incurable, and she has only  months to live. Poppy doesn’t want to die, and her best friend James, a vampire reciprocating romantic feelings for Poppy, offers to make her a vampire in order to save her life, thus majorly breaking both rules. The  consequences of the rule-breaking is heightened by the fact that James is related to the Redfern family, one of  the most influential vampire families in the Night World. Poppy takes James up on his offer - cue blood-exchanging, activation of the soulmate bond, complications with overprotective brother Phil who tends to walk in at inopportune times, and fake-death planning. Poppy is succesfully turned but holds an illegal vampire status, endangering both her and James. Throw in an inopportune visit by Ash Redfern, Jame’s ruthless vampiric cousin and Poppy ends up tricked and halfway to exposure at a Night World gathering before displaying telepathic powers that save the day. She and her brother Phil are finally revealed to be lost witches on their father’s side, thus having rightful NightWorlder status and they happily go off to live with Poppy’s father.

I loved the characterisation of Poppy, in her journey through her terminal diagnosis and her subsequent choice to become a vampire.  She realistically chooses to become a vampire after careful consideration and balancing the conseuquences of cutting ties with her family, with her will to live coming out top, instead of just the typical MarySue character who just chooses in a flash. Her interactions with her family members as well as descriptions of grief and coping mechanisms are well written. James, on the other hand, shows various Gary-Stu characteristics, such as an overtly noble character, human-loving unlike the rest of his typical human-despising family, and he even comes complete with a  traumatic childhood event! But he does serve as a useful tool to provide insights and information into Night World society. Ash just comes across as the typcial mysterious badboy model vampire that keeps us guessing about his intentions. Forgivable, considering this book isn’t about him.

The plot resolution was a tad lame, considering James’ eventual punishment was hinted to have been pretty dire. They went from exiles-pending death to non-law breakers in a few sentences flat, just based on Poppy’s family tree. Still, whatever works to give the requisite fluffy happy ending. Not exactly the best book in the series, but still recommended.

See also: Daughters of Darkness, Enchantress/Spellbinder, Dark Angel, The Chosen, Soulmate, Huntress, Black Dawn, Witchlight

Plot/originality: 3/5

Characters: 3.5/5

Writing style: 3.5/5

Total score: 10/15

Review: Daughters of Darkness (Night World)

Daughters of Darkness is the second in the Night World series of paranormal fantasy books by L.J. Smith. The story in DoD revolves around Mary-Lynette and pureblood vampire Ash Redfern (you may recognize him from other NW books Secret Vampire and Dark Angel).

Ash’s sisters Rowan, Kestrel and Jade decide to move to Briar Creek to live with humans with their aunt, only to discover that their aunt has been brutally murdered upon arriving on the scene. The sisters struggle with their aunt’s death and fitting into the human community – it doesn’t help that suspicious neighbor Mary-Lynette’s afoot. Daughters of Darkness further explores the concept of soulmates through the connection between Ash and Mary-Lynette, which makes for some interesting reading considering they both hate each other (Ash’s inner strife on becoming soulmates with a human amused me to no end).

The thing I love about Smith’s heroines is that they aren’t two-dimensional – they have their own flaws and quirks. Ash was also characterized well; he just might be the original template for blond, snarky male anithero that’s been done to death in paranormal fiction. There’s jealousy and a semi-love triangle when werewolf Jeremy enters the picture, who, childhood friendship with Mary-Lynette aside,  isn’t as harmless as he seems. The plot resolution was pretty gruesome, but the book manages to end on a bittersweet note. Mary-Lynette (surprsingly) chooses to remain human, while Ash leaves to do some soul-searching with a promise to return.

Definitely one of the stronger Night World books. Recommended as a quick, satisfying read.

See also: Secret Vampire, Enchantress/Spellbinder, Dark Angel, The Chosen, Soulmate, Huntress, Black Dawn, Witchlight

Plot/originality: 4/5

Characters: 3.5/5

Writing style: 3.5/5

Total score: 11/15