Review: School Spirits (Hex Hall, #4), by Rachel Hawkins

 

Title: School Spirits (Hex Hall, #4)

Author: Rachel Hawkins

Format: e-galley

Source: NetGalley

From Goodreads: "Fifteen-year-old Izzy Brannick was trained to fight monsters. For centuries, her family has hunted magical creatures.

But when Izzy's older sister vanishes without a trace while on a job, Izzy's mom decides they need to take a break. Izzy and her mom move to a new town, but they soon discover it's not as normal as it appears. A series of hauntings has been plaguing the local high school, and Izzy is determined to prove her worth and investigate.

But assuming the guise of an average teenager is easier said than done. For a tough girl who's always been on her own, it's strange to suddenly make friends and maybe even have a crush. Can Izzy trust her new friends to help find the secret behind the hauntings before more people get hurt?

Rachel Hawkins' delightful spin-off brings the same wit and charm as the New York Times best-selling Hex Hall series. Get ready for more magic, mystery and romance!"

My Opinion: Izzy is only 15 and has never attended a normal school because she and her family (her mother and sister) are Brannicks, the last of the monster hunters. They go where the hunt is, and they only stay as long as they need to. But Izzy's older sister, Finley, disappeared on a job 6 months ago, and they haven't had a lead at all, so Izzy's mom decides they need to take a breather and they stop in a small town with what might be a haunting, and enroll Izzy in the local high school. Izzy doesn't know what to expect, but she meets some friends right away, one of whom may be what is called a "Prodigium."

Quote: "But things were different now. For starters, there were no more Brannicks besides me and my mom. Rather than hunt the Creatures of the Night, we worked for the Council that governed them. And they didn't call themselves monsters; they went by the much more civilized term "Prodigium." So the Brannicks were now more or less Prodigium cops. If one of their kind got out of hand, we tracked them, captured them, and did a ritual that sent them directly to the Council, who would them decide their punishment."

I confess that I didn't read the first three books in the Hex Hall series, but this book was advertised as a spin off of that series, so I thought I'd give it a try. It was very easy to follow and can definitely be read as a standalone. 

I liked the characters of Izzy, Dex, Romy, and Anderson, but my secret favorite was Torin, the man (warlock) in the mirror.

Quote: "It was the mirror I walked to now, yanking off the heavy canvas cover. Inside the glass, a warlock stared back at me. His name was Torin, and he looked a couple years older than me, maybe eighteen or so. But since he'd gotten trapped in the mirror back in 1583, he was technically over four hundred years old."

Torin is sassy and insufferable, and I really hope we get to see more of him in the next books of this spin off series.

I found that this book was well written and the pacing was quick and easy, making this a fun, quick read. The characters were likeable and the plot was easy to follow.

4/5 stars

I received a copy of this book free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion. I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the chance to read it.

Review: Lord of the Abyss (Royal House of Shadows, book 4), by Nalini Singh

 

Title: Lord of the Abyss (Royal House of Shadows, book 4)

Author: Nalini Singh

Format: e-galley

Source: NetGalley

From Goodreads: "Once upon a time…the Blood Sorcerer vanquished the kingdom of Elden. To save their children, the queen scattered them to safety and the king filled them with vengeance. Only a magical timepiece connects the four royal heirs…and time is running out.…

As the dark Lord who condemns souls to damnation in the Abyss, Micah is nothing but a feared monster wrapped in impenetrable black armor. He has no idea he is the last heir of Elden, its last hope. Only one woman knows—the daughter of his enemy.

Liliana is nothing like her father, the Blood Sorcerer who’d cursed Micah. She sees past Micah’s armor to the prince inside. A prince whose sinful touch she craves. But first she has to brave his dark, dangerous lair and help him remember. Because they only have till midnight to save Elden."

My Opinion: "Once upon a time…the Blood Sorcerer vanquished the kingdom of Elden. To save their children, the queen scattered them to safety and the king filled them with vengeance. Only a magical timepiece connects the four royal heirs…and time is running out.…"

We've heard the stories of the three older siblings, and now we finally learn about Micah, and what happened to him after that fateful night,.

We start off with the story of someone else, though - Liliana, daughter of the evil Blood Sorcerer. Somehow, Liliana has managed to not turn into her father, to retain the goodness and yes, even light, that is her essence. But she had to endure so much torture, fear and hate at the hands of her father. She learns the truth about the heirs to the kingdom of Elden, and knows what she has to do - search out Micah and tell him who he truly is so the kingdom can be saved. Unfortunately, Micah is now the Lord of the Abyss, and has no idea who he is. Liliana makes it her mission to get through the armor he has built around himself to save the kingdom her father is trying to ruin, forever.

Wow! That's how I felt reading this story! I was sad that this was going to be the last book, the one that brings it all home, but I was excited to find out how it would end. And I have to say, this was definitely my favorite book of the series. I've never read anything by Nalini Singh before, but I will definitely be searching her out from now on. She wrote characters that you just can't help but care about, who you are pulling for throughout the book. Liliana and Micah are both so damaged and broken, but together they are magic. The world building was phenomenal, and the pacing was spot on. This was such a quick read for me because it was so well written - the pages just seemed to fly by. The ending came too quick but was a good end to a great series.

In summary, I adored this book, the conclusion to a four book series. I would recommend that you read the books in order, but imagine that this book would work as a standalone as well.

Highly recommend - 5/5 stars. This is my idea of what a paranormal romance should be.

I received a copy of this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. I would like to thank the publisher, the author, and NetGalley for this opportunity.

Review: The Daemon Parallel (Daemon Parallel #1), by Roy Gill

 

Title:         The Daemon Parallel (Daemon Parallel #1)

Author:     Roy Gill

Format:     E-Galley

Source:     NetGalley

From Goodreads: "Our world is only the beginning… Cameron's father is dead and his inheritance is … rather unusual. He has power to world shift: travel between the Human and Daemonic realms and the Parallel – a void where the worlds meet. Between befriending werewolves and battling daemons, Cameron's new life is already pretty complicated but things are about to get even more dangerous…"

My Opinion: Cameron is a young teen who has just lost his father, and his mother left when he was even younger, so he's very thankful when his grandmother takes him in, even though he doesn't know her at all because for some reason, his father wouldn't let him have anything to do with her when he was growing up. When she tells him she can bring his father back from the dead with his help, he's over the moon. She explains to him that there is a world parallel to ours, called the Daemon parallel, and that he has magic and can help her obtain all of the things needed to perform the ritual to bring his father back. This sets Cameron off on a quest that involves werewolves, daemons, and even humans, and puts him in danger from an unexpected source.

I enjoyed this book very much. Cameron was a very likeable young man, and the friends he makes along the way are just as likeable. The interesting thing is that the ones you think will be evil sometimes aren't, and the ones you're supposed to trust are sometimes the ones you should be running away from the fastest. It keeps you on your toes!

The plot was well written, and moved along at an easy pace. The world building was phenomenal due to a very interesting setting. The human world and the Daemon parallel were described very well, which made them easy to imagine. The ending was a great twist, as well.

In summary, I enjoyed this book very much and look forward to reading the next book in the series.

Highly recommend to MG readers who like a little paranormal in their stories.

5/5 stars.

I received a copy of this book free of charge through NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Review: The Faceless One (The Faceless One #1), by Mark Onspaugh

Title: The Faceless One (The Faceless One #1)

Author: Mark Onspaugh

Format: E-galley

Source: NetGalley

From Goodreads: "In 1948, when he was just a boy, Jimmy Kalmaku trained with his uncle to be the shaman of his Tlingit village in Alaska. There he learned the old legends, the old myths, the old secrets. Chief among them was that of a mask locked in a prison of ice, and of the faceless god imprisoned within: a cruel and vengeful god called T'Nathluk, dedicated to the infliction of pain and suffering.

Now all but forgotten in a Seattle retirement home, Jimmy finds his life turned upside down. For when an unwitting archaeologist pries the mask free of its icy tomb, he frees T’Nathluk as well. Stuck in spirit form, the Faceless One seeks a human to serve as a portal through which he can enter our reality. The Faceless One can control—and mercilessly torture—anyone who touches the mask, which means there is no shortage of slaves to ferry it across the country to its chosen host.

Yet the Faceless One has foes as well: Stan Roberts, a tough New York cop whose pursuit of justice will lead him into a dark abyss of the soul; Steven, Liz, and Bobby, the family of the doomed archaeologist; and Jimmy Kalmaku, who must at last become the shaman of his boyhood dreams." 

My Opinion: The Faceless One is an ancient evil, a "cruel and vengeful god called T-Nathluk." The shamans of the Tlingit tribe in Alaska have always watched over this evil and made sure it stayed buried and encased in ice. Unfortunately, there are no more shamans in the village and a couple of anthropologists have unearthed the mask that imprisoned this evil god, and all hell is about to be unleashed on the world, unless a group of strangers can work together to reimprison it.

I thought this book was a great horror story, written by a new name in the world of horror, Mark Onspaugh. This was a great debut novel that introduced a unique evil and a group of very likeable characters, with a delicious amount of sit on the edge of your seat possession and torture thrown in for good measure. Because this book was well written, it was a really quick read, with good even pacing that moved along quite nicely. Just when I thought I knew where the story was going, it would take a turn and go off in a whole new direction, and the ending was a nice twist.

In summary, I enjoyed this book very much and look forward to reading the second book in the series.

5/5 stars.

I received a copy of this book free of charge through NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Review: Spellcaster (Spellbound, #2), by Cara Lynn Shultz

 

Review: Spellcaster (Spellbound, #2)

Author: Cara Lynn Shultz

Format: e-book

From Goodreads: "After breaking a centuries-old romantic curse, Emma Connor is (almost) glad to get back to normal problems. Although…it's not easy dealing with the jealous cliques and gossip that rule her exclusive Upper East Side prep, even for a seventeen-year-old newbie witch. Having the most-wanted boy in school as her eternal soul mate sure helps ease the pain—especially since wealthy, rocker-hot Brendan Salinger is very good at staying irresistibly close….

But something dark and hungry is using Emma's and Brendan's deepest fears to reveal damaging secrets and destroy their trust in each other. And Emma's crash course in überspells may not be enough to keep them safe…or to stop an inhuman force bent on making their unsuspected power its own."

My Opinion: So, I know I'm way behind the crowd in just reading this book, but I absolutely loved it anyway! I didn't have a chance to read the first book in the series, but that wasn't a problem at all since they referred to the events from before often enough that I was able to follow along. 

Soul mates Emma and Brendan have already fought a curse to be together, but they don't really get a chance to rest on their laurels before their next crisis happens. This time they are fighting an unknown but very powerful dark witch who is literally out for Emma's blood.

I was drawn into this story very quickly, and didn't want to stop reading it once I started. The love story was written perfectly and the action just didn't stop!

I'm really glad I finally read this book and give it an enthusiastic 5/5 stars.

I received a copy of this book free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion.