artsy musings of a bibliophile

paranormal

Review: My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent

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Title: My Soul to Take (Soul Screamers, #1)
Author: Rachel Vincent
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Harlequin
Release Date: 1 August 2009
Pages: 279 (eBook)


Synopsis
She doesn’t see dead people, but she senses when someone near her is about to die. And when that happens, a force beyond her control compels her to scream bloody murder. Literally. 
Kaylee just wants to enjoy having caught the attention of the hottest guy in school. But a normal date is hard to come by when Nash seems to know more about her need to scream than she does. And when classmates start dropping dead for no apparent reason, only Kaylee knows who’ll be next…

My Rating
* * * 
The Review
Right after reading My Soul to Lose, the prequel to the Soul Screamers series, the personality of Kaylee Cavanaugh prepared me for kind of series I was getting into. So I expected the first book to be a slightly clichéd but an overall refreshing series. However, I do have few issues with how the story progressed. 
First off, there is a slight mention of Kaylee’s fellow high school footballer in the prequel. Apparently, Kaylee’s social circle is next to non-existent and Nash is the incrowd. Why am I not surprised? Moreover, he develops a rather sudden interest in Kaylee because of what she is. I am not liking this at all now. 
So that’s where it is made clear that Kaylee, unbeknownst to herself, is beautiful and even though Nash is somewhat of a womanizer, he’s totally into her. Therefore, there is a lot of sexual tension between them all the time. And that would have been totally fine, if not for the looming factor that they both belong to the same species and so, everything is intensified for them including the sexual tension…well, maybe.
Moving onto Nash Hudson, I liked him, he didn’t act like a jerk, got jealous at the right moments and isn’t in lieu of anything bad actually. Plus, he was all over Kaylee when she needed him to help her. In short, there was nothing much unlikable about him and he seems like the perfect guy for Kaylee. I liked his take on things as well, even though he seemed to be (slightly creepy) calm than other people in stressful situations. But that could totally be because of the Influence.
The character of Tod however, has more of that perpetual scowling and frowning going on. He seems to have more depth than Nash at certain moments in the book but he is really just more prone to sulkiness than Nash. I can’t really say much about him but, I would say this that he is a lost soul and still trying to find his place in the world despite his status as a grim reaper.
Even though the characters had depth and there was apparent growth as the story progressed, there were some things I couldn’t quite get acquainted to. Like the whole system isn’t much organized even though they are talking about death which should be much more than it is shown to be in the book. It was also somewhat distracting to read the book knowing that Emma, the BFF, was grounded for more than half of it and so couldn’t talk to Kaylee when she was busy adjusting to the fact that she’s not human. What kind of grounded is that, anyway?
On a side note, thank the Lord that bean sidhes do age, by the way, however slow that process might be. Moving on, there was a lot of fresh dialogue and witty thoughts from Kaylee going on. The book also had its serious parts as well, so much that I found it emotional towards the end. I will be continuing the series and I hope it gets better as it has potential to be so.
Best Quote:

“The problem with getting everything you want in life is that you’re not prepared for disappointment when it comes.”

Review: My Soul to Lose by Rachel Vincent

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Title: My Soul to Lose (Soul Screamers, #0.5)
Author: Rachel Vincent
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal
Publisher: Harlequin
Release Date: 1 July 2009
Pages: 87 (eBook)


Synopsis
It was supposed to be a fun day, shopping at the mall with her best friend. Then the panic attack started and Kaylee Cavanaugh finds herself screaming, unable to stop. Her secret fears are exposed and it’s the worst day of her life.
Until she wakes up in the psychiatric unit.
She tries to convince everyone she’s fine–despite the shadows she sees forming around another patient and the urge to scream which comes burbling up again and again. Everyone thinks she’s crazy. Everyone except Lydia, that is. Another patient with some special abilities….
My Rating
* * * *
The Review
I thought I should read My Soul to Lose before starting the first book in the Soul Screamers series. I am glad I did. The premise certainly looks promising because Kaylee Cavanaugh, the main character is nothing short of witty. There are dark, foreboding parts to the story but her sarcasm makes it all seem less dark and more refreshing. 
What I didn’t like was the little cliché about the almost non-existent social status for Kaylee and the hunk of a high school hero in Nash Hudson. I don’t want this as something more than my thinking it is. But as it is high school, I hope it would be fun reading about the escapades Kaylee and her BFF, Emma, are bound to go on. 
Overall, My Soul To Lose is a very interesting take, aside from the usual, on the paranormal fantasy element.
Best Quote:

“And as she dialed, color suddenly drained from the world, like The Wizard of Oz in reverse. Emma went gray. The cops went gray. The shoppers went gray. And suddenly everyone stood in a swirling, twisting colorless fog.
I sat in the fog.”

Review: Symphony of Blood, A Hank Mondale Supernatural Case by Adam Pepper

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ABOUT THE BOOK

Symphony of Blood, A Hank Mondale Supernatural Case by Adam Pepper
adult paranormal thriller self-published on 23 July 2011

Hank Mondale, a rough-around-the-edges P.I. with a small drinking problem and a large gambling problem, needs a break. With his landlord threatening eviction and his bookie threatening worse, things look bleak. Until real estate mogul Thomas Blake calls with an incredible story: a monster is trying to kill his daughter. Hank figures she’s probably some whacked-out spoiled brat, but desperate, Hank takes the case to track down the supposed monster. It seems that people around Mackenzie Blake are disappearing. It’s obviously no coincidence. Was Hank hired to unwittingly aid a wealthy murderess? Or is there really someone…or some thing, trying to kill Mackenzie Blake?
A symphony plays that only It can hear. But there will be a special performance, just for her.

THE RATING

THE REVIEW

Symphony of Blood started off pretty normally where the main character Hank Mondale is introduced. A very unusual PI in that he has a big alcohol addiction and a smaller gambling problem. He is so not your typical protagonist; much more like an anti-hero. So it does not come as much of a surprise to learn that he is barely scrambling by, owes money to shady people involved in even shadier businesses and has a dumb kleptomaniac secretary. This should have bothered me, but then considering that Hank Mondale is pretty much depraved of any redeeming qualities himself; it was okay. However, it did bother me when he didn’t try to keep up a good relationship with his mother. 
Moving on with the story. Hank Mondale looks like a cop, behaves like one and pretty much have the whole cop act perfected to a tee. But he can never become one which is why he has contacts to help him get a decent job in the worst of times. Yet the contacts couldn’t help him this time around. So when he gets an offer from a rich business man involving his snob of a daughter, he jumps at the chance. Little does he know what’s in store for him.
The whole symphony of blood element is presented here and though it is gross to read about the things that trigger the symphony, the book offers something unique from this perspective. But moving onto the character of Mackenzie Blake. I so did not like her! She is not only immensely annoying, but she is worse because she is a true egomaniac with very fake blonde hair. I mean, who calls themselves a ‘mommy’ of their pets? Thomas Blake, her father, is much the same though. See a genetic link here?
Anyhow, moving onto to It or Symphony. I really liked It. I liked how Adam Pepper developed him and his abilities of adapting to human life, of wanting a companion in his lone life, of being scared of its prey, of having weaknesses despite being scary at the same time. It gave a new perspective to the concept of monster. The element of music in the whole process was refreshing to read about and I really liked everything about the monster. The gory, horrendous details were horrifying to read about but they made the book thrilling to read.
In all, Symphony of Blood is a good read. It is a short book and if you’re looking for a paranormal thriller book to read this is the one to pick. Adam Pepper has sure set his image as a frighteningly fresh author in the genre.

THE QUOTE

‘Suddenly, It understood a new emotion, one It had seen the humans display but could never make any sense out of until that very moment: Rage.’

Thanks to PNR & UF Goodreads group for providing me a copy of Symphony of Blood for review.