Spirit Bound (Vamp Academy book 5) Richelle Mead

Synopsis

Dimitri gave Rose the ultimate choice. But she chose wrong...

After a long and heartbreaking journey to Dimitri's birthplace in Siberia, Rose Hathaway has finally returned to St. Vladimir's-and to her best friend, Lissa. It is nearly graduation, and the girls can't wait for their real lives beyond the Academy's iron gates to begin. But Rose's heart still aches for Dimitri, and she knows he's out there, somewhere.

She failed to kill him when she had the chance. And now her worst fears are about to come true. Dimitri has tasted her blood, and now he is hunting her. And this time he won't rest until Rose joins him... forever.

Review

After the last book Blood Promise, I was really hoping that this book would be a vast improvement, and I wasn’t disappointed. There’s the 3 way love triangle between Rose, Dimitri & Adrian, and by the end of the book I really felt sorry for Adrian. I was also pleased to see the return of Abe towards the end of the book, I like this character and his relationship with Rose. I know this book is completely fiction, but I do still think some of the things she gets up to are a bit far fetched for an 18yr old, but this is pretty much a staple of this genre of books. I also cringed quite a bit at some of the things Rose says and does, which usually get her into a lot of troubled, but this is what Rose is about and the reason I like Rose so much. Lissa on the other hand can be such a girl, needing Rose to protect her, not being strong enough to do things herself. I think this may be my personal thing as I much prefer the female characters to be tough and self reliant. Saying that Lissa does come into her own in this book in an amazing way, I’m not going to spoil the story, but lets say it’s related to Dimitri.

The other character that is hard to figure out is Queen Tatiana and her relationship with Rose, Richelle keeps so many twists and turns regarding this that it makes it difficult for the reader to figure her out. There are so many twists in this book, and it has a spectacular ending that was quite a shock, especially for poor Rose. Richelle also does her usual twist at the end which hooks the reader into needing to read the next book to find out what is going to happen. I’ve never come across a writer that is as good at it as Richelle.
The thing with Spirit Bound is that it’s been difficult to write this review in my normal style, where I give my readers titbits about the storyline throughout. With this book if I talk about the storyline too much it would just be a massive spoiler for anyone wanting to read the book. Also at times I couldn't put the book down, but in some places I had to put it down and take deep breaths because it was just too much (yep the tears were back). Love, Passion, Treason, Fear, Sadness, Grief, all these emotions laid on paper in a such intense way was draining to read at times.

I would recommend this book, and I will be reading book 6, even though this series of books has had it’s ups and downs with some books better than others, I would say stick with it.

I rate this book

JRR Tolkien's books article

In an article featured in The Guardian yesterday, talks about how JRR Tolkien’s fantasy novels have been elbowed out of the annual lineup of the most popular books for schoolchildren by a deluge of dark dystopias and urban fantasies. The seventh what kids are reading report, which analyses the reading habits of over half a million children in over 2,700 UK schools, revealed today that Tolkien’s books have dropped out of the overall most popular list for the first time since the report began six years ago. In previous years, Tolkien’s titles have featured within the chart’s top 10 places, mostly among secondary-school children.

To find out more check out the article here…..

Blood Promise (Vamp Academy 4) by Richelle Mead

Synopsis

Rose Hathaway's life will never be the same.

The recent attack on St. Vladimir's Academy devastated the entire Moroi world. Many are dead. And, for the few victims carried off by Strigoi, their fates are even worse. A rare tattoo now adorns Rose's neck, a mark that says she's killed far too many Strigoi to count. But only one victim matters ... Dimitri Belikov. Rose must now choose one of two very different paths: honoring her life's vow to protect Lissa—her best friend and the last surviving Dragomir princess—or, dropping out of the Academy to strike out on her own and hunt down the man she loves. She'll have to go to the ends of the earth to find Dimitri and keep the promise he begged her to make. But the question is, when the time comes, will he want to be saved?

Now, with everything at stake—and worlds away from St. Vladimir's and her unguarded, vulnerable, and newly rebellious best friend—can Rose find the strength to destroy Dimitri? Or, will she sacrifice herself for a chance at eternal love?

Review

The book opens with Rose in Russia, seeking the damphir town called Biai, where she hopes to find Dimitri, and carry out her quest to kill him and thus release him from the life of a strigoi, which she believes he wouldn’t want to live. Along the way you meet Sydney an Alchemist part of a group of alchemist who work for the moroi & damphirs, clearing the mess they leave behind (dead strigoi). We also meet Abe the Smey (or snake), who seems to have fingers in a lot of pies some not even legal, and is the focus of a great twist at the end of the book. There are some really good new characters introduced in this book, which I hope will resurface in future storylines.

The first half of the book spends a lot of time on Rose’s quest as she finally travels to Biai and meets Dimitri’s mother, grandmother and sisters. Although this section focuses on Rose’s struggle over the loss of Dimitri and the need to hunt him down, in places I felt it was a little too overdone. I know there was a need for this part of the story, but it could have been condensed quite a bit especially as I was desperate to reach the section where Rose finally comes face to face with Dimitri.

Dimitri was always a dark handsome badass through and through, now he’s a strigoi, he has a new cold lethal edge to him, which Rose finds difficult to reconcile herself with. I love the new Dimitri, so dark and dangerous, he’s definitely got to develop further in the next books!  Richelle as usual throws a curved ball/twist to events, when Dimitri wants to turn Rose into a Strigoi. I’m not going to say what happens here as I don’t want to spoil the book for you, but lets say it becomes a very interesting read!!

Despite insurmountable odds (some a tad unbelievable)Rose finally returns to St Vladimir's and there are more twists and turns than ever which keeps you hooked needing to read the next book for answers. Richelle  can totally turn events on there head and when you thought the story was going a particular way, it goes off on a complete tangent. She is great at doing this at the end of her books, making sure you’ll go back for the next book, as there are so many questions you need answering.

There are points in the book which are a little too long, and some impossible events that you just can’t quite believe would happen, but that’s how Richelle writes. Another positive for me personally was that I wasn’t left devastated, like at the end of the last book Shadow Kissed. What I didn’t like was the constant side by side storyline where it required Rose to constantly slip into Lissa’s mind to keep that side of the story going, it wasn’t really that interesting, as in my opinion Rose and Lissa together make for a much stronger storyline. There were also a lot of flashbacks going on between Rose and Dimitri as well, some of which had great inconsistency with what you knew already story wise and some you’d never heard of. I know you have to pad out the storyline, but this could be better.

Overall a good book, but not as good as Shadow Kissed which left it’s readers devastated at the loss of Dimitri. I think that as the last book was such a good one, it needed a brilliant book to follow it, unfortunately this isn’t it, so lets hope book five improves the storyline and reaches the heights of Shadow kissed. In saying that this is an ok book, and I would definitely say, stick with it and read to the end of the series.

I rate this book

Why are so many adults reading YA and teen fiction?

There's a great article in the Guardian Newspaper today, which discusses why young adult YA and teen fiction is so popular. It also quotes a survey done in 2012, which found that 55% of the readers of these books are adults. It asks;

Perhaps the real mystery, then, is not why the works of the authors above have been so successful commercially (it’s because they’re amazing books), but why they, and other books like them, have appealed to so many people beyond their target audience. This in itself creates a sub-mystery, too: why do these books remain popular years after they are first published, and what is it about our current society and world that means that their messages and values are still applicable to us?

Check out the full story here.....

Bram Stoker Awards Final Ballot

Horror Writers Association Reveals Final Ballot for Bram Stoker Awards®
The Horror Writers Association, the premier organization of writers and publishers of horror and dark fantasy, today announced the 2014 nominees for the iconic Bram Stoker Award®.

Named in honor of the author of the seminal horror novel Dracula, the Bram Stoker Awards® are presented annually for superior writing in eleven categories including traditional fiction of various lengths, poetry, screenplays and non-fiction. Previous winners include Stephen King, J.K. Rowling, George R. R. Martin, Joyce Carol Oates and Neil Gaiman. The HWA also presents a Lifetime Achievement Award to living individuals who have made a substantial and enduring contribution to the genre. This year’s Lifetime Achievement recipients are Jack Ketchum and Tanith Lee.
“This year’s nominees have not only penned remarkable works, they have raised the bar for exceptional writing and have helped shape the continuing evolution of the genre,” said Lisa Morton, HWA president and multiple Bram Stoker Award® winner.

The presentation of the Bram Stoker Awards® will occur during the World Horror Convention in Atlanta, Georgia on the evening of Saturday, May 9, 2015. Tickets to the banquet and the convention are on sale to the public at www.whc2015.org. The awards presentation will also be live-streamed online.

The full ballot is included below.

Superior Achievement in a Novel

Craig DiLouie – Suffer the Children (Gallery Books of Simon & Schuster)
Patrick Freivald – Jade Sky (JournalStone)
Chuck Palahniuk – Beautiful You (Jonathan Cape, Vintage/Penguin Random House UK)
Christopher Rice – The Vines (47North)
Steve Rasnic Tem – Blood Kin (Solaris Books)

Superior Achievement in a First Novel

Maria Alexander – Mr. Wicker (Raw Dog Screaming Press)
J.D. Barker – Forsaken (Hampton Creek Press)
David Cronenberg – Consumed (Scribner)
Michael Knost – Return of the Mothman (Woodland Press)
Josh Malerman – Bird Box (Harper Collins)

Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel

Jake Bible – Intentional Haunting (Permuted Press)
John Dixon – Phoenix Island (Simon & Schuster/Gallery Books)
Kami Garcia – Unmarked (The Legion Series Book 2) (Little Brown Books for Young Readers)
Tonya Hurley – Passionaries (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)
Peter Adam Salomon – All Those Broken Angels (Flux)

Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel

Emily Carroll – Through the Woods (Margaret K. McElderry Books)
Joe Hill – Locke and Key, Vol. 6 (IDW Publishing)
Joe R. Lansdale and Daniele Serra – I Tell You It’s Love (Short, Scary Tales Publications)
Jonathan Maberry – Bad Blood (Dark Horse Books)
Paul Tobin – The Witcher (Dark Horse Books)

Superior Achievement in Long Fiction

Taylor Grant – “The Infected” (Cemetery Dance #71) (Cemetery Dance)
Eric J. Guignard – “Dreams of a Little Suicide” (Hell Comes to Hollywood II: Twenty-Two More Tales of Tinseltown Terror (Volume 2)) (Big Time Books)
Joe R. Lansdale – “Fishing for Dinosaurs” (Limbus, Inc., Book II) (JournalStone)
Jonathan Maberry – “Three Guys Walk into a Bar” (Limbus, Inc., Book II) (JournalStone)
Joe McKinney – “Lost and Found” (Limbus, Inc., Book II) (JournalStone)

Superior Achievement in Short Fiction

Hal Bodner – “Hot Tub” (Hell Comes to Hollywood II: Twenty-Two More Tales of Tinseltown Terror (Volume 2)) (Big Time Books)
Sydney Leigh – “Baby’s Breath” (Bugs: Tales That Slither, Creep, and Crawl) (Great Old Ones Publishing)
Usman T. Malik – “The Vaporization Enthalpy of a Peculiar Pakistani Family” (Qualia Nous) (Written Backwards)
Rena Mason – “Ruminations” (Qualia Nous) (Written Backwards)
John Palisano – “Splinterette” (Widowmakers: A Benefit Anthology of Dark Fiction) (Widowmaker Press)
Damien Angelica Walters – “The Floating Girls: A Documentary” (Jamais Vu, Issue Three) (Post Mortem Press)

Superior Achievement in a Screenplay

Scott M. Gimple – The Walking Dead: “The Grove”, episode 4:14 (AMC)
Jennifer Kent – The Babadook (Causeway Films)
John Logan – Penny Dreadful: “Séance” (Desert Wolf Productions/Neal Street Productions)
Steven Moffat – Doctor Who: “Listen” (British Broadcasting Corporation)
James Wong – American Horror Story: Coven: “The Magical Delights of Stevie Nicks” (FX Network)

Superior Achievement in an Anthology

Michael Bailey – Qualia Nous (Written Backwards)
Jason V Brock – A Darke Phantastique (Cycatrix Press)
Ellen Datlow – Fearful Symmetries (ChiZine Publications)
Chuck Palahniuk, Richard Thomas, and Dennis Widmyer – Burnt Tongues (Medallion Press)
Brett J. Talley – Limbus, Inc., Book II (JournalStone)

Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection

Stephen Graham Jones – After the People Lights Have Gone Off (Dark House Press)
John R. Little – Little by Little (Bad Moon Books)
Helen Marshall – Gifts for the One Who Comes After (ChiZine Publications)
Lucy Snyder – Soft Apocalypses (Raw Dog Screaming Press)
John F.D. Taff – The End in All Beginnings (Grey Matter Press)

Superior Achievement in Non-Fiction

Jason V Brock – Disorders of Magnitude (Rowman & Littlefield)
S.T. Joshi – Lovecraft and a World in Transition (Hippocampus Press)
Leslie S. Klinger – The New Annotated H.P. Lovecraft (Liveright Publishing Corp., a division of W.W. Norton & Co.)
Joe Mynhardt and Emma Audsley – Horror 101: The Way Forward (Crystal Lake Publishing)
Lucy Snyder – Shooting Yourself in the Head For Fun and Profit: A Writer’s Survival Guide (Post Mortem Press)

Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection

Robert Payne Cabeen – Fearworms: Selected Poems (Fanboy Comics)
Corrinne De Winter and Alessandro Manzetti – Venus Intervention (Kipple Officina Libraria)
Tom Piccirilli – Forgiving Judas (Crossroad Press)
Marge Simon and Mary Turzillo – Sweet Poison (Dark Renaissance Books)
Stephanie Wytovich – Mourning Jewelry (Raw Dog Screaming Press)

About the Horror Writers Association

The Horror Writers Association is a nonprofit organization of writers and publishing professionals around the world, dedicated to promoting dark literature and the interests of those who write it. The HWA formed in 1985 with the help of many of the field’s greats, including Dean Koontz, Robert McCammon, and Joe Lansdale. Today, with over 1250 members around the globe, it is the oldest and most respected professional organization for the much-loved writers who have brought you the most enjoyable sleepless nights of your life.
One of HWA’s missions is to encourage public interest in and foster an appreciation of good Horror and Dark Fantasy literature. The organization offers public areas of its site, www.horror.org; sponsors or takes part in public readings and lectures; publishes a monthly newsletter for members; maintains outreach to booksellers, librarians, fans and readers; facilitates readings and signings by horror writers; offers scholarships; and maintains an official presence at the major fan-based horror and fantasy conventions, such as the World Horror Convention, and literary festivals.

Fury of Obsession (Dragonfury Book 5) Released 24/2/15

Due out on the 24th Febuary 2015 and can be preordered on Amazon

 Synopsis 

Dragon-warrior Venom lives in self-imposed isolation. Cursed by his toxic touch, he is deadly to anyone who has contact with him for too long. Set apart from others and hounded by intense loneliness, he craves the lasting connection he believes he cannot possess. Until a chance encounter with a sultry mortal offers a ray of hope… Evelyn Foxe is the woman of Venom’s every desire, but she’s too busy running from the Russian mob to think about love. As she accepts Venom’s offer to help her escape her precarious situation, she’s skeptical, afraid that he’s in league with those sent to harm her. But when a biological weapon is unleashed in her hometown, Evelyn is forced to trust Venom—or risk the dangers of going it alone. Will they survive the firestorm that rages around them? And can they pull from the ashes a love that will defy all the odds and last through the ages?

 If you haven’t read this series of books by Colleen Callahan, then your missing a treat. This series starts with Fury of Fire and the introduction of the hidden race of dragon warriors sworn to protect the human race. Bastian the leader meets a human called Myst and the attraction is instant. An extraordinary blend of action, fantasy, and steamy romance, Fury of Fire brings to life a dangerous new world intertwined with the survival of humanity, all while exploring the meaning of honor and the nature of true love.

Review will follow soon

The Mermaids Sister by Carrie Anne Noble

Synopsis

There is no cure for being who you truly are...       

In a cottage high atop Llanfair Mountain, sixteen-year-old Clara lives with her sister, Maren, and guardian Auntie. By day, they gather herbs for Auntie’s healing potions. By night, Auntie spins tales of faraway lands and wicked fairies. Clara’s favorite story tells of three orphan infants—Clara, who was brought to Auntie by a stork; Maren, who arrived in a seashell; and their best friend, O’Neill, who was found beneath an apple tree.
One day, Clara discovers shimmering scales just beneath her sister’s skin. She realizes that Maren is becoming a mermaid—and knows that no mermaid can survive on land. Desperate to save her, Clara and O’Neill place the mermaid-girl in their gypsy wagon and set out for the sea. But no road is straight, and the trio encounters trouble around every bend. Ensnared by an evil troupe of traveling performers, Clara and O’Neill must find a way to save themselves and the ever-weakening mermaid.
And always, in the back of her mind, Clara wonders, if my sister is a mermaid, then what am I?

Review

I downloaded this book as it was offered as a free pre-release kindle book from Amazon, I presume to build up some reviews before it’s released. Despite this, it doesn’t influence my honest review.

The book starts with Auntie and her 2 girls Maren & Clara living in a small cottage on Llanfair Mountain. Maren is starting to transform into a mermaid, which is her destiny, and soon she must be taken to the coast and released into the sea or die. Clara and another character O’Neill agree to travel together to take Maren to the sea. The story is set in the 19th centuary and the 3 of them travel to the coast by caravan and horse, when they are accosted by the Phipps’ travelling show who covet Maren, to put her in their show.

The story is well written and will appeal to some readers but I found it very twee & difficult to get into, hence the longer than normal (for me) time to read it. The only reason it features in the fantasy category in my opinion is because it briefly mentions a mermaid (the description of her transformation isn’t great) and a couple of other mystical creatures such as a wyvern for example. There are also too many cliché’s in the book for example they travel to a town which is full of shoe makers and cobblers who turn out to be all elves (Think The Elf & The Shoemaker). The authors attempt to twist the tail as in Jasper is the real tyrant not his father was rather also crude and not particularly well done. It needed more twists and turns along with more development of the fantasy characters etc to give it more appeal to the young adult fantasy reader.

This book is aimed at the young adult market, but I would have aimed it more at the 10 – 14yr olds, the young adults I know wouldn’t touch this book. On the positive side, the description of life in the 19th centuary appears to be accurate and did add to the authenticity of the story. If you like fantasy books with depth of characters and storylines then I wouldn’t bother with this book.

I rate this book

World After by Susan Ee

Synopsis  

In this sequel to the bestselling fantasy thriller, Angelfall, the survivors of the angel apocalypse begin to scrape back together what's left of the modern world. When a group of people capture Penryn's sister Paige, thinking she's a monster, the situation ends in a massacre. Paige disappears. Humans are terrified. Mom is heartbroken.

Penryn drives through the streets of San Francisco looking for Paige.
Why are the streets so empty? Where is everybody? Her search leads her into the heart of the angels' secret plans, where she catches a glimpse of their motivations, and learns the horrifying extent to which the angels are willing to go.

Meanwhile, Raffe hunts for his wings. Without them, he can't rejoin the angels, can't take his rightful place as one of their leaders. When faced with recapturing his wings or helping Penryn survive, which will he choose?

Review

This book was well worth the wait, it didn't fail to live up to the promise of the first book & it is well written as you would expect from Susan Ee.
We get an insight into what happened to Penryn’s sister & despite the fact that Paige has been forever changed after her 'surgery', Penryn sticks by her. Penryn is recovering from her encounter with the scorpions in the Eyrie basement, and while she does so in the rebels camp the other campmates try to kill the ‘monster’ that Paige has become, resulting in a bloodbath and Paige once more disappearing. So Penryn once more must leave the safety of the camp to search for her sister

Raffe was missing for the first half of the book, although glimpses of him where there.The relationship between Penryn and Raffe isn't the focus of World After, and she doesn’t waste time mooning and pining for him. Penryn is too busy living through the angel apocalypse to spend too much time thinking about Raffe. It so refreshing to have a romance that doesn’t overwhelm the whole plot and doesn’t descend into a cheesy horrible angel romance.

I loved Penryn in Angelfall, and I loved her even more whilst reading World After. She is the type of heroine that I admire, she is tough, family focused and incredibly brave. As Penryn’s character develops there is much more revealed about both her background and what happened to Paige before the angel apocalypse, which explains so much about her character and why she acts the way she does.

This is a dark, post apocalyptic novel and World After jumps straight into the action, as with Angelfall, I couldn’t put it down. World After is dark creepy, imaginative and more than a little spooky, there were parts where I was literally cringing with the horror of some of the things that happened. Susan Ee has a wicked imagination for bringing nightmares to life, and I loved every single moment.

The book is well written, pacy and one you won’t want to put down. The one and only issue I have with World After is the wait until the next book in the series, which is due out 12th May 2015. If you haven't read Angelfall yet do so as you won’t be disappointed, and I would highly recommend reading all three books together, and not have to wait like I did.

I rate this book

Shadow Kiss (Vampire Academy book 3) by Richelle Mead

 Synopsis    

It's springtime at St. Vladimir's Academy, and Rose Hathaway is this close to graduation. Since making her first Strigoi kills, Rose hasn't been feeling quite right. She's having dark thoughts, behaving erratically, and worst of all... might be seeing ghosts.

As Rose questions her sanity, new complications arise. Lissa has begun experimenting with her magic once more, their enemy Victor Dashkov might be set free, and Rose's forbidden relationship with Dimitri is starting to heat up again. But when a deadly threat no one saw coming changes their entire world, Rose must put her own life on the line - and choose between the two people she loves most.

Review

Let me first say this book is a major step up from the first two books, we get more intrigue, romance and kick ass than the other 2 put together. Firstly there’s Rose who keeps seeing the ghost of Mason, who appears to be trying to telling her something, put this together with her bizarre behaviour and short temper, people are beginning to believe that she may be losing her sanity. It isn’t until we get towards the end of the book, that we find out why these things are happening, the author cleverly keeps you hanging on to the bitter end!!

Lissa is the happiest she’s been for a very long time, and is once again practicing her magic, whilst teaching Adrian. No one though seems to question the change in both her and Rose’s behaviour, readers are left hanging on until the end of the book, to find out why.

I’ll try not to spoil the end too much, but Rose finally gets what she’s wanted and then it’s cruelly snatched away. I was devastated & crying at the end (I’m not ashamed to admit it) as this turn of events came as a bolt from the blue. The author had cleverly given little indication of what was going to happen until you turn to the page and read it. I was shocked at what happened and how this changed my whole concept of how I thought the books were going to continue. Once I read the rest of the exerts for the next 3 books, did I fully understand where Richelle was going with her writing. It takes a skilled writer to completely turn a story on it’s head, whilst keeping it credible. The book twists and turns, in the story line and whilst the book didn’t end how I wanted it to, it’s Richelle’s unpredictability which keeps the reader hooked and wanting to buy the next book.
Some readers may think Richelle took a big risk ending the book as she did, but that’s what makes it a great book. I would highly recommend this book, if your new to the series, persevere with the first 2 books and you won’t be disappointed with the third.

I rate this book

Checkout excerpt for End of Days by Susan Ee

To check out the excerpt of the new book End of Days by Susan Ee, follow the link

End of days...

Review coming soon

Hoping to write the review for Shadow Kiss written today, so watch this space!!

End of Days by Susan Ee

Newly released book cover for End of Days by Susan Ee, due out 12th May 2015. I'm looking forward to reading and reviewing the final instalement of the Angelfall trilogy

Cover release for End of Days by Susan Ee coming soon

Penryn & the End of Days—Finale! Cover Reveal Entertainment Weekly will reveal the End of Days cover and show an exclusive excerpt online this Friday! I’ll post the link on my site when I get it. End of Days is coming on May 12, 2015! I can’t wait to share it with you

Pre-release book to read

Just got this book as a free download for the kindle and it isn't released for sale until next month. So excited to get a book to read and review before release on the kindle!

Frostbite (Vampire Academy book 2) by Richelle Mead

Synopsis 

Rose loves Dimitri, Dimitri might love Tasha, and Mason would die to be with Rose...     

It’s winter break at St. Vladimir’s, but Rose is feeling anything but festive. A massive Strigoi attack has put the school on high alert, and now the Academy’s crawling with Guardians—including Rose’s hard-hitting mother, Janine Hathaway. And if hand-to-hand combat with her mom wasn’t bad enough, Rose’s tutor Dimitri has his eye on someone else, her friend Mason’s got a huge crush on her, and Rose keeps getting stuck in Lissa’s head while she’s making out with her boyfriend, Christian! The Strigoi are closing in, and the Academy’s not taking any risks... This year, St. Vlad’s annual holiday ski trip is mandatory.

But the glittering winter landscape and the posh Idaho resort only create the illusion of safety. When three friends run away in an offensive move against the deadly Strigoi, Rose must join forces with Christian to rescue them. But heroism rarely comes without a price.

Review

Throughout the book there is the undercurrent of Rose’s feelings for Dimitri as she can’t seem to get the time they were under the influence of a lust charm, whilst he tries to avoid it. Lissa is loved up with Christian making it very difficult for Rose to keep out of Lissa’s head as her strong emotions pull Rose into her mind. Everyone is hyped up about the strigoi attack on a royal family, were Rose encounters the aftermath. So for christmas the whole school get to visit the Luxurious ski resort, and Rose encounters the incorrigible and mysterious Adrian.

I enjoyed this book better than the last as more characters are introduced which enriches the story. There’s a lot of threads weaved throughout the book. Mason’s feelings for Rose, will Rose loose Dimitri to Tasha and the strigoi attacks to name a few, which keeps the reader hooked all the way through. The author has also ramped up the action in this book, especially towards the end with the strigoi attack which gives the book more appeal.

Personally I have found Rose annoying in some sections of the book, as she makes mistakes etc. She does them in her own way and time, and though the mistakes she makes might make you cringe you understand, that's Rose, so you watch her grow, learn and change. Everything about her you believe, whether she drives you crazy or not!!

The stakes are even higher in this book, because this fight is even more lethal than anything Victor Dashkov has done. Rose and her friends work together against the strigoi and gives us our first glimpse into what they can do and what they've learned from the academy. Some of the characters will shock & surprise you, and there may be a few tears too, but it will leave you wanting to read the next book.

I rate this book