REVIEW: FORSAKEN

Author: Jana Oliver
Series: Yes, #1
UK Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
UK Release date: 2011
Genre: YA Paranormal
Kindly given by the publisher for an honest review

Seventeen-year-old Riley, the only daughter of legendary Demon Trapper, Paul Blackthorne, has always dreamed of following in her father's footsteps. When she’s not keeping up with her homework or trying to manage her growing crush on fellow apprentice, Simon, Riley’s out saving distressed citizens from foul-mouthed little devils – Grade One Hellspawn only, of course, per the strict rules of the Guild. Life’s about as normal as can be for the average demon-trapping teen.
But then a Grade Five Geo-Fiend crashes Riley’s routine assignment at a library, jeopardizing her life and her chosen livelihood. And, as if that wasn’t bad enough, sudden tragedy strikes the Trappers’ Guild, spinning Riley down a more dangerous path than she ever could have imagined. As her whole world crashes down around her, who can Riley trust with her heart—and her life? (Goodreads)

The main protagonist Riley is a very independent and feisty young girl. Despite the fact that so many people don't think she can or should be a Demon Trapper, Riley is determined to prove them all wrong. She's had a hard life but she still keeps picking herself up and carrying on. It was also good to see a kick ass heroine cry and show her vulnerable side. I have to admit though, she might have meant well but her insistence of doing things her way and fend for herself (often to spite Beck) didn't always work out best.

I was impressed and surprised by the world building which was added in throughout the story. Riley lives in Atlanta, where poverty is rife, unemployment is the norm and people will steal anything and everything including odd bits of metal. Schools are run from old coffee shops because there is so little government funding. Oliver has taken the current economic climate and recession and pushed it into something dangerous, gritty and almost depressing. And in Riley's Atlanta, demons run riot. Usually they are on their own, but things have started to change. Most of these demons were pretty scary, able to whip up tornadoes and such. But I found myself liking the little magpie in Riley's apartments, because he didn't seem intentionally mean or horrible. In fact he seemed sweet and endearing, and I would have loved to seen him a bit more. I'm excited to see what happens with the demons in the next books - can the perceptions of them change, and can the demon vs demon hunter relationship change?

When it came to Beck, Riley was a bit of an idiot quite frankly. She couldn't get past the fact that he had 'rejected' her years ago and that he had a strong relationship with her father. She was mean to him, grumpy, and often judged his actions without thinking. With some parts of the story told by Beck, I could see that he was in fact a decent guy that had overcome some pretty horrible stuff. He was tough, rugged but protective of Riley. I may even go so far to say I liked him a lot.

The three main men in Riley's life were the aforementioned Beck, Simon her new boyfriend, and the mysterious Ori. Each was very different. Whilst Beck swigged down beers, Simon was thinking about the religious implications of things. Whilst I didn't begrudge him being religious in the slightest, his tendency to think that all demons were automatically evil rubbed me up the wrong way. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens between Riley, Beck, Ori and Simon, in their big love...square...?

Forsaken is a dark, kick ass urban fantasy and a great start to the Demon Trappers series.

Rating: 4*

REVIEW: CARNIVAL OF SOULS

Author: Melissa Marr
Series: Yes, #1
UK Publisher: Harper Collins
UK Release date: 4th September 2012
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Kindly given by the publisher for an honest review

In a city of daimons, rigid class lines separate the powerful from the power-hungry. And at the heart of The City is the Carnival of Souls, where both murder and pleasure are offered up for sale. Once in a generation, the carnival hosts a deadly competition that allows every daimon a chance to join the ruling elite. Without the competition, Aya and Kaleb would both face bleak futures--if for different reasons. For each of them, fighting to the death is the only way to try to live.

All Mallory knows of The City is that her father--and every other witch there--fled it for a life in exile in the human world. Instead of a typical teenage life full of friends and maybe even a little romance, Mallory scans quiet streets for threats, hides herself away, and trains to be lethal. She knows it's only a matter of time until a daimon finds her and her father, so she readies herself for the inevitable. While Mallory possesses little knowledge of The City, every inhabitant of The City knows of her. There are plans for Mallory, and soon she, too, will be drawn into the decadence and danger that is the Carnival of Souls.

I have to admit I was a little dubious reading this one as I haven't exactly loved other books by the author in the past. But this book gripped me straight away, and I absolutely loved it.

The plot was a cleverly crafted, beautifully woven and complex web. The different subplots interplayed so fluidly that at points when I was thinking 'what the hell just happened?!', things came together and fitted like another piece in a jigsaw puzzle. The plot was a little like a chess game, with wild twists and turns happening as each character made their next move in the desire for power. (Sorry for all my game analogies, but as you can probably tell I think the plot was really well worked out, with such clever changes and huge surprises and revelations. Along with the world building and strong character motivations there were so many different layers to this story, but they all worked perfectly together.) There was also plenty of action and intrigue to keep me utterly captivated and guessing what might happen next, but honestly with this book I couldn't rightly predict anything!

To start, the world building with its history of wars and hostility between witches and daimons and changing between the human and daimon worlds, had me a little confused. But soon I became fascinated with The City and its Carnival of Souls. This daimon world was a little more brutal and violent than I had expected, and it harked back to medieval times where caste systems were still strongly adhered to and those at the bottom had to fight, steal, kill or whore themselves to survive. Danger lurked around every corner and the Carnival felt very dark and unpredictable. The stark contrast of the two worlds was brilliant, and although there was less action in Mallory's human world, it didn't make it any less interesting.

Carnival of Souls featured a large cast of characters, and each one was well developed with distinct personalities and very focused motivations that catapulted the action and created the shocking plot twists. I felt a little sorry for Mallory, raised in the human world and pretty much oblivious to the truth. She'd been sheltered by Adam for her own protection and although he'd trained her, her ignorance made her practically defenceless against daimons or witches. She also had no say in her life - Adam pretty much controlled what she did, who she saw and where they lived, and even Kaleb started making decisions that impacted her life without her knowledge or consent. Although this felt right within the plot and with an understanding of why Kaleb was making these decisions, it still felt wrong that Mallory was often used by people as a tool. I respected the fact that she didn't just fall straight into Kaleb's arms, and I would have liked to have seen a little more happen or shared between the pair to better understand why Kaleb liked her so much.

In terms of Kaleb, he was very dangerous and violent. But his past and low social standing left him pretty much no other option on how to survive in The City, so I couldn't help but feel for him. I also admit that I kind of fell for his tough exterior and caring protectiveness over pack member Zevi. He was an enigma, scheming away and making dangerous power plays, but I think his boldness and determination attracted me to him.

At first I was also a little uncertain of Aya, because she was so forthright, cold and brutal. But she grew on me as the story progressed and I admired her strength and courage. She wasn't immune to caring, asking for help but she was very clever.

With some of the characters I couldn't tell what they might be up to and whether they could be completely trusted but this just intrigued me more. I can't wait to read the next book and see what happens to the individual characters and in the greater was between witches and daimons.

Carnival of Souls is beautifully crafted and deliciously dark. A must read for this year.

Rating: 5*

Carnival of Souls is out today and can be bought as an ebook too :)

ON MY WISHLIST: AFTER OBSESSION

On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It's where you can list all the books you desperately want but haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming.

My choice this week is a forthcoming paranormal story of possessions and hauntings, After Obsession.

Although I haven't read anything before by Carrie Jones, I've heard some great things about this scary and ghostly story, and as usual for me I'm won over by the cover! I'm always amazed when authors work in pairs to write a story, as it must be such a fun but challenging process, and I'm interested in seeing how debut author Wedel and established author Carrie Jones work together on this one.

After Obsession by Carrie Jones and Steven E. Wedel
To be published by Bloomsbury in September 2011

Aimee and Alan have secrets. Both teens have unusual pasts, and abilities they prefer to keep hidden. But when they meet each other for the first time, in a cold Maine town, they can’t stop their secrets from spilling out. Strange things have been happening lately, and they both feel strongly that something, or someone, is haunting them.

They’re wrong.

Despite their unusual history and powers, it’s neither Aimee nor Alan who is truly haunted. It’s Alan’s cousin Courtney who, in a desperate plea to find her missing father, has invited a demon into her life—and into her body. Only together can Aimee and Alan exorcise the ghost. And they have to move quickly, before it devours not just Courtney, but everything around her…

What's on your wishlist?

REVIEW: PASSION

Thanks to Sarah at Feeling Fictional for kindly giving me the ARC of this one.

Passion
Author: Lauren Kate
Series: Yes, Fallen #3
UK Publisher: Random House
UK release date: July 2011
Genre: YA

Following on from Torment Luce steps through an Announcer, a shadow of her own past, to race back through her previous lives and discover the truth behind the curse and reaffirm her love with Daniel. Luce visits MesoAmerica, a Victorian manor house and the First World War. Each time she comes closer to understanding why she dies and how strong their love is.

Review: Passion is very different to the previous two books in the Fallen series, as Luce disappears into an Announcer to visit her past lives throughout a variety of different historical eras. Spending a small period of time in each lifetime is certainly interesting and gives pace to the plot as Luce continually bounces around from one place to the next and I had to stay on my toes to figure out what new situation she had landed into.

In each lifetime Luce tries to figure out what her love for Daniel means. If Passion has done one thing for me then it has been to cement Luce and Daniel’s relationship across millennia and prove that Daniel’s love is absolutely everlasting and unshakable. In the previous books I wasn’t really won around by their love, but I have been converted after seeing Daniel bear such intense love and pain.

Fans of Miles, Shelby, Cam and the other fallen angles may be disappointed as they only feature every so often. This story is really all about Luce and Daniel. However new character Bill pops up in one of Luce’s announcers, helping her to blend in to each new time period, adding some biting cynicism and also being able to give a historical context to where they’re visiting.

There are a few minor inconsistencies with the time travel aspect, as Daniel sometimes didn’t remember being visited by his ‘future’ self, and other times he would. It made this element more confusing than it needed to be, although it isn’t a serious flaw of the plot.

In Passion you get more of an understanding of what the curse involves and why Luce dies each lifetime. Luce has to visit a number of her past selves to figure things out a small bit at a time. There wasn’t a big epiphany moment for me where I finally thought I understood the curse (I’m not sure I know the whole picture even know), but there was more a trickle of understanding building up towards the end.

At the end a whole other big dilemma is opened up, which some might see as leading perfectly into the next book. Personally I felt frustrated, that the story was being dragged out and that there wasn’t enough from the book for me. I can only presume that Passion is a bridge into Rapture, however I'm not sure if I'm patient enough to be kept waiting on this story.

Passion is filled with captivating and fast paced time travel, love, pain, and an unshakable depiction of Daniel and Luce’s relationship. A continuing saga in the eternal struggle between life and death, heaven and hell, and joy and despair.

Rating: 3*