Lailah by Nikki Kelly

Series: The Styclar Saga (bk. 1)

Genera(s): Paranormal Romance

Subjects: supernatural, immortality, vampires, angels, demons, magic

Setting: The U.K. (England and Wales), France and other various places

POV/Tense: 1^st person POV, past tense: Cessie/Lailah

Age/Grade Level: Teen (12 & up, but also feels like New Adult)

Length: 388 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: Macmillan: Feiwel & Friends

Summary/ product description: “Over one million Wattpad readers have made Lailah a sensation!

The girl knows she’s different. She doesn’t age. She has no family. She has visions of a past life, but no clear clues as to what she is, or where she comes from. But there is a face in her dreams – a light that breaks through the darkness. She knows his name is Gabriel.

On her way home from work, the girl encounters an injured stranger whose name is Jonah. Soon, she will understand that Jonah belongs to a generation of Vampires that serve even darker forces. Jonah and the few like him, are fighting with help from an unlikely Allie – a rogue Angel, named Gabriel.

In the crossfire between good and evil, love and hate, and life and death, the girl learns her name: Lailah. But when the lines between black and white begin to blur, where in the spectrum will she find her place? And with whom?

Gabriel and Jonah both want to protect her. But Lailah will have to fight her own battle to find out who she truly is.”

My Review:  This book took me way too long to finish. Almost a week, probably because I was busy. This is not a fast paced read, though. The idea behind the book is good, but I guess I just wasn’t in the mood for a new series that has vampires playing a major role.

I liked the angel stuff in this book, and the mystery of what Cessie/Lailah is. There’s something unique and interesting about the book, but sometimes it felt to wordy or clunky. I don’t know how much the editor smoothed out from the original Wattpad version, but maybe some stuff could have been cut? Maybe I had a hard time reading it was because it was written by a British woman and they talk differently there.

The romance was pretty interesting. It’s a little love-triangle like, but not in a very Twilight way. Jonah reminded me of Damon from the Vampire Diaries. Jonah’s American. He’s got a bad boy persona and a romantic nicer side. He kept bugging Cessie about whether or not she’s human or a vampire or something else. He’s get-under-your-skin annoying, but you can’t help but like him. Gabriel is more mysterious and very loving and caring. He’s light and love. He’s not the real Gabriel, the Arch Angel, but a younger angel “descendent.” Lailah has feeling for both, and makes out with them and let’s Jonah drink her blood.

The setting is very atmospheric. The story takes place in wintertime so there’s snow and Christmas and cold. It’s set in the U.K. and then they go to France too. They’re in the countryside mostly, but sometimes a city or town. I kept picturing winter landscape paintings and quaint towns.

The very end of the book made me interested in reading the sequel. As much as I struggled with this first book, I will probably check out the second book Gabriel. There have been some series in which the first book feel “meh” to me and then I read the sequel and think: “Why did I even dislike the first book? This is awesome!” My advice is don’t read a wordy book when you a sleepy because it will seem boring even during an action scene. Or maybe read Lailah as an ebook so you can change the type size. Sometimes good story a ruined by bad typography and design in print books. I read Lailah as an ARC.

I recommend this book to fans of Twilight, Fallen, Hush, Hush, Everneath, Halo (Alexandra Adornetto), Embrace series by Jessica Shirvington. If you still love reading vampire books or even angel books, then you should try reading this book.

Cover Art Review: I like the cover. The hands are a bit creepy. The girl looks angelic. The title has A’s that look like bloody vampire fangs.

Love Reborn by Yvonne Woon

Series: Dead Beautiful (bk. 3)

Genera(s): Fantasy/Paranormal Romance

Subjects: supernatural, zombies, love, eternal life, adventure

Setting: Wintertime, Massachusetts and throughout Europe. Paris, France, the Netherlands, Germany and more.

POV/Tense: 1^st person POV, past tense. Renée

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 358 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $16.99

Publisher: Hyperion

Summary/ product description: “Renée and Dante are dying. The soul they share cannot sustain them both, and they're quickly running out of time.

But Renée has in her possession a legendary chest said to contain the secret to eternal life-if only they could solve the clues that lie within it. With both the Liberum, a Brotherhood of the Undead, and a team of Monitors, led by Renée's own grandfather, in hot pursuit, Renée and Dante must keep the chest safe or risk having it fall into the wrong hands.

With the help of a mysterious letter-writer called only Monsieur, Renée and Dante follow a series of clues that lead them on a treacherous journey across Europe. They seek the Netherworld, a legendary chasm where souls go to be cleansed. It's their only chance at a fresh start, but with it comes a terrible choice, one they never imagined they would be forced to make.

The third novel in the acclaimed Dead Beautiful series is a haunting story of sacrifice, loyalty, and a love that can never die.”

My Review: Love Reborn is the conclusion to the Dead Beautiful trilogy. It’s been about two years since the second book came out, Life Eternal. This final book is full of romance and adventure. Not as much romance as the first book, but way more adventure than the previous too. I really did enjoy it, but I wish I didn’t have to wait so long. So was it worth the wait? It was.

Dante tells Renée to meet him in Pilgrim, Massachusetts and she ends up at a tavern called the Old Soul. Anya, one of her classmates that went to the Montreal school is there. She also meets Theo, a young Monitor whose very good at pick pocketing. Theo and Anya both received a letter from someone called Monsieur. Once Dante shows up and finds another letter addressed to Renée with four plane tickets to Paris, they set out on a journey across Europe to find the pathway to the Netherworld.

I love all the adventure in the final book. It’s set during winter, so it’s a perfect time to read it. I like books with interesting settings, and I haven’t read many books that involve travel to Europe, so it’s like a virtual vacation to a foreign country. They start in Paris, which I’ve read a few book about. They have a map that indicates five points they must travel to.

This map was made by René Descartes. They show it to a cartographer in Paris and he gives them his theories on the locations. They end up traveling to the Netherlands, Germany and Bavaria. They climb the Alps. At every turn, there’s danger. The danger of the high court of elders following them. The Liberum that wants their map. All kinds of peril and they have their shovels and spades to protect them. At each point on the map, one of the five senses will be affected. That sense will become numbed and dull.

I like that we get to see Anya again. She’s a very interesting character and she’s Russian. She’s very helpful and reads Tarot cards. I also liked the new character Theo. Though he was secretive, he was also funny and such a cool guy. He was a big help along the way.

I feel like the ending was cut short. I’m pretty sure that this was the last book, but it felt like it could have not been. I really wish that there was more romance between Renée and Dante, but there was enough early in the story and some near the end. I did enjoy the book. It’s a pretty quick read. Definitely shorter than the previous books. It could have been longer, but it wasn’t. I am slightly disappointed. There’s been such a huge gap between each book. A two-year wait! And this is all I get?

Now that they’re all out, if you haven’t read this series, you don’t have to wait! Read them all back-to-back. If you enjoyed Vampire Academy, Die For Me by Amy Plum, Hex Hall, or books about boarding school, sexy undead boys or paranormal romance, then give this series a try.

Cover Art Review: Not as good as the previous book’s cover. The girl does not look like the main character. The photos don’t go together. The color’s kind of off, especially on the graveyard photo, The lighting is wrong.

Eternal by Kristi Cook

Series: Winterhaven (bk. 3)

Genera: Paranormal Romance

Subjects: vampires, vampire hunters, supernatural, psychic ability, premonitions, boarding schools, New York, abilities

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 408 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $16.99

Publisher: Simon & Schuster: Simon Pulse

Summary/ product description: “True love and destiny collide in the conclusion to the Haven trilogy, which Booklist called “a blend of the Gemma Doyle trilogy, the Twilight saga, and Lois Duncan’s thrillers.”

Forced to endure the violent punishment of the Tribunal for murders he has no recollection of committing, Aidan is slowly rotting away in a Paris dungeon. Violet is all but an unreachable dream to him now.

But unlike Aidan, Violet has not given up hope as she works tirelessly with Matthew, her guardian and protector, to prove Aidan’s innocence and unravel the haunting vision that plagues her thoughts—the death of someone closest to her.

Determined to set Aidan free, Violet discovers that a dangerous vampire war is brewing—and that Aidan may be at the center of it all. It’s only when the war reaches the doors of Winterhaven and tragedy strikes the school that Violet has to finally accept her fate. But that could mean losing Aidan—forever.

With no other option, Violet must choose between true love and fulfilling her destiny…unless she can find a way to have them both.”

My Review: This book was epic and the ending completely resolved the series. I loved every minute of it, even though the beginning of it started out slow due to the lack of Aidan. Once Aidan returned, everything was just full of awesome and of course, romance. I loved this series from the very beginning. When I first saw Haven I wasn’t aware that I was looking at a book with vampires. When I found out that there were vampires, I was hesitant thinking it would be just another vampire book with a boarding school. Not true. It was not just another vampire series, though if you love Vampire Academy, I’d recommend it. This book is unique. It’s like if Vampire Academy and X-men combined, kind of.

Violet is a Sabbat. She is a born vampire huntress. Aidan is a vampire, so you can see the dilemma. Matthew is her Megved, which is kind of like a Sabbat sidekick and guardian. Suppossedly a Sabbat and Megved have a deep soul-mate connection and usually become lovers, but Violet feels like Matthew is more of a big brother. He’s about 26 and she’s only almost 18. He’s a professor at Winterhaven. Their psychic connection is kind of inconvenient. I love how there isn’t a love triangle at all. Aidan does occasionally feel jealous when another guy is with Violet, but Aidan is such a gentleman. He believes that he can find a cure for his vampirism with science. He’s not a carbon copy of Edward Cullen, but they do share a few personality traits. Aidan is much better than Edward ever was. Aidan was the son of a king of England, but was a Viscount, not a prince. Aidan sometimes slips into a British accent. Aidan is pretty much one of my favorite vampire characters of all time. It must be the Aidan Effect.

I also love all the side characters. They all have cool powers and different personalities, but they’re Violet friends and truly care about her and help and support her. Cece has astral projection and she spies for Violet once in this book. Sophie can sense a person’s injury or ailment by touching them.  Other characters have psychic powers like telekinesis and empathy. I kind of forgot who had what, but remember after a while. I suggest you refresh your memory of who’s who before reading. Violet of course has premonitions beside her Sabbat abilities. Pretty much all of Violet visions from the previous book are realized in this book, but some have changed outcomes.

I love this series and now that it’s over I’m going to miss it. I always hope for spin-offs and novella after a series ends and sometimes they happen, but usually not. This book had it’s twists and turn and moments when you feel like you’re going to cry. This whole series gave me the feels and sometime I actually felt like I was Violet and that Aidan was my boyfriend that I cared about so much. I felt her pain. I must be a book empath or something. This is such an emotional read and it’s probably because the writing style is both simple and descriptive. It’s this lush, romantic story with its sexy part too. I don’t think any adult PNR could ever get to my heart the way that YA PNR like this has.

I recommend this series to fans of Vampire Academy, House of Night, Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins, the Shadow Falls series by C.C. Hunter, the Mythos Academy series by Jennifer Estep, Talents series by Inara Scott, The Drake Chronicles by Alyxandra Harvey, and I guess if you liked Twilight, this series could work for you. Anyone who enjoys paranormal romance and psychic teens, read this book series.

Cover Art Review: I love the title, colors and the simplicity. The butterfly and the hourglass seem so awesome and minimal. Angela Goddard is the designer and she’s really into typographic and minimal. She also designed the Possession book covers and the Immortals series covers.