Riders by Veronica Rossi

Series: Riders Duology (bk. 1)

Genera(s): Paranormal Romance/Thriller

Subjects: supernatural, demons, angels, magic, horses, apocalypse

Setting: California, Rome, Italy, Norway

POV/Tense: 1^st person POV, past tense: Gideon Blake

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 362 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: Macmillan: TorTeen

Summary/ product description: “Nothing but death can keep eighteen-year-old Gideon Blake from achieving his goal of becoming a U.S. Army Ranger. As it turns out, it does.

While recovering from the accident that most definitely killed him, Gideon finds himself with strange new powers and a bizarre cuff he can’t remove. His death has brought to life his real destiny. He has become War, one of the legendary four horsemen of the apocalypse.

Over the coming weeks, he and the other horsemen—Conquest, Famine, and Death—are brought together by a beautiful but frustratingly secretive girl to help save humanity from an ancient evil on the emergence.

They fail.

Now—bound, bloodied, and drugged—Gideon is interrogated by the authorities about his role in a battle that has become an international incident. If he stands any chance of saving his friends and the girl he’s fallen for—not to mention all of humankind—he needs to convince the skeptical government officials the world is in imminent danger.

But will anyone believe him?”

My Review:  Riders is a pretty good series opener. The beginning of the book starts weeks after the fact, and Gideon is telling his story to a woman named Natalie Cordero, who’s possibly a psychologist or interrogator with a government agency. There are some interruptions when she asks him questions. She seems skeptical of his story, but also seems to put on an act of believing him.

Gideon was training for the army to be in the 75^th Ranger Regimen. He has an accident on his 6^th time parachuting and almost dies. He wakes up with a strange red metallic bracelet on his wrist. He’s healing from his injuries mysteriously fast. He goes to a party at his sister’s college and meets a girl that tells him he has to come with her. This girl is Daryn, and claims that she is a Seeker in search of the current incarnations of the four horsemen of the apocalypse, and tells Gideon that he’s War.

Gideon’s in disbelief even after being attacked by the Kindred at the party. They travel across California to find Famine and Death, and eventually Conquest, who’s in Europe. Along the way, they try their best to evade the Kindred, but still some attacks occur. Also the horsemen don’t all get along. Gideon’s got quite the temper sometimes. My favorite character is probably Sebastian (Bas). He’s such a nice guy, doesn’t want to fight. He had dreams of being a famous actor, and Gideon actually met him during Bas’s audition. There’s some romance between Daryn and Gideon. Daryn seems like a cool girl and reminds me of other female characters I’ve read.

I love the horses. I didn’t expect that there would be horses. I thought “horsemen” would just be a title with no actual horses involved. But there are horses! Gideon’s horse is a fiery red stallion. This horse has real flames for its mane and tail, like Ponyta & Rapidash from Pokémon. Also it makes me think of Ghost Rider. Bas’s mare is dark and shadowy, but beautiful. There’s Death’s pale horse, an ashy mare. And Conquest’s glowing white horse. I like the names they each come up with for their horses too.

This was pretty exciting. Can’t wait to see how it ends in the sequel-finale. I recommend this to people who enjoy shows like Supernatural or Messengers (which was cancelled after 1 season) or Constantine. Also fans of paranormal book in general. If you like horses, too.

Cover Art Review: Cool fiery horse!!! Really awesome cover.

Walk the Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson

Series: The Gold Seer Trilogy (bk. 1)

Genera(s): Paranormal/Western Historical Fiction

Subjects: adventure, magic, gold rush

Setting: Georgia, Tennessee, Missouri and to California

POV/Tense: 1^st person POV, present tense: Leah Westfall

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 431 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover 

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: HarperTeen: Greenwillow Books

Summary/ product description: “Gold is in my blood, in my breath, even in the flecks in my eyes.

Lee Westfall has a strong, loving family. She has a home she loves and a loyal steed. She has a best friend—who might want to be something more.

She also has a secret.

Lee can sense gold in the world around her. Veins deep in the earth. Small nuggets in a stream. Even gold dust caught underneath a fingernail. She has kept her family safe and able to buy provisions, even through the harshest winters. But what would someone do to control a girl with that kind of power? A person might murder for it.

When everything Lee holds dear is ripped away, she flees west to California—where gold has just been discovered. Perhaps this will be the one place a magical girl can be herself. If she survives the journey.

The acclaimed Rae Carson begins a sweeping new trilogy set in Gold Rush-era America, about a young woman with a powerful and dangerous gift.”

My Review:  I don’t usually read historical fiction for fun. I’ve only read the Madman’s Daughter series, which I enjoyed, and A Clockwork Angel and Dead Reckoning, which I didn’t enjoy. But how could I resist trying to read a book about a girl who can sense gold and travels to California during the gold rush? I like Western movies, hot cowboys, all that. Walk on Earth a Stranger is a true western adventure.

Leah is an awesome heroin. When she leaves her home because her uncle murdered her parents, she disguises herself as a boy and pulls it off. She heads to Independence, Missouri to meet up with Jefferson, a guy friend who’s a neighbor. Jeff is part Cherokee and lots of people have negative beliefs about natives at that time. It takes months to get there and see him again. Crossing the plains and the mountain with a caravan takes way longer and some friend she makes even die along the way. It’s a treacherous journey. She hears her uncle took the sea rout to California, which is supposedly faster and easier. She hopes that her uncle won’t find her because he wants her for her ability to find gold.

I really enjoyed this book. Much more that the Girl of Fire and Thorns, which was pretty slow and used a lot of Spanish words, but had fantasy. This book does have some old fashioned/southernisms in it and sometime is a little slow, but not too bad. I wish there was more paranormal stuff that just Leah finding gold, but it’s fine the way it is. I watch Prospectors on the Weather Channel and sometimes other treasure shows. I panned for gold once in Deadwood, South Dakota. It was seven dollar and I got little pieces of gold, like sand grains. I collect rock too. So gold and gem prospecting is really cool to me.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes westerns or pioneer stuff, like True Grit or the Lone Ranger or even Little House on the Prairie.

Cover Art Review: Beautiful Cover. Not sure I like the girl’s dress though. Leah mostly wears boys clothes in the book are a disguise.