Gabriel by Nikki Kelly

Series: The Styclar Saga (bk. 2)

Genera(s): Paranormal Romance

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

Setting: The U.K.

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

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

Length: 375 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: Macmillan: Feiwel & Friends

Summary/ product description: “The handsome Angel from Lailah gets center stage in this continuation of Wattpad sensation Nikki Kelly’s romantic and action-packed series about mortals, vampires, and angels.

Gabriel is an Angel Descendant. He's also an ally to a generation of vampires who want to break away from the demon who controls them. His faith in the power of good over evil wavers, however, when he discovers that Lailah, the woman he considers his only true love, may be both angel and demon. Is their love enough to overcome the dark forces who are ready to go to war with Gabriel, the vampire Jonah, and the angel and vampire forces? And can Gabriel compete with Jonah, who is also in love with Lailah?

Once again, Nikki Kelly looks deeply into the heart and soul of good and evil to create a romantic, action-packed reading adventure.”

My Review:  This sequel is slightly more interesting than the first book. I gave both 3 stars. I love the mythology, the angel stuff and that made up word of Styclar which is like heaven. This is set in the U.K. or at least I think it is. There were moments in this book where I was excited and moments when I was bored. Maybe because I am so sick of vampire stuff, or because I don’t like British-y books. I love magic and sci-fi stuff and this defiantly had some but it’s not as compelling as other paranormal books I’ve read.

I thought it was cool that Lailah had changed and now had angel and vampire abilities and her hair is now blong and black, and her eye are blue with dark spots. Transformations in characters are cool. Though I don’t get why so many female heroines lately want to get short haircuts. Like a haircut is a great disguise or something. She can now travel by thought and quickly. She can feed on sunlight or blood. She’s a pretty unique character in those ways, but I feel a lack of personality. She seems kind of quiet, I guess. Possibly a little Mary-su. We get to meet a new set of character that are Irish demon-hunters. They use like at the end of sentences a lot.

I wish that there was more romance with Jonah. Lailah forgot him and now only loves Gabriel. The love triangle was broken, but maybe only temporarily. In the previous book, Jonah had reminded me of Damon from the Vampire Diaries. Jonah’s American. He’s got a bad boy persona and a romantic nicer side. 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.”

I recommend this book to fans of Twilight, Fallen, Hush, Hush, Everneath by Brodi Ashton, The Dark Element series by Jennifer Armentrout, the Halo series by Alexandra Adornetto, the Embrace series by Jessica Shirvington. If you still love reading vampire books or even angel books, then you should try reading this book. If you are sick of vampires or angels, then it’s probably not a series for you.

Cover Art Review: Somewhat cool looking cover. The fire and the birds are cool.

Origin by Jessica Khoury

Publication Date: Sept 4, 2012 (and I’ve finally read it!)

Series: Corpus (bk. 1)

Genera(s): Sci-fi/Romance

Subjects: experiments, genetic engineering, immortality, rainforests,

Setting: In the Amazon Rainforest in a facility called Little Cam

POV/Tense: 1^st person, present tense: Pia

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 394 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover/Paperback

Publisher: Penguin: Razorbill

Summary/ product description: “Pia has grown up in a secret laboratory hidden deep in the Amazon rain forest. She was raised by a team of scientists who have created her to be the start of a new immortal race. But on the night of her seventeenth birthday, Pia discovers a hole in the electric fence that surrounds her sterile home―and sneaks outside the compound for the first time in her life.

Free in the jungle, Pia meets Eio, a boy from a nearby village. Together, they embark on a race against time to discover the truth about Pia's origin―a truth with deadly consequences that will change their lives forever.

Origin is a beautifully told, shocking new way to look at an age-old desire: to live forever, no matter the cost.

My Review:  Almost three years since this book has come out and it’s been sitting on my shelf waiting to be read. Maybe I would have read it sooner if I got it from the library instead of buying it. Anyways, I’m glad I read it. It’s a very unique book. It’s set in the Amazon Rainforest on a medical research facility called Little Cam. It’s a secret place because it’s where Pia was made. She’s the first immortal, and the only one.

The love interest of Pia is a boy named Eio. His father is a scientist at Little Cam, but his mother was a native. He was raised by the native, though he looks different from them. Pia meets him when she finds a hole in the fence that keeps her out of the jungle and finally goes into the jungle. Eio seems charming and sweet and even has a sense of humor. He’s kind of like Tarzan, but not completely wild. He’s pretty smart because his father taught him English and about the world. Pia’s been sheltered and doesn’t know anything about the world outside Little Cam.

Pia reminds me of Seraphina from the Unremembered series by Jessica Brody. She’s has a photographic memory, enhance reflexes and speed, but not much upper-body strength. She cannot be cut open, shot or impaled in anyway. She indestructible, but still feels pain. She was born, not created in a lab. The deadly nector of a flower was combined with something and then injected into her ancestors over 5 generation to make Pia an immortal. It’s a really interesting sci-fi idea. I’d recommend this book to fans of Unremembered, Maximum Ride, Altered by Jennifer Rush, The Rules by Stacy Kade and other books with genetic engineering and mad science.

Cover Art Review: I love the cover. The rainforest texture is pretty and the flower and the outline with the title.

Evertrue by Brodi Ashton

Series: Everneath (bk. 3)

Genera(s): Paranormal Romance/Fantasy

Subjects: Supernatural, underworlds, immortality, love, mythology

Setting: Park City, Utah and the Everneath

POV/Tense: 1^st person POV, past tense: Nikki

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 355 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover and now in Paperback

List Price: $17.99/$9.99

Publisher: HarperTeen

Summary/ product description: “Now that Nikki has rescued Jack, all she wants is to be with him and graduate high school. But Cole tricked Nikki into feeding off him, and she’s begun the process of turning into an Everliving herself... which means she must feed on a Forfeit soon — or die.

Terrified for her survival, Nikki and Jack begin a desperate attempt to reverse the process using any means possible. Even Cole, who they expected to fight them at every turn, has become an unlikely ally — but how long can it last? Nikki needs to feed on Cole to survive, Cole needs Nikki to gain the throne in the Everneath, Jack needs Nikki because she is everything to him — and together, they must travel back to the Underworld to undo Nikki’s fate and make her mortal once more. But Cole isn’t the only one with plans for Nikki: the Queen has not forgotten Nikki’s treachery, and she wants her destroyed for good. Will Nikki be forced to spend eternity in the Underworld, or does she have what it takes to bring down the Everneath once and for all?

In this stunning conclusion to the Everneath trilogy, Brodi Ashton evokes the resiliency of the human spirit and the indomitable power of true love.”

My Review:  I waited a year to read this book, so it’s been two years since I read Everbound. This series has gone from okay to awesome to absolutely amazing. It’s partially because of the development of the heroine, Nikki, and also the other characters and this world called the Everneath.

Nikki in the first book Everneath was recovering from the time she was being fed on by Cole, so she seemed depressed and uninteresting. In Everbound she had a lot of her strength back and the story became an adventure through a labyrinth in the Everneath. In Evertrue Nikki is becoming an Everliving and would like to find a way to prevent that. She tries to get her heart back from Cole but fails, but she has a better plan that can save more lives: destroy the Everneath.

I really enjoyed the character Cole. He’s the kind of guy you love to hate, but also love to love. He’s like Damon Salvatore or Klaus from the Vampire Diaries, or even Warner from Shatter Me. He’s a bad boy, but he’s also a musician who used to be a Norwegian farm boy a very long time ago become becoming an Everliving. He’s blond and hot and sometimes funny, and likes to tease Nikki.

Cole wants Nikki to love him back, but Nikki loves Jack. In this book Cole gets amnesia and forgets who is his beyond his name. He temporarily forgot how to speak English, but that didn’t last long. It’s kind of hilarious and adds another interesting layer to this story. Nikki makes up a false backstory for Cole so he would help them destroy the Everneath.

We see all three of our main characters work together and get along (mostly due to Cole’s lack of memory). Jack and Nikki can’t hate Cole if Cole doesn’t remember what he did to them. Jack and Nikki can share their romance, but Nikki has to feed off of Cole or she’ll die because she can’t make her own energy any more. That involves kissing. Jack is not happy with this but want Nikki to live so he lets her.

This finale is well plotted with absolutely no dull moments. It’s such a faster read than the first book. There’s still adventure and interesting paranormal elements. It’s all very unique. I recommend this to fans of paranormal books about immortals or even vampires. Also too fans of Incarnate by Jodi Meadows, which is about immortals. It’s kind of like the Persephone and Hades Greek Myth so if you liked Falling Under by Gwen Hayes and Abandon by Meg Cabot and other books with mythology and the underworld too, you may enjoy this.

Cover Art Review: I absolutely love the dress turning into a vortex of smoke. It’s so gorgeous. Fit with the previous covers, but this one is definitely the best.