The Flame Never Dies by Rachel Vincent

Series: Well of Souls (bk. 2) Duology likely, final book

Genera(s): Dystopian/Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy

Subjects: supernatural, demons, demonology, exorcists, abilities, magic, souls, possession

Setting: Badlands of Oklahoma?, Kansas, Colorado

POV/Tense: 1st person, past tense: Nina Kane

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 342 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $17.99

Summary/ product description: “Nina Kane was born to be an exorcist. And since uncovering the horrifying truth—that the war against demons is far from over—seventeen-year-old Nina and her pregnant younger sister, Mellie, have been on the run, incinerating the remains of the demon horde as they go.

In the badlands, Nina, Mellie, and Finn, the fugitive and rogue exorcist who saved her life, find allies in a group of freedom fighters. They also face a new threat: Pandemonia, a city full of demons. But this fresh new hell is the least of Nina’s worries. The well of souls ran dry more than a century ago, drained by the demons secretly living among humans, and without a donor soul, Mellie’s child will die within hours of its birth.

Nina isn’t about to let that happen…even if it means she has to make the ultimate sacrifice.”

My Review:  The Flame Never Dies is the sequel to The Stars Never Rise. The author had said this is a duology, so I guess this was the final book. I feel like this series could have been longer. The author’s Soul Screamers series lasted seven books, but a trilogy would have been nice at least.

If you have not read this series I recommend it to those who enjoyed The Demon Trapper’s Daughter series, Incarnate by Jodi Meadows, Unbreakable by Kami Garcia and urban fantasy books.

It’s written in first person point of view and the main character Nina Kane is a natural born exorcist. She can send demons back to Hell with the holy fire she can conjure from her hands. Demon eat the souls of those they posses and when exorcised the host body dies because there is nothing to occupy the body and there’s a bid burning hole in the chest. If a demon is in a body too long it starts to degenerate and become twisted. If you have not read the first book, then spoilers are ahead.

Nina, Melanie, Maddox, Finn, Devi, Reese, Grayson, and Anabelle are in the badlands (not the South Dakota one, but Oklahoma or Kansas) trying to survive, hiding from the Church. In the previous book Nina discovered the Church was ran by demons and that her mother was a demon possessing a human body. Nina is public enemy number one and a demon named Kastor wants her as a host.

Finn, a soul who doesn’t have a corporeal form, is possessing a guard temporarily. Nina is in love with Finn, no matter what body he’s in. Melanie is still pregnant and due in about a month, and since souls are hard to come by, it’s possible the baby won’t last an hour after it’s born. Nina plans on sacrificing her own soul for the baby if it comes to it.

The something unexpected happens that changes everything and sets Nina on a course for revenge and for an even more meaningful sacrifice. Can she and her friends save humanity from the demons who are destroying it?

So, this was a great sequel. I wish it was longer or that there was a third book. I really love it when there’s an interesting cast of characters, but I feel like some of them were under-used. I wanted more dialogue from them. And I wanted more romance. Despite that, it was a good sequel. Action and paranormal stuff and cool discoveries and scary twists. I enjoy the way Rachel Vincent writes. She has complex narrators that face terrible dilemmas, interesting love interests (both Todd and Finn were incorporeal most of the time), interesting world building and humor. I will miss the characters.

There was a moment I considered this being set in the same world as Soul Screamers, but in the future and that the demons were hellions, since both could posses people, but the demons in this book don’t have a natural shape in Hell, and the hellions did in the Netherworld. So that theory didn’t last long.

Cover Art Review: Beautiful cover. Too bad it’s not metallic. I love the feather, but there are no angels in this book. The title treatment is cool.

The Stars Never Rise by Rachel Vincent

Series: Well of Souls (bk. 1)

Genera(s): Dystopian/Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy

Subjects: supernatural, demons, demonology, exorcists, abilities, magic, souls, possession

Setting: New Temperance (Somewhere in the heartland, or possibly Texas or Oklahoma)

POV/Tense: 1^st person, past tense: Nina Kane

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 359 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover 

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: Random House: Delacorte Press

Summary/ product description: “Sixteen-year-old Nina Kane should be worrying about her immortal soul, but she's too busy trying to actually survive. Her town's population has been decimated by soul-consuming demons, and souls are in short supply. Watching over her younger sister, Mellie, and scraping together food and money are all that matters. The two of them are a family. They gave up on their deadbeat mom a long time ago.

When Nina discovers that Mellie is keeping a secret that threatens their very existence, she'll do anything to protect her. Because in New Temperance, sins are prosecuted as crimes by the brutal Church and its army of black-robed exorcists. And Mellie's sin has put her in serious trouble.

To keep them both alive, Nina will need to trust Finn, a fugitive with deep green eyes who has already saved her life once and who might just be an exorcist. But what kind of exorcist wears a hoodie?

Wanted by the Church and hunted by dark forces, Nina knows she can't survive on her own. She needs Finn and his group of rogue friends just as much as they need her.”

My Review:  This book turned own to be unexpectedly amazing. I loved Rachel Vincent’s Soul Screamers series. I wasn’t sure this new series would live up to my expectations. It turned out to have a lot of action and supernatural elements that I have loved in other books. There are demons and exorcists and stuff about souls. There’s just so much going on.

The beginning of the book was kind of slow. I was a bit put-off by the idea of The Church and their idea of what a sin is because it felt a little medieval, though this is set in the future. I just seemed like a horrible dystopian world to live in. There’s these things called degenerates that are demons that have possessed their host for too long and the body has mutated. Also fifteen-year-old getting sterilized if they a determined unfit to procreate, which happened to Nina. That’s so horrible.

I did enjoy the action and the characters. Nina was a good narrator and great big sister. She was risking so much to help her sister Melanie. Their mother is horrible and neglectful. Finn is an interesting character with a crazy situation that creates issues for Nina and his possibly relationship. He’s got a great personality though. The other exorcist/teen fugitives are pretty unique from one of other. The reminded me a lot of the characters from Kami Garcia’s Unbreakable series.

I especially loved the crazy twists and revelation, though I may have suspected them early on. If I told you, it would be a huge spoiler. I recommend this series to those who enjoyed The Demon Trapper’s Daughter series, Incarnate by Jodi Meadows, Unbreakable by Kami Garcia and urban fantasy books.

Cover Art Review: Probably the most beautiful cover I’ve seen on a book this year. Incarnate was the only other butterfly cover I’ve seen this beautiful. And it’s metallic and velvety and now I wish I bought it just for the cover.

Teen Spirit by Francesca Lia Block

Series: Standalone

Genera(s): Paranormal Romance

Subjects: supernatural, ghosts, psychic ability, possession

Setting: Beverly Hills, California and Los Angeles area

POV/Tense: 1^st person POV, Julie

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 234 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: HarperTeen

Summary/ product description: “Francesca Lia Block, critically acclaimed author of Weetzie Bat, brings this eerie and redemptive ghost story to life with her signature, poetic prose. It's perfect for fans of supernatural stories with a touch of romance like the Beautiful Creatures series by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.

After Julie's grandmother passes away, she is forced to move across town to the not-so-fancy end of Beverly Hills and start over at a new school. The only silver lining to the perpetual dark cloud that seems to be following her? Clark—a die-hard fan of Buffy and all things Joss Whedon, who is just as awkward and damaged as she is. Her kindred spirit.

When the two try to contact Julie's grandmother with a Ouija board, they make contact with a different spirit altogether. The real kind. And this ghost will do whatever it takes to come back to the world of the living.

Francesca Lia Block's latest young adult novel is a haunting work about family, loss, love, and redemption.”

My Review:  Teen Spirit is a short, fast, and fun read. It’s a standalone, and it’s a complete story. It contains interesting and unique characters and paranormal twists. It’s set in Beverly Hills and the Los Angeles area of California. Julie, the main character, had a grandmother who recently died. Her mother, a TV writer, loses her job about a year later, and Julie has to move from Hollywood to Beverly Hills, from a house to an apartment.

Julie is half Cherokee and Jewish. Her father was just a sperm donor, so she never met him. Julie also has a gift. She can see auras and have prophetic dreams. Julie meets Clark, a quirky vegan guy who shares Julie’s love for Buffy. Clark is very atypical of love interest characters. He first becomes her best friend and they don’t really become boyfriend and girlfriend.  

Clark has had a recent loss too, but he doesn’t tell Julie till later on in the story. Julie’s psychic abilities make spirits come to her, so after using a Ouija Board to contact her dead grandma on Halloween, a spirit begins to haunt Julie and Clark and they search for a way to rid themselves of the spirit, even though they may wish to keep this spirit around for personal reason.

Teen Spirit is full of humor and pop-culture references. There’s romance and a little mystery. It’s mostly filled with fun paranormal, but it’s also a light-hearted, poetic story about dealing with grief and growing up. As this author has done before, she managed to fit an exciting story into a short book. You could read it easily in one sitting. I recommend this book to fan of the Ghost Huntress series and other ghost stories. Also for fans of books by this author, or Cyn Balog. This book would be okay for younger teens too because the easy reading level, but there are some profanities.

Cover Art Review: The cover is cute and fits the book. It’s wood with engraving-like text and images. It looks like a Ouija Board.  I love the rose quartz hear pointer.