Rift

Rift

by Andrea Cremer

prequel to Nightshade

 

Sixteen-year-old Ember Morrow is promised to a group called Conatus after one of their healers saves her mother's life. Once she arrives, Ember finds joy in wielding swords, learning magic, and fighting the encroaching darkness loose in the world. She also finds herself falling in love with her mentor, the dashing, brooding, and powerful Barrow Hess. When the knights realize Eira, one of their leaders, is dabbling in dark magic, Ember and Barrow must choose whether to follow Eira into the nether realm or to pledge their lives to destroying her and her kind. (description from Amazon.com)

 

It's been a little while since I read an Andrea Cremer book and I'd forgotten how easily she draws me right into the Nightshade world! Now, this book is a prequel, so it takes place in an older society, and I thought she did a really great job fleshing out this time period. Though many things are still secret (we are dealing with a secret sect of a religious army derived from the Templars, after all), the process by which the initiates choose and are accepted into their branch of service was well thought out and interesting, and the power structure of their world was explored just enough to be illuminating, but Cremer wisely withheld enough to make things very intriguing for the sequel...

 

I liked the very Celtic feel of this time and place.  This was strongly enhanced by listening to the narrator of the audio book, Sile Birmingham, who did an excellent Scots accent.  With action, romance, and a very creepy "bad guy," I cannot wait to dive into this world again in the sequel, Rise, which will be coming out this spring.  

 

 

 

Full disclosure: Audio book received to review for AudioFile Magazine

Afterlife

Afterlife
by Claudia Gray
Evernight, book four

Destiny awaits Bianca and Lucas . . .

Bianca and Lucas have always believed they could endure anything to be together. When a twist of fate not only transforms Bianca into a wraith but also turns Lucas into a vampire—the very creature he spent his life hunting—they are left reeling.

Haunted by his powerful need to kill, Lucas can turn to only one place for help . . . Evernight Academy. Bianca is determined to remain with him. But with the vampire leader of Evernight waging a war against wraiths, her former home has become the most dangerous place she could be, despite the new powers her ghostly transformation has given her.

A battle between wraiths and vampires looms, and Bianca and Lucas face a terrifying new reality. They've overcome every obstacle life has thrown at them, but is their love strong enough to survive the challenges after life? (description from Amazon.com)

I'm so glad I finally read the conclusion to this series! It's been awhile since I read the third book and I'd forgotten how smooth I find Claudia Gray's writing style. This book drew me right in and before I knew it, I was turning the final pages. Absolutely riveting.

I really like both Bianca and Lucas. The secondary characters are well done in this series, as well, with almost every character being tested in some way to show the multifacetedness of their character. No character is entirely good...or evil. My favorite will always be Balthazar, though, so you could not imagine my sheer glee when I found out that there is at least one companion book (Balthazar, March 2012) featuring my favorite vamp as the main character!

This series is full of twists, unexpected loyalties and betrayals. Every time I think I know what is going on, Gray throws another surprise into the mix. These books will definitely keep you entertained and on your toes. I look forward to finding out what will happen...now that everything in both this life and the next, has changed!

Full disclosure: egalley received from Netgalley

Hourglass

Hourglass: Evernight Book 3
by Claudia Gray

Bianca will risk everything to be with Lucas.

After escaping from Evernight Academy, the vampire boarding school where they met, Bianca and Lucas take refuge with Black Cross, a fanatical group of vampire hunters. Bianca must hide her supernatural heritage or risk certain death at their hands. But when Black Cross captures her friend—the vampire Balthazar—hiding is no longer an option.

Soon, Bianca and Lucas are on the run again, pursued not only by Black Cross, but by the powerful leaders of Evernight. Yet no matter how far they travel, Bianca can't escape her destiny.

Bianca has always believed their love could survive anything . . . but can it survive what's to come?

I was so glad when I started reading this book! I thought that Evernight, book 1 in the series was great. I was not as enthusiastic about Stargazer until about 2/3 of the way through so I had some trepidations about how this volume was going to go, but I had to know what happened after the end of book 2!

I was pleasantly surprised that Hourglass brought me right back to that happy place I had been in Evernight. The pacing was quick, there was suspense, great character interaction, and little twists that kept me on my toes. By the end of the book, no one's life is the same, and I am anxiously holding my breath to see how it's going to go on in book 4!

Riveting.