Kelly GayCritiques

Better Part of Darkness worked for me and didn't work for me. It worked for me in that our protagonist, Charlie, makes a lot of mistakes and she pays dearly for most of them. She's not naive, or even particularly idealist honestly, and she knows that the world is in a horrible place, but that doesn't mean she shouldn't keep trying. She also makes choices that aren't usually seen of the 'hero'. All that was very refreshing and interesting for me. Apparently even I have limits on how many heroes/heroines can make really bad choices and still not pay for it. And I do mean really bad choices in Charlie's case. Not 'That was a stupid thing to do!', but the 'Oh. My. God. That was bad.' variety.

The problem I had was that for all the fun and interesting that was Charlie, she was possibly the only character I wanted to read about. There were plenty of other characters--informants, coworkers, her partner, bad guys, etc--which is probably what made it hard to want to know any of them. Aside from her daughter and her partner, everyone else just came and went. While this works great for later in the series, when Kelly may want to call upon them and dive a bit deeper, for a first book it clutters my attention. It felt like each time I met one person someone new popped up.

The amount of detail Kelly puts into her version of Atlanta is awe-inspiring honestly. I've been there twice in my life and can recognize some of the places that Charlie talks about 'from before' but this Atlanta is so different. Its almost a character on its own honestly.

In the end I had trouble enjoying this book because I was uncertain who was doing what and when, or who was who. I have a feeling when the second book is released Kelly will have a stronger grasp on who she wants to have running around in her world however and look forward to that book.

3.5 stars-Love these characters (especially Brimstone!)and this world, and the plot this time around was very good, with quite a whiz-bang ending. A little too much recap and world-explaining made it hard to get into at first, and that scene where she almost killed Hank was a bit too much . A few misgivings aside, this series is a solid, creative addition to the urban fantasy genre, and I'll be reading more.

I really enjoyed this book. I could picture everything the Author was trying to portray! One of these days I will get the funding and time to read the next book!

Ari's story continues in the ruins of New Orleans. As she struggles to rescue her friend and her father she discovers that fighting her heritage is a losing battle. I enjoy the rich surroundings and the original new story set firmly in old mythologies.

Very cookie-cutter YA fiction about an unlikable teenaged protagonist who's a bit of a freak and a drummer who smells good that she totally doesn't like until she does. The relationship that develops is very rushed, which is an odd decision considering it's an entire series of books with room to develop them as characters in better depth. The setup to the sequel itself didn't inspire me to pick up the next book, it felt very tacked on in the last chapter. I realize YA definitely isn't my thing, but anybody who's ever heard the YA tropes knows exactly the type of story you're getting with this one, so if that's your thing, it *might* work for you.

This is the probably the best book in the whole series and it just was so good from start to finish. It was very action packed and bad ass and the book ending was fantastic.

The whole series is 5/5 and I would recommend this for anybody who loves the Mythology books. This series is in my top 3 for this Genre.

I love this book and the whole series. The Mythology genre is my favorite and this book was really good, easily in my top 3. It has a great plot and the storyline just kept on building with new information that kept you reading just to figure out how it would all unravel. I love the main character, she is just a strong heroine, which I really like. The secondary characters are really well written. I love the little misfits that were in Sebastian's house.

Another fantastic book in the Gods and Monsters series. This book continues to build upon what the first book did. We get bits and pieces of information and it keeps on you just fascinated that you want to continue to read to figure everything out. I read this book so fast, it was such a page turner.

I would definitely recommend these books for anybody who loves Mythology books.

I really wanted to like this book. The main character was original: divorced with a kid, so I assumed she'd be mature and avoid the silly whining, stupid mistakes and teen girl crushes of other twenty-something main characters. Wrong. She makes incredibly stupid mistakes. I never made it beyond halfway through the book but by then she'd managed to ditch her back up every chance she got and throw herself into suicidal positions. What mother does that? Oh -'and let's not forget her Mary Sue ability to develop weird new powers that make her uber special. And the way too special partner who will predictably become her lover. Too bad he's boring and there's no spark. Over all tried too hard and was way too cliched.

Really, really enjoyed this series.

Ah! I loved this book! Was iffy on the post-apocalyptic slant but was pleasantly surprised at how fresh the plot of this book was. Definitely a breath of fresh air into the YA series I've been reading lately.

Also, absolutely loved Ari's inner dialogue. I want to be BFFs with that badass.

Ugh.
This one doesn't need to exist.
The trilogy was great.
I'm disappointed.

Loved it!!!!

What first drew me to Kelly Keaton's Embers in a Dark Frost was that it seemed to walk the line between YA and Adult fiction. I've recently discovered that this is New Adult. YA at heart, with older characters and even some sex. I have to say, I rather liked this! I quickly settled in for the read.

Keaton sweeps the reader away into a land rich with myth and magic. There are elements of Celtic legend here, wrapped up in a world on the brink of being lost. I loved that Deira's life wasn't perfect. Caught between two different worlds, she just never seemed to fit in. That is, until Balen.

Ah, Balen. I will swoon here and now. Rough on the exterior but with so much heart, he's s character that is hard not to fall for. The relationship between Balen and Deira was wonderful. Each of them had so much depth, and I appreciated that they didn't automatically fall for one another with no reason. Balen proves himself. Oh yes he does.

Perhaps my favorite part about Embers in a Dark Frost was that Deira isn't a strong heroine or a wilting flower. She's both. That doesn't happen often in books like this. There is no hard, fast distinction between the two halves of Deira. She is both strong and weak, and it makes her decisions all the more believable. I felt for her.

Despite a few minor issues, I fell in love with this book. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys getting lost in a rich and magical world. I will be eagerly waiting for more.

I want... no, I need... no, I demand... no, I REQUIRE a spin-off/sequel series about the Blood Wars. I REQUIRE that Ari, Bastian, Henri, dubs, Crank, Menai, Archer, Michel, and theron to all be there. They can be older, and they don't have to be main, but they must be THERE. They also must be paired up correctly. Make it hapen, Keaton!

first read: April 13, 2013:
I actually enjoyed this one quite a bit. Put book 2 on hold at the library.

Plot: 4.5/5
This WOULD be a 5/5, but I’ve just read so many Medusa Greek myth retelling lately. We have Sweet Venom by Tera Lynn Childs (which I actually read back in the summer of 2012) but then, not even a month ago, I read Touch of Death by Kelly HAshaway, and was like “Wow, Medusa’s getting popular, isn’t she?”
And then, I opened this one, and I was liking it. I was like “Well, I never expected THAT take on Athena” and I liked how everybody in New 2 was weird, and it was cool and I liked the atmosphere, and they said Medusa and I was like. “Wow. ANOTHER Medusa book?”
But, if I’m being entirely honest, this one had the best, most compelling plot of the three. I just happened to read it last.

Characters: 5/5
Protagonists:
Ari: I liked her voice. She was snarky and smart and self-depricating and it all blended into a character who was enjoyable to read.
Crank: First of all, what a name. I love how she was so cynical at twelve, and I just loved her.
Sebastian: he seemed hard at the beginning, uncompromising, but as we got to know him better, I just liked him more and more. How he takes care of Crank and the other kids, it’s just so touching.
Violet: I’m kind of predisposed to like people named Violet, because I love the name, but she was so cute, in a I’m-crazy kind of way, and I’m also predisposed to like kind of crazy people, so, yeah, I loved Vi.
Antagonists:
Athena: as I said in my plot analyzation, I was surprised by this new take on Athena. When Ari got kidnapped and the other prisoners were talking about the “Bitch” and how she’d kidnapped Ari because she was a “beauty” drawing attention away from “herself” I was expecting one of the goddesses that’s usually cast in a vain light, like Hera, Aphrodite or Persephone. But I was pleasantly surprised.
Josephine: I do love vampires. I like them better when they’re male, though, and Josephine was just plain old slimy.

The romance: 5/5
I just read Prince of Wolves before reading this one. In that one, we the two Protagonists fall in love in three days and I didn’t like it. In this one, they fell in love in two days. But it flowed better, made more sense, and seemed more natural. It also helped that I was THIS CLOSE to certain that Bastian was either drunk of high when they had their first kiss (He wasn’t. at least, I think he wasn’t. he might’ve been. I don’t know). But it probably helped a LOT that I thought that at a time. But also, it just… it flowed better. In Prince of Wolves, the instalurve was jerky and sudden and I didn’t buy it. In this one, there was attraction as a lead-in, it was smooth, and it happened in such a way that it didn’t feel like it came out of nowhere.

Overall grade: 14.5/15

REVIEW FOR SECOND READ TO COME SOON

First read: May 5th 3013

This is the first book in the Fire and Frost series (although I couldn’t find any info on a second book). I really enjoyed this book about faerie. It was well written, interesting, and engaging.

Deira is scorned because of her half-fae heritage until one of the Fire Breathers asks to take her with him in order to forge an alliance against the Underworld. Suddenly Diera is pulled into a new world where she is respected instead of shunned. Little does Diera know that her half blood may be the key to returning the light to Innis Fail.

This was a well done YA faerie novel that I really enjoyed. It’s well written, a bit dark, and intriguing. I love reading about fae, so I enjoyed the setting and topic a lot. I also loved the characters and their struggles. There was a lot of adventure and magic in here and I found it to be a highly entertaining and intriguing read.

Overall this was a well done YA faerie novel that I really enjoyed. I plan on continuing the series if another book is released in it. I would recommend to those who enjoy dark faerie fantasy novels with magic in them.

I loved how different this story was. Such an original. I'm iffy about the romance because it has the trademark YA I've just met you but I'm really into you already... I really like Ari's personality. She's pretty amazing - a rebel who I can't help root for.

This was an excellent book in this series. I loved all the mythology and monsters that come out to play. This book does an excellent job in wrapping up the storyline followed in the first couple books.

There is a new storyline hinted at involving Athena's son at the end of this book. However, given the reviews I am reading of Heart of Stone (book 4, and the majority of reviews are poor) I am going to consider this book the last in the series and move on. There is a rather large gap in time between The Wicked Within and Heart of Stone, so it seems like Heart of Stone was kind of an add-on maybe?

I enjoy Keaton’s writing style and the darker more edgy tone this series has when compared to other YA urban fantasy series out there. I also love how deeply mythology is woven into the story.

Overall this was an excellent conclusion to the storyline started in book one. I really enjoyed the world-building, the characters, the action, and the mythology. I would recommend to those who enjoy darker YA urban fantasy. This series reminds me a lot of the Demon Trappers series by Jana Oliver in tone.

I picked this book up after reading The selection by Kiera Cass, which was a very fluffy book. Darkness Becomes Her is dark and I loved that. I was in the mood for something that was darker.

Keaton wrote such an amazing story with great characters. I did not want to pit it down. I was so pulled in that I just flew right through it and was sad that it ended.

I didn’t mind it, but if you have a problem with books that have swearing in them, than I wouldn’t suggest you read this book because I’ve never read a young adult book with so much swearing in it before.

This is a series I will be continuing. I can’t wait to get my hands on book two, A Beautiful Evil.

This is the second book in the Gods and Monsters series by Keaton. Although I didn't like this book quite as much as the first book in the series, it was still a good addition to this series. I continue to enjoy this YA urban fantasy series and the heavy mythology overtones to it. The characters and world are all very well done.

In this book Ari is learning how to use and control her new powers. We end up venturing into Athena’s realm, as Ari and friends try to rescue those that Athena took at the end of the last book.

I continue to enjoy all the mythological creatures, the interesting world-building, the easy to engage with characters, and all the action in these books. The story is pretty dark and has heavy gothic overtones to it, which I enjoyed.

Overall this was a well done continuation of this YA urban fantasy series. I love the blend of mythology, unique world-building, action, paranormal elements, and light romance. I would recommend to those who enjoy YA urban fantasy with a darker tone to it. This series is similar in tone to the The Demon Trappers series by Jana Oliver.

This is the first book in Keaton’s Gods and Monsters series. There are four books in this series. I actually really enjoyed this book, it was an interesting blend of paranormal and mythological elements. This was a fun and quick read and I plan on continuing the series.

I didn't realize that Kelly Keaton is another name that Kelly Gay writes under; I am a huge fan of the urban fantasy books written by Kelly Gay...so it's not a huge surprise that I enjoyed this book so much.

This book was a quick read but it packs a lot of story into that read. Ari is a teen who lost her mother at a young age and is a product of the foster system. She has finally settled down with a decent couple who doesn’t abuse her and has taught her a lot of their trade (they are bounty hunters). She decides to take some time off to find out about her birth mother and ends up with strange people trying to kill her as a result.

I loved the world-building here and the idea of New Orleans being rebuilt after a hurricane as a separate nation. The fact that it becomes a haven for paranormal and mythological creatures is intriguing as well.

All the characters were very engaging and the story was fast-paced and interesting. I had a hard time putting this book down and ended up enjoying it a lot.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and plan on continuing with the series. I loved the world created here and enjoyed all the crazy gods and monsters we meet. I also though the characters were very interesting and engaging. I would recommend to those who enjoy darker paranormal YA.

It's finally complete. They didn't even have it on the shelves yet when I went to buy this one. ha

Love the ending of the story. I also really like that there is the potential for more to be told in the future, but you don't need to know more. You're satisfied with the story as it is.

Violet is by far my favourite. The poor thing.

P.s... What happened to the hands after they fell?

Finally found this stupid book. Gah! I only had to go to like a million stores.

I am so glad there was a sequel to this story. I just love it. Greek myths brought to life. Adorable little crazy children with pet alligators. Awesome!

I can't wait for the conclusion. I need the third novel in my life. RIGHT NOW!