Nenia CampbellCritiques

I had never heard of this author before until her name started popping up all over my Good Reads page. I enjoyed her wit and her rants and pretty much everything she ever posted so I thought I'd give her writing a try! This isn't my usual genre but I found myself quickly involved in the story and read in over the course of a couple hours in one day. When it was over, I wanted more of these characters. I also thought the whole idea of being in video games for entertainment purposes was rather intriguing. Can't wait to read more!!

Oh holy crap this book. Gave me the creeps and when I finished it, I immediately started the next one. I think I will have them all finished by this afternoon because I have to know how this ends.

Damn these books messed with my head. The author is amazing and I'm so glad I've come across her stuff. My favorite part about Kindle is the independent authors I've discovered!

Not my favorite genre but it's Nenia so I read it to support her! I really didn't like it but again, it's so not my genre so don't take that into consideration when picking this book to read next.

I spent a lot of this book confused. And then towards the end, I was very much ready for book two. I feel like there was a lot of build up (story, character, etc.) in book one and I'm very ready for book two. VERY READY. Good thing I already own it.

Umm this book kind of had everything I love in a book. Action, characters I want to hug and strangle at the same time and enough twists and turns that I sometimes felt like I needed a map! I am immediately starting the second one. I love my Kindle for letting me read some indie authors because a lot of this stuff is better than the mass produced stuff. Nenia Campbell rocks my socks.

Nenia is someone I've interacted w/ for years on GR. However, she writes dark romances which are not my thing, and for those reasons I am refraining from rating this book. I mentioned in passing that I was in the mood for a departure, pre-slump, and might pick up one of her books to try. So I did-this one.

First, I love that cover, Heather.

Second, this book was carefully written, engaging, and really hooked me after I got going on it. I was part what's Nick's deal, part horrified, and I guess b/c of the subgenre, this is absolutely an indication of a solid dark romance. It was pleasantly written, although the cruelty and abuse were not always easy to read.

I loved the flashback/dual timelines to build character. I loved the consistency of the characters themselves, and I would recommend this to someone who wanted to read a book with a nearly unapologetic bastard of a hero. If you are like me, I'd caution you up and down it's near horror-but for anyone interested, it's a well-constructed foray into a darker relationship than is my typical fare.

I suspect, for anyone interested and who enjoys the subgenre, this would come in near a 4 or 5.

Rating: 4.5/5

Mindfudged for real...

I probably need a week or three to come down from that high. This wasn't by all means a romance, Michael gave me all kinds of emotions: hate, disgust, compassion, sorrow, hurt, pity, affection, love... I wasn't expecting the last one at all, but I fudging did and now I want to know what happens next. I need to know what will happen to Michael.

My opinion of Val flip-flopped quite a bit throughout this book. At first, I almost felt pity and understanding for her, but then it turned to disgust. Knowing what Gavin could do, knowing what he had done to both strangers and her friends, she still chose to sleep with him. I could understand her thinking it would make the killings stop, but it didn't, and yet she continued to let Gavin have his way.

I was almost tempted to give this book four stars based on that idea alone, but then I read the epilogue, and it was such an unexpected ending after the submissiveness Val had shown throughout the rest of the book that I immediately changed my mind!

I hope this isn't the last book in the series because I have to know what happens next!

In book two of the Horrorscape series, Val is faced with a new challenge--a party. Not just any party, one hosted by her psychotic stalker, Gavin, also known as GM. Val knows from the moment she gets her invite that something isn't right. Though she tries to convince her friends, they don't share her doubts...until they arrive anyway. There's only six guests that have been invited, and the theme of the party? Chess which the hosts uses to throw a variety of games, mostly childish ones such as hide and seek or scavenger hunt.

Until the party suddenly turns into the Hunger Games with everyone vying to take the life of the person on their "list."

I really enjoyed this story, but what bothered me the most was even though the teenagers hated the idea, they wanted to play the games anyway. I could understand Gavin's team playing because they were being offered money to be there, but it didn't make sense for Lisa, James, and Brent to go along with it especially since they hated the idea from the moment it was spoken.

Envelope pushing and went places a lot of authors won't venture to in regards to "bad boy" good girl relationship. Now just because the author took it to the edge, over it at times, doesn't mean I thought she should.

Michael, the main man, is a dark character, and I seriously mean dark. He frequently hits Christina, the main chica, when he kidnaps her. It's not a pretty story and definitely had me feeling uncomfortable at times and quite frankly I'm not sure this could be called romance in general speaking.

However, even with all that said I was pretty absorbed into the storyline. And this was a storyline that tended to get a tad convoluted. It was edgy and suspenseful enough though to keep me reading. Apparently, this was written on fictionwise first or some site like that and it shows in the writing but can be dealt with.

Anyway, I'm about as conflicted about if and how much I liked this book as much as Christina's feelings about Michael. Maybe this book gave me Stockholm Syndrome too. Either way, I'll definitely be reading the sequel.

Read if you want to read about a lead male character who can only be called very darkest shades of grey, a lead female who is 18yrs old and bounces from weak to strong, a villain who has a lovely Irish accent and sadistic bent, and a strangely compelling storyline of shady agencies having their shady mercenaries doing their shady work.

First book reviewed here: http://kyraryker.booklikes.com/post/536225/cloak-and-dagger-by-nenia-campbell

This is third in a series and trust me honey, you want to read the first two books to get the full effect and know what's going on.

Michael and Christina have what I would call "not normal" relationship. In the first book Michael kidnaps Christina to hold as collateral because her hacker dad committed a no-no against the organization Michael works for, IMA. The second book Michael is working toward taking down Adrian (IMA boss) and protecting Christina from them. Now in the third installment Michael and Christina are working together to stop IMA.

As you can probably surmise, this leads to some great push/pull and hate/love moments for these two. With a continuous series that feature the same characters, development is important. One of the aspects of this series I enjoy so much is Christina's growth. She is young (Senior in highschool in first book) with all the insecurities and naiveness that come with that. Now in the third book she stands up to Michael and tries to assert herself more. She is becoming stronger and Michael is a big reason for that. While Christina is toughening up, Michael is softening (just a little bit) by book three. He is basically learning how to interact and learn to have a relationship with another human being.

The action part of the series is interesting, although can seem to diverge at times. The IMA and BN are two secret shady military organizations picking fights with each other that leaves Michael and Christina in the middle, not the best place to be. How they finagle out of dangerous spots can make you suspend your belief at times.

I like this series, there is just something about Michael and Christina that I can't put my finger on that I enjoy. It's kind of becoming my guilty pleasure. There are a few editing mistakes but like with Kristen Ashley, I can see the author improving, cleaning up her writing, and coming into her own more.

So there isn't another book listed in the series but the way this one ended, there could definitely be another in the works. I need to see Michael and Christina more together, I need more of closure with these two!

3.5 stars

All lines are gray in the dark.

The fourth and final book in the IMA series, Cease and Desist continues the story of Michael and Christina. If you read the first in the series, you'll know that our couple had a bit of a dubious start; Michael kidnapped Christina. Through the books they have quite the journey, hate, love, death, violence, sacrifice, and turmoil. While this book carries forward the action plot with Christina and Michael still battling against the IMA and namely a sadistic truly vile villain Adrian Callaghan, the purpose seemed to be addressing the themes presented throughout the series and Christina psychoanalyzing her own emotions and actions.

I loved Michael, and I wasn't quite sure why because he gave me so little recourse in this twisted excuse of a relationship. Was it because I wanted to fix him, or because the sex was good? Was it years of Catholic repression rearing its head, or was it because he had loved me first, and I loved the idea of being loved more than I actually loved the man?

Chiefly, Christina explores how, why, should, and if she loves Michael. The book almost felt sort of meta for me at times with it feeling like the author was searching through her characters why she wrote them the way she did. As this is the last in the series, I didn't mind all the introspective insights and delving and as this series as a whole had me questioning the same things Christina did, I was able to analyze my own thoughts and feelings along with her. It gave the book a different tone from the rest but still had the action. Action that will not be for the average reader as it involves sex slaves, torture, and rape. I said in my review from the first book that the author goes there (way there in this story) but not sure she should have. Same feelings in this case, although, it felt less shock value this time and more like, here's an unflinching story about the dregs of society.

The ending? It's a cliffhanger and challenging happily ever after all rolled into one; if you don't like ambiguity or open-ended finishes, you're going to want to stay away. My first response was to yell a "NO!" and then "oh come on, that can't be the ending!". After thinking about it though, it works for me. My thought on the ending, (seriously, don't read if you are going to read the series or book, it will ruin the ending for you)
I think Michael is dead and it's a trap for Christina. No way he survived, it seems too far-fetched and I bet Angelica was the mole. I guess I'm not as romantic as I thought since I think this, lol.

If you want to muck around in the grays, challenge and contemplate your views on right, wrong, and love, then this series would be an interesting one to take on.

*This book can't be read as a standalone, you need to start from the beginning.

I liked this. Cat was fierce at times, though still young

I don't know why but I went in search for serial killer/stalker young adult books. I wanted something thrilling to read next like I've been reading lately. I wanted action, mystery, and to be on the edge of my seat. That is exactly what I got from Fearscape and so much more. I regret finding this book not because there was anything wrong with it, other than some few flaws, but because after settling down after reading this heart pounding book I became truly disgusted with the villain, Gavin.

There's no discussion, Gavin is the stalker in this story. You learn about that fact five seconds after you meet him. I had no doubt in my mind that he was the bad guy. What I didn't think was how completely creepy he was going to be. I know. He's a stalker so of course he is but seeing him through the eyes of the innocent 14 year old protagonist Valerian, he didn't appear like he was going to go as far as he did in this book.

I understand Val was very naive however, I understand why she was. She's a kid who gets attention by this handsome, muscular, older guy who is enraptured by her presence. The kind of charm he exuded to her clouded her judgment. It's very terrifying if a man like that becomes a threat. If you've ever been approached by a strange man than you know exactly what I mean. So I understood completely how she was feeling especially her confliction since she considered him to be hot.

I think it's a very bad choice to make stalkers in books good looking. It sends the message that it's okay for a guy to want to own you like Gavin wants to with Val. I've read a lot of reviews where people want them to have a happy ending when this sick person tries to rape her. What are you thinking? He's crazy!!! He's pure evil but because he's hot that's okay? Then, because I wanted to know what to expect in the next books I find out some deeply disturbing things that are going to happen in the third book. With the culmination of that reveal and all the reviews I was looking at I started feeling nauseated. I really liked the story while reading it. It was thrilling and terrifying but I am thinking back now at what Gavin was saying and I just became truly scared about this character. I haven't been so scared of a character since I read Kindred back in High School.

I still think Fearscape deserves a high rating because it felt so real and elicited great emotions from me. But, Gavin was too much of a good villain that I couldn't possibly finish this series. I'm happy that the author doesn't see this as a romance like so many readers do. She sees Gavin as a sick, horrible person. She is trying to show the dark side of the real world. How people like this are out there and it's a very terrifying, real thing. So she doesn't condone this stalker behavior which is a relief because so many readers seem like they do. If you don't mind very intense, disturbing scenes you might want to try this book out. It is really good and provides a great scare even if it was too dark for me. If you keep all I had in mind as well as it being more of an adult book even if it set in high school and you think you'll like it - go for it.

Y el Oscar a la peor escena de "amor" es para...

¡Cloak and Dagger!

Esa escena juro que es la más triste que he leído... Y eso que leí la serie de Captive in the dark. Es increíble como Michael puede decir que ama a Christina y aun así violarla. Por lo menos en Captive las cosas podían justificarse porque su trabajo era convertirla en una esclava sexual, pero Michael lo hace por su propio placer, sin necesidad. Eso NO es amor.

Esto NO es una historia de amor.

Es una historia retorcida de como el archimalvado Adrian quiere conquistar el mundo, donde Christina y Michael tienen la malisima suerte de estar involucrados.

El final es bastante abierto, y aunque disfrute las escenas de acción, no hay nada suficientemente tentador como para hacerme querer leer las continuaciones.

MIND BLOWN!

If you are looking for a thousand year old, brooding 'dark' lord that get's captivated at the first sight at the sheer awesomeness of the heroine, by all means, carry on looking...this novel is NOT for you.

Welcome to the chilling world of Nenia Campbell! I cannot believe i haven't read her work sooner.

The scene is set in an dystopian world, where things go thump in the night! We follow Evie, a young girl sent on a wild goose chase with three of her friends by the elders of her village. They were sent off to the unknown to be vampire slayers, the protectors of the village from an ancient and powerful threat. However, the very first encounter with the vampires leaves Evie as the sole survivor, realizing for the first time in her life the true meaning of the word vampire as she is presented to one of their Lords named Adram.

This would be the part when shit gets real.

Campbell invites us to view the vampire world viewed trough the eyes of a mere human, witch in their world means as little as cattle. Adram embodies the true vampire from the old days, witch means he doesn't sparkle or whispers sweet nothings in your ear, and he manages to keep his shirt on... The author presents him in a true form of a predator, the kind that you are constantly aware of in the back of your mind, the kind you know will hurt you. It's chilling and inviting at the same time. His actions are unpredictable and explosive, keeping you constantly on your toes. Even as he controls Evie's life trough pain and cruelty, you could see signs of obsession tough his dark veneer and you can only grip your reader closer, waiting for what comes next.

The cliche lover in us wants nothing then to see him re-discover his humanity and spare Evie from his evil, while the story lover in us wants to witness the power struggle between a titan and a mere mortal continue. Campbell doesn't disappoint. Page after page I was left in suspense, not knowing what will come after the next corner.

Evie as a heroine rings true, and I loved her for it. Why? First, she's not a badass that always lands on her feet, no matter what, spewing dry sarcastic one liners on her way to glory. Second, she is not a delicate maiden whose beauty launches a thousand ships, and who constantly needs rescue from a valiant knight on his noble steed. In a world such as this, the knights are all dead, and the noble steed was most probably eaten.

No, Evie is a regular girl, with normal thoughts and normal human limitations. She is left to try and survive her captivity with nothing but her mind. This is where Campbell's writing takes the crown. She relays the subtle nuances of conversations and situations in a way that you can literally feel. There are no info-dumps, there is no time wasted on stating the obvious. The entire execution is flawless.

This was a fantastic read, filled all my criteria for an excellent PNR/UF. I won't spend any more time waxing poetic or giving out any spoilers, simply said this book is for lovers of a PNR that is slightly dark and different.

Nenia Campbell knows her shit!! And judging by the mother of all cliffhangers, knows how to make you salivate for more.


Can't wait for the next novel!

I know without a doubt in my mind why some people hate this book. Although it's classed as an YA novel, the subject breached was far from it.

Campbell dives in obsession with such force it leaves the reader stunned. The need to possess, the need to control, while tempting the mind with the one true fantasy. A love so strong that will warp your perception of the world. A love so powerful it will endure the tests of time and separation. A love so focused that nobody will ever compare to that person that makes your heart beat faster.

Why did I compare it to the one true fantasy? Simple, human nature.

The term 'Alpha Male' says it all. We all know it. How many times did we pick up a book, that promises a dominant, strong, doesn't take no for an answer, powerful male that swoops in and shatters all control the female has over her life, to exert his own? To need her to that extent, the very thought of losing her makes him want to take on the world?

It's tempting to a human mind, to become someone's everything. To be so valued, special, distinguished from the rest.

So the answer is simple. Many, many times.

The only difference between books that sends masses gushing and this one? Packaging. The ingredients stay the same. It becomes so easy for us to entertain ourselves with dominance and submission, as long the edges are more sharply defined. If our Alpha Male had a clean cut job, and was in the process of saving the girl from some baddies? I don't think it would be as shocking as a young man who we don't know much about. Lurking in the dark. We do tent to gravitate to clear moral simplicity. The yin and yang. The black and white. All the while forgetting the well known truth - that life is very rarely defined in such a way. I love the ballsiness of swimming in darker waters, knowing full well you will face criticism. I love the ballsines of succeeding to get to the other side...

The main factor of controversy in this novel is Val's age. She is only fourteen. That fact alone made many give up on this particular novel, saying it glorifies child abuse. Would they feel slightly different if she was perhaps ten years older? The thing is, if we turn our backs on something, it doesn't make it less real. The true need to own or possess a human being is not a product of a sound mind. It never was. This is only a novel, a novel doesn't scare me. What scares me is that there are people out there in the real world, that know exactly who Gavin is, because they feel the same urges themselves.

Haunting, disturbing, chilling, creepy....Those are only some of the words describing this novel, and they are all correct.

Campbell has a way of rattling the hornet's nest. Brave enough to touch the subjects that we all know are out there, but not discuss in general unless with the selected few. Raw emotional desire, need for sexual conquest, first stirrings of lust in that delicate age between a child and an adult.

I have read a few of her works and seen that she seeks to unsettle, rather then soothe the reader. Challenge you out of your comfort zone. She writes multiple genres, and they all have the unique way of inviting you further into her world. Love it or hate it, I have no doubt in my mind we are witnessing the rise of a master.

The book was given to me by the author in exchange for an fair and honest review.

It's not a secret that i am a massive fan of Nenia Campbell's writing. Why? Because cookie cutter isn't her thing. She takes risks, dabbles in the dark and the end result is fun-fucking-tastic.

In Black Beast we had a young shapeshifter Catherine was struggling to lead an ordinary life, her form not yet settled, she had the problems of an young woman coming to her own. With all the troubles of a shifter trying to make it in the human world, she caught the eye of Finn, a witch inquisitor famous for his cruel and brutal pursuit of her kind. When Finn caught up with her she was exposed to his magical talent and his hunting skills of a different kind.

Touched with Sight is action packed, and fast moving. Good thing, because it makes you so engrossed that you wind up reading the entire thing in one go. The downside???? You finish way too soon....and then that groan comes out, you know the one when you realize you need to wait to get the next book. God i hate those....

Finn is my favorite type of character. He is an antihero to the bone. He is torn by his pursuit of power and his desires that can take away everything he worked for, and destroy him completely. These types of characters are Campbell's signature move. And honestly, she needs to stick to them, because she makes them so real they blow your mind. There is no such thing as a completely 'nice person'. Just doesn't exist. We are all human at the end of it all, and humans strive toward a goal in their life, be it considered nice or not. We all have that inner voice that we can't escape, that whispers sarcastic and inappropriate things that we would never say aloud. Campbell always had that rare talent to chose her words carefully when dealing with the inner monologue of her characters, that once you get to know them, you start to relate to them. In Touched with Sight we get even closer to Finn's obsessions, and Catherine's fear and pain as if morphs from pure hate to something new. Not love, not by a long shot, but a kind of begrudging tolerance as they deal with the dangers around them that are spiraling out of control. I don't know what to expect, i don't know what to think. There is no insta-love, there are no cliche's when you read a Nenia Campbell novel. There is no predictability, and because of that she keeps you on your toes all the time. Her characters are never one dimensional, never truly good or truly bad, so you never know how precisely they will react when placed in different situations. Expect the unexpected! What can i say? She has in a very short span climbed on the top of my list of paranormal/urban fantasy authors, and i just can't wait to get my hands on the next novel.

The plot thickens, even with so many things unfolding at the same time we are left with more questions then answers. Who is the Shadow Thane? Slayers are closer then ever, black magic boils in their dreams threatening to spill out to reality. Even as the uneasy truce between Catherine and Finn has it's benefits, the truth behind it is not so simple and painfully obvious. It certainly won't be tolerated by the Council. Two novels in and still so much to come....Bring it on!

It takes a lot for me, and i mean a lot to pick up an young adult novel. No i am not that old that i can't relate, it's just that i am tired of reading bubbly, high-school drama crap.

Let's start this review off by listing the things this novel didn't have.

1. A female lead that bemoaned her paranormalcy, wishing for a more humane existence.

2. The above mentioned female focusing all her struggles on first kisses and prom.

3. A friend who she was crushing on since, like, foeva. And! Finaly when they get it on....

4. A super-sexy 'new guy' in her class, that appeared out of thin air and has a distinctively European name, that matches his distinctively expensive European car, and his distinctively designer European leather jacket. All of this is necessary, of course, as it is a deflection method to avert interested individuals from his 'dark and troubled' and slightly 'unusual' past.

5. A triangle of such epic proportions that would make the one in Bermuda piss it's pants.

Nop....none of that....refreshingly this young adult, urban fantasy novel had something more.....a story!

This particular story is about a young woman named Catherine, who happens to be a shapeshifter, with a slight defect. She hasn't truly found her form, and as it is customary to have your form by the time you hit your puberty, this leaves Christine isolated in her shifter community. Since in this world all the paranorms are still in the proverbial closet, it leaves her feeling and behaving like a freak.

The shifter community is bound by tight laws set in place to curb their behavior and minimize any potential exposure to the general public. These laws are implemented by witches, who are shifters natural enemies.

Christine is young, happy, a bit of a rule breaker, and something in her family line causes her to get the attention of the chief enforcer of the witches council.

Finn....The more then 'slightly' sexually deviant witch with enough emotional baggage to sink the Titanic. Twice. Who happens to have a thing for furry young things. (Sounds dirty????Good, because it is!)

From there the story explodes in five different directions, packed with non stop action. There is a book involved,dark magic to the core. There are assassins and car cashes. There is a dark demonic presence invading dreams. Also there is a kitten.....that poops where it should!

Once again Campbell delivers a book that is truly entertaining and different, with characters that live their life in the gray area.They are not walking pillars of virtue and they are not evil, mustache twirling masterminds. Depending on the situation, they feel a wide array of emotions good or bad.It gives them so much more then those dreaded two dimensions.

....bit bummed at this point that there is yet no solid release date on the sequel, but good things come to those who wait.

I found this book very difficult to follow. You know those cartoons that have a hallway, lined on booth sides with doors? Then you have a bunch of people coming in at one door, but going out the other? It was pretty much like that for me,all the way trough.

The reason of my mass confusion were constant vague transitions between scenes. One minute you are dealing with one group of characters, and before you know it you started dealing with the other, but you weren't sure just how the transition took place or when.

The second thing was speech patterns throughout the novel. Gavin is a very intelligent, eloquent young man. He has a specific way with words, and that was one of his major distinguishing characteristics in the previous novel. The author herself has a unique way of intertwining her descriptions and up to so far both complimented each other greatly. Until now. The characters all managed to sound like the same, think the same, experience the same things equally. Add to it the vague transitions and you have a massive question mark as a result.

I loved the general idea of this novel, a party turned sinister. The concept was brilliant, but the problem was execution. Campbell usually has her characters defined and acting age-appropriately, but here it seems as if there was just to many of them to manage successfully.

When you have high school seniors, and college kids about, one thing is guaranteed, attitude. These kids acted like a bunch of five year olds all stuffed together for a sleepover. There wasn't any logic to majority of their actions.

There have been some massive oversights as well: Val hasn't been present in the room when game two was announced, yet she new to look for the chess pieces....and such.

This novel has so much potential,but the entire thing needs to go back to the drawing board.

The thing that kept all of this afloat was the progression in Gavin's instability. It sets the stage for the culmination of the story on a whole new level. Looking forward to that.

"You look like you tried to fuck a barbed wire fence..."



One thing that i keep thinking when i read this series: How much i love the idea of Graymalkin. Just imagine if you had the benefit of a familiar trough your life. That knows you to the very core, and every time you try to bullshit yourself he is there to slap some sense into you....and not.

Read more reviews at The Beautiful World of Books!

"Catherine would have had to break the oath she had made to herself so long ago, when she heard the tales of atrocities committed by her kind: that she would never hunt a human - ever.

All because the little shithead wanted to get lucky."

I've decided to keep the solid 3 star rating, because it means "I liked it". Which I did. Immensely.

However, I didn't like it as much as dear Nenia's other works, which is a bummer. I don't know why, it might be because I enjoy her suspense/thriller stories more than this one, which is paranormal/supernatural.

This is what I liked:

- The premise. Catherine Pierce is a shape-shifter who hasn't quite 'settled' yet. Considering she should have settled years ago, in her community this makes her a 'freak'. Someone you should steer clear from, because they're not normal. The premise is exciting and new - you not only have a 'freak' shape-shifter, but you also have an evil witch and his familiar, someone who's trying to killer who isn't the witch; there's black magic, folklore, legends and a beautifully written prophecy which is all yet to unfold. Exciting!

-Catherine Pierce. I loved her. She's sassy, rebellious and refuses to back down. She does what she wants and tries to live her freedom to the fullest, without breaking any Laws (which is difficult).

-The Pierce family. This is what I love about Nenia. She writes books about teenagers whose families are actually present. We get a good insight to Catherine's home life with her brother and parents.

-David.Because he turns into a cute raccoon and who doesn't like raccoons?!Because he's sexy. Sexy, smexy. And nice, obviously. *winks pervertedly*

-The writing. It flows beautifully, reels you in and keeps you trapped until you've finished devouring it. If it hadn't been for the fact that I had to work, I'm sure I would've finished Black Beast that same day. I adored the prophecy and the legends/history of the witches and shape-shifters. The information was scattered loosely enough for me to be absorbed by the story and learn at the same time, but not enough to bore someone to tears, which is always a plus.


What I didn't like:

-Sharon, Catherine's friend. She reminded me of my enemy back when I attended school. She's the polar opposite of Catherine, but not in a good way: she's annoying and mean and I didn't like how she constantly called Catherine a bitch or a skank. *Angry face* Catherine needs a better friend.

-The insta-relationship. David and Catherine had only really been talking properly for a week before they were smooching and becoming an item. After their history, I would've liked a bit more build-up before it officially happened, especially since we only see David two or three times in the book.

-Nothing really happened. Don't get me wrong, this isn't necessarily a BAD thing. I know there's going to be more books, so the first one is sort of filler - meet the characters, the premise, learn more about the prophecy/history, give it a nice build-up. However throughout the story I was waiting for something to happen, but apart from a bit of tussling with a witch and releasing a bunch of crickets, nothing happened.

-The goddamn cliffhanger. Screw you, Nenia. You and your damn cliffhangers! I was going to read the second one anyway, but now... no pressure. But I kinda need the second book real fast. *wink wink* No, cliffhangers also aren't necessarily a bad thing, but I'm such an impatient person. Damn waiting!

Overall, I liked this book and can't wait to read the second one. So a solid three stars it is.

PS

Seriously. Don't get on my bad side.

EDIT 05/10/2014: Will be doing a re-read, now that I have the entire trilogy. Woo, go Nenia!


Disclaimer: I won this book on Booklikes. However this did not taint my perception of the book. Also thank you, Nenia!

"People only picked the pretty, sweet-smelling flowers. The ones with thorns were left alone."

Valerian Kimble is fourteen years old. She's an artist, a dedicated runner and is too nice for her own good. For some odd reason, she catches the attention of Gavin Mecozzi -- and he weaves a trap she can't escape.

I absolutely adored Val's character. She might be a bit of a Mary Sue, but the fact that she's fourteen gives her leeway to be so. She's still chid-like and naive, traits you shouldn't forget or overestimate whilst reading this book.

Ms Campbell has weaved a story of deception, of betrayal and romance gone wrong so well that I finished this book in one sitting and look forward to reading the next one. The only slight problem I had with the story was Val's age -- a fourteen year old dating an eighteen year old just seems wrong, but I quickly understood why she had to be so young and in the end it worked incredibly well.

The story kept me on my toes the entire time and everything Val felt, I did too. She's an incredibly easy character to like and sympathise with and I saw a lot of my fourteen year old self in her. The emotions I felt were the same I would feel if my younger sister was in the same position.

Gavin Mecozzi, YOU'RE A FREAK.

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***DISCLAIMER: I received a free copy of this book from [a:Nenia Campbell|6563933|Nenia Campbell|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1396910770p2/6563933.jpg] herself. This did not, in any way, shape or form, affect my personal opinion***

A magus crowned with boughs of fire...
Will rise like Phoenix from his pyre.

What Wart said.

Holy shit, people. This book was BRILLIANT. What [b:Black Beast|11418037|Black Beast|R.S. Guthrie|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1325730084s/11418037.jpg|16351046] lacked, [b:Touched with Sight|21407416|Touched with Sight (Shadow Thane, #2)|Nenia Campbell|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1398756435s/21407416.jpg|40707368] more than made up for it.

Something's happened.

Something bad.

People are going missing. Others are disappearing off the face of the Earth and Finn (--insert swoon here--) is hunting Catherine... because he needs her help.

And because he wants her viddly.

Although it was quite slow in the beginning, I was far more hooked in TwS than I was in Black Beast. Here, there's a lot more action, forming hateships/friendships and more stuff happens.

BUT DAYUMN GIRL THAT ENDING.

Better review to come.