Novella Review: Dark Child: Episode Three

Good evening everyone! Today I'll be reviewing Dark Child: Episode Three by Adina West. It is the third book in the Dark Child series.  I received a copy of this book for free in return for my honest review, through the Never Too Old For Y.A. Books Group on Goodreads. However, I received a copy of the book directly from the author's publisher. This in no way effects my final review of this book. 

Title: Dark Child: Episode Three

Author: Adina West

Series: Dark Child #3

Publisher: Momentum Books

Original Publication Date: April 1, 2013

Format Read: kindle

Genre: YA Paranormal

Purchase: Amazon

Find on Goodreads

Description from the publisher:

Dead? Kat clenched her fists, her stomach a writhing tangle of knots. Her pulse thundered in her ears.

Had this all been an elaborate ruse to trap her? The platelet study; the offer to come and work at the Hema Castus Research Institute; the special attention from Director Norris … Surely they’d have had no way of knowing who she was. Still, if the Directorate controlled Hema Castus, and the Directorate wanted her imprisoned, even dead, everything took on a much more sinister light. And anyway, why did the Directorate want her dead?

Kat has always known she’s special. Different. But finding out why is still a shock, especially when she discovers the malevolent Directorate, a clandestine organization of untold power, have put a price on her head.

Forced into hiding in the remote White Mountains, Kat’s life is suddenly in the hands of the wild and dangerous unalil. But trusting her new protectors isn’t easy, since they seem almost as terrifying as the killers who pursue her . . .

This is a novella-length episode of Dark Child. This is part three of five.

This novella picks up where the last one left off. Kat is still processing the fact that Char has told her she is not human. So, we finally get into the nitty gritty with this episode a bit with Kat finally no longer being clueless about the world around her. In this episode Kat also has to flee to New York to get away from those that are hunting her. Things definitely are getting more intense too. 

Like with the first two episodes as time goes on our list of characters continues to grow. My favorite of the new characters we meet is Akilina. She is a very old Dark Child, who can craft metal into amulets with protective runes specific to each person after reading them. 

Overall, I liked this episode the same as I liked the first two. I have come to two conclusions at this point though, 1) I would just go ahead and by the complete Omnibus edition and skip buying the individual episodes and 2) At this point I'm not sure how everything is going to get resolved in two more episodes. 

I feel I should also comment that according to the publisher, this series of episodes would be great for fans of The Mortal Instruments. I'm going to have to say I don't necessarily agree with that assumption. Yes, it is an urban fantasy series and yes there are vampires or night children, but I feel that is a completely different world with a completely different writing style. I feel a more accurate statement would to just say that this series would be great for urban fantasy or paranormal readers and call it good at that. 

So, if you are a fan of urban fantasy or paranormal books, I would recommend maybe giving this series a try, but I would recommend just getting the omnibus edition or picking up all five episodes at one time. I look forward to seeing what the next two episodes bring. Happy Reading!

My Rating: 

Novella Review: Dark Child: Episode Two

Good morning everyone! Today I'll be reviewing Dark Child: Episode Two by Adina West. It is the second book in the Dark Child series.  I received a copy of this book for free in return for my honest review, through the Never Too Old For Y.A. Books Group on Goodreads. However, I received a copy of the book directly from the author's publisher. This in no way effects my final review of this book. 

Title: Dark Child: Episode Two

Author: Adina West

Series: Dark Child #2

Publisher: Momentum Books

Original Publication Date: March 1, 2013

Format Read: kindle

Genre: YA Paranormal

Purchase: Amazon

Find on Goodreads

Description from the publisher:
A crawling unease stirred deep within Kat. She shifted a little further away from Char. Finally she spoke, her voice fracturing the tense silence.

“Who are you, Char?”

Kat doesn’t want to question her luck too closely when she lands a fabulous Manhattan apartment only blocks from her new job, even if cab drivers do have a funny habit of driving right past her antiquated apartment building without seeing it.

But the quiet building hides a deadly secret, and when Kat meets Char from down the hall, she’s drawn into a hidden world where humans aren’t welcome, populated by beings as dangerous as they are beautiful. Soon Kat’s neck-deep in trouble and on the run, and discovering the truth about her own unique heritage might just make things worse.

This is a novella-length episode of Dark Child. This is part two of five.

This novella picks up almost where the last one left off. Kat has accepted her new job and is in New York looking for a place to live that is within easy walking distance to work. While she initially has trouble she eventually lucks out. Although there does seem to be something strange about her new apartment building.

Besides Kat, you are introduced to a few new characters in this episode. I found these new characters to be interesting. I normally don't care for more than two or three POVs in a story, but so far the multiple POVs are working for me in this one. I am amused that as I reader I know more about what is happening to Kat than she does.

One of the new characters we meet is Char, who immediately realizes there is something different about Kat. She calls it in to the big guys and is immediately tasked with protecting her until they can send someone over to investigate. 

I'm really hoping to find out more in the third episode, as this one ended a little abruptly. Thankfully, I am in possession of the third episode, that I plan on reading ASAP.

My Rating: 

Novella Review: Dark Child: Episode One

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer so far. Today I'll be reviewing Dark Child: Episode One by Adina West. It is the first book in the Dark Child series.  I received a copy of this book for free in return for my honest review, through the Never Too Old For Y.A. Books Group on Goodreads. However, I received a copy of the book directly from the author's publisher. This in no way effects my final review of this book. Over the next couple of days I'll be posting reviews for the first three episodes.

Title: Dark Child: Episode One

Author: Adina West

Series: Dark Child #1

Publisher: Momentum Books

Original Publication Date: February 1, 2013

Format Read: kindle

Genre: YA Paranormal

Purchase: Amazon (free as of this posting)

Find on Goodreads

Description from the publisher:
Kat can run a marathon without breaking a sweat. Catch anything you throw at her. Differentiate blood types by smell alone. And she’s spent years hiding the fact. But secrets from the past have a way of slipping out when least expected, and a simple blood test is enough to turn her quiet life in the shadow of the Appalachian Mountains upside down forever.

Kat’s been craving raw meat. When she visits a psychic she’s told her life is about to change forever. Kat isn’t so sure change is a part of her plan, but when a fabulous job offer to work for a research organization comes her way, she’s tempted to say yes and make the move to New York. It just might be her chance to find out if there are others in the world like her.

Will her dream job bring answers to her questions or will it lead her into more trouble than she could ever imagine?

This is a novella-length episode of Dark Child. This is part one of five.

In this novella or episode you are introduced to Kat. She lives in South Charleston and works as a pathologist. She hasn't been feeling well lately, so she sneaks a peak at her own blood-work. What she finds isn't normal, but then again she has a bunch of other strange quirks. What does this mean? Well, for Kat her strange blood work just might be the ticket to moving up in her organization with a great job offer in New York. 

In the beginning and the end of this novella, you are also briefly introduced to Amarok. A man who has been secretly keeping an eye on Kat all these years to keep her safe. He thinks she is the one they have been waiting for to save them and bring about peace. 

I have to say, I am intrigued about both of these characters. I have read a few different novella/episode types of books and this is a pretty good start to one. You get to see what Kat's current world is all about, her family, her job, her friend, etc...You know a little bit less about Amarok and his family, but you do get a glimpse and I'm sure there will be more in the upcoming episodes. 

Even within this short novella a fair amount of the mythology is revealed to the reader while still leaving plenty of mystery for the future episodes. You don't fully know what's going on, but want to know more. I look forward to reading more episodes of this story. 

My Rating: 

Book Review: Reaper's Novice

Good evening, today I'll be reviewing, Reaper's Novice by Cecilia Robert. It is the first book in the Soul Collector series.  I received a copy of this book for free in return for my honest review, through the Never Too Old For Y.A. Books Group on Goodreads. However, I received a copy of the book directly from the author. This in no way effects my final review of this book.

Title: Reaper's Novice

Author: Cecilia Robert

Series: Soul Collector #1

Publisher: Self-Published

Original Publication Date: January 8, 2013

Format Read: kindle

Genre: YA Paranormal

Purchase on Amazon: paperback / kindle (can borrow for free with Amazon Prime)

Find on Goodreads

Description from Goodreads:
17- year- old Ana Maria Tei’s life has always been perfect: loving parents, good grades, and a future so bright it outshone the sun. But now words like “separation” and “divorce” are sending her world plummeting to hell. Determined to keep her family intact, Ana plans a family-bonding trip from Vienna to Tuscany. Except fate has other plans. Ana’s parents and siblings are killed in a car accident on their way to pick Ana up from school.

Enter Grim, aka Ernest. He promises to relinquish the four souls if Ana agrees to trade her soul for theirs and serve a lifetime as his novice. In order for Ana to graduate from her Reaper’s Novice station to a Soul Collector graduate, Grim puts her to test. To her horror, she finds out becoming a Reaper’s Novice didn’t happen by chance. It was preordained, and she is forced to make a choice: save her family’s souls or come to terms with who she really is and complete the task set for her.

I have to say that I'm a little conflicted with this book, so I'm going to break it down by what I liked and didn't like.

What I liked:

1. The cover. Isn't it pretty? I love the position the girl is standing in, how she is holding the violin, and even how you can see her soul/aura wisping around her.

2. The premise of the story (read the description). 

3. The characters. I felt that all of the characters were pretty well rounded and fleshed out. They are all very believable with both their behavior and dialogue between one another.

4. Some of the writing and descriptions. I like how all of the different soul colors are described. I also really liked the death scenes and how the taking of the souls is described as well as all of the scenes describing where the souls are put afterwards, etc...

5. The setting of the book. This is the first book I've read that takes place in Vienna.

What I didn't like:

1. The pacing of the book. It is painfully slow and made it easy for me to put the book down. It took me about a week to read this book, when normally it takes me about 2 days to read a book like this.

2. How the author constantly withholds information that would help move the plot along. It gets pretty tedious and old after a while. I really feel the story could have benefited better with the author giving us more information sooner. I know this is the first book in the series, but not everything needed to be withheld until almost the end of the book. It was especially annoying with characters constantly pointing out that they can't give Ana that information yet.

3. Information overload. While the plot moves along slowly you are overloaded with a bunch of information. About how there are different races of people from different worlds. A war brewing. A complicated backstory as the reasoning behind the war. Worrying about friends and family and why they may be acting strange. It goes on and on. Especially towards the end when a lot of the information that the author had been holding back comes out.

4. No map. I would have really liked if this book had a map of Vienna in the beginning with some of the frequented areas marked. I really think it would have been nice. 

To summarize: 

I really liked the idea behind the story, but think it could have been executed better. Maybe an overall outline of the entire series and then breaking up the story a little different. I would have been okay with the first book ending before it ended with the information being discovered over time (not constantly put off until later). I'm clearly not a professional editor, but one might be able to help adjust the story to make it better.

Overall, I might check out the second book in the series. Especially, since I finally got answers towards the end of the first book. I would certainly expect for the second book to start off running with better pacing and with less information being purposely withheld. 

My Rating:  (Mainly because the ending finally picked up)