Devil's Kiss, Sarwat Chadda, could be classified as 'dark romance', or whatever you marketing people are calling it these days.
Billi SanGreal has been part of the Knights Templar, a secret organization that has been around since Roman times who destroyed the things that hide in the shadows, since she was young. Together with her best friend Kay she navigated the ups and downs of being trained as a warrior, a killer of the supernatural. But then Kay, a talented physic, left to study in Israel. When he comes waltzing back, he seems to think that everything can just go back to normal between them. Things in Billi's life have changed forever, though, and she just can't understand why Kay abandoned her to her father and the other members of the Knights Templar who hate her. Things begin to look up for Ms. SanGreal, though, when she save a handsome guy from muggers on a train. But it would do Billi good to remember that just as it is always darkest before the light, it is always lightest before the dark. And it's going to get very, very dark.
As this book starts out, you're like, *yawn*, another typical dark-romance, supernatural-hunting, love-triangle-inspecting, novel. Oh, joy. But you stick with it because the writing's good and Billi's real and believable and the demons are creepy, and then, not even half way through the book, there's a twist that makes you hit yourself on the forehead and shout "I should've seen coming!" But you didn't, even if you did happen to read the end of the book first.
There's another twist about forty pages from the end of the book, and then another one that's gleefully mischievous and sadly heart wrenching about ten pages from the end of the book. You could figure out the last twist by reading the end, yes, but it still doesn't make it any less sad. The middle twist leaves you with your mouth hanging saying "Whaa . . . ? That came from absolutely no where, with very little background in the plot line at all." And then you think on it, and a ligthbulb clicks on in your head, and you're like "Oh, wait . . . Now that my thinking device up in my skull's been turned on, it does. Got it."
So, good points for the story: I love the plot twists. I love the creepiness. Billi seems to be feasible character, a character who I would love to be (stubborn, street-smart, supernatural-smart, and tough). Actually, all of the characters seemed to be alive in some way. I wouldn't be surprised if someone told me that they're walking the streets of London right now. I also enjoyed that the ending of the book didn't give away too much of the story . . .
My memory's a bit patchy on the finer details of the tale, because I read it two weeks ago, but I remember that I refused to put it down, even as I ate ice cream we got at some ice cream parlor. I remember that I started it before dinner and finished it at ten at night. And I remember that my heart fluttered with Billi's, my eyes weeped with Billi's, and I felt a murderous desire to hurt the archangel with Billi. It wasn't an unusual experience, for me, but it was a very nice one. I usually don't feel all of those emotions in one night. My range of activities doesn't permit it. So, we could say that fighting with the Knights Templar through the writing of Mr. Chadda is a complete and totally escape from reality, as well as an exhilarating way to live vicariously.
I liked what it said on the back of the book. I forgot to write it down, but it went something like "There's nothing to fear but fear itself . . . and Billi SanGreal."
Um, evidently there is a new book out, but I haven't read it yet. I will, though, I will. It'll take Billi SanGreal and a whole lotta Unholy to stop me. (Ha ha. Yes, I am a riot. They do tell me that. Right before they throw rotten vegetables at me and chase me out of the room.)
So, Ms. SanGreal, just remember that before you take one step forward into the world of adults, remember to keep a foot in the past, a hand on your best friend's shoulder, and an eye out for things that never are as they seem. Because if you don't, it could cost you dearly. . . in a currency far more precious than money.
So, for more on Billi SanGreal and Sarwat Chadda please visit www.sarwatchadda.com Information on his new books and the whatnot can be found here. Enjoy.
Showing posts with label Hunting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hunting. Show all posts
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Sisters Red
Sisters Red, by Jackson Pearce, is a cross between a love story and a story of a girl obsessed.
Scarlett March saved her sister from a vicious Fenris attack when they were children. Now it's her goal to kill all of the Fenris so they can't tear anyone else's lives apart. She also wants to move past the scars that mark her body and mangle her appearance and re-connect with her little sister and her partner. Rosie March owes her sister her life, and because of that she feels complied to hunt Fenris with her sister. Her sister made sure she was alive, the least she can do is make sure she helps her sister in every way possible, in her way of thinking. She doesn't have time for a boyfriend. Silas, Scarlett's partner, has just come back from a stint in San Francisco and is getting back into the hunting game. He's also noticing how little Rosie March has grown up while he's been gone.
When the three overhear the Fenris discussing a Potential, a human male that has the potential to become a Fenris if only another Fenris bites him, they pick themselves up out of their small town and move to Atlanta to hunt the powerful clan Arrow and try to find and save the Potential before he becomes another one of their enemies. But with Scarlett growing more determined and jealous, Rosie trying to break out of her shell, and Silas trying to encourage Rosie while supporting Scarlett will the three hunters be able to sort out their personal difficulties before the Potential is found and a shocking truth is revealed?
I didn't like this one as much. Silas and Rosie don't spend much time doing anything interesting, and Scarlett's like a mad woman with a fever. And the Fenris, or the were-wolves, aren't interesting at all. They're just soulless, good looking predators. Very boring. Also, I saw the plot twist coming. It was very obvious. And not because I read the end of the book first, because I didn't this time.
Silas is supposed to be a 'woodsman,' like something out of Snow White or whatever fairy tale has a woodsman in it, but you don't really get that sense. Sure, he build his own room out of wood. Sure, he can wield an axe. Sure, I get the sense that he's about as woodsy as my aunt -- and she showed up to go camping in white flip-flops.
You don't learn much about the March sister's childhood -- just the 'incident' that changed their whole lives. Other than that, they are unique individuals. They try to act like twins, but in truth they are not, and that is a truth they can't bear to face. This is the effect that Jackson Pearce was going for, I believe, and I am very impressed with how it worked out. Two perfectly conflicted sisters. Very nice.
You don't learn much about the back story of the Fenris, but you don't need too. When you see the world through March sisters' eyes, all you need to know is how to kill them. Even though nothing about the tribes of Fenris is explained you don't need it explained because it is all painfully simple. It's nice to find a book which doesn't condescend to you because you don't know what the author is talking about.
But Jackson Pearce is no Gina Damico, and even though I cried at the end of the book I do not love the characters as I love the population of Croak. This book will be a one-time read, and I do not plan on entering the world of the Fenris again anytime. But if you truly enjoyed Lisa Mantchev's Theatre Illuminata series (I call it the "Beatrice Shakespeare Smith Trilogy"), you will enjoy this book. Romance, danger, were-wolves, and sibling conflict. For most girls of this era, what's not to love?
Scarlett March saved her sister from a vicious Fenris attack when they were children. Now it's her goal to kill all of the Fenris so they can't tear anyone else's lives apart. She also wants to move past the scars that mark her body and mangle her appearance and re-connect with her little sister and her partner. Rosie March owes her sister her life, and because of that she feels complied to hunt Fenris with her sister. Her sister made sure she was alive, the least she can do is make sure she helps her sister in every way possible, in her way of thinking. She doesn't have time for a boyfriend. Silas, Scarlett's partner, has just come back from a stint in San Francisco and is getting back into the hunting game. He's also noticing how little Rosie March has grown up while he's been gone.
When the three overhear the Fenris discussing a Potential, a human male that has the potential to become a Fenris if only another Fenris bites him, they pick themselves up out of their small town and move to Atlanta to hunt the powerful clan Arrow and try to find and save the Potential before he becomes another one of their enemies. But with Scarlett growing more determined and jealous, Rosie trying to break out of her shell, and Silas trying to encourage Rosie while supporting Scarlett will the three hunters be able to sort out their personal difficulties before the Potential is found and a shocking truth is revealed?
I didn't like this one as much. Silas and Rosie don't spend much time doing anything interesting, and Scarlett's like a mad woman with a fever. And the Fenris, or the were-wolves, aren't interesting at all. They're just soulless, good looking predators. Very boring. Also, I saw the plot twist coming. It was very obvious. And not because I read the end of the book first, because I didn't this time.
Silas is supposed to be a 'woodsman,' like something out of Snow White or whatever fairy tale has a woodsman in it, but you don't really get that sense. Sure, he build his own room out of wood. Sure, he can wield an axe. Sure, I get the sense that he's about as woodsy as my aunt -- and she showed up to go camping in white flip-flops.
You don't learn much about the March sister's childhood -- just the 'incident' that changed their whole lives. Other than that, they are unique individuals. They try to act like twins, but in truth they are not, and that is a truth they can't bear to face. This is the effect that Jackson Pearce was going for, I believe, and I am very impressed with how it worked out. Two perfectly conflicted sisters. Very nice.
You don't learn much about the back story of the Fenris, but you don't need too. When you see the world through March sisters' eyes, all you need to know is how to kill them. Even though nothing about the tribes of Fenris is explained you don't need it explained because it is all painfully simple. It's nice to find a book which doesn't condescend to you because you don't know what the author is talking about.
But Jackson Pearce is no Gina Damico, and even though I cried at the end of the book I do not love the characters as I love the population of Croak. This book will be a one-time read, and I do not plan on entering the world of the Fenris again anytime. But if you truly enjoyed Lisa Mantchev's Theatre Illuminata series (I call it the "Beatrice Shakespeare Smith Trilogy"), you will enjoy this book. Romance, danger, were-wolves, and sibling conflict. For most girls of this era, what's not to love?
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