Review: Masquerade - Rachel Morgan

Betrayed by the guy who supposedly loved her, Violet deals with her anger and hurt by teaming up with her archrival Ryn to help him find his missing sister. Hanging out with Ryn isn’t high on Vi’s list of things to do, but she kind of owes him after he inconveniently saved her life recently. As the two of them struggle to put their differences aside, they find themselves drawn into a plot much greater than a single missing child. A plot with Violet herself at the center.

Creepy Hollow Series:
Guardian (Short Story)
Labyrinth (Short Story)
Traitor (Short Story)
Masquerade (Short Story)
Titles and release dates for future instalments to be confirmed.

Visit Rachel Morgan's website or the Creepy Hollow website for more information

Review:
Masquerade is the fourth story in Rachel Morgan's Creepy Hollow series and I would highly recommend reading them in order or you won't be able to follow the ongoing plot. I'm going to warn you now that this review will contain spoilers for previous stories so if you haven't started reading it yet then look no further. I can recommend checking out the first story Guardian though.

After the shocking betrayal at the end of Traitor Violet barely escapes her latest battle with Zell with her life. Badly injured the last person she expects to come to her aid is enemy Ryn but she has no choice but to accept his help. It turns out that Ryn had a reason for helping her though - his sister is missing and he needs Violet to help him find her. As they join together to search for Calla can they put their differences aside and recover the friendship they had many years ago?

Masquerade is a fab instalment to the Creepy Hollow series and I think it was my favourite part of the story to date. It was really interesting to find out more about the background between Ryn and Violet and see just why he came to hate her so much. They lost their friendship thanks to grief and misunderstandings but can they work together to come out stronger on the other side?

I love the way we get regular instalments for this series - it's like watching a TV series in book form and if you've enjoyed the earlier stories then you're sure to like this one just as much. They really are perfect for when you just want something quick and fun to read and I'll be looking forward to finding out what happens next for Violet. I was slightly disappointed that we didn't find out more about the reasons behind Nate's recent actions but seeing a nicer side to Ryn more than made up for it!

Source: Received from the author in exchange for an honest review

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Review: Traitor - Rachel Morgan

Violet and Nate may have escaped the labyrinth, but only one of them came out unscathed. Nate is now the bearer of a mysterious eye-shaped tattoo, a mark he has no memory of receiving. While Vi is intent on discovering the meaning of the tattoo, Nate seems less interested. His experience in the labyrinth has caused recurring nightmares, and he’d prefer to pretend none of it ever happened. But Vi has never been one to let a mystery go unsolved, and she’ll do whatever she can to discover who’s behind the tattoo—even if it means leaving Nate out of her plan.

Creepy Hollow Series:
Guardian (Short Story)
Labyrinth (Short Story)
Traitor (Short Story)
Masquerade (Short Story)

Visit Rachel Morgan's website or the Creepy Hollow website for more information

Review:
Traitor is the third story in the Creepy Hollow series by Rachel Morgan, these short stories will be published as ebooks on roughly a monthly basis with the fourth story Masquerade due to be released in July. As this review is for the third story it may contain spoilers for previous titles, this series really does need to be read in order for you to follow the ongoing plot.

Traitor picks up the story from where Labyrinth left off, Violet's suspension is finally over and she is allowed to return to her guardian training. Now that she knows Nate isn't human it is no longer forbidden for her to spend time with him but there is no way for her to tell her boss without letting on that she broke the rules in the first place. Since they escaped from the labyrinth Nate has a mysterious tattoo on his back. Vi is worried about where it could have come from and is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery.

I have been really enjoying this series of short stories by Rachel Morgan and Traitor was another great instalment. These stories are perfect for when you want something quick to read because you're short on time. I really enjoyed getting to find out more about the different training that the Guardian's go through in this story. It was nice to see Vi with some of her fellow trainees - both ones she is friendly with and ones like Ryn who is her biggest rival and a bitter enemy. There are also a few really sweet moments between Vi and Nate as they get to go on their first proper date. I really like them as a couple but I did miss the more easy going Nate from the first two stories. He had quite a shock when he discovered his heritage though so I'm not surprised it has had an effect on him emotionally.

As the title would suggest there is a shocking twist at the end when an unlikely traitor is revealed and I have to say this left me desperate to get my hands on Masquerade, luckily I don't have too long to wait for it's release!

Source: Received from the author in exchange for an honest review

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Review: Labyrinth - Rachel Morgan

Guardian trainee Violet Fairdale has officially been suspended for bringing a human into the fae realm. No assignments, no training, and goodbye to that position at the top of the class. While this sucks, it at least allows her time to secretly keep visiting Nate, the human boy who caused her suspension in the first place. It’s not the wisest move to continue breaking Guild Law, but no one’s going to find out. And Nate is worth the risk, isn’t he?

To prevent herself from going into assignment withdrawal, Vi throws herself into investigating Nate’s real mother, Angelica, a woman who seems to be mysteriously connected to the world of the fae. Nate’s never given her much thought, but that was before an insane faerie abducted him in order to blackmail Angelica out of hiding. Now Nate wants answers, and Vi’s got the perfect ability to help him.

Creepy Hollow Series:
Guardian (Short Story)
Labyrinth (Short Story)
Traitor (Short Story)
Masquerade (Short Story)

Visit Rachel Morgan's website or the Creepy Hollow website for more information

Review:
Labyrinth is the second story in the Creepy Hollow series by Rachel Morgan, these short stories will be published as ebooks on a monthly basis with the third story Traitor due to be released in May. As this review is for the second story it may contain spoilers for the first instalment of the series.

Labyrinth picks up the story a few days after the ending of Guardian, Violet has been suspended from her guardian training for bringing a human into the fae realm - even though it wasn't her fault. She's annoyed that she is going to fall behind her classmates and will probably lose her place as the top of the leader board. She has a secret though, one that will get her in even more trouble if it is found out - she didn't erase Nate's memory. In fact, she has continued to spend time with him and has even promised to help him find his mother.

I'm not going to say anything else about the plot because I don't want to give spoilers but I think this instalment was even more action packed than the first. One of the suspicions I had after reading Guardian has been confirmed but there were a few surprises in there too. Labyrinth is a great quick read but does leave things on a killer cliffhanger so I'm glad we don't have to wait too long for the next part of the story. If you enjoyed Guardian then I think you'll like Labyrinth even more but if you're new to the series then I'd definitely recommend reading the stories in order. If you're looking for a fun series that can be read in your lunch breaks then it would be well worth giving this one a try.

Source: Received from the author in exchange for an honest review

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Review: Guardian - Rachel Morgan

1. Receive assignment.
2. Save a life.
3. Sleep.
4. Repeat.

Protecting humans from dangerous magical creatures is all in a day’s work for a faerie training to be a guardian. Seventeen-year-old Violet Fairdale knows this better than anyone—she’s about to become the best guardian the Guild has seen in years. That is, until one of her assignments—a human boy who shouldn’t even be able to see her—follows her into the fae realm. Now she’s broken Guild Law, a crime that could lead to her expulsion.

The last thing Vi wants to do is spend any more time with the boy who got her into this mess, but the Guild requires that she return Nate to his home and make him forget everything he’s discovered of the fae realm. Easy, right? But Nate and Vi are about to land themselves in even bigger trouble—and it’ll take all Vi’s training to get them out alive.

Creepy Hollow Series:
Guardian (Short Story)
Labyrinth (Short Story)
Traitor (Short Story)
Masquerade (Short Story)

Visit Rachel Morgan's website or the Creepy Hollow website for more information

Review:
Guardian is the first story in the Creepy Hollow series by Rachel Morgan, these short stories will be published as ebooks on a monthly basis with the second story Labyrinth already available. What I really like about this kind of serialised story is that you never have too long to wait for the next instalment. They also make great quick reads for when you don't have the time to get stuck into a full length book and you just want something that you can read in one sitting.

According to Amazon UK Guardian has approximately 47 pages so it doesn't take long to read but for such a short story the author does a good job of pulling you into the world she has created. I don't want to go into too much detail about the plot because it would be easy to spoil it for you but basically the main character Violet is a 17-year-old faerie who is in training as a guardian to protect humans from the dangerous creatures who escape from the fae realm. There are only 2 rules that Violet must stick to - never reveal yourself to a human and never bring a human back to the fae realm - so things go horribly wrong for her when her assignment Nate is not only able to see her but also manages to follow her home.

The story is fast paced and I liked both of the main characters. Violet is spunky and has a great snarky sense of humour plus you can never go wrong with purple hair! Nate we don't know so much about yet but he seems quite cute and I liked his reactions to Violet and the fae realm he suddenly finds himself in. I also enjoyed the banter between Violet and Ryn who is her main competition for top of the class in her guardian training.

Guardian is a great introduction to the series and left me eager to get started on Labyrinth (I'll be posting my review of that story later today). I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next for Violet and Nate.

Source: Received from the author in exchange for an honest review

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