NEW Winner: The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting + Swag

Since I didn't hear back from the first winner I've picked a new one with the help of random.org and I am very happy to announce that the new winner of  The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting along with a signed poster, stickers and a Body Finder wristband is:

Claire (From Cem's Book Hideout)

Congratulations Claire!  If you can email me at sarahsreviews at ymail dot com with your address details I will pass the information along to Headline so they can send your prize out to you.  If I don't hear from you within 48 hours then a different winner will be chosen.

I'd like to say a massive thank you to Headline for allowing me to host this giveaway for them.

Review: Eternal Kiss of Darkness - Jeaniene Frost

An immortal war has been brewing in the darkness... And now one woman has stumbled into the shadows.

Chicago private investigator Kira Graceling should have just kept on walking. But her sense of duty refused to let her ignore the moans of pain coming from inside a warehouse just before dawn. Suddenly she finds herself in a world she's only imagined in her worst nightmares.

At the center is Mencheres, a breathtaking Master vampire who thought he'd seen it all. Then Kira appears - this fearless, beautiful ... human who braved death to rescue him. Though he burns for her, keeping Kira in his world means risking her life. Yet sending her away is unthinkable.

But with danger closing in, Mencheres must choose either the woman he craves, or embracing the darkest magic to defeat an enemy bent on his eternal destruction.

Night Huntress World Series:
(This is a spin off from the Night Huntress Series that fits into the time line after Destined for an Early Grave)
First Drop Of Crimson
Eternal Kiss of Darkness

Night Huntress Series:
Halfway to the Grave
One Foot in the Grave
At Grave's End
Destined for an Early Grave
One for the Money (Short Story in the Magic Graves Anthology)
This Side of the Grave
One Grave at a Time
Home for the Holidays (Novella available as an ebook or as part of The Bite Before Christmas anthology)
Up from the Grave

Night Prince Series:
(This is a spin off from the Night Huntress series that fits into the time line after One Grave at a Time)
Once Burned
Twice Tempted

For more information visit Jeaniene Frost's website

Review:
Eternal Kiss of Darkness is the second book in the Night Huntress World series which is a spin off on the Night Huntress series starring Cat & Bones. Although the original series straddles the lines between paranormal romance and urban fantasy the spin off would definitely be classed as paranormal romance. Each book in this series features a different couple and allows us to get to know characters who have been on the sidelines in the previous series. I would recommend reading the original Cat & Bones series first because you may pick up some spoilers for it if you read the Night Huntress World books first but I am a massive fan of both series and Jeaniene Frost and would definitely recommend you give them a try.

Mencheres is a character that I've been curious about as we've come to know him in the Night Huntress series and I was looking forward to finding out more about his past in Eternal Kiss of Darkness. Some of the things he has done previously made me a little worried that I wasn't going to like him much but I'm happy to say I quickly grew to love him. He has lived for a long time and done things that he isn't proud of but it becomes clear that he has done it all with the best of intentions. He cares deeply for his friends and the vampires in his line and would go to any lengths to protect them. An old enemy is determined to hurt him and isn't above using members of Mencheres' line to do it, Mencheres is tired of life but has a plan to stop his enemy even if it does mean resorting to drastic measures.

Kira is a strong and likeable heroine and one who is perfectly suited to Mencheres. She stumbles into his world by mistake when she tries to help him and ends up with a lot more than she'd bargained for. Both of the main characters have been through difficult times in their past but this only helps them understand each other better. Their attraction was instant but I also felt that Jeaniene Frost did a great job of making their relationship believable. Kira isn't the sort to sit back and let things happen to her, she is more than willing to stand up for herself which is something Mencheres finds very attractive. He is used to people falling at his feet and doing whatever he tells them to so it comes as quite a surprise to him to have someone talking back to him and actually telling him when he's wrong about something. Together they make a formidable couple and I almost like them as much as Cat and Bones which is a big compliment believe me.

Eternal Kiss of Darkness is definitely right up there with the Night Huntress books and I hope we get to see more of Mencheres and Kira in the future. I enjoyed seeing Cat, Bones and Vlad make appearances and I'm even more eager for Vlad's series and the next Cat & Bones books now! Jeaniene Frost remains on my "must read" list of authors and I'm very much looking forward to reading more of her books in the future. If you're new to her work then I'd highly recommend you give her a try.

Source: Library

Other Reviews:
Ink and Paper
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Review: The Long Weekend - Savita Kalhan

Sam knows that he and his friend Lloyd made a colossal mistake when they accepted the ride home.  They have ended up in a dark mansion in the middle of nowhere with a man who means to harm them.  But Sam doesn't know how to get them out.

They were trapped, then separated.

Now they are alone.

Will either of them get out alive?

Visit the Savita Kalhan's website for more information


Review:
Sam has just started at a new school but has quickly made a new friend in Lloyd and settled in.  They have arranged to spend the weekend together but as they are waiting for their parents to turn up it soon becomes clear that there has been a mix up over which house they should be staying in.  When a car pulls up the each presume that it is the other's father who has come to collect them and don't think twice about getting in.  However, as they drive further out of town they discover that neither of them know who is actually driving the car.  It is only after arriving at a secluded mansion and being separated that they discover just how much trouble they are actually in but will either of them manage to escape and get help?

Despite being a young adult novel The Long Weekend actually scared the life out of me.  I can deal with supernatural horror but when it comes to something more realistic like kidnap and child abuse I am much easier to scare.  This story is very realistic, it is so easy to imagine 2 young boys in Sam and Lloyd's situation - at that age I could easily have got into the car right beside them.  For that reason if nothing else I would recommend this to all young adults - I'm sure that after reading this book older children and teens would think twice before getting into a car without making sure the driver was known to them.  If The Long Weekend had been a film I would have been watching from behind a cushion and while reading the book I found myself holding my breath as I waited to see what would happen.  I only read this in 2 days because it was getting late and I thought I might have nightmares, otherwise I would easily have finished the book in one session.  It is a compelling and gripping read that I would highly recommend.

Although the story covers a difficult situation and pulls no punches about what happens to Sam and Lloyd it does so without giving graphic details which I was grateful for.  Although I'm sure my imagination did far too good a job of filling in the gaps and was one of the reasons I was so frightened!  This really is a must read book with likable and realistic characters you'll be routing for the whole way through and the author did a fantastic job capturing the voice of 11 year old Sam.  At 180 pages it is a short read but no less powerful for it's length.  I would recommend starting it in the morning so you can read all the way through without stopping - I really didn't want to put it down without finding out what happened.  I'm very impressed that this is a debut novel and can't wait to see what Savita Kalhan comes up with next - I know her next book will be included on my must read list.

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

Other reviews of this book:

Our Book Reviews Online
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Winner: The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting + Swag

With the help of random.org I am very happy to announce that the winner of  The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting along with a signed poster, stickers and a Body Finder wristband is:

Kirsty (From The Overflowing Library)

Congratulations!  If you can email me at sarahsreviews at ymail dot com with your address details I will pass the information along to Headline so they can send your prize out to you.  If I don't hear from you within 48 hours then a different winner will be chosen.

I'd like to say a massive thank you to Headline for allowing me to host this giveaway for them.

*** Note 29th Nov - since I didn't hear back from Kim a new winner has now been chosen & announced here ***

Review: By Midnight - Mia James

April Dunne is not impressed.

She's had to move from Edinburgh to Highgate, London, with her parents.  She's left her friends - and her entire life - behind.  She has to start at a new school and, worst of all, now she's stuck in a creepy old dump of a house which doesn't even have proper mobile phone reception.

Ravenwood, her new school, is a prestigious academy for gifted (financially or academically) students.  So trying to fit in is more than tough.  It's intimidating and isolating, even when she finds a friend in the conspiracy-theorist Caro Jackson - and perhaps finds something more than friendship with the gorgeous, mysterious Gabriel Swift.

But there's more going on at Ravenwood than meets the eye.  Practical jokes on new students are normal, but when Gabriel saves her from ... something ... in Highgate Cemetery, and then she discovers that a murder took place just yards from where she had been standing, April has to wonder if something more sinister is going on.

...and whether or not she's going to live through it...

Ravenwood Mysteries Series:
By Midnight
I couldn't find a name for book 2 but it will apparently be released in 2011

Visit the Ravenwood Mysteries website for more information

Review:
April isn't happy about being forced to leave Edinburgh behind to move to London with her parents - all because her father lost his job.  She is struggling to fit in at her new school and make friends but things get even worse when she almost witnesses a murder.  Strange things are happening at Ravenwood but who can she trust to help her solve the mystery?

Being a massive vampire fan I was really looking forward to reading By Midnight, especially as it is set in London which I thought would add something special to the story.  Unfortunately I ended up feeling disappointed.  I know a lot of people who have loved this story but I'm going to have to go against the trend and say it just wasn't for me.  The best thing about the book was the setting, I have to give Mia James (this is actually husband & wife team Tasmina & John Perry working together) credit for the great job they did with the Gothic feel of the novel.  I loved the descriptions of Highgate Cemetery and as you're reading it really was like being on location.

Unfortunately the rest of the story just didn't live up to my expectations.  When I'm reading a story I need to have a main character I can relate to - or at least like - but I struggled with April.  Yes I can understand how hard it must have been for her having to move away from everything that is familiar to her and start again at a new school and I felt sorry for her at first but I quickly got fed up with her woe is me attitude and constant whinging.  She was selfish, self obsessed and childish and I didn't find her a very likeable character.  The characters I actually liked the most were her friends Fiona and Caro, both of whom I could have happily spent more time reading about.

As for the main love interest Gabriel I didn't get to know enough about him to be interested in him in any way.  All you really know is that he's gorgeous and has secrets he can't tell April yet April is madly in love with him within days despite the fact they've never had a proper conversation.  I love a good mysterious bad boy but I have to feel like there is some connection between the main characters and for me it just wasn't there between April & Gabriel.  Even by the end of the book I really didn't care if they ended up together or not.

I found the story really dragged, it took me ages to finish a book that I would usually have finished within 2 days because I couldn't face picking it up again.  I'll admit that I should have just given up but I'm one of those readers who has the "I've started so I'll finish" attitude and I had to know what would happen at the end.  The action did pick up but it felt like everything happened in the last few chapters and the rest of the book was too long winded.  I understand that with the first book in a series there is a lot of world building to be done but having read a lot of series I know other authors usually manage to do this in a way that doesn't leave the reader wanting to fall asleep.

I don't think it helped that the copy I read had several inconsistencies with days and lengths of time since things happened but the book I read was an ARC so hopefully this has been resolved in the final version.  There were mentions of Robert Pattinson and Justin Timberlake that I think will date the story relatively quickly and I felt were just thrown in to appeal to the teen audience.  I was also surprised at the passage that had been taken almost word for word from Twilight, I'm not sure how that got through the editing.

~~~SPOILER ALERT~~~

Usually I really like it when an author puts a new twist on vampire mythology but on this occasion it just didn't make sense.  To become a vampire you have to be bitten by another vampire to get infected with the vampire virus (the virus constantly destroys your bodies cells which forces the body to make new ones which keeps you looking young) however you have to somehow choose to let the virus infect you - not everyone who is bitten is turned.  (I wish I could choose not to let viruses effect me and never have to suffer another cold again!).  If you want to stop being a vampire you can cure yourself though, all you have to do is kill the vampire that initially infected you & it will neutralise the curse (hang on a minute I thought it was a virus, where does that curse come into it??).  Next time someone passes a cold onto me I'll have to remember that if I kill them the virus will somehow magically know that I don't want to be infected anymore!  You can also get vampires who are born to 2 vampire parents - I dread to think what they'd have to do to cure themselves (watch out Mum & Dad!).  Come on, if you're going to create a mythology at least have one that makes sense.

Another thing that was never really explained was the fact that vampires don't show up in photos or on film (apart from as a blurred image).  I would have liked to know the reasoning behind this and thought a handy time to explain would have been when Gabriel made a joke about how silly it would be if vampires didn't show up in mirrors.  Not sure why he thought that would be so silly considering what happens if you try to take a picture of one of them!

~~~END SPOILER~~~

Although there is an interesting twist at the end of the story and I'm curious about what will happen in the sequel I don't think I can bring myself to carry on reading the series.  As witnessed by plenty of other reviews out there I'm sure a lot of people will enjoy the story but personally I'd say with the number of YA vampire books currently on the market there are plenty of better options available.

Source: Received as part of a book tour arranged by UK Book Tours, this book has already been sent on to it's next destination.

Other reviews of this book:

Chrissie's Corner
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Red Riding Hood Film Trailer

I mentioned in my post about the Atom Blogger event that we had been told about a book they will be bringing out next year to tie in with the Red Riding Hood movie by Warner Bros.  This modern retelling of a classic fairy tale is one I was really looking forward to and now I've seen the film trailer I can't wait to see it!



What do you think?  Looks fab doesn't it?  I definitely think it has a Twilight feel to it and I'm liking the look of the actor playing Peter!  Move over Edward there's a new hottie in town :o)

The film is being directed by Catherine Hardwicke and the book has been written by Sarah Blakley-Cartwright.  As the book has been written alongside the film they should match up really well and I'm looking forward to comparing them both.

For more information about the film you can check out the website here and the IMDb page here.  Don't forget to keep an eye on Atom's website for updates on the book release.  I'm not sure of an exact UK release date but the film comes out in the US in March so hopefully we won't have too long to wait for it to hit the UK.

Review: Witchfinder Dawn of the Demontide - William Hussey

An Ancient Evil Walks Again

Witches exist

The Demontide is coming

Jake Harker is the only one who can stop it...


Witchfinder Trilogy:
Dawn of the Demontide
Gallows at Twilight
The Last Nightfall (September 2011)

Visit the Witchfinder website for more information






Review:
Fifteen year old Jake Harker has been a fan of all things horror since he was given a box of old comics when he was nine years old.  Ever since then he has devoured horror stories in any format and has built up an impressive knowledge of things that go bump in the night.  He never for a minute suspected that any of the stories were real though - not until the night of his mother's murder when he finds himself thrust into a dark and dangerous world just as frightening as the scariest horror story.  As he investigates the cause of his mother's death he learns of the Demontide - something that occurs once in every generation and unless it is stopped the gates to hell will be opened allowing demons to overrun the world.  Jake has an important part to play in stopping the Demontide but will he have to give his life in order to save the world?

The first book in the Witchfinder trilogy Dawn of the Demontide is a dark and frightening tale that will appeal to fantasy and horror fans of all ages.  Jake is a likable and realistic character and one I'm sure most of us can relate to on some level.  He has been thrust into a world where nothing is as it seems and creatures from your worst nightmares actually exist.  Not sure who he can trust or where he can turn to for help Jake must rely on his instincts and his knowledge from horror books and films as he tries to find a way to stop the Demontide.

The story is well paced and has so many twists you can never be quite sure what will happen next.  The world William Hussey has created is both realistic and terrifying and I was completely sucked into the story right from the very beginning.  One of the things I enjoyed most about the story is the way that it shows how blurred the lines between good and evil can be.  Although some of the characters claim to be doing things for the greater good the lengths that they are prepared to go to leave you wondering how good they actually can be.  In the same vein not all of the bad guys are actually as evil as they first appear so you're never quite sure who can really be trusted.

Dawn of the Demontide is a story I'd highly recommend to anyone who enjoys a good horror story, it may be one you want to start reading in daylight though and could be a little too gory for younger teens.  The story is a delight and I can't wait to get my hands on the next book in the series.

Source: Received from OUP in exchange for an honest review.

Other Reviews:
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