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{June 20, 2014} {Review} Dead End by Tim O’Rourke (Kiera Husdon Series Two #9)

From Goodreads: Fighting for her friends and fighting for her life, Kiera Hudson must finally unravel the pushed world and its secrets. But most of all, Kiera must make her choice. A choice that she fears will change everything and the lives of her friends forever. Does Kiera have the heart to choose them or choose for them? ‘Dead End’ – the heart pounding conclusion to ‘Kiera Hudson Series Two’.

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This is indeed the perfect ending to the perfect, heart-pounding Kiera Hudson Series Two. Spanning 18 books and two series, Kiera’s story is finished, for the moment. But rest assured Kiera Hudson lovers of the world, she’ll be back. In fact, based on this ending, I’m certain they will all be back, and I’m already on pins and needles in anticipation.

O’Rourke is one of my all-time favorite authors, encompassing all things paranormal in his pushed worlds—alternate versions of the world you and I know—worlds where vampyrus run underground and lycanthrope walk the earth in human skin. The very first series blew me away, and when that series ended, I was devastated, but with the spin off, Kiera Hudson Series Two, readers are thrust back into Kiera’s world, and it’s so seamless, so perfect, that words cannot suffice.

In this final installment of the second series, Kiera must once again make a choice. Will she choose her own happiness, or that of her friends? It’s difficult, but knowing Kiera, and after 18 amazing, detailed books, I’d say readers know her fairly well, it’s a given that she’s going to do the right thing, no matter how much pain it will cause her, or readers, for that matter. I was brought to tears near the end as it all comes to a head–the characters in this novel are like family for me; I know them that well and love them that much, and I lived their pain alongside them. Thankfully, O’Rourke ties it all together neatly at the end, presenting both Kiera and readers with hope. It is beautiful, and the third spin off series is going to be epic, if O’Rourke’s imaginative capabilities and foreshadowing is any indication (which it is). Five amazing, superb stars.

If you haven’t yet started the phenomenon that is Kiera Hudson, you really need to do so, beginning with the first book of the first series, Vampire Shift (FREE). Due to the details and succession of the novels, they really do need to be read in order. Luckily, the storyline and characters are so well written that the pages just fly by.

I purchased this novel from Amazon.

Amazon | Kindle | Barnes and Noble

Check out O’Rourke’s other novels (they are indeed all amazing):

Kiera Hudson Series 1

Vampire Shift (#1)

Vampire Wake (#2)

Vampire Hunt (#3)

Vampire Breed (#4)

Wolf House (#4.5)

Vampire Hollows (#5)

Kiera Hudson Series 2

Dead Flesh (#1)

Dead Night: Potter’s Secrets (#1.5)

Dead Angels (#2)

Dead Statues (#3)

Dead Seth (#4)

Dead Wolf (#5)

Dead Water (#6)

Dead Push (#7)

Dead Lost (#8)

Dead End (#9)

Kiera Hudson Series 3

Lethal Infected (1)–Coming Soon

Jack Seth Novellas

Hollow Pit (#1)

Vampire Shift Graphic Novels

Vampire Shift Volume 1

Black Hill Farm Series

Black Hill Farm (#1)

Black Hill Farm Andy’s Diary (#2)

Return to Black Hill Farm (#3)–Coming Soon

Doorways Series

Doorways (#1)

The League of Doorways (#2)

The Queen of the Doorways (#3)–Coming Soon

Samantha Carter Series

Vampire Seeker (#1)

(Formerly known as Cowgirls and Vampires)

The Moon Trilogy

Moonlight (#1)

Moonbeam (#2)

Moonshine (3)–Coming Soon

Sidney Hart Series

Witch (#1)

Yellow (#2)

Raven (#3)–Coming Soon

Unscathed Series(?)

Unscathed

Stilts Series

Stilts (#1)

Flashes Series

Flashes: Charley (#1)

Flashes: Tom (#2)

Flashes: Kerry (#3)

Eat Me Series

Eat Me (#1)–Coming Soon

Pick Series

Pick (#1)–Coming Soon

{December 24, 2013} {Review} Dead Lost by Tim O’Rourke (Kiera Hudson Series Two #8)

From Goodreads: Confronted by the photographer, Potter reluctantly gets caught up in delivering photographs and letters that could either destroy the pushed world or make the wolves stronger.

After Jack Seth pushes the lever, Isidor sets off in search of Melody Rose. His journey takes him back to Lake Lure where a series of child murders have been taking place. The murders are believed to have been committed by a winged creature, making Isidor the prime suspect.

While both Potter and Isidor hope the journeys they’re taking will push the world back to how it once was, neither of them can truly understand why cracks are forming in the ground…and in the sky above them.

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I’ve waited so very long to know who the photographer is, and I finally have my answer. And of course, I never ever would have guessed it is who it is. Once again, O’Rourke has floored me and left me speechless with his amazing plot twists and I am in awe of his sheer writing genius.

With the revelation in book seven, Dead Push, that time travel is possible, readers will be delighted to see just how this time change has been working out for our heroes Potter and Isidor, especially as the truth behind Kayla and Sam’s disappearance in book five, Dead Wolf, finally comes to light. Heroes on their way to change the world, or pawns unknowingly doing the bidding of their mortal enemy? The truth awaits those who dare to be consumed by the awesomeness that is Dead Lost.
And I can’t say much more than that without giving away any of the secrets within this novel.

Dead Lost is the eighth in this second Kiera Hudson series, and at this point, it really cannot be read without having read all the others. O’Rourke creates such an intricate web, and the idea of the pushed world, especially with the revelation of the photographer, has become so much more complicated that readers jumping in at this point without an anchor in the texts would be dually lost. And that’s one of the many reasons why I love this set of series so much. O’Rourke has made me fall in love with every single character, both the good and the bad, through extensive characterization and world building—they have become a wonderful part of my life. The ideas are so creative and well written that I have been engrossed in every single novel in the series and I am always on pins and needles waiting for the next as these characters continually evolve and change. The amazing Kiera Hudson series, both one and two, are definitely not to be missed, and I highly suggest you start from the beginning if you’ve not already done so—Vampire Shift, the book that started it all, is FREE on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Scoop it up, because by the time you’re done you’ll be hooked, and it won’t take you long to read through them all and make your way to this phenomenal novel, Dead Lost. Five stars.

I purchased this novel from Amazon.

Amazon

For MORE books by Tim O’Rourke:

Kiera Hudson Series 1

Vampire Shift (#1)

Vampire Wake (#2)

Vampire Hunt (#3)

Vampire Breed (#4)

Wolf House (#4.5)

Vampire Hollows (#5)

Kiera Hudson Series 2

Dead Flesh (#1)

Dead Night: Potter’s Secrets (#1.5)

Dead Angels (#2)

Dead Statues (#3)

Dead Seth (#4)

Dead Wolf (#5)

Dead Water (#6)

Dead Push (#7)

Dead Lost (#8)

Dead End (#9) Coming Soon

(Formerly known as Cowgirls and Vampires)

Doorways Series

Doorways (#1)

The League of Doorways (#2)

Stilts Series

Stilts (#1)

Flashes Series

Flashes (#1)–Coming 2013

Pick Series

Pick (#1)–Coming Soon

{November 5, 2011} {Review} Vampire Hunt by Tim O’Rourke (Kiera Hudson Series One, #3)

From Goodreads: In search of Kayla and on the run, Kiera and her friends make a race against time across the Cumbria Mountains. With the vampires predicting their every move, the trust amongst Kiera and her friends starts to fade.

From the desolate monastery set high between the mountains to the mysterious lake and the caves beneath the fountain, Kiera must discover the connection between the vampires and her mother, Isidor and Kayla, and resolve her inner feelings for Potter and Luke.

Kiera herself has started to change and this frightens her. So turning to her friends for help, she realises that it is only her mother who can provide the truth. But Kiera has other questions that she needs to have answered. Why did Isidor murder an innocent girl? Who is the person that Murphy has been meeting in secret? But above all, why have they put their lives and trust in the hands of a serial killer?

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I don’t know how it is possible to write a series and have each new book always be better than the last, but that is exactly what O’Rourke is doing with his Kiera Hudson novels. These novels, Vampire Shift, Vampire Wake, and now Vampire Hunt, have been an extremely riveting rollercoaster ride, each novel taking the reader further into the story and creating more action and suspense. It seems so unfeasible to be able to create such mind-blowing texts, yet O’Rourke obviously possesses the gift of storytelling, and this dark vampire novel cranks up the action tenfold as Kiera and her friends run for their lives. Vampire Hunt picks up right where the second novel, Vampire Wake, left off, jumping directly into the action, with cars and helicopters blowing up, vampires taking on vampyrus and, overall, trust being shaken among Kiera and her friends.

This novel deals more intently with a love triangle than the previous novels did, and something that I absolutely love about O’Rourke is that he keeps his novels clean. While Kiera harbors feelings for both Luke and Potter, none of the scenes are racy or inappropriate, which is rare to find in both YA and adult novels in this day and age. I really enjoyed O’Rourke’s portrayal of this love triangle and, though I do hate to say it, I am starting to lean a little more towards Potter, whereas in the previous novels, I haven’t even given him a second thought! The fact that O’Rourke has been able to cause me to swing sides is a testament to his sheer writing abilities, and I am stunned.

I especially enjoyed watching Kiera begin her shift and, though we don’t have all the answers yet, O’Rourke has set the scene for a pretty intense plotline in the near future. The ending of this novel left me breathless, and I am extremely excited to read the next installment–I’ve now read the first three books in the series for a second time, and my thoughts remain the same: 5 amazing stars!! So if you haven’t yet begun this series, I highly suggest you do. It’s an amazing tale and you really won’t be disappointed. Five stars!!

I received this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review and have read it twice.

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