Luke | Books: The Cheapest Vacation You Can Buy

{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

{December 21, 2013} {ARC Review} Witch Finder by Ruth Warburton (Witch Finder #1)

From Goodreads: London. 1880. In the slums of Spitalfields apprentice blacksmith Luke is facing initiation into the Malleus Maleficorum, the fearsome brotherhood dedicated to hunting and killing witches.

Luke’s final test is to pick a name at random from the Book of Witches, a name he must track down and kill within a month, or face death himself. Luke knows that tonight will change his life forever. But when he picks out sixteen-year-old Rosa Greenwood, Luke has no idea that his task will be harder than he could ever imagine.

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This novel actually started off slowly for me. At 30% in, I was thinking that I really didn’t want to finish it–I just wasn’t hooked, but I always give books the benefit of the doubt, as I did with this one, and as I went on, it got much better, and by the end I was turning the pages so quickly I would have had whiplash had I not been reading on a stationary Kindle.

The way Rosa’s family treats her and those around them is disgusting and very hard to stomach. There is a scene with a puppy that horrified me, and I nearly put the book down right then because I hated the heir so very much, but I kept going, because by that point, I was very interested in the plot. And, this novel tackles some great topics for younger readers, such as racism and abuse, two aspects that are rampant within the text, stemming from the Brotherhoods hatred of all “witches” and the abusive relationship between Rosa, her brother, and her “fiancé.” Through it all, the novel shows how clouded one’s judgment can be based on hatred, and how entitlement and greed can ruin families. They were great lessons for readers about refusing to take abuse, though for a while there I was afraid Rosa was just going to roll over and take it.

While it may sound like Rosa is a week character that needs saving, in truth she is not. She is the subject of abuse on many levels, from physical to mental, and as a 16 year old without a friend in the world, she struggles on a very real level with her own wants and needs versus pleasing her family. At times I did want to reach through the pages and shake her, but then again, she must contend with the lesser of two evils–abuse from her family, or the death and destruction of others. Her selflessness is very real, but when it comes down to it, she refuses to stand on the sidelines and allow others to be terrorized. I really did like her and Luke (and they’re the only characters I really did like, save Cassie, the fiancé’s sister, but she was extremely miniscule).

The love relationship in this novel was slow between Luke and Rosa, and I liked that he saw her for what she was, a young girl abused and afraid, versus a witch worth killing. His attempts on her life were extremely interesting to see unfold, especially as his conscious plays a huge part in it all, and his attempts to finally stand up for what is right, along with Rosa’s make them vivid and real.

I can’t wait to see where the sequel of this one takes us because, while not ending on a cliffhanger per se, we are right in the middle of the action and you just know there is so much more to be told. Four stars.

Hodder Children’s Books has been extremely gracious in allowing me to read an ARC of this novel, via Netgalley, prior to its release on January 2, 2013.