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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

{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!!