Jake McAllister’s mother is worried because his younger brother, Trey, has been acting weird since he started hanging out with his new girlfriend, Myra. Although Jake can't believe that one girl could really make that drastic of a difference in Trey, he returns home to check things out anyway. What Jake doesn't realize upon his arrival is that most of the females in town consider Myra a leader, and that they are starting to overpower the men in town. Jake meets up with a love interest, Kristen, and together they try to save Trey from Myra's clutches, and stop the harvesting of souls that they have discovered is Myra's ultimate goal.
Soultaker has many strong points. Character development is particularly strong. There are several key characters in this book and Smith detailed each of them and their growth throughout the book beautifully. I truly felt that I got to know the characters as the story progressed. A lot of authors tend to focus on one or maybe two characters, but Smith continued a detailed progression of change of at least six people. Fair warning to those who don't like sex, this novel is a bit heavy on sexual content, but Smith writes it well and for this story it's fitting. Highly Recommended.
Sacrifice is the sequel to Covenant, but unlike Covenant, it starts off at a VERY fast pace and takes you on a roller coaster ride. In this book, Joe Kieran is chasing down a sexy serial killer, Ariana, who is attempting to bring a race of demons known as the Cuburide into this world. Ariana is in the middle of a series of ritualistic sacrifices, and Joe must stop her before she can complete them. Joe teams up with Alex, a hitchhiker who talks to ghosts, and together they must stop Ariana before the final sacrifice is completed and the world is taken over by the Cuburide, who would love nothing more than to be free to spread their perversions across the world. Although Sacrifice is a sequel, it can be read as a stand alone book, as it has everything you need to know from Covenant within it. However, I highly recommend reading Covenant first!
I usually don’t find sequels in a series to be as enjoyable as the original, but let me just say... this is my all-time favorite book! Everson packs a major punch here. Sacrifice is definitely not for the faint of heart. It is extremely gory in parts and has a few other touchy subjects spread throughout. However, readers who can deal with the gore and so on will find that it is well worth it to set aside an afternoon to read Sacrifice… and then the next afternoon to read it again! A few characters from Covenant have carried over, but there are several new characters and they are amazing! I really felt a connection with them while reading. I'm not sure what else Everson has in store for the future, but I hope he comes out with another book in this series. Highly recommended.
Contains: Violence, Sexual Situation, Gore, Rape, Incest, Adult Language
Michelle Rowen brings Sarah Dearly back for her fourth book in the Immortality Bites series. Dearly has recently been turned into a vampire and has just started adjusting to things when she stumbles into a witch, Stacy, with a grudge. Stacy decides to make Dearly's adjustment period a bit more complex by placing a curse on her that turns her into a bloodthirsty nightwalker instead of the sweet vampire that was able to drink from the carton rather than the neck. Sarah has to race against the clock to find a way to make Stacy reverse the curse before it becomes permanent and Sarah is stuck as a nightwalker forever. Along the way she looks for assistance from her best friend, George, her boyfriend, Thierry, and the Red Devil, a masked stranger who saved her from getting staked. As she seeks a solution to the problem of her curse, Sarah is also trying to figure out who the Red Devil is, and if he's for real. In the midst of it all, she’s trying to figure out how to get Thierry to marry her, despite the fact he's already married. If anyone can handle it, Sarah can!
Stakes and Stilettos is yet another fun read in the Immortality Bites series. This series has been fun from the start and Rowen has kept it interesting all the way through. The more I read this series the more I find myself getting deeply involved with the lives of the characters. They all have unique personalities and are very likable, despite the wicked personalities of some (i.e. Thierry's wife, Veronique). I really have nothing negative to say about this book other than it left off with a major cliffhanger which made me want the next book immediately! I had a great time reading this book and will continue to read this series and anything else Rowen puts out. I think all fans of the paranormal romance genre would enjoy this series. Highly recommended.
Contains: Mild Sexual Situations
Covenant is John Everson's first mass market release. Reporter Joe Kieran hears about a suicide taking place off of a cliff, but his boss tells him not to bother writing up a big report. Joe finds this to be strange, because it is the first “big” story he has encountered since moving to the small town of Terrel. Joe decides to dig into things on his own, without authorization, and discovers that suicides have been happening on this same cliff year after year, on the same day, for hundreds of years. Joe realizes that he must be facing something much more surreal than just a mere suicide.
Covenant starts off like a mystery, transitions to a thriller, and then to an all out horror novel! Everson has a wonderful way of depicting scenes. Throughout this book you really can visualize all the scenes as you read them. Many times I felt like I was right there in the room (or cave) with the characters, watching the scenes taking place in front of me. This was actually my second time reading this book and I must say I think I actually enjoyed it even more this time around. This is a great read for all horror fans, though unsuspecting readers may want to be aware that there is a rape scene in the latter part of the book. Highly Recommended.
Contains: Violence, Sexual Situation, Rape, Adult Language
