✯Review✯Stygian (Scars of the Wraiths Prequel Book #1) by Nashoda Rose

Synopsis:

Danni 
I remember nothing of my abduction two years ago. Sounds and scents trigger horrific flashes, but it’s all a blur except for one man with brilliant green eyes. When the tatted six foot two Adonis shows up at my door, my knowledge of the world is shattered.
Bound to the immortal Scar by an ancient spell, we are on the run. Because Balen is the hunted.
And if he dies, so do I.

Balen: Scar
My code of honor was respected without question … until I consumed the blood of a vampire in exchange for a mortal woman’s freedom.
The Scars want me imprisoned. The Wraiths want me dead.
But the woman I can’t forget needs me. And I’ll risk everything to protect her.
Even if it means killing her.

Because in order for her to live—first she must die.


Full-length novel. Come meet the Scars.

Scars: Immortal warriors with capabilities derived from the senses: Trackers, Sounders, Healers, Tasters, Visionaries, and the rare Reflectors. They each have what is known as an Ink, a tattoo that can be called to life.


There are three full-length prequels to TAKE (scars of the wraiths). This is book One.
All three prequels were previously published and have been re-written entirely and are now in multiple first person POVs.
*Stygian was originally titled JUMP. 

 ✯✯5 Crazy Good Stars!!!✯✯

Where do I even begin? When I read Take I knew I needed more Scars of the Wraiths. I was beyond excited that Nashoda Rose was rewriting all her previous prequels into full length books. Man!! What a way to start with Stygian. I was hooked from the very first page.

Danni was kidnapped and kept in the most horrific conditions. The guy holding her is the most evil, scariest and horrifying creature on earth. He got off on torturing her. Two years later and Danni remembers nothing from the time she was captured. She will remember bits and pieces here and there but not much. There's only one thing Danni can see clearly. Those beautiful green eyes, his beautiful face, his muscular body and for the life of her she doesn't know how she knows him. Danni is haunted by him. So much so that she paints him everyday. And, I mean everyday for the past 2yrs since she was abducted. 

Balen is a Scar. Balen had to sit in a cage and listen to them torture Danni for hours at a time for days. Until he couldn't do it no more. Part of his duties as being a Scar are to protect humans. If a human drinks Vampire blood they are subjected to a life worse then death. Balen would not let that be Danni's life. So, to protect Danni he did the unthinkable. Balen drank the vampire blood to save Danni's life. He also put his sisters life & the other Scar's lives on the line. To save a human. To save Danni. But, by doing that he broke the Scar's rules. Because he broke the rules The Wraiths, The Deaconry and The Scars must decide his fate. Is it DS which is a deep sleep/banishment or death. 

Balen has been on the run for 2yrs. Because, he's a Tracker it's easy for him to be on the run. But, all Balen can feel is Danni. She consumes his life. Balen would do it all over again to save her. After 2yrs he knows he must face the music and get his punishment. But, not before he sees Danni one last time.

Danni & Balen have such a connection it's unbelievable. Danni does not know how she knows Balen. But, she trusts him 100%. No questions. Danni knows her best friend Anstice and her husband Keir are lying to her. They know more about her abduction then they're letting her know. Balen can't stay away from Danni. Danni begs Balen to give her just 1 night. He agrees against her better judgement. 

Balen goes for his judgement. It was hard for them to come up with. He's the first Scar to drink vampire blood and beat it.He also saved a human's life. But, he still broke the rules! They were VERY clear on that. You break them and you MUST face your judgment. Balen accepted his fate. Until he was 1/2 way to his punishment and he felt Danni. It felt like she was dying. And, she was. There was an ancient spell put on them. They were bonded. If Balen went into a deep sleep or death then Danni would die. Balen again went against the rules to save Danni.

Now Danni and Balen are on the run. To save her life. Luckily, there are other Scars that believe Balen did the right thing by saving Danni. They also know how strong and special Danni is. They have a lot of  help getting to where they need to go. But, it;s definitely not easy. Balen and Danni have a bunch of obstacles in their way.There's also about her abduction that Danni needs to know. She needs to know exactly who Balen,Anstice, Keir and the rest of everyone really is.

Now, as much as I loved Take. I def liked this one better. There was so much more about The Scars, The Wraiths and everyone else that was explained. You get a better understanding of it all. Not that I was lost in Take because I wasn't.

Danni was such a strong woman. She didn't even realize it. She loved Balen even before she knew everything about him. Unfortunately, her life wasn't the best. Because of the way her father was after loosing her mother. The love of his life. Dani tried pushing Balen away every chance she got,. Balen loved Danni more then anything. It had been a lifetime since he felt this alive. And, it was all because of her. He wasn't going to loose her.

This book was on survival. On finding your soul mate and being able to do anything to keep them. It was action packed, twists and turns constantly and intense. It was in both Danni and Balen POV. Which was awesome. I also loved how periodically during key moments one of the others had a chapter in their POV. It was always at the right time and for the right reasons. I'm super, super excited about Kilter book next. But, I am very upset that Anstice & Keir didn';t get  a book. They should of been before this one and ended with Danni getting abducted. But, that's just me. Nashoda hurry up I need book 2!!!

 AMAZON US / AMAZON UK / AMAZON AU / AMAZON CA / B&N / iBOOKS / KOBO 

✯Release Review w/Giveaway✯ Fifteen (The Dreamwalker Diaries #1) by Jen Estes

Book Title: Fifteen 

Author: Jen Estes 

Genre: YA Fantasy 

Hosted by: Book Enthusiast Promotions

Legend has it if you die in your dreams, you die in real life. Fifteen-year-old Ashling Campbell knows that’s not true because when she closes her eyes each night, she doesn’t dream about public nudity or Prom dates. Instead, she’s catapulted to the front row of her future self’s execution - fifteen years from now - where monsters have taken control of her hometown and she, or rather, her 30-year-old counterpart, is their public enemy number one.

For three months and counting, it’s been the same dream… until an encounter with an antique dreamcatcher. Ash falls asleep to discover she’s no longer a mere spectator in these dreams - now she’s astral-projecting into the body of her future self. Each night, she goes on the run with a ragtag group of rebels - who have no idea she’s really a high school sophomore and not their noble warrior. She has to make it through each night so that she can wake up and find a way to change the future. For every action she does in the present day, she falls asleep to discover it had an equal impact fifteen years later. It’s up to her to manage her two worlds and make sure she’s still got a place in both.

✯✯4 Flying High Stars!!✯✯

Once I sat down and started reading this book, I couldn't put it down!! It reminded me of that movie with Ashton Kutcher called The Butterfly Effect. It's where when he reads his journals he can go back in time and change things and wakes up to a completely different future. Yup, Fifteen is like that.

For the past three months 15yr old Ashling AKA Ash tries everything not to go to sleep. Because, when she falls asleep she's fast forward 15yrs. Now, she's 30yrs old and being executed. She is part of a rebel group and her town has been over taken by demons. Yea, Ash has every right to not want to fall asleep.

In her present 15yr old life she has her mother, her aunt and best friend Tate. Then, there's Nadette, her foster sister. Her parent's died a few months before and man oh man!! She's an evil evil person. In her 30yr life she has Coop. He's part of her rebel troop.He's totally in love with Ash. But, he's younger then her so she's against it. Not that she continue's to think that all the time.

 Tate is the only person who know's everything about Ash's dreams. He trying to help her. It's part of a Lakota legend. One person every 15yrs gets this ability. Tate & Ash learn real quick that she is Astral Projecting. For 3 months she was going to her execution. It was always a 45 min time frame. She learns that there's a way for her to pick up where she left off. 

Ash learns very quickly that every time she did something the next time she visited her future or woke up to her present it was different. Sometimes it was goof and sometimes not so much. Coop was always there in her past and Tate was always in her present.

I don't know how she dealt with everything. There was so much stuff for a 15yr old to process and deal with. But, she really handled it well. Coop was one of my favorite people in the book. Nadette was beyond evil. She has Tate under her spell. Oh to be 15 and lovesick. Hahaha. And, that's what Tate was. 

Now, as much as I liked Ash. We knew a lot about her at 15yrs old. But, not her 30yr old self. It was never explained how she got caught up in the rebels. Or what she did to be executed. And, what made her & Tate's friendship go the way it did.  I wish that would of been explained.

You must def pay attention when you're reading this book. There's a lot going on. It's fast paced and you won't be disappointed that I can promise.  I hope Jen gives us book 2 sooner then later.Because, I am dying to know what's coming next for Ash, Coop, Tate and even Nadette.

 

 

Born and raised in the Midwest, Jen had to choose between staring at corn or reading books. Corn husks just didn't have the appeal of the Baby-Sitters Club, and so a bookworm was born. Reading later turned into writing and in 2011, Jen published her first novel with Camel Press. After releasing four books in the mystery genre, Jen finally gave in to the literary demands of her inner teenager with her YA debut, FIFTEEN (coming January 2015 from Curiosity Quills).

Jen is an active member of the National Writers Union. When she isn't writing, Jen enjoys sci-fi in all its mediums, attempting yoga, using her passport, watching baseball, and reading a good book. She lives in Illinois with her husband Nathan under the tyranny of their three cats: Wrigley, Ivy and Captain Moo. To balance the feline:human ratio, they are expecting their first child in the early spring. You can find Jen on the web at www.jenestes.com, on Tumblr as AuthorJenEstes, and tweeting under @jenestesdotcom.

 

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