November Snow (Bad Bloods #2) by Shannon A. Thompson

If you missed the review for Bad Bloods #1 November Rain, you should check it out HERE.

November Snow is the continuation of November Rain and should be read together. A huge thanks to Shannon for sending me the book in exchange for an honest review. November Snow was launched end of July and is now available.

No more rambling, let’s jump right into it!

November Snow (Bad Bloods #2)
by: Shannon A. Thompson

When Daniel and Serena unite, their accidental relationship becomes the catalyst for a twelve-year war to continue. Exposing the twisted past of a corrupt city, Daniel, Serena, and everyone they know will come together to fight. But Serena has another battle. After a political rumor threatens their lives, Serena must leave her family and join the political front against her will. To survive apart, Daniel has to separate his love from his hatred and join forces with his worst memory to secure Vendona’s war. But very few of them will survive to see the last day. Bad blood or human, a city will burn, snow will fall, and all will be united by catastrophic secrets and irrevocable tragedy. – Goodreads

If its one thing we can count on when we read one of this author’s books, its that the writing is very good. She has the distinct style of taking on alternating voices. In this case, Daniel and Serena are the two voices. Just like the first book, I love how she approaches it. It definitely is the standout style that works well with this particular story, especially when they are talking about opposing sides who need to reunite to create a stronger force.

November Snow has a lot of great ideas. The premise itself is really intriguing to read, from the politics to the dynamic to the friendships/relationships built there within the flocks and just emphasizing the desperate and dangerous situation that approaches them nearer day after day. However, no details as to not spoil it. But, November Snow has pacing issues. A good part of the first part drags on. It is trying to build up for the finale and approach various issues going on. While I can appreciate the set up for the finale, at a certain point, November Snow had too many romantic parts. Daniel and Serena’s relationship didn’t feel worth it to read in the spectrum of the situation they were in. In fact, there were moments of frustration and desires to just skim through the romantic parts so that the main plot of the politics or the outcome of what would happen could be exposed sooner. In fact the way the politics was handled in November Snow was done very well. The success of November Snow lies in the second half because everyone in the two flocks come into play and more. There is action and significant events happening. The conversation and discussion between the characters are more thoughtful and carries much more meaning to the situation at hand.

 Overall, November Snow is a fine continuation of November Rain. While there are some pacing issues in the first half, the second half takes a good and intriguing turn. It puts emphasis on the general situation on hand and answers some of the mysteries.

November Rain (Bad Bloods #1) by Shannon A. Thompson

Set for July 18th release, the first book of Bad Bloods, November Rain was sent to me for an honest review by the author, Shannon A. Thompson.

For those of you who don’t know Shannon, I have reviewed her trilogy, The Timely Death Trilogy. You can find the review for it here:

Minutes Before Sunset
Seconds Before Sunrise
Death Before Daylight

Suffice to say that I’m a big fan of her work. The trilogy is done really well and she has some incredible imagination and ideas that I truly love reading. However, I believe my fave of her work goes to Take Me Tomorrow that I still hope will get a follow-up eventually. However, we’re here for her upcoming release and that is for her two part story, Bad Bloods. The first is November Rain that we will be looking at today. The follow-up, November Snow will be released a week later on July 25th and that review will be coming up fairly soon as well.

Let’s check out November Rain!

November Rain (Bad Bloods #1)
by: Shannon A. Thompson

Seventeen-year-old Serena isn’t human. She is a bad blood, and in the city of Vendona, bad bloods are executed. In the last moments before she faces imminent death, a prison guard aids her escape and sparks a revolt. Back on the streets determined to destroy her kind, Serena is spared by a fellow bad blood named Daniel. His past tragedies are as equally mysterious as her connection to them. Unbeknownst to the two, this connection is the key to winning an election for bad bloods’ rights to be seen as human again. But Serena is the only one who can secure Vendona’s vote.

When the two unite, their accidental relationship becomes the catalyst for a twelve-year war to continue. Exposing the twisted past of a corrupt city, Daniel, Serena, and every bad blood they know will come together to fight and win, but very few of them will survive to see the day. Bad blood or human, a city will burn, and all will be united by catastrophic secrets and irrevocable tragedy. –Goodreads

November Rain is part one of a two part story featured as Bad Bloods. It works on many levels. For one, the dystopian world here is imaginative because of its fantasy elements.  While bad bloods are a species kind of like mutants in X-Men, they aren’t too different except that they have special abilities and its our main character’s Serena’s abilities that make her special.  However, we will look at characters a little later. November Rain takes a alternating two voice narrative between Serena and Daniel. It seems to be a signature approach for Shannon A Thompson. The Timely Death Trilogy also took this approach. There is nothing wrong with it however because she manages to keep her timeline and the events of both characters very well. It helps us see a part of the story on either side but still have surprises in our discoveries as the story unfolds.

The story builds its characters and lets us feel the relationships between them carefully. It takes the time especially through the two voices to better understand the motives of our characters and their personality.  While both of them have different instincts and backgrounds, especially when they also different in the group they are associated with in the bad blood community, there is also a bigger issue that pushes the story along with the bad bloods having issues with the groups at the desperate time when humans are trying to wipe them off completely. There is a mystery connection between Serena and our male main character, Daniel and it works successfully at keeping the readers guessing on what they feel. However, it does apply to the fact that Serena, while seemingly weaker in personality and much more trusting, she still has a strong character that follows a lot of her feelings. Daniel is a little different in a way that he seems to be more planned but also carry a lot of pain in him that he struggles to let go of.

However, November Rain is only half of a complete story. It stops at a good point but does beg its readers to keep going on the adventure in November Snow. With a double narrative and a good pace to the story, November Rain delivers on building mysterious and intriguing characters in a world that has a lot of dangers for the bad bloods who are being executed, however also hoping for the upcoming election that could change everything. The secret is Serena but no one quite knows how and why she has the connection with Daniel. It drops us off with a lot of questions in the end and promises many more secrets to reveal. I can’t yet place judgement on whether this would be just better as one book or as two until I read the next one but that is something that has been on my mind.  While November Rain is a fun read and very much a page turner, I can’t help but feel that I was not as impressed as from some of her previous works that I’ve read.  There are a lot of imaginative ideas here and the approach is done well, however, there are some parts that remain to be answered. I wonder if it will all clear up after the next book.

You can find the books here upon their release:

November Rain, Part One, releases July 18, 2016

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Smashwords, Goodreads

November Snow, Part Two, releases July 25, 2016

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Smashwords, Goodreads

Cover Reveal: Death Before Daylight by Shannon A. Thompson

Welcome to another cover reveal! This time around its for the third book in the Timeless Death Trilogy called Death Before Daylight.  While the previous two cover reveals were for novels in the trilogy being re-released, Death Before Daylight has never been launched.  I had the opportunity to read it, thanks to the lovely and talented author, Shannon A. Thompson.  You can check out my review here. But today is not about me, its about Shannon and her announcements of when this trilogy will be launched and her books.

Without further ado, I present to you the cover of Death before Daylight:

Synopsis

Two eternities. One ending.

“Harmony would only come with destruction.”

The moment Eric and Jessica are reunited, they are torn apart. After the appearance of a new breed of shades and lights, the powers shift for the worse, and all three descendants find themselves face-to-face in the Light realm. When Darthon is in control, the last thing everyone expects is to finally hear the truth.

While Jessica learns the reason of her creation, Darthon’s identity is exposed to Eric—and only Eric—and Eric can no longer defend himself. With the eternities of the Light and the Dark resting on Jessica’s shoulders, she must choose who she will be—a light or a shade.

In the end, someone must die, and the end is near.

Message from the Author

It’s here! It’s here! The final cover of The Timely Death Trilogy has finally been released. A special thank you goes out to Clean Teen Publishing and this lovely Member of the Dark who is helping share this message today. Minutes Before Sunset, book 1 of The Timely Death Trilogy, re-releases on July 28 – with an all new interior and exterior – and both are beautiful. Seconds Before Sunrise follows on August 25, and Death Before Daylight (the only novel of the trilogy to never see the shelves before) is finally getting it’s day . . . hehehe . . . Well, it’s releasing September 15. Even more exciting? You can win prizes throughout all of these events and more by becoming a Member of the Dark . . . or a Member of the Light. Check out the details below! I look forward to speaking with you!

Shannon A. Thompson (a.k.a. SAT)
http://shannonathompson.com

Dark Activities

Become a Member of the Dark (or Light) by emailing ShannonAThompson@aol.com. Your email will never be given out, and you are not required to do anything, but you will win more prizes the more you participate.

Win a paperback of Minutes Before Sunset via Goodreads! https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/131705-minutes-before-sunset

Pre-order Minutes Before Sunset: http://www.amazon.com/Minutes-Before-Sunset-Timely-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00WTRV9FC/ref=reader_auth_dp

Stay Updated via The Timely Death Trilogy FB page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Timely-Death-Trilogy/227663240691565

Visit the Extras Page:
http://shannonathompson.com/novels/a-timely-death-trilogy/extras/

Pin your favorite photos from The Timely Death Trilogy Pinterest board:

**Doesn’t that cover look awesome!! I’m loving all three of the covers for the trilogy.  Plus, its not just looks.  This series is really great and I had a lot of fun reading it!!**

Cover Reveal: Seconds Before Sunrise

Welcome to the cover reveal for the second book in the Timely Death Trilogy by Shannon A. Thompson called Seconds before Sunrise.  If you’d like to check out my review on it, you can read it right HERE.

Without further ado, I present to you the new cover for Seconds Before Sunrise!

Synopsis

Two nightmares. One memory.

“Chaos within destiny. It was the definition of our love.”

Eric has weeks before his final battle when he’s in an accident. Forced to face his human side, he knows he can’t survive if he fights alone. But he doesn’t want to surrender, even if he becomes the sacrifice for war.

Jessica’s memory isn’t the only thing she’s lost. Her desire to find her parents is gone and so is her confidence. But when fate leaves nightmares behind, she decides to find the boy she sees in them, even if it risks her sanity.

Youtube Video Reveal

Message from the Author

The Timely Death Trilogy began as one teenager’s nightmare and morphed into a real-life dream of authorship. The entire trilogy re-releases with new covers and new interiors this summer and fall by Clean Teen Publishing. I hope you’ll check out this dark vs. light trilogy (mainly because the “dark” side is the good side…maybe), and I especially hope you’ll consider becoming a Member of the Dark! Each time there is a special event, you can participate and win prizes—like spotlights on my website, books, and more. Simply email me at shannonathompson@aol.com, and I’ll send a badge over to you. We might even have coffee together.

Thank you for reading about this dark journey,

~SAT

Current Giveaway

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/131705-minutes-before-sunset

Links

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Timely-Death-Trilogy/227663240691565
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18805475-seconds-before-sunrise

What’s a little of my post without talking a little about it, right? I  have to say that these new covers are really awesome.  They match the context of the novel very well.  Seconds Before Sunrise is a great sequel and I enjoyed it. Above you have the Goodreads giveaway, currently going on for the first novel of the trilogy, Minutes Before Sunset.  You should head over and check that out for sure.

Happy Friday! 🙂

Cover Reveal: Minutes Before Sunset

If some of you remember, I had reviewed The Timely Death trilogy some time last year written by the very talented Shannon A Thompson. The beginning of this year marked  change of events for her resulting in the upcoming release of Minutes Before Sunset novel, the first in her trilogy. I’m extremely happy that she asked me to help with the cover reveal. I’ve never done a cover reveal before but hey, it seems important 😉

With that, I present to you the new cover for Minutes Before Sunset.

Awarded Goodreads’ Book of the Month in July 2012

 

I think that looks absolutely cool! Don’t you? I’d pick up this one (also because I’ve read it and know its really awesome).

Minutes Before Sunset is set to release on July 28, 2015.

Summary

Two destines. One death.

“Her kiss could kill us, and my consent signed our death certificates.”

Eric Welborn isn’t completely human, but he isn’t the only shade in the small Midwest town of Hayworth. With one year left before his eighteenth birthday, Eric is destined to win a long-raging war for his kind. But then she happens. In the middle of the night, Eric meets a nameless shade, and she’s powerful—too powerful—and his beliefs are altered. The Dark has lied to him, and he’s determined to figure out exactly what lies were told, even if the secrets protect his survival.

Jessica Taylor moves to Hayworth, and her only goal is to find more information on her deceased biological family. Her adoptive parents agree to help on one condition: perfect grades. And Jessica is distraught when she’s assigned as Eric’s class partner. He won’t help, let alone talk to her, but she’s determined to change him—even if it means revealing everything he’s strived to hide.

About the Author

Shannon A. Thompson is a 23-year-old author, avid reader, and habitual chatterbox. She was merely 16 when she was first published, and a lot has happened since then. Thompson’s work has appeared in numerous poetry collections and anthologies, and her first installment of The Timely Death Trilogy became Goodreads Book of the Month. She is currently represented by Clean Teen Publishing, and Minutes Before Sunset releases on July 28, 2015.

As a novelist, poet, and blogger, Thompson spends her free time writing and sharing ideas with her black cat named after her favorite actor, Humphrey Bogart. Between writing and befriending cats, she graduated from the University of Kansas with a bachelor’s degree in English, and she travels whenever the road calls her.

Visit her blog for writers and readers at http://www.ShannonAThompson.com.

Reviews

* “A magical, if slightly dark, tale.” – The Reader’s Review

* “Wonderfully unnerving.” – Coffee Shop Reader

* “This is a story of forbidden love, hidden love, and a war of love.” – Endless Reading

* “This book was brilliant, original and romantic. This is a timeless love story with incredible character growth, action and twists of fate.” – Note to Selph Book Reviews

* “Miss. Thompson twisted the concept of Light and Dark, reversing the well-known roles, changing the time-old dance and making it her own. Brilliant and true, “Minutes Before Sunset” is thought-provoking, bringing real-life lessons and morals from a world of the supernatural.” – Live. Laugh. Read

Join the Dark

Join the Dark: Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/series/121294-the-timely-death-trilogy
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Timely-Death-Trilogy/227663240691565
Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/AuthorShannonT/the-timely-death-trilogy/
Extras – http://shannonathompson.com/novels/a-timely-death-trilogy/extras/
Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/Shannon-A.-Thompson/e/B00AXANG76/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

There you go! I’m loving the new cover and I already know the novel itself is awesome.  The premise is absolutely fantastic.  If you are unsure and still want to check out my review, I guess I should add a shameless plug HERE for it 😉

Happy Wednesday!

 

Death Before Daylight by Shannon A. Thompson

The start of 2015 has been pretty awesome.  I’m getting a lot of chances to check out some independent novels.

Up next, I have a review for the final book in the Timely Death trilogy by Shannon A. Thompson called Death Before Daylight.  This novel is not released yet but Shannon was nice enough to send me a review copy.

If you’d like to check out my review of the first two books: Minutes Before Sunset & Seconds Before Sunrise. I’ve linked it up with the names.  If you haven’t read the first two, you will want to go back to check those out.  In a nutshell, I absolutely loved the first one.  While the second one was less of a page-turner and connected with me a little less, it was still a pretty good read. At the end of the second part, I have to admit that I really anticipated reading this third one.  Lets check it out!

Death Before Daylight

by: Shannon A. Thompson

 A few months after the battle between Light and Dark, the society itself has lost a few of its own.  Normal humans have a cover story that hide away what really happened but behind the scenes, Jessica and Eric, although with their memories again, have to deal with the urgency of the situation.  The Dark is agitated by what could happen and when the Light will make their attack.  The battle and the after effects have caused most Shades to slowly lose their powers while surprisingly, Jessica and Eric are not gaining in strength.  After a close encounter with Darthon, Jessica knows more about her existence and the meaning behind it.  At the same time, Eric’s meeting with Darthon has revealed a few unknown secrets to him, especially stuck with being the only person that knows the true identity of Darthon.  The war is between Light and Dark but its as much between Jessica, Eric and Darthon and the choices they will make for their own side.

Right off the bat, Death Before Daylight picks up relatively soon after where the second book leaves it off.  The Dark is in shambles and everyone is feeling the effect of it except for Jessica and Eric.  That makes them wonder about what is going on.  Although, it took me a few moments to remember a few details of the second novel, when it all came back to me, it worked out well. The final part is an intensely paced novel.  I enjoyed it immensely, maybe the best out of the three and I loved the first one a lot. The structure of the novel stays the same with fluctuating between the two narratives of Eric and Jessica, our main protagonists.  What I liked the best about this time’s narrative was that it flowed tremendously well making the story flow flawlessly as the situation switched over back and forth as the focal point changed. This made it feel like the importance of Jess and Eric creates a balance.  At the same time, this time, the readers spend a lot more time with the enemy Light leader, Darthon that we’ve only read a lot about through what our characters have heard and had one battle scene.

Death Before Daylight also works because it now puts our main characters in more dire situations.  It really focuses on how our main characters are all stuck in predicaments where although there seems to be choices, there are so many lives at stake with each decision making everything more intense.  As this is the final novel of the trilogy, there are surprise reveals of hidden identities and honestly, the ideas felt really refreshing. Plus, there was a bigger focus on the whole back story of both Jess and Eric, each having their own demons to slay in a way.

Overall, Death Before Daylight was a really awesome read.  It was refreshing and intense all at the same time.  It was intriguing with lots of twists, hidden secrets and reveals.  The narrative flowed perfectly and the pace of how the events unfolded was really well done.  Its been a while I’ve read such a fun trilogy finale.

Remember to head over to check out what Shannon is up to at her blog right HERE! If you haven’t read the Timely Death trilogy, I highly recommend it!

Take Me Tomorrow by Shannon A. Thompson

After updating everything in my rarely used tablet, I managed to get this next e-book to work.

A huge thank you for Shannon to reach out to me and send me a copy of her novel to read and review 🙂 I appreciate it a lot! If you happen to have just dropped by to my little independent writers month (and a half), I already featured Shannon in her previous novel, which was part of The Timely Death trilogy. As I patiently wait for the third book to come out, I’m ecstatic to get a chance to read this!  The synopsis she sent me had me all intrigued.

Lets take a look at Shannon’s most recent novel!

Take Me Tomorrow

by Shannon A Thompson

Take Me Tomorrow is a YA dystopian novel.  Dystopian worlds have been the new big thing.  It seems everyone digs them out especially with The Giver’s most recent adaptation into the big screen.  In the whole YA world of reading, its simply hard to avoid.  Although there are many outstanding and wildly popular novels in this genre (like The Hunger Games or Divergent), Take Me Tomorrow is in its own league.  America is now divided in various regions, each in their own downfall and structure. After the events of the uprising a few years ago against the clairvoyant drug Tomo, the government wants to remove it from harming its inhabitants and the person who possesses it has to suffer the worst consequences. The story is set in the Topeka region and we start with sixteen year old Sophia Gray who abides to the strict rules especially as her father works for the government himself.  However, when she ends up meeting up a strange boy called Noah who soon changes her life in the most literal sense, it reveals mysteries and secrets bit by bit about the people who she cares about, both her friends and her own family.  Noah is involved with Tomo but he also has his own mission and Sophia now must make a choice despite all the information overload about her life and what she thought she knew.

I’m trying to be vague about Take Me Tomorrow because I don’t want to spoil anything. If you are a fan of YA novels and the dystopian world, this one has to be added to your reading list.  Shannon A Thompson has always been an outstanding young author whose Timely Death series has me anticipating the next book.

Take Me Tomorrow is absolutely impressive.  Its engaging, intriguing and is an absolute page-turner.  I took every single second opportunity to resume reading whenever I could because I just couldn’t wait to see what happen next with Sophia and Noah as the story unfolded.  The pacing is fantastic and you never feel like there’s too much going on.  The characters all are very distinct and can be related to.  This new America is also interesting to learn about.  It gives a good observation of what is going on not only through Sophia’s observations but also through the conversation of the other characters that are involved.  Gradually, new characters are added in bit by bit and everyone has a different story and something essential to add to the overall plot.

Friendship, family, love, war, chaos, drugs are jumble together in this YA dystopian novel but its never messy but rather its an emotional journey with the characters as they embark on an adrenaline, action-packed mission over what is probably a very short about of time.  Just as the characters done slow down, our minds won’t slow down either and thats what makes this an outstanding and exciting novel to read.

I highly recommend it and I promise one of the best reading experiences you will have 🙂

Side note: I sure hope that Shannon will write a sequel because I’m waiting for one. That ending deserves one as well 😉

Make sure to visit Shannon’s blog HERE!

Seconds Before Sunrise by Shannon A Thompson (The Timely Death Trilogy #2)

Back in March, when I was doing another recommendations month, I ended off with reviewing some ebooks.  One of them was Minutes Before Sunset, which is Book 1 of The Timely Death Trilogy by Shannon A Thompson.  I highly recommended that one and truly believe that Shannon is a fantastic young writer.  I was completely captivated by the first book in her trilogy and looked forward to reading her second one. Recently, she launched her newest book and asked me to review it, however, before I went into that one, I felt like I wanted to give Book#2 of her trilogy a read first.  I will be reading her new one right after but lets take a look at this one first.

If you would like to check out my review of Minutes Before Sunset, check it out HERE.

SECONDS BEFORE SUNRISE (THE TIMELY DEATH TRILOGY #2)

BY: SHANNON A THOMPSON

Seconds Before Sunrise picks up a little bit after the events of book 1.  If you haven’t read Minutes Before Sunset, I suggest that you stop and go back before proceeding.

Jessica had chosen to give up her memory of her Dark side and it seems that in the process, she didn’t only lose that.  She has become lost in life and burdened with nightmares.  In these nightmares, she also sees a guy that she’s drawn to.  On the other hand, Eric only has weeks before he has to fight Darthon and the Light.  While he tries to avoid Jessica, their connection and feelings are too strong to push away.  At this time, he also ends up in an accident which causes him to deal with a lot of human issues, as also in the hopes to hide his Dark side to be protected before the battle.  As the final battle between Light and Dark approach, the issues at hand become more serious for both Jessica and Eric.

I always tend to take a little break between one novel to the next.  Its just how I am usually, unless of course, I’m waiting for the next novel to come out. Its not all bad though because this gives me time to digest everything thats gone on in the previous one and when I crack open the sequel, I can go in with a fresh mind.  Seconds Before Sunrise reflects on some aspects from the first novel but as I read it, it reminded me of what happened again.  However, it might be a nice idea to actually read these two one after another.

What I loved about Seconds Before Sunrise, (just like the first one), is that we get to see both sides of our main characters, Jessica and Eric.  We go back and forth throughout and we grow to learn how each side feels. As the audience, we get the full picture of both sides.  This really  helps in connecting with our main characters and really feeling what they are going through.  However, there is a lot of unknown, to them as well, when it comes to the world of Light and Dark. The focus on this novel becomes very human and less in the battle for most of the book until we hit the end.  However, that is in no way a bad thing.  Jessica and Eric’s emotional struggles are very real and very believable.  They are faced with a hard choice (on Eric’s side) and a confused feeling (on Jessica’s side). This makes it human.  Whether its teens or adults, its hard to separate our feelings with the reality at times and sometimes, its even hard to separate our dreams with reality.

Plus, we get some mysterious supporting characters that add a little extra to the story. The main question now is that as the final battle approaches, who in the human form is a Light? Will they figure out who Eric really is and even who Jessica really is? There is nothing better than a novel that delivers a believable story with an alternate reality/fantasy world intertwined and while giving us a love story also gets us to wonder what happens next. Thats what Seconds Before Sunrise is.  It may not be quite the page turner that Minutes Before Sunset is but its still a great sequel to read.

I definitely look forward to the next one and see how everything turns out! 🙂

Shannon is a fantastic writer and you can find her blog right HERE!

Her newest novel is called Take Me Tomorrow.  I will start reading that one very soon 🙂

Double Book Review: Minutes Before Sunset & The City of Worms

Its not the end of the month but I really wanted to give special focus on these books from fellow bloggers. Plus, I’ve been really slowing down the reading process so I need a boost.  I figured writing about books would help.

Both of these books are part of a larger series and from two different and very talented writers.

Lets check both of these out!

MINUTES BEFORE SUNSET (THE TIMELY DEATH TRILOGY #1)

BY: SHANNON A. THOMPSON

Eric is the descendant of the shades, beings who have a human body but shift into their true identity with a completely different appearance and represent the Dark that defend against the evil Light. With one year before his 18th birthday, he needs to train extra hard in order to be ready for the upcoming war to defend all of civilization, essentially a fight that can’t be avoided. One day, when a new girl Jessica appears, Eric’s world changes a little.  She is assigned to be his science partner and despite his uncaring behavior, she strives to make him care so that she can good grades in order for her adoptive parents to allow her to continue her search for information on her biological family’s mysterious past.

Minutes Before Sunset is an awesome read.  To start off a trilogy with this book makes me look forward to whats to come anxiously.  One aspect I like a lot about this one is that the author chooses for the audience to flip between the point of view of Jessica and Eric so we get a full picture of what is going on and in many ways, it creates a link to both sides.  It also creates an attachment to the characters.  The second part that really works is flipping the normal Light is good and Dark is bad and reversing it in a way that justifies why its actually the other way around in this world.  Plus, it adds a little forbidden love aspect to it which works out rather well.

This novel sets the stage for the battle of Light and Dark and honestly, for the first time in my life, I’m behind the Dark.  I look forward to reading the next one a lot.

I totally recommend this one! 🙂

You can find Shannon’s blog HERE!

THE CITY OF WORMS (EVERVILLE #2)

BY: ROY HUFF

Last recommendation month back in August, I read the first book in Everville.  You can find the review HERE!

If you haven’t read the first book, The First Pillar, you should do so before reading the second one.  The main reason behind it is that Everville is another dimension in our world that is going through a battle between The Fron and Them.  There’s a lot of terms and whatnot that is picked up in the first book that you will probably need to know in order to not get lost in the second book. Lets do a short synopsis

Picking up shortly after the first book, Owen and his friends are recovering from the last stand off and picking up the pieces as they buy themselves a little extra time to figure out how to defeat Them.  They start figuring out little clues as what to do as they learn more about Everville and the secrets it has hidden away.  Bouncing between the two dimensions, Owen must find a way to stop Them from reclaiming The City of Worms, which is their next target which could lead to serious consequences.

The City of Worms doesn’t quite have the intensity of The First Pillar at the beginning.  In fact, it drags out a little bit in a slow-paced unwinding of events but as the story reached about 25% in, it started picking up with a lot more action and mystery.  Owen becomes put in situations of figuring out and discovering more about Everville that contributes to how they would resolve the situation happening in The City of Worms. They are all just learning about Everville and its inhabitants and the predicament they are all in and his duties and already there are challenge after challenge especially in determining who is on which side and whether everyone on their team is loyal. As new characters pop up and the story  unwinds, The City of Worms ends on a note that makes me anticipate the next book.  Luckily, the third book is already out and I’m going to be reading that very soon 🙂

You can find Roy’s blog HERE!

Both of these reviews should have been up long ago.  I finished them earlier and they already saw my review of it on Goodreads but I felt like it wouldn’t be right to not post it up here a little bit more extensive since this is recommendations month and I said that there would be book reviews 😉  I’m actually have quite the collection of ebooks right now from fellow bloggers that I’m looking forward to read.  I’m really behind in my reading challenge so hopefully, I’ll get back on track in April!

Remember to check out these series if you like young adult adventure/sci-fi/fantasy sort of novels.  Its fun and entertaining 🙂

Look for the Recommendations month recap a little bit later!

Happy Monday!