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aytak44

Smashwords book reviews by aytak44

Awakening the Nightmare on Feb. 28, 2012
(no rating)
3.9/4 Stars! This is a dark story of a girl who is fighting to live with the shame of the atrocities she committed in her youth and of a vampire who is set to ascend the powerful political position of councilman and her security team, also made up of vampires. The girl,Cory, is a pre-natural/eternals bounty hunter and bar owner who takes in other beings (Fae, Were, Ghosts, Demons and Witches)who were either shunned or expelled form family or social group. They have been rejected by their own kind. So it is no surprise when an ancient vampire who once protected and nurtured her, from her birth, reaches out and asks her to hide his this very important vampire and her security team which is headed by his son Nicoli. They arrive and move into the upper quarters of the building which houses her bar. And instantly Cory and Nickoli(Nick) are attracted to one another. None of the vampires Cory is harboring know what type of creature she is. They are perplexed by her as we are, the reader. The author keeps us guessing until the end of the story and only reveals what Cory is and the extent of her past when it is revealed to the characters in the book. Another story was the battle to protect Elenah, the vampire who was to become councilman and was being hidden for her safety. The vampire who was trying to eliminate her was every bit as formidable as Cory and her gang were. The interaction by the two factions planning and scheming to resolve the threat made the story fascinating. Another aspect that I enjoyed about this story was the descriptions of the places, the body language, the clothing and the way different characters interacted and communicated. It all helped to make me feel drawn into the story and a part of their motley crew. When one of the secondary characters jumped onto the page, I found my self interested and amused, I really connected with the primary and secondary characters. I related to Cory's reluctance and shame in revealing her past and am glad that I did not know her secret. This book would have read so differently and I probably would not have liked Cory as much as I did had I known. I am sure I would have labeled her as beyond redemption. As Cory's relationship with Nick heated up, she increasingly worried about what he would think once he knew about her past. How many of us have been in her shoes? The enemies were just as fun to read about. As with other characters in this book the author made them larger than life and interesting. I hated to see them be defeated....as in most vampire books that only happens when someone is killed. I was actually wishing the main evil arch enemy (Tremayne) would live to terrorize this group again. I did not skim pages in this book to get to the interesting parts. It had amazing flow and from one scene to another I made sure I understood and experienced it all. If I could do anything over I would have asked for a bit more humor or light banter between the secondary characters and maybe a little more tug-a-war between Cory and Nick would have been fun.I would have liked to have gotten to know Nick a little better. I think he got a little bit lost in this group of fantastic characters. I also like (personal preference here) a more feral vampire...these vamps were very 'human-like' to me. What I loved? Edge...I hope the author writes a book about him. He is a carefree, slap-happy, "edgy" guy (Okay, I said it-Ha, ha.) Van the bartender and Devlyn and so many other of the secondary characters. I enjoyed the descriptions of the places and body language. I feel as though I was actually there-a fly on the wall. And everything came together at the end, some shockers and it all made sense...no unnecessary side stories and very satisfying ending. Plus, it is perfectly set up for book #2 if the author wishes to write it. All-in-all...a good read (more UF than PNR) and well worth the time invested in reading it. If Vampires, demons and all sorts of other paranormal beings are your thing, you will enjoy this book.
Awakening the Nightmare on Feb. 28, 2012
(no rating)
3.9/4 Stars This is a dark story of a girl who is fighting to live with the shame of the atrocities she committed in her youth and of a vampire who is set to ascend the powerful political position of councilman and her security team, also made up of vampires. The girl,Cory, is a pre-natural/eternals bounty hunter and bar owner who takes in other beings (Fae, Were, Ghosts, Demons and Witches)who were either shunned or expelled form family or social group. They have been rejected by their own kind. So it is no surprise when an ancient vampire who once protected and nurtured her, from her birth, reaches out and asks her to hide his this very important vampire and her security team which is headed by his son Nicoli. They arrive and move into the upper quarters of the building which houses her bar. And instantly Cory and Nickoli(Nick) are attracted to one another. None of the vampires Cory is harboring know what type of creature she is. They are perplexed by her as we are, the reader. The author keeps us guessing until the end of the story and only reveals what Cory is and the extent of her past when it is revealed to the characters in the book. Another story was the battle to protect Elenah, the vampire who was to become councilman and was being hidden for her safety. The vampire who was trying to eliminate her was every bit as formidable as Cory and her gang were. The interaction by the two factions planning and scheming to resolve the threat made the story fascinating. Another aspect that I enjoyed about this story was the descriptions of the places, the body language, the clothing and the way different characters interacted and communicated. It all helped to make me feel drawn into the story and a part of their motley crew. When one of the secondary characters jumped onto the page, I found my self interested and amused, I really connected with the primary and secondary characters. I related to Cory's reluctance and shame in revealing her past and am glad that I did not know her secret. This book would have read so differently and I probably would not have liked Cory as much as I did had I known. I am sure I would have labeled her as beyond redemption. As Cory's relationship with Nick heated up, she increasingly worried about what he would think once he knew about her past. How many of us have been in her shoes? The enemies were just as fun to read about. As with other characters in this book the author made them larger than life and interesting. I hated to see them be defeated....as in most vampire books that only happens when someone is killed. I was actually wishing the main evil arch enemy (Tremayne) would live to terrorize this group again. I did not skim pages in this book to get to the interesting parts. It had amazing flow and from one scene to another I made sure I understood and experienced it all. If I could do anything over I would have asked for a bit more humor or light banter between the secondary characters and maybe a little more tug-a-war between Cory and Nick would have been fun.I would have liked to have gotten to know Nick a little better. I think he got a little bit lost in this group of fantastic characters. I also like (personal preference here) a more feral vampire...these vamps were very 'human-like' to me. What I loved? Edge...I hope the author writes a book about him. He is a carefree, slap-happy, "edgy" guy (Okay, I said it-Ha, ha.) Van the bartender and Devlyn and so many other of the secondary characters. I enjoyed the descriptions of the places and body language. I feel as though I was actually there-a fly on the wall. And everything came together at the end, some shockers and it all made sense...no unnecessary side stories and very satisfying ending. Plus, it is perfectly set up for book #2 if the author wishes to write it. All-in-all...a good read (more UF than PNR) and well worth the time invested in reading it. If Vampires, demons and all sorts of other paranormal beings are your thing, you will enjoy this book.