Review: Mania (The Night Walkers #3) by J.R. Johansson (Series Ender Challenge #2)

First, I have to thank the author, as well as Netgalley and Flux publishing.  I first came to love this series back in January of 2014 when I read Insomnia, the first one, after winning it in a giveaway.  I got the 2nd book, Paranoia, as an egalley from Netgalley last summer, when I was not fortunate enough to get to meet the author on the last day of BEA.  A couple weeks ago I got an email from the author asking if I was still interested in reading and reviewing this third and final book in the series.  Of course I hopped on the chance!!  She emailed me a copy, and right about the same time I remembered that I'd also seen it on Netgalley and requested it there as well.  And I have to say I loved this book as much as I loved the first two, which if you click on their titles, you can go to my reviews.  Obviously if you haven't read those two, most of what I say her won't make sense, and will be spoilery. But if you have read the first two, then I shouldn't be giving anything away with my summary.

This book not only is back in Parker's life, but we get to also see from his brother Jack's viewpoint.  When the last book ended, the Takers' headquarters had been destroyed by Parker's and Jack's father.  Unfortunately their father also died.  The good news is that supposedly their father had figured out a new type of vaccine that would help the Takers to be able to dream and sleep.  So that they wouldn't have to take over people's lives like they did.   Unfortunately the leader of the Takers, Cooper now that his father is dead, still wants the elixir they had been given that would help them to be able to take over people for good and as they put it, be gods.  Chloe, Cooper's sister, also a Taker, has now started to go along with Jack and Parker and Finn. When she let Finn go, her family basically disowned her.  And now all she wants is to help make the serum that will give her a normal life.  But their dad didn't just leave instructions.  He left clues to get to bits and pieces of it until they had it all added together.  And along the way they get one more thing to deal with, Parker gets kidnapped and taken by Cooper and his group.  Once there the scientists start injecting him with all kinds of things that make his life miserable, to the point where he can only hope to die.  Jack is given 10 days to make the original serum, which his dad didn't leave any instructions for.  So of course the time is spent doing their best to find all that is needed for the new "cure" in time to save Parker.

Another great story.  I like both viewpoints, really helped to see just what was going on, as well as getting a look inside some of the characters you might not otherwise have had time to learn about.  And it was so great getting back to Finn.  I love Finn.  His funny t-shirts, all of it.  So it was really fun to have him back.  There is lots of danger in this.  Times we don't know for sure if someone has betrayed the group.  Or if someone else might be able to help even though they are on the wrong side.  I liked all the different/new ways they were able to do things in dreams, and even finding more about what started all of the different things they're dealing with.  The ending was pretty set, although I can see that maybe, some day, there could be another book, and I would not be opposed to that!  A great finish to a favorite series of mine.   

Review: Creed by Trish Leaver and Lindsay Currie

First, thanks to Netgalley and Flux Publishing for allowing me to read an e-galley of this title.  This was a good read.  One that kept me turning page and after page as it flowed in a manner that kept me hanging on the edge of my seat that I had to know what was going to happen.  In the end it got a lot darker than I really thought it would.  Not in a bad way, but in a pretty realistic way honestly.  I'm not really happy with how it ended.  While the main gist of how it ended does again seem realistic, it kind of felt too, I don't know.  I've thought about it for awhile, but can't think of the exact way to describe it.  Let's just say I needed more at the end.  But clear up to the end?  Well that was a wild ride!

The main character is Dee.  Dee's life has been a hard one.  She came from an abusive family.  Only in the past few years has she lived with a wonderful adoptive family, the Hoopers, and elderly husband and wife.  And she also met a boyfriend who has been exactly what she's needed to come out of her shell and feel safe again with people.  Her boyfriend is Luke.  The story is about a trip she is taking with the two boys.  A trip with a surprise concert at the end for Luke.  It is a gift from Dee, and his brother Mike is in on the secret to help her get him out and away for the weekend trip without getting in trouble with either of their families.

Along the way they run out of gas.  It's a snowy night, and where they're stuck there doesn't seem to be much traffic. So they begin walking to the nearest town.  Only when they get there, emergency sirens are going off and the town is deserted.  They try to get gas at a gas station, but the pumps are shut off and without knowing the password, they can't get them turned back on. So they find a house to spend the night in.  All the houses are empty, and there's something creepy about them.  They all seem to be almost exactly the same. In the morning they decide to start walking again and see if there are any outbuildings around the town that might have fuel they can get for the car. But along the way they are met by a boy about their age named Joseph.  Joseph  needs their help to save his younger sister from their father. The leader of this town, which sounds to be like a cult.  This will not be as easy as hoped.  Dee will have to figure out how to escape Joseph's father, Elijah, who plans to marry her.  And Mike and Luke are being held and tortured in a way to try to keep Dee complacent and doing as Elijah says.  But how far will Elijah go to force Dee's hand?  He's already cut her several times in the way that they bleed their members to let the evil spirits.  And what is in the box that he gives her when he tells her they will be getting married, well that is just a preview of the darkness that he will inflict on Dee, her friends, as well as his own son and nephews.

A great read.  Like I said, the whole story is the kind that you can't put down because you just think, okay, I'll read until they get out of this mess and have a minute to rest. But every time one thing might seem to be fixed, something else happens that is more to deal with.  And each new thing seems to be heavier than the last. 

Review: Resurrection (Ripper #3) by Amy Carol Reeves

Again, thanks to Flux and Netgalley for allowing me to read an e-galley of this book.  I have to say this was a perfect conclusion to this story.  All the loose ends left from the last book were tied up.  We learned basically all about the past of the bad guys, as well as the families of the good guys.  My only complaint is something that has absolutely nothing to do with the story really.  Since this was an e-galley I'm sure there will still be so much editing done before it is published.  But this is the first time I have read one with so many errors.  My guess is that the author was just so into the story that she just wrote and didn't go back and spend a lot of time making sure it all flowed.  There were sentences that seemed like she started to say something one way, but then finished the sentence another way, which could mean repeated words.  Now both ways would work, but just not together.

Our main character Abbie is back, along with her friend Simon, and her love, William.  The love triangle is still there to a point.  But Abbie knows that she loves William for sure, even though Simon does still love her, and everyone else feels that Simon would be better for her.  She's back in London with her grandmother, and working at the hospital.  But there are still the undead out there attacking people.  And there is someone new to care for, Laura, who is the granddaughter of the main who helped them get to the island where they found the Lamia that they killed in the last book.  William starts the book recovering from his injuries from the last book.  And Abbie and her grandmother are attacked in her grandmother's home by one of the resurrected.  In fact it is Abbie's friend, yet she has changed besides being dead.  She now is a killer, and enjoys it.  She kills their maid, and tries to get Abbie's mother.  Fortunately they end up getting away that time.  But now Abbie must tell her grandmother about all that has been going on, and she must move her out of the London house.  Only it isn't over, Max is still following Abbie.  He wants her to become immortal like him, to take the elixir.  And he is not the only one, there are two other men that have been around him.  One looks so much like William it is scary.  And there is a reason for that, they are related.

There is a lot of action in this story, and it all concludes in a really exciting suspenseful confrontation between Abbie and Max, at the location they first met, the White Chapel hospital.  I loved the story, the way it concluded was great, even if it was really sad.  And the final bit?  I loved it.  Just the thing I want to know about what happens after a story ends.  I'm a huge fan of this series, and will always recommend it to others.

Review: More Than Good Enough by Crissa-Jean Chappell

First, thanks to Flux Books and Netgalley for allowing me to read an e-galley of this title.  I have been a fan of this author since I got to read a copy of her first YA book, Total Constant Order.  I think I got an ARC of that too, can't remember for sure, because it was before I was blogging here.  The second book, Narc, was one that I got at BEA 2012, when I got to meet the author.  Which was really cool.  Now this one, while I think the storyline was pretty good, I had some issues.  One, I kind of wanted a bit more at the beginning.  I felt like I walked into a movie 20 minutes late, and while there were recaps, I felt like there was more that I missed.  And then the other issue has to do with the formatting I had with this Kindle e-galley, and nothing to do with the actual story, so I'll stop with that.

The main character is Trenton, and he is half Native American, Miccosukee to be exact.  His mother is actually from England.  His parents have been divorced for a long time, his father has just been released from prison, and starts out moving back in with his mother.  This doesn't work really well.  You see Trent had been attending a special school for music, but lately he's been slacking, and is now failing.  So he gets kicked out, and has to attend the public school.  Not only that, but his mom sends him to live with his father, who is now living on the reservation.  Life isn't great for Trent there.  He feels left out, as he doesn't understand their language.  And now, his father who has been absent for most of his life is really seeming to be on his case all the time.  And not just that, his dad is a drunk.  And is really getting to be hard to take.  So Trent has found that at his new school, the girl he grew up with as a best friend is there.  And she has grown up nicely.  Trent immediately seeks Pippa out, and tries to get her back as a friend, and maybe more.  But there are all kinds of things in the way.  Pippa's past experiences with boys, as well as the other people in her school.  Trent is dealing with his father, and then he is drinking, and doing drugs.  Plus his mother has a boyfriend that he doesn't like, and he feels abandoned by her.

I think the story is really the way a teen would think and act.  I just don't know if it is the way the e-galley was formatted that made it hard for me in some parts to not feel like I was missing something, but I just wanted a bit more at the beginning I think.  The end was great, I love how that went, good, but really a learning experience, and of course, always things to work on.  A great realistic fiction, and I am still a big Crissa-Jean Chappell fan, as you can tell from this picture with her back at BEA 2012.