ARC Review of As Twilight Falls

As Twilight Falls By: Amanda Ashley
Photographing ghost towns across the American West, Kadie Andrews takes a wrong turn and ends up in Morgan Creek—a spot that isn’t on the map. It’s a quaint little place, but there’s something off about its complacent residents. And when twilight falls, it takes on a truly sinister air… Unable to run or to find any way out, Kadie finds herself a prisoner, hunted for her blood. Still more disturbing, her spirit and beauty have captured the attention of the town’s leader—the mysterious Rylan Saintcrow. When he looks into her eyes, she can see his hunger. When he takes her in his arms, she can feel his power. When he presses his lips against hers, she can taste his need. Saintcrow may be the most powerful creature she’s ever imagined, but Kadie knows in her heart that he is also a man. A man who needs a woman. To want him, desire him, crave him. To be his willing prisoner—for all eternity…
First of all, big thank you to ARCycling for providing the ARC of this book! Before I say anything, I want to tell you I kind of went into this book expecting to dislike it. I love supernatural stories, but I've never gotten into vampire books. I don't know exactly what it is (though I'm pretty sure it's the whole drinking-your-blood thing...gross), but I don't think there's ever been a book about vampires that I've really liked. I read this book knowing it would mean going out of my comfort zone. The majority of this book is told from the POV of Kadie, a 24 year old photographer. She spends the night in Morgan Creek after getting lost, and discovers the next day she's incapable of leaving the town due to an invisible wall blocking the only way out. Personally, I think she handled this very well. I mean, an invisible wall? Being locked in a town? I think I'd freak out. Especially after finding out the few inhabitants of the town are used as blood bags for a coven of vampires. The rest of the book is about Kadie's relationship with the townspeople, but mostly with Rylan Saintcrow, a master vampire and the one in charge of the town. Sadly, I don't think I really liked any of the characters besides Micah, and he wasn't even introduced until the last few chapters. Rylan was a bit boring for a 900 year old vampire. I was hoping for a bit of a bad boy, but he never actually followed through on any of his threats because of his love for Kadie. Before you actually met him, the ladies of the town make him out to be a monster. I was kind of hoping for a strong Alpha male like Barrons from the Fever series. He was actually just really whipped. Kadie frustrated me because of how quickly she forgot she was a human, with a family. A family that included a terminally ill sister. Being locked in Morgan Creek meant she was kept away from her when she was dying. How do you think about anything besides that? How do you fall for the person keeping you away from her?  The reason the vampires kept people locked in the town is because of the vampire hunters. They don't want word getting out about where they are, and this way they didn't have to put themselves in danger when they needed to feed. On multiple occasions Rylan injured/killed hunters, made them forget who they were, and Kadie helped him every time. Is this romantic, because Kadie couldn't stand seeing him hurt? Maybe. But all I could think about was, these people are risking their lives to save humans. I mean, some of these vampires KILL for fun. What the heck, Kadie? This screamed "Stockholm syndrome", to me. Two Stars

The Iron King

The Iron King (The Iron Fey #1) By: Julie Kagawa
Meghan Chase has a secret destiny; one she could never have imagined. Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home. When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change. But she could never have guessed the truth - that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face; and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart
I remember seeing this book in stores when it first came out. I thought it sounded awesome, but for some reason never bought it or got it from the library. I kind of forgot about it until I came across the series at the library a few weeks ago. I liked the book. I'm into the fae/fey theme, especially after reading the Fever series. That doesn't mean the two series are anything alike, because they aren't. This series is aimed at teens, which no longer includes me. Fever would most definitely be rated R, no doubt about it. I respect how Kagawa created this whole new world. Writing fiction is hard, especially when you've creating a new world to go with it. Yes, Puck and a few characters are based off A Midsummer Night's Dream. Still, Kagawa must have done an insane amount of research and organizing. Yet I found myself getting annoyed, sometimes. I don't know how every mythical creature is supposed to look. I felt more description was needed in multiple parts of the book. Of course, a big part of this series is the whole Team Puck vs. Team Ash. I don't even know. I was Team Puck from the beginning. What did people see in Ash that I missed? Is it because some girls are into the bad boy? Because in the majority of this book, I just didn't find him likable. I mean, let's take a look: Meghan: You tried to kill me! Ash: ...you just happened to be there. But yes, if I'd had the shot, I would have taken it. And let's not forget: Meghan: What will happen then? Ash: I'll kill you. And this is within the first ten minutes of meeting him. Call me crazy, but I don't find death threats attractive. I also thought the whole Meghan and SOMEONE falling in love was just incredibly fast. It felt more like Kagawa said they had fallen in love, and that was it. But I didn't see it. I thought the relationship was incredibly shallow. Now, because this book is the first in a series, I feel I have to mention the others as well. But don't worry, I'm not going to spoil anything. I'm just going to say, I'm glad them. Book two was meh, but I really think book three made the series worth it. (Even if book four was forced and I kind of hated it). Three and a half stars.

Review on the Fever Series, Books 1-5

Review on the Fever Series, Books 1-5

For the description of these books, click here.

I decided to review the first five books as one, because that's how I read them. Instead of five separate books it was like one HUGE book. Especially considering the length book five.

I really loved this series. But I feel like the time of vampires is over, and the time of Fae has begun. There's The Iron Fey series, the Wings series, or many other books. And now there's Fever. (I don't mean to say that as if they're just being published, I mean they're popularity has skyrocketed) I hope this isn't coming off as if I'm sick of the whole Fae thing, because I'm really not. Yes, I read Twilight, but no, I never got into that vampire phase. Anyone that drinks blood is gross. It's not sexy at all, and you will never convince me otherwise. 

I love the Fae trend. Each of the previously mentioned series about Fae have really held something unique, whether it's what they call their home (Nevernever, Faery, Avalon) or what the Fae are like. In Fever, the Unseelie are gross and huge douchebags. When you first start reading the books Mac makes it seem like the Seelie are just as bad, but I completely disagree with that. Yeah, the Seelie are bigots but they've been alive forever. It's natural they know more than we would, so is it really surprising that they look at humans in the way high school seniors look at the freshmen? Not really. If it wasn't for the sex glamour V'lane used when you're first introduced, I would like them just fine.

I love the way each character is portrayed as if you, the reader, really don't know who to trust. You're right in their with Mac trying to figure stuff out. I also think the character development of Mac throughout the series is just amazing. She starts as a somewhat shallow young woman, and every bad thing that happens leads you to Mac 2.0, 3.0, 4.0...It's really interesting and gradual, so gradual it's hard to notice.

Barrons character seemed so real, so magnetic. I looked forward to every encounter with him, and was incredibly curious about his history. I have to admit, it was Barrons that interested me the most. You just learn so little about him in each book, and I was soooo tempted to just google him and read some spoilers. 

Honestly, I don't want to say anything else because I loved learning every detail in this story line.  I love this book series. Read it.

I give it five stars.

Fever 1-5

FEVER SERIES

Procrastinating

“Procrastinating is number three on my Stupid List. You still end up exactly where you didn't want to be, doing exactly what you didn't want to do, with the only difference being that you lost all that time in between, during which you could have been doing something fun. Even worse, you probably stayed in a stressed-out, crappy mood the whole time you were avoiding it. If you know something is inevitable, do it and get it over with. Move on. Life is short.”

― Dani in Iced, by Karen Marie Moning

Second Grave on the Left

Second Grave on the Left (Charley Davidson #2) By: Darynda Jones
When Charley is rudely awakened in the middle of the night by her best friend who tells her to get dressed quickly and tosses clothes out of the closet at her, she can’t help but wonder what Cookie’s up to. Leather scrunch boots with a floral miniskirt? Together? Seriously? Cookie explains that a friend of hers named Mimi disappeared five days earlier and that she just got a text from her setting up a meet at a coffee shop downtown. They show up at the coffee shop, but no Mimi. But Charley finds a message on the bathroom wall. Mimi left a clue, a woman’s name. Mimi’s husband explains that his wife had been acting strange since she found out an old friend of hers from high school had been found murdered a couple weeks prior. The same woman Mimi had named in her message. Meanwhile, Reyes Alexander Farrow (otherwise known as the Son of Satan. Yes. Literally) has left his corporeal body and is haunting Charley. He’s left his body because he’s being tortured by demons who want to lure Charley closer. But Reyes can’t let that happen. Because if the demons get to Charley, they’ll have a portal to heaven. And if they have a portal to heaven…well, let’s just say it wouldn't be pretty. Can Charley handle hot nights with Reyes and even hotter days tracking down a missing woman? Will Cookie ever get a true fashion sense? And is there enough coffee and chocolate in the world to fuel them as they do?
I didn't expect to like this book, as I really couldn't stand the first one. I only read it because I'm one of those people that can't walk away from something until it's finished. So I started reading this book, and was shocked that I actually really liked it. I started to love the characters (especially Reyes ;] ), and Charley's jokes made me burst out laughing. I still think Charley is a complete FAILURE as a PI, and I have no idea why the characters keep praising her for it. I mean, yeah, she see's dead people. She has a definite advantage. If she COULDN'T see spirits or ghosts or whatever you prefer to call them, she probably would never have solved a case. Let's not give her too much of the credit. There isn't much to talk about while reviewing this book. It's a funny read with hot guys and a sometimes annoying main character. If that's your thing, pick this book up :)