Tuesday 19 February 2013

REVIEW + GIVEAWAY: And With Madness Comes The Light (EIT novella) by Karina Halle


And With Madness Comes The Light by Karina Halle

(Experiment in Terror #6.5)

5 STARS

 

Goodreads Blurb:

The Man. The Mystery. The Madness.

Dex Foray has never been anyone’s fool – until he missed his chance for happiness with Perry Palomino. Broken and alone, Dex has no choice but to rise from the ashes Perry left behind and find his own path to redemption. But nothing in Dex’s life has ever come easily, especially when there’s a dark madness waiting in the wings.

Told from Dex’s POV, And With Madness Comes the Light is short story/novella that spans the time period from the end of Lying Season (Book #4) until the end of On Demon Wings (Book #5). If you were ever wondering what really happened to Dex while Perry was gone - his journey to Dex 2.0 - now is your chance.



 My Review:

"There’s nothing more frightening than the dawn that seems darker than the night. When you wait for hours for that first glimpse of daylight, the constant reminder that our planet is turning and life does go on, and you get only darkness instead. Maybe the sun is out there, somewhere, and maybe the world keeps rolling on, but fuck if I knew it. All I could see was this darkness, this black oblivion that sucked me dry until I was nothing but a husk of my former self. There was no light in all this madness. My tattoo was a lie."

After reading first paragraph of this novella, it was clear that this story will be depressive. Dex was lonely, sad, self-pittying himself, without any aim in his life. Those who read Lying Season know that Dex messed up and he messed up big. He hurt and lost love of his life and now he has to face all painful consequences.

"Because even after all of this, I still loved her. Love and hate were two sides of the same coin, and my coin was destined to land with love facing up. And the minute I made peace with those odds was the minute I’d start winning."

But no matter how desperate Dex was, his snarkines never left him. I loved Dex before, but now, after reading And With Madness Comes The Light, I will never have enough of him. Love is powerful emotion an this novella perfectly shows how true love can change person for better. Add flawless writing and this books is pure perfection!

After everything that happend in previous books, and after everything that Dex and Perry had to go through, I feel strongly connected to them. I love them both, I am supportive of them and they are my all time favourite couple. So obviously, last chapter made me extremely emotional and I hope from bottom of my heart that Dex and Perry will get their HEA one day.

 All Experiment in Terros fans - you are here for a treat. And With Madness Comes The Light is a must read!

Giveaway:

Karina Halle is giving away book plates of this book. The giveaway will run from midnight on February 15th through midnight on February 24th. There will be 10 winners. Once the winners are chosen, they will be contacted at the email address they entered in the rafflecopter. Each winner will have 48 hours to respond. If a winner does not respond within that time period, an alternate will be chosen. GIVEAWAY IS INTERNATIONAL!


OTHER BOOKS IN EXPERIMENT IN TERROR SERIES:
* Darkhouse (Experiment in Terror #1)
* Red Fox (Experiment in Terror #2)
* Benson (Experiment in Terror #2.5)
* Dead Sky Morning (Experiment in Terror #3)
* Lying Season (Experiment in Terror #4)
* On Demon Wings (Experiment in Terror #5)
* Old Blood (Experiment in Terror #5.5)
* The Dex Files (Experiment in Terror #5.7)
* Into The Hollow (Experiment in Terror #6)

For checking schedule of blog tour go HERE .

Thursday 14 February 2013

REVIEW: Lying Season by Karina Halle


Lying Season by Karina Halle

(Experiment in Terror #4)

5 STARS


Goodreads Blurb:


Ama­teur ghost-hunter Perry Palomino has bat­tled ghosts, fought off skin­walk­ers and skirted the fine line between life and death. But can she sur­vive bunk­ing down in Seat­tle for a week with her partner (and man she secretly loves) Dex and his perfect girl­friend, Jennifer? And can she do so while being tor­mented by a mali­cious spirit from Dex’s increas­ingly shady past? With love and life in the bal­ance, Perry must dis­cover the truth among the lies or risk los­ing every­thing she's ever cared about.

THIS BOOK IS RECOMMENDED FOR MATURE READERS AUDIENCES ONLY. HOWEVER, THIS REVIEW ITSELF DOES NOT CONTAIN ANY INAPPROPRIATE MATERIAL. 


My Review:


Wow, utterly amazing! Karina Halle is a genius! Experiment in Terror series are so perfect that no words can describe how much I love it. These books are definitely in my TOP 3 series of all time!

Lying Season is perfectly written book. I was absolutely amazed by the style of writing which sucked me in and I could not stop reading until I finished it all. Maybe I did not like all the events that took place, or things that were said in this book but I am sure it was inevitable for the sake of storyline. Moreover, I find it very refreshing that both main characters have their flaws and negatives and they are completely realistic. There were times I wanted to yelled some sence into them but it never made me love them less.

In this story, main focus was on Dex & Perry "relationship". The fact that Perry was staying for whole week in apartment with Dex and Jenn brought awkward situations, jealousy and plenty of lying. Also, this book took very interesting turn. It was not only ghost hunting story anymore, things are definitely getting some more deeper meaning. I have to admit that Lying Season had a little bit of "Twin Peaks" feeling for me and I loved it.

And Dex? Normally I would not like the guy who has a long-term girlfriend but flirts with his partner (I hate cheating!). But every rule has an exception and that is exactly what Dex is. He is just... different, funny, caring, fascinating, mysterious, sexy...he is one of the best male fictional characters ever written! But some things he said or did in this book made me so angry. Like really angry. I am so glad that there is next book out there already because I have to read it immediately!!!

Monday 4 February 2013

REVIEW: Dead Sky Morning by Karina Halle


Dead Sky Morning by Karina Halle

(Experiment in Terror #3)

5 STARS


Goodreads Blurb:


With the Experiment in Terror show finding some success, amateur ghost hunters Perry Palomino and Dex Foray embark on their most terrifying investigation yet. A tiny, fog-shrouded island in the rough strait between British Columbia and Washington State has held a dark secret for decades: It was a former leper colony where over forty souls were left to rot, die and bury each other. Now a functioning campground, Perry and Dex spend an isolated weekend there to investigate potential hauntings but as the duo quickly find out, there is more to fear on D’Arcy Island than just ghosts. The island quickly pits partner against partner, spiraling the pair into madness that serves to destroy their sanity, their relationship and their very lives.

THIS BOOK IS RECOMMENDED FOR MATURE READERS AUDIENCES ONLY. HOWEVER, THIS REVIEW ITSELF DOES NOT CONTAIN ANY INAPPROPRIATE MATERIAL. 



My Review:


After falling in love with Perry & Dex and EIT series in previous books, I had pretty high expectation when I started reading Dead Sky Morning. And I am happy to say that my expectation were not just met, they were exceeded. I am officially huge fan of Experiment in Terror series!!!

So much has happened in this book. I liked that I got some "normal" stuff before heading towards actual adventure. Family problems, ice-hockey game, drunk talking...everything was there. And clown lady was in her creepiest-self. She always leaves me with more questions than answers but I kind of look forward to her appearences. I have a feeling that she may be a good character, but you can be sure with nothing in this series.

Dex was once again ridiculously charming. He was in his best mysterious-self, with plenty of absurd and snarky comments, always 1 step forward and 2 steps back considering his "relationship" with Perry. It made Perry feel confused, I was confused and I am sure other readers will be too. But Dex is what makes this book one of the most interesting and original book I have ever read. He can be sweet, crazy, perverted or caring. Sometimes I really did not know what to think, but I was definitely fascinated by it all.

And spooky level in this book? Well, I would go crazy if I was in Perry's and Dex's shoes. Everything about the hunted island gave me creeps. I did not like how it changed behaviour of Perry and Dex, but I could not blame them after everything they had to go through. Dead Sky Morning is the best but also the scariest part of this series so far.

Perry's feelings for Dex were in full mode in this book and I cannot wait what will happen in next instalment!!!
"I just loved the guy. I know I didn't know him that well - but I loved what I did know. And what I didn't know drove me crazy like some book that you can't stop reading, just to see how it ends, just to see if your hunches were right."

Friday 1 February 2013

REVIEW: Asylum by K.A. Tucker


Asylum by K.A. Tucker

(Casual Enchantment #2)

5 STARS


Goodreads Blurb:

Tucked away in Sofie's wintery asylum with no hope of release for years, Evangeline must come to terms with her situation: the curse still plagues her, she's now hunted by a
two thousand-year-old vampire, and the guy she's in love with tried to kill her.
Plus, she's locked up with a cranky Max and the Forero kids—two people everyone
seems to prefer dead over alive. Things aren't looking good.

Meanwhile, back in Manhattan, Sofie struggles to keep forty trapped and bloodthirsty Ratheus vampires at bay and a desperate Viggo from killing Evangeline's friends, all
while hints stir outside the walls of the NYC vampire asylum of a war brewing
between the Sentinel and the witches.

Is there any hope for Evangeline and Caden? Can Sofie control the rival powers? Is the fate of
Earth predestined? Find out in Book 2 of the Causal Enchantment series, a sequel to ANATHEMA.



My Review:

After epic ending of Anathema (you can read my review HERE) I started 2nd book immediately because I needed to know what woul happen to characters.

"Am I stupid? For believing them?"
Leo chuckled softly. "No, my dear Evangeline. You are far from stupid. Naive, absolutely. But it's born out of an enormous heart and an enduring need to believe the best of people. Not stupidity."
I was surprised that after everything Evangeline went through and found out in previous book, she stayed the same sweet and trusting girl. Her naivety was getting on my nerves from time to time a little bit, but I never got to dislike her. After all, I am sure all her actions will have some deeper meaning, sooner or later.

But other characters shined brightly in this book. Especially Sofie, whom POV was regularly alernating with Evangeline's POV in Asylum. Sofie was loyal, strong and determined. After this book I am definitely Team Sofie!

The only negative aspect of this book was the lack of Caden. At least I missed him since I fell in love with him in Anathema. But when he was present, it was definitely worth it!

Then he turned to whisper, "Tell her nothing makes sence without her."
Asylum is another page turner by K.A. Tucker. There was more action, more excitement, more suspence and plenty of new info revealed. Storyline was just perfect! All those twists... I have no idea how things are going to develop in next instalments of Casual Enchantment series.