My Halloween review of Maggie Shayne's Twilight Guardian

I was happy and anxious to read Maggie Shayne's Twilight Guardians which is her first book in her series Wings in the Night Reborn.  I was happy because I was so eager to revisit the beautiful world that Maggie Shayne created in her Wings in the Night series but I was anxious because I have hoped since Wings in the Night ended that she would revisit this world and I was afraid of getting my hopes up.  Well, it turned out that I had nothing to worry about.  She delved back into the world and I was excited to see some of the other characters return because that meant they survived the vicious slaughter of their kind.

The first thing that I noticed was that the book begins a few years after the vampires were nearly wiped out in the last book of Wings in the Night.  Though I still worry for the main characters of the Wings in the Night series, I was happy to see that some of them still survived though in a much darker world than what the original series was set in.  Though I hope to see the other vampires I grew to love in books to come, there is a bigger threat than ever before and of course, that threat comes from the DPI which is a government agency dedicated to wiping out vampires.  So, the world is even more frightening and more interesting before.  

The characters are excellent as always.  I can understand Charlie or Killian and I can admire them.  These characters are real in a way that you can see why they would react the way they do even if you don't necessarily agree with their actions.  Maggie Shayne makes you fall in love with her vampires and she makes you really dislike the DPI.

So, I love the characters and the setting but Maggie's writing style is absolute magic.  She can enthrall you with words and make you see these plots unraveling or a character's looks and attitude.  She has a love of words and it shows with each word that she writes.  This beautiful and engaging story captured me and I was washed in each emotion as I walked with Charlie as she moved from being a fragile and naive girl to a very strong woman.  

So, I'll end this by saying that I truly do not find one thing that bothered me about this book besides the fact that I want to read another one and I have to wait for Maggie to work her magic once again.  So until then, I will recommend Twilight Guardians for adults who love magical writing, vampires and romance.   

My Rating: 5+

Book Cover Rating: 5+  (This is a seriously beautiful cover)

Taking A Walk With Fledglings...My Review of Betrayed by P.C. and Kristen Cast

I know it has been a while but I would like to give you my review for Betrayed (Book 2) of The House of Night Series by P.C. and Kristen Cast.  First, I would like to say that I enjoyed reading this book.  There is plenty of suspense and now there are murders of humans added to the mix and of course the threat of death lingers over each fledgling who may or may not make it through the change to vampyre.  Worse, there is a horrible betrayal that will profoundly affect Zoey and her friends.  Honestly, it made me cry.  As always, I am trying to do this without giving too much away.  

So, let's start with the plot.  I loved it.  It was fast-paced.  I wasn't ever bored with what was happening. It is a true page turner.  I like the way it shows good and bad.  It is very real and the experiences that Zoey and you are able to relate to what Zoey and her friends go through.  Somehow, the writers of this book display that while surrounded by such darkness.  

The characters are beautifully done.  I love how P.C. and Kristen Cast were able to show that people who you think are evil to begin with, may not be as bad as you think and people who you think are wonderful could be hiding darkness.  The reactions of Zoey and her friends are believable because they are extremely real.

Now, I want to talk about setting.  Since I've read two books in this series, I feel like I know the setting pretty well.  It's magical and beautiful but also filled with both darkness and light.  I really did fall in love with the setting this time because I understood it a bit more.  

The one thing that still bothers me is that the characters are a bit judgmental.  However, I'm beginning to see that it may be a major part of the story and there is a reason behind it that will come to light later.  I hope I'm right.  

I definitely recommend this book for anyone who likes paranormal books especially those that involve vampires.  This series has an original and interesting take on them.  

Join me in a few days for my review on Twilight Guardians by Maggie Shayne.

Book rating: 4.7

Cover rating: 5