TGIF, Readers! I am finishing up this weeks adventures with a visit to Chattanooga and the Supernaturals that live there where Kaitlin finds herself feeling as if she is a game piece in a sadistic chess tournament! Enjoy and don't forget to add Dark Light by Chris Stoneheart to your shelves!

 

 

 

 

Book four of The Chronicles of the Light…

 

Kaitlin negotiated for what she hopes will be two magnificent hours with Xaephan. Unfortunately, the Lord of Lust’s agreements aren’t always as they seem, and the consequences of their evening are long lasting.

 

She follows through on her deal with Ryan and heads to Africa to help guard gazelles for a week. Ryan trains her, but no one anticipates the powerful, ancient Strigorii vampires who have her in their sights. Since she broke up with Abbott, gaining control of her will be like hanging a sign saying they’re more powerful than The Abbott without having to actually fight him.

 

Throw in complications with Nathan and a few battles with her old enemy Aquila, and Kaitlin doesn’t know whether she’s coming or going. She wants peace and quiet with her daughter, but is it possible? Is she too embroiled in supernatural politics to live a normal life? Kaitlin feels as if she’s become a game piece in a sadistic chess tournament, and she wants off the board.

 

 

With complications arising in her relationship with Nathan, guarding gazelles in Africa with Ryan, Strigorii vampires who have her in their sights, and a few battles with her old enemy, Aquilla and Kaitlin doesn’t know whether she’s coming or going. She feels like she’s become a game piece in a sadistic chess tournament and all she wants is off the board to live in peace and quiet with her daughter.

 

Kaitlin is back in this explosive and energetic continuation of the ‘Chronicles of Light’ series. This time the story has our feisty heroine negotiating with the Lord of Lust, traveling to Africa, guarding gazelles and discovering that there is other supernatural groups that want a piece of her. This fast paced, non-stop action story is full of captivating emotional angst, thrilling, hold your breath suspense and stunning battles that rocks readers’ worlds while keeping them completely absorbed until the very last page.

 

The romance part of this story has a hit a few snags as her relationship with Nathan explodes into an ‘OMG what have I done now’ moment. And honestly this whole story explodes into sharp edged pieces as friends, lovers, allies and even enemies are torn apart and readers don’t want to miss one second of the world rockin’ excitement as Kaitlin tries to keep all the allies in Chattanooga from disintegrating into an unfixable mess.

 

 

 

Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46277051-dark-light

 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43562374-dark-light

 

BookLikes - http://booklikes.com/dark-light-chris-stoneheart/book,14006066

 

BookBub - https://www.bookbub.com/books/dark-light-chronicles-of-the-light-book-4-by-chris-stoneheart

 

Riffle - https://www.rifflebooks.com/books/1051257

 

 

 

 

Dark Light is the 4th book in the Chronicles of Light series

 

Author - https://www.chrisstoneheart.com/chronicles-of-the-light/

 

Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/series/253288-chronicles-of-the-light

 

Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RSH6F5Q?ref=series_rw_dp_labf

 

 

1 Unhuman Light
2 Shadow and Light
3 Chasing the Light
4 Dark Light

 

#5 Spark Of Light July 25, 2019

 

#6 Light Warrior August 29, 2019

 

 

 

AVAILABLE in print or ebook

 

Amazon - https://books2read.com/darklight?fbclid=IwAR3i0TEIx0Mg3PfSVZq3TX1Dlwy2aX_U3_egLawPXnChZfQiiCoyiOLInNs

 

B&N - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dark-light-chris-stoneheart/1131590185?ean=2940161427033

 

Kobo - https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/dark-light-25

 

iBooks - https://books.apple.com/us/book/dark-light/id1465405338

 

Smashwords - https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/940722

 

 

 

Chris Stoneheart lives in a fifty-year-old house smack dab in the middle of The South, with what promises to soon be a full-fledged herd of retired racing greyhounds. Chris read The Hobbit in elementary school, and The Lord of the Rings in middle school, and has been addicted to fantasy ever since. (It’s probably best we don’t talk about what Chris read in high school.)

 

Chronicles of the Light gives us a world where weredragons, werewolves, werelions, three different species of vampires, and a variety of other mythological beings exist.

 

Stay up to date on releases by joining Chris’s mailing list at http://eepurl.com/gcNe7v

 

 

Website - https://www.chrisstoneheart.com/

 

Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18780566.Chris_Stoneheart

 

BookBub - https://www.bookbub.com/authors/chris-stoneheart

 

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/chris.stoneheart.35

 

 

 

 

 

With complications arising in her relationship with Nathan, guarding gazelles in Africa with Ryan, Strigorii vampires who have her in their sights, and a few battles with her old enemy, Aquilla and Kaitlin doesn’t know whether she’s coming or going. She feels like she’s become a game piece in a sadistic chess tournament and all she wants is off the board to live in peace and quiet with her daughter.

 

Kaitlin is back in this explosive and energetic continuation of the ‘Chronicles of Light’ series. This time the story has our feisty heroine negotiating with the Lord of Lust, traveling to Africa, guarding gazelles and discovering that there is other supernatural groups that want a piece of her. This fast paced, non-stop action story is full of captivating emotional angst, thrilling, hold your breath suspense and stunning battles that rocks readers’ worlds while keeping them completely absorbed until the very last page.

 

The romance part of this story has a hit a few snags as her relationship with Nathan explodes into an ‘OMG what have I done now’ moment. And honestly this whole story explodes into sharp edged pieces as friends, lovers, allies and even enemies are torn apart and readers don’t want to miss one second of the world rockin’ excitement as Kaitlin tries to keep all the allies in Chattanooga from disintegrating into an unfixable mess.

 

Darklight, Book 1

I Picked Up This Book Because: I love this author’s Charley Davidson series and was curious about her other titles

The Characters:

Lorelei McAlister:
Cameron Lusk:
Jared Kovach:
Glitch, Brooklyn and several others

The Story:

So I admit I picked this up because I love Charley (I want to be her when I grow up) I see a lot of Charley in Lorelei. Loves her coffee. Is brave, determined, cares for others before herself. Oh and Jared is totally a Reyes Jr.

But it’s not all Charley and Reyes Jr. I enjoyed getting to know Lorelei and the gang. It’s a mysterious tale. The end was shocking and I look forward to reading the next to volumes.

Writing: Very good. Very twisty.
Overall Interest: I’m not going to lie I did zone out from time to time but I was able to pick the story back up without too much trouble.
Length of Reading Time: 5 days. Decent for me.
Re-read-ability: Don’t think I will

The Random Thoughts:



The Score Card:



3.5 Stars

The enthralling final book of the DARKLIGHT trilogy is as surprising as it is wonderfully choreographed. A recommended read for young adults who love a great paranormal suspense, as well as for adults who are young at heart!

Review Courtesy of Romance Junkies and reposted at TBR Mountain Range.

Unfortunately, I didn't read books one and two, so I apologize in advance if I spoil either one of those for you in this review of book three in the DARKLIGHT trilogy. Just due to what is revealed in this final book, I won't know for sure if talking about the first three chapters of DEATH AND THE GIRL HE LOVES will spoil the first two books for you. But, that's all I'll concentrate on, the first three chapters, so you'll get the full effect of the end of the trilogy on your own when you read it.

Lorelei "Lor" McAlister finds herself abandoned at the Bedford Fields Academy, a private boarding school for children of the wealthy. Her grandparents aren't wealthy, but she earned a scholarship so she was removed from the only home she knew in New Mexico, given a new name of Lorraine Pratt with a background story of being from Arizona, all to protect her from something. Lor is suspicious of the scholarship and wants nothing more than to go home. Especially since she's having visions of impending doom for everyone she accidentally touches or bumps into. She can see their deaths and the storm that takes place the day they die, most of her visions are so horrifying that Lor can't stand the thought of touching another human being with a prediction to tell. And now, she's getting death threats slipped into her pockets. Somehow, some way, she's going to escape this place.

Lorelei makes a few new friends at Bedford Fields Academy, who add to the mystery of why she's there and who is trying to kill her. She had been brought to the school by members of the "Order," a group of believers who know she is the last prophet and who believe she will save the world. But, her travels to this new place have been so secret. None of her friends in New Mexico know where she is and Lor is not allowed to tell them for fear of their safety as well as hers. Her only contact with her past is through a new cell phone number for her grandparents who have raised her since the disappearance of her parents when she was six-years-old. Lor's new friends, Crystal, Kenya and Wade add to Lor's confusion and anxiety, in addition to some humor, while she struggles to find a way home before something really bad happens.

For those who have read the first two books, many of the previous characters such as Brook, Cameron, Glitch and the so very irresistible Angel of Death, also known as Jared, are back to support Lorelei in her quest.

Although there's a great amount of action and mystery to kick off this final book in the DARKLIGHT trilogy, it's the characters who truly shine. Lorelei is a fun heroine. She's sassy, inquisitive and not completely convinced she's the answer to anything. She doesn't want the responsibility of saving the world, yet it has been thrust upon her by her predetermined destiny as a prophet. She hasn't grown up with this knowledge, even though she knows she's different, but has had the facts handed to her in the last few months. For centuries the women in her family have been prophets and she's the last one. Crystal, who is Lor's roommate at the boarding school, is especially comical. She definitely adds the comic relief to Kenya's danger and Wade's darkness. I could so easily picture each one of them and laughed at their antics, as well as fretted when I was sure Lor wouldn't survive what came next. When Jared is introduced, I fell hard and he continued to enthrall me to the very end.

The DARKLIGHT trilogy is definitely one that you should read in order. I understood most of book three without reading the first two books, but once I got to the end and realized how fabulous it would be for someone who had read all three books, I was disappointed that I didn't get that same experience since I had received just the third book for review. I loved the ending because it's surprising and clever, so I highly recommend that you read this series of books in order to get the full impact of a very good finale.

The series order is…
Book 1: Death and the Girl Next Door (released October 2, 2012)
Book 2: Death, Doom and Detention (released March 5, 2013)
Book 3: Death and the Girl He Loves (released October 8, 2013)

A fabulous conclusion which will move you to tears—DEATH AND THE GIRL HE LOVES is the perfect book for young adults, as well as adults, who love a new twist in a world facing an apocalypse. Filled with camaraderie, great friends who have your back, love, family, laugh-out-loud moments and a destiny of unparalleled mystique, DEATH AND THE GIRL HE LOVES will rock your emotions, twist them up and send them crashing back at you before it's done. Bravo, author Darynda Jones—you made me laugh, you made me cry and you completely surprised me with this unique story—a recommended read!

More reviews by Dorine and contests at TBR Mountain Range.

Characters:
Lorelei is a firecracker as her auburn hair stereotypically suggests. Though in the beginning there was a bogged down version of Lorelei's feistiness because of the anniversary of her parents' disappearance, there's still some of her witty, and sassy self to hook you into the narrative. She does have a tendency to rely on others more when she is in any way hurting or emotionally distraught, but as the story progressed I could see an independence and motivation to discover the secrets behind her abilities and an internal strength that grew in the face of conflict.

Casey and Brooklyn, a.k.a. Glitch and Brooke, are crazy supportive when it comes to their best friend Lorelei and are absolutely amazing BFFs. They go above and beyond to make sure Lorelei is protected as she breaks into new territory concerning her abilities and also help her discover new information about their crazy and unbelievable situation.

Jared is one of the first characters introduced in the book, as being a powerful being who can slay monsters in one of Lorelei's visions. He is portrayed as a "supernova" among other males, making his physical appearance out of this world in good looks. His tall, muscular presence attracts Lorelei magnetically and they seem to share a bond. While I wouldn't say the romance between them started instantaneously, there didn't seem to be much getting to know each other before they couldn't live without the other.

Cameron was initially one of those characters that got under my skin because he fell under one of my bookish pet peeves. He started stalking Lorelei for a reason unknown, then proceeded to pick fights with Jared--though Jared wasn't opposed--and then he would make comments about Lorelei's inability to understand the situation going on around her. The problem I had with Cameron dealt more with the latter. Sometimes, in YA books, there seems to be a character that serves no other purpose in the novel except to antagonize the main character with passive aggressive comments about how they couldn't possibly know what was happening around them, and instead of giving the protagonist a hint of what's going on, they instead think it is more productive to badger them with verbal insults and provocations. It makes my blood boil.

It wasn't until the halfway point of the book that we got to learn any real information concerning these two battling forces that seemed to be at each other's throat with just the drop of a hat. That was yet another question unanswered till further in: Why did Jared and Cameron hate each other so much?

Plot:
The plot of Death and the Girl Next Door is the biggest issue I have with the book. In the first half there were too many instances where Lorelei was more of an observer than an actual participant in the ensuing chaos. Again, not until the halfway point, was there any real role for her to play besides the grieving orphaned daughter that's dealing with her parents' mysterious disappearance. To not go into too much detail, there were certain parts where Jared and Cameron were bickering and started revealing things about each other just to get the other fired up. These tidbits they were spewing was the only informative way to really get any straight answers about their purpose and underlying motives. Well, something is revealed about Jared and when his role is explained, it was too convenient of a description. It's hard to explain without spoilers but I'll say this much, if all it took was a prayer from a faithful person then I think his job would be way more complex then it is actually portrayed.There was also a lack of cohesion when it came to seamlessly tie in one event to another, it felt like watching choppy jump cuts in a video.

Because of all the explanation about Jared's character and Cameron's stupid brooding self, there's a lot to be desired when it comes to the main character. I would even go so far as to say that the romance is given a prominent role than Lorelei. I just wish there was more sustenance to her character and her desires than just wanting to kiss Jared. While the ending was more than informative and cathartic for Lorelei, it didn't fully let the new discoveries sink in before the book was finished.

Writing:
The writing is one of the lighter and addictive aspects that kept me reading and engaged. I greatly enjoy the author's writing because the narrative as well as the dialogue have a fluidity that pushes you to read the next chapter when you had originally planned a break two chapters ago. The book's setting is Riley's Switch, New Mexico which feeds my weird craving of wanting to go to a desert or really boiling state as a vacation. I'm not sure if that's something I'll ever pursue but whenever I read books that take place in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, or Nevada, I relate to them more--since I live in Florida--than I would if I read a book with a more seasonal setting.

While the writing is not complex or particularly suspenseful, it does provide enough descriptive technique, active voice, and an overall thrill to attract readers into finishing the novel and wanting to know what's going to happen next.

C+