Review: Heartless by Kelly Martin

    

Synopsis:

Some things can't be saved.

What would you do if your guardian angel wasn't sent to protect you from the world but to protect the world from you?

For thirteen years, Gracen Sullivan dreamed about a red-eyed demon named Hart Blackwell who tortured her every night. Her mother freaked when she found out about her daughter's "hallucinations" and forced Gracen to go to the doctor, who prescribed some very powerful medication which kept Hart out of her head for five years.

A week ago, Hart came back and brought a friend.

But something has changed, and Gracen is seeing Hart when she's awake too. And the other "friends" in her dreams? They have been found dead.

The police want to talk to her.

Her boyfriend has become distant.

Her dreams are becoming more and more intense.

Hell wants her. Heaven has to stop her.

When push comes shoving, can Gracen fight the evil eating away inside her or will she be forced to embrace it and destroy the world?

Review: Rating- 5+
"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And it was good and all the angels rejoiced.............. And then God got bored."

Kelly Martin does a marvelous job at putting you in Gracen's shoes. We follow along with Gracen and she knows very little about what is going on in the beginning, which means we know very little. As the story progresses things get jumbled and confusing in the best way possible. In the way that forces you to keep turning page after page, gasping and grasping at bread crumbs.

Every character introduced in this book will make you suspicious. Every character will have you second guessing other characters. I want to rant and rave and tell you everything about this book because it is so, so, so good, but I won't. I'll spare you that amazing feeling of reading a WONDERFUL book for the first time. Stop reading this review and go one-click this book, you won't regret it. I can't recommend this book enough!

About the book for anyone hesitant: From what I heard other people say about this book and from the first few pages I was expecting this to be full of horror and blood and gory things happening. I don't do scary, I don't do horror or gory, but there was something about that first page that called to me, maybe I saw that there would be more to this story. Maybe I knew it wasn't how it seemed. And I was right. It's more of a mystery with angels and demons and hints of horror. It's not nearly as grotesque as some might think after reading the first few pages. It talks about it and makes you feel the horror without being too gory.

I would definitely classify this as a new adult paranormal horror mystery. There's talks of sex (no sex in this book though), there are innuendos, and typical college flirting and lusting. Recommended age for reading is a mature 14 years and older.

This is a trilogy so be prepared for an epic cliffhanger in the epilogue. If you dislike cliffhangers then I recommend reading the final chapter and waiting to read the epilogue when you have book two, Soulless.

Star Wars The Han Solo Trilogy: The Paradise Snare by A. C. Crispin

 

Synopsis:

Here is the first book in the blockbuster trilogy that chronicles the never-before-told story of the young Han Solo. Set before the Star Wars movie adventures, these books chronicle the coming-of-age of the galaxy's most famous con man, smuggler, and thief.

The first book in this exciting new Han Solo series begins with a recounting of Han's late teen years and shows us how he escaped an unhappy adopted home situation to carve out an adventurous new life for himself as a pilot. Han Solo, the handsome rogue, is every girl's dream man, and every boy's hero. The Paradise Snare is another stellar Star Wars production, complete with original music and sound effect.

Review by Patrick:

Okay. So I'm a Star Wars fan. Actually, I'm a nerd of many different types, but Star Wars is one of them. So what better way to expand your nerdy knowledge than to read books in the saga?

The Paradise Snare gives the beginning of Han Solo's life, at least as far back as he can remember. This is very interesting to learn the childhood stories of the handsome smuggler. Later in the movies, Han says he's good at rescuing princesses. Well, it turns out he had to rescue himself first, then some friends. He's had some practice at rescuing. The book also set up some other themes that reoccur with Han.

The book by itself was good. It was interesting and was fast paced. There was good story building, spaceship flying with a brief encounter with pirates, blaster fights, and a lot more. Also, possibly Han's first love interest, and a new species that I hadn't heard of before, the Togorians, a feline species that are very formidable. It also wrapped up loose ends nicely, so even though this is part of a trilogy, it almost feels like a stand alone. Needless to say, I liked the book.

There were a few things that kind of irked me.  If you are a "Scoundress" shipper, you are just going to have to get over the fact that Han has a very diverse past, including women. The author made it feel like the Han in the book talked like and behaved like the Han in the movies. There were times I felt like I could hear the diolauge in Harrison Ford's voice. But I'm a little skeptical about how someone with this particular background could have so many specialties, like piloting, shooting a blaster, smuggling, learning alien languages in a matter of weeks, and other bits of his knowledge set. There's very little growth. He just comes from being a "slave" to rescuing himself with piloting a ship without controls. There were also a few questions that were not answered. One I think will be answered later in the trilogy, "why can't he remember anything before Garris Shrike." But other less minor ones. Like, "Why did the Ylesians want a Corellian to pilot?" and "Why did Bria ... spoilers, sorry?"

My recommendation, if you like Star Wars, space science fiction, the character of Han Solo, or a protagonist trying to overcome the punches that life throws their way, this is a good book. This book gets four stars from me.