Novella Review: Reaper by Rachel Vincent

Title: Reaper (Soul Screamers #3.5)
Author: Rachel Vincent
Published: 1 December 2010
Source: Book Depository (Part of Soul Screamers Omnibus Volume 2)
Reviewed: Sapphireddragon
SapphiredDragon Rating: ****

Reaper (Soul Screamers #3.5) by Rachel Vincent

Goodreads | Book Depository

Tod Hudson was a typical teenager. He liked girls, sports, food and tolerated his younger brother, Nash. In fact, he had his whole life in front of him--and due to his bean sidhe heritage, it was going to be a very long life indeed. And then the car accident occurred.

Suddenly Tod's future wasn't so sure, and he had to make a choice. Life... Death... or something Between....

An ebook exclusive Soul Screamers series novella

Review: 

So glad I finally got around to reading this novella.  I have been meaning to since I discovered it was the volume 2 Soul Screamers omnibus I ordered earlier this year.  And as usual, Rachel Vincent's writing does not disappoint.

Reaper is Tod's story.  The story of how he became a reaper.  If you have read the series, then you will know the bare bones of it but even so, this novella adds a whole new layer to Tod's character.

I didn't really become a huge fan of Tod's till about book 6 or 7 but after book 7 I definitely was and this novella captures his personality as seen in the series perfectly, his sense of humour, his attitude towards rules, and his protectiveness of those he loves.

Even though I obviously knew how this story would turn out, I still enjoyed every second of it, as quick as I flew through it.  i even found myself tearing up in parts and I know that even if I hadn't been a fan of Tod before, I definitely would be now.

This novella is placed between books 3 and 4 and I would strongly suggest you wait until after you read book 3 to read it, to avoid some spoilers but other than that, if you are a fan of the series then you will definitely be a fan of this novella.

I give this novella four stars :-)

Sapphired Dragon xx

Novella Review: Shadow by Amanda Sun

Title: The Shadow (Paper Gods #0.5)
Author: Amanda Sun
Published: 1 June 2013 by HarlequinTEEN Australia
Source: HarlequinTEEN Australia (free e-novella)
Reviewed: Sapphireddragon
SapphiredDragon Rating: ****

Shadow (Paper Gods #0.5) by Amanda Sun

Goodreads | HarlequinTeen

Meet two teens whose worlds are about to change forever in this paranormal Young Adult novella, a prequel to Ink by debut author Amanda Sun…

Katie Greene’s worst nightmare comes true when her mother dies, and she’s devastated to learn that she will have to leave the only home she’s ever known. Desperate to find where she belongs, she must decide if she has what it takes to start a new life across the ocean.

For Yuu Tomohiro, every day is a nightmare. He struggles to control his strange ability, and keeps everyone at a distance so they won’t get hurt—even his girlfriend, Myu. At night, a shadow haunts his dreams, and a mysterious woman torments him with omens of death and destruction. But these haunting premonitions are only the beginning…

Review: 

The shadow by Amanda Sun is the prequel novella to the novel Ink.  Despite this, I actually read Ink first (see my review on July 1) and it is kind of funny as in some ways I wish I had read this first while in other ways I am glad I didn't. Let me explain.

I originally didnt read this first, despite knowing it was a prequel, because for some explicable reason I was worried it would provide spoilers for the novel. If anything, it was the other way round (which should have been somewhat obvious being a prequel and all but meh :-p)

This novella starts about 5 months earlier than the beginning of Ink and goes virtually all the way to the beginning of Ink. Each chapter is alternatively told from either Katie or Tomo's perspective. I liked this as I felt I got to know and understand both main characters a lot better especially Tomo. Given that Ink is essentially told from Katie's perspective, I wonder whether this would have changed my perspective on Tomo's reactions to things had I read this first and understood, a little more, where Tomo was coming from.

The story itself was reasonably simple in that it was essentially setting up the novel Ink going in depth with a few scenes that are merely mentioned in Ink.  It was actually not spoilerish at all which surprised me as Ms Sun was especially good at skirting around potential spoilers and actually adding to the mystery rather than spoiling it, and there a few clues in there that I think will have meaning later on in the series ( can't wait to see if I am right about those :-P).

So I have mentioned the reasons why I wished I had read it pre Ink but the reason I am glad i read it after is that while it is an introduction to the characters and story of Ink, I think I enjoyed it more because I already to some extent knew and loved the characters of Katie and Tomo so I was interested to see where they came from.  I believed I would have enjoyed this novella even if I had read it first but it meant I appreciated it more almost as a character study rather than an introduction.

If you are planning on reading Ink then i would suggest you read this first and even if at this stage you are not planning on reading Ink, I still recommend you read this novella as you might just change your mind.  This novella provides a great introduction to the novel as well as being a great read.

I give this novella 4 stars

Sapphired Dragon xx

Review: Crossing the Line by Katie McGarry

Title: Crossing The Line
Author: Katie McGarry
Published: 1 April 2013
Source: ibooks Australia
Reviewed: Sapphireddragon
SapphiredDragon Rating: ****

Crossing the Line (Pushing the Limits #1.5) by Katie McGarry

Goodreads 

Katie McGarry captivated readers with her “riveting, emotional”* Young Adult debut, Pushing the Limits. In this gripping novella, she tells the story of Lila and Lincoln, who discover that sometimes it’s worth crossing the line for love…

Lila McCormick, Echo's best friend from Pushing the Limits, first met Lincoln Turner when tragedy struck both their lives. But she never expected their surprise encounter would lead to two years of exchanging letters—or that she’d fall for the boy she’s only seen once. Their relationship is a secret, but Lila feels closer to Lincoln than anyone else. Until she finds out that he lied to her about the one thing she depended on him for the most.

Hurting Lila is the last thing Lincoln wanted. For two years, her letters have been the only thing getting him through the day. Admitting his feelings would cross a line he’s never dared breach before. But Lincoln will do whatever it takes to fix his mistakes, earn Lila’s forgiveness—and finally win a chance to be with the girl he loves.

Review: 

Yet another awesome story by Katie Mcgarry.  While only a short novella, this story still comes alive under Ms McGarry's capable pen.  

It tells the story of Lila, Echo's best friend from Pushing the Limits, and the boy she met at Echo's brother Aires memorial.  For two years they have exchanged letters and shared their innermost thoughts with each other till Lila finds out Lincoln has lied to her.

While short and sweet, this novella is in a similar style to Pushing the Limits and Dare You To with each chapter alternating between Lila and Lincoln's perspective.  I like this format as its a great way to stay inside both main character's heads but occasionally i found myself checking whose perspective I was looking from as each would start with a quote from a letter from the other main character.

While not as gritty as Ms McGarry's longer books, this novella focuses more on the love story being told and the two people involved and while its about how one deals with outside factors, the really important part, I felt, was the relationship between Lila and Lincoln.

I think I got a little bit of a crush on Lincoln.  Tall dark and handsome and willing to go out of his way to protect and reclaim the one he loves.  He has made mistakes and this novella is about fixing them.  I liked Lila in pushing the limits and I still like her now.

Over all this is an incredibly sweet story that will fly you from page 1 till the end in the blink of an eye. If you have read Pushing the Limits and/or Dare you to and want more then this novella is for you.  If you haven't read Pushing the Limits, then why haven't you yet?

A worthy instalment to this series. I give this novella four stars.

Sapphired Dragon xx

Review:Clean Slate Complex (Daynight 0.5) by Megan Thomason

Title: Clean Slate Complex (Daynight 0.5)
Author: Megan Thomason
Published: 19 April 2013
Source: Patchwork Press via Netgalley
Reviewed: Sapphireddragon
SapphiredDragon Rating: ****

Clean Slate Complex (Daynight 0.5) by Megan Thomason

Goodreads | Amazon

Meet The Second Chance Institute (SCI): Worldwide non-profit and do-gooder organization. Their motto: Because Everyone Deserves a Second Chance at Life(TM). Reality: hidden behind every kind act is a dark agenda designed to gain control and force societal and moral extremes. Currently, the SCI’s pushing Project Liberate, a program to woo the poor and downtrodden into their Clean Slate Complexes—where “everything is provided” from jobs to food, shelter, clothing, and education. Unfortunately, as with all things that sound too good to be true, there’s a catch…

Meet Alexa Knight. Feisty, tough and currently homeless in Los Angeles, Alexa agrees to help the SCI in return for medical care for her sick mother. When she starts to suspect there’s more to the SCI than meets the eye will she believe Adam—the boy who saved her life and the SCI’s biggest champion, or Joshua—the attractive enigma who sings about conspiracy theories and pretends to be someone he’s not?

Full of action, humor, romance, twists and turns, clean slate complex is a companion story to the highly-praised dystopian novel, 'daynight'. It can be enjoyed before or after reading 'daynight'.

Review: 

Clean Slate Complex is a novella that can be read before or after reading full length novel daynight which was released in November 2012.  I read and reviewed daynight in January as part of a blog tour and you can see my review here 

I chose to read this novella this week as part of Novella Reading Week hosted by Fiktshun & Magical Urban Fantasy Reads and I am so glad I did as I definitely enjoyed this one as much as daynight probably more as I had already read daynight so it was great to delve back into the world of the CSC/SCI and see aspect of the story as a whole.

Ms Thomason sets up such a great story that you are in before you know it and I positively flew through the second half to the finish. 

In Clean Slate complex we are introduced to a different set of characters to that of daynight and while there is a little crossover, it is not even close enough to be spoilery in any way shape or form.  I also liked that it is a completely different story to that of daynight while taking place in that world. 

The main character Alexa (or Lexi) has had it tough growing up and that all culminates in the events that lead her to the Second Chance Complex.  She is a smart, tough, loyal character which strong family ties to her mother and brothers. I found to be an extremely sympathetic character and wanted her to be successful in everything she tried to do

The other main characters are Adam and Joshua, and I liked the contrast of their personalities.  Adam being very open and good while Joshua remains the mystery.

I loved the way this story was set up, with Lexi revealing layers bit by bit.  It made for a great story as even having read daynight and having some idea where this might end up, I greatly enjoyed the journey and I am stoken to find out that the characters of both this novella and daynight will be in the sequel, Arbitrate,  due to be released late in the US Summer.

I definitely recommend this story to everyone as I had had forgotten how much I enjoyed being in this world and how much I liked Ms Thomason's writing.

I give this novella 4 stars

Sapphired Dragon xx