Book Nerds Across America: series

Showing posts with label series. Show all posts

Monday, July 23, 2018

Book Review: Bad Blood by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Goodreads Overview:

When Cassie Hobbes joined the FBI's Naturals program, she had one goal: uncover the truth about her mother's murder. But now, everything Cassie thought she knew about what happened that night has been called into question. Her mother is alive, and the people holding her captive are more powerful—and dangerous—than anything the Naturals have faced so far. As Cassie and the team work to uncover the secrets of a group that has been killing in secret for generations, they find themselves racing a ticking clock. New victims. New betrayals. New secrets. When the bodies begin piling up, it soon becomes apparent that this time, the Naturals aren't just hunting serial killers. They're being hunted.

Jacque's Review:

Bad Blood is the fourth book in the Naturals series. While some series can be read as stand alone novels, this certainly is not one of them. In fact, it has been a while since I read All In, book three in this series, and it took me several chapters before things started falling in place again. If you are new to this series, DEFINITELY read them in order.

I absolutely love the characters and their abilities and hope Jennifer will someday write a spin off series with the teens a little older solving crimes that do not hit so close to home. I am always up for a good murder mystery and it would be a lot of fun reading some independent stories similar to the King and Maxwell series or even the Stephanie Plum books where we have a core group of characters solving a different case each book.

We were introduced to a new character with a different "natural ability." This provided a new dimension to the story and would be a great addition to Michael, Dean, Cassie, Lia and Sloan's abilities. I have enjoyed seeing how the Naturals have formed a family and become closer throughout this series. Dean and Michael in particular were always at odds, but even they provided readers with some warm and fuzzy moments in addition to their witty jabs at one another.

I was shocked at how everything unfolded at the end of this book. Bad Blood definitely has new meaning and was not what I anticipated from the title. Cassie is faced with an unthinkable decision after years of tracking down the people she thought were responsible for her mother's murder. In addition, we discover characters from prior books who were far more than they seemed at the time.

While writing this review I discovered there is a novella, which is 4.5 in the series. I thought this was the end of the series, but now I can look forward to another 128 pages. They alluded to certain things at the end of Bad Blood that were so open ended, that I couldn't believe this was the absolute end. I am ecstatic to see that it is not. I am heading to my library app to request Twelve while the story is still fresh in my mind.

If you enjoy YA and murder mysteries, this is a highly entertaining series with some amazingly talented characters.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

INTERVIEW: Jessica Sorensen

I contacted Jessica Sorensen when I began reading the forth installment of The Fallen Star series. I thoroughly enjoyed this series and I would recommend others to read them also.

As usual, I asked 5 questions because I know how busy authors are. I would like to THANK Jessica for taking time to answer my questions.

Have you always wanted to be an author? When did you know this was your passion?

I’ve always loved to write. I can remember being eight-years-old and having a huge obsession with writing stories. The obsession grew the older I got. However, it wasn’t until I started writing my first novel, The Fallen Star, that writing became my passion. It’s when I realized I really REALLY loved to write and that I wanted to be an author more than anything.

With the popularity of vampires / werewolves how did you come up with this unique storyline of the “fallen star”?

The idea for The Fallen Star came from a dream I had about a girl who couldn’t experience emotions. I remember waking up and thinking that it would be an interesting concept to write about. But the idea for the actual fallen star aspect came after a lot of thinking and many revisions. In fact, the very first draft of The Fallen Star was quite different from what it is now.

Even though the majority of the series is from Gemma’s point of view, how much fun (or challenge) was it writing from Alex’s point of view?

Writing from Alex’s point of view was both fun and a challenge. I was so used to writing from Gemma’s point of view that at first the switch kind of threw me off. But I’m really glad I did it because it gave me the chance to show the readers what was going on in Alex’s head.

Gemma and Alex have really grown up a lot through the series. What was the best part about these characters from Book 1 to Book 4?

The best part about Gemma is how much she changed. She starts out as a lonely girl with no understanding about emotions and friendship. Throughout the books, she grows confident and begins to understand her emotions a little better. She grows into a person that steps up to save everyone she loves, even though it’s hard.

Then there’s Alex. In the beginning of the series, he’s about as confused as Gemma is, but he doesn’t realize it. He’s mean to Gemma, but deep down he really loves her. And that’s my favorite part about him. He starts off as being kind of a jerk to Gemma, but in the end, his love for her is so strong that he’ll do anything to save her.

On your website you told us that you are writing a new series called The Fallen Soul, can you tell us more about this series and why you decided to do a spin off?

While I was writing The Promise, I found myself getting sad. It wasn’t until I was finished, and in tears, that I realized how sad I was to see the characters go. So after some brainstorming, I came up with the Fallen Soul Series idea, which will have the same characters as the Fallen Star Series, but a different storyline.

And here’s a little description of it:

My name is Gemma Lucas and my life is going good. Alex and I eliminated the star, along with Stephan and the Death Walkers. Finally I can relax and focus on freeing my father from the Room of Forbidden.
At least that’s what I thought. But things are never this easy.
Just when I’ve put the past behind me, Lost Souls cross over into the Real World and start stealing souls for the Queen of the Afterlife.
Then Alex disappears without a trace. As I desperately search for him, I discover secrets I wish I could forget—secrets Alex has been keeping for me. And I’m not sure what to do. Or who I can trust.

The Promise (Fallen Star #4) by Jessica Sorensen

Good Reads Description:

My name is Gemma Lucas and my life’s a mess. Alex is gone, my dad’s trapped in his own mind, and my mom’s working for the dark side. Not to mention Nicholas refuses to quit haunting me.

The world has also entered apocalyptic mode. Everyday more vampires, witches, and fey run the streets. Innocent people are dying. The Mark of Malefiscus is showing up everywhere. And I’m the only one who can stop it.

The only problem is I have to die in order to do so. And I have to let Alex die. Something I’m not sure I can do.

Mary's Review:

Every since the very first time I read Book 1, Fallen Star, I have wanted more and more of Gemma and Alex. This final installment was no different. Jessica Sorensen definitely delivered with this. I could not stop reading until the very end. I hoped the ending was not going to be so sad since it was foretold that Gemma and Alex would have to die to save the world.

I will not spoil it but I can tell you this: this is an outstanding series. It is so different from some of the other supernatural series that I have read. Alex, Gemma, and every other character is unique and you truly fall in love with them!

I will be waiting until the next projects of Jessica's