Book Review: Thirst by Claire Farrell

Thirst for me was undeniably an enjoyable novella. At 149 pages, it was succinct, suitably written with a clear concept from start to finish.
We follow the story of Ava Delaney, a willowy red-head living on the brink of society. She hides from human interaction, fearful of the dark seed that blooms within. She is what the vampires call a hybrid - half human, half vampire, otherwise known as a day-walker. She craves fresh blood, a constant, aching need that drives her virtually crazy, her only form of calm is to count - count the heartbeat of a would-be victim.
Ava hates the very essence of herself, determined to avoid human contact and beat the burning thirst within. Unfortunately, in trying to avoid and or help the very thing that her vampiric side covets, she winds up with a thrall - a human called Carl, a poor soul lost to her very whims.
The book sees her explore her nature to extent, remaining true to her protective instincts and urge to help those who cannot help themselves. I enjoyed her consistency and the writer's ability to stay on track with topics - a clear cut story line with inevitability in keeping with the character's chosen paths.
Despite this novella being perfectly on target for flow of interpretation, I felt slightly cheated by lack of descriptive content. Sometimes it was hard to picture certain characters, grasp their moods, or envisage the scenes when the novella only allows so much time for detail.
The story itself was built on basic subject matter, a blossoming introduction in which the author makes very clear that there is definitely more to Ava Delaney. The action was plentiful, though brief as every other aspect of this novella projects, and I must admit, I am a little curious to see if this relatively sedate girl will unfurl into a dangerous vixen. At least, I certainly hope so.
I rate this book three out of five fangs. I enjoyed it, and I am curious about future works, but I wasn't completely engaged from beginning to end.

Synopsis:

Ava Delaney calls herself a hybrid - a living, breathing human who happens to have vampire poison running through her veins. The only thing greater than her thirst for human blood is her capacity for guilt. She does her best to avoid the human world, for everyone's sake.

When Ava accidentally enslaves a human while saving him from a vampire, she realises she has to look for help setting him free. Despite her misgivings, she expands her world but finds herself dragged into a possible vampire civil war. With the help of some new friends with ambiguous loyalties, she tries to find a way to keep her human, and herself, alive.

Book Review: The Draculata Nest by John Hundley

The Draculata Nest is a recent addition to my Kindle library. I'd been 'umming' and 'ahhing' for a while about picking up this supernatural fiction, as the title didn't grab me and the cover design was not overly enticing. But, I am a firm believer of not judging a book by its cover, and I am honestly relieved that I didn't in this instance.
The Draculata nest by John Hundley, is a fantastic addition to this much loved and well-read vampire/werewolf genre. Bound by a carefully constructed plot and met with consistent and interesting characters, I found myself enthralled in this hidden world of darkness. But the most surprising and yet enjoyable aspect of the novel was that it essentially follows the inner turmoil of an older protagonist - an interesting twist on what is otherwise usually dominated by young, irresistible, headstrong characters driven by teenage notions of love, revenge and need.
At 65 years of age, Clifford Crane is the unexpected hero of this story. Born into an ordinary life, he become  a werewolf quite late in the game. Though he maintains his 35 year old body, his mind and his experiences have aged with him, setting him up to be a protagonist that is both wise and alluring.
Yes, Clifford is a werewolf, but his expectations of that role are confused and unexplained. His best friend is a vampire, and the only wolf he's ever known died before uniting him with a pack. 
Soon he is thrust into a situation where natural instinct overwhelms common sense. A vampire from a visiting nest is killed by his hand in order to protect the young college student he secretly lusts after. As events spiral out of control, Clifford is forced to reconcile his origins, open his heart to a pack of wolves that could help him out of trouble, and question his desires for natural attraction and dangerous liaisons.
For me, the writing was free-flowing and well interspersed with necessary dialogue and only short references of important information. The characters were consistent and well written into their corresponding parts. I liked that the author moved the focus from character to character depending on the importance of their role at the time, and I enjoyed how enmeshed their plans became as the story wove its final scenes. 
My only moment of discontent came from the lesbian scene. I wasn't sure of its relevance as it added no real depth to the story and only hastened to confuse two of the characters roles for me. Perhaps this was to draw a tighter bond between the two characters that I had already come to believe were firm friends, or perhaps it was to add an element of sexual excitement for the reader - it didn't do this for me. Despite this aspect, I found  John Hundley's writing intriguing, descriptive and thoroughly enjoyable. You will see me picking up more of this author's books in the future. 
I rate this book four out five fangs.

Synopsis:
Clifford Crane has led a tough life - failed marriages, bankruptcy, drug addiction, and a mind-numbing dead-end job. But he's made it through,  and now he's nearing retirement. He's looking forward to his golden years, until he meets an ancient Uwharrie Indian shaman, who turns him into a were wolf. She believes Clifford is the red wolf foretold in prophecy, the one who will unite the wolf packs and lead them to victory over the vampires for once and all time. Too bad she doesn't tell him that before she dies.Now, rescuing beautiful young women from the clutches of the undead has its rewards, but will it pay the rent for the next thousand years? The Draculata Nest is the first in a series of Red Wolf novels, depicting a world where vampires are mere generations away from realizing mankind’s destruction, the ultimate goal of the undead and the mysterious beings that created them. In book one, Clifford finds himself a lone wolf, still grieving the loss of Claire Deerfoot, the one who brought out the beast that lay dormant inside him most of his life. Without the pack bond that keeps a wolf sane, he struggles with his dual nature and the strange compulsions that urge him to prowl the night. When he rescues a beautiful young coed from a visiting vampire, one hunting illegally in the territory of the local nest, he suddenly finds himself a target of revenge. The visiting Draculata Nest still thirsts for the blood of young Danielle, and now they want to spill Clifford’s blood as well. But an unlikely ally surfaces in Roland Trudeau, a high-ranking vampire in the local nest, whose welcome aid seems too good to be true. Soon Clifford finds himself in the middle of a vicious game of vampire politics, a game where the losers die.

Moving Day

Well, this is my first personal post in a while, what with the hype of my latest book about to be released, the Follow Friday venture and all the reviews I've been doing lately. Alas, I thought I'd have a lot more to report but I really don't, what a boring life I must lead ...
Anyway, it's moving week at my house. I have just seven days to pack up all of my crap in a few cardboard boxes and shove it into a shipping container due to be delivered early next week. Now I wish I could say that it was because I was moving somewhere exotic, but in reality, I'm moving to a cheap-ass hotel down the street.
Why?
The insurance company finally paid up!
Do you remember about a year ago, after cyclone Yasi when I was complaining about a leaking roof, moaning incessantly about the tarpaulins covering my house like a giant tent in the middle of suburbia? Well, hard fought and won success is in my hands (thanks to hubby) and we are getting a new roof and the entire interior repainted!
I know, I'm still jumping up and down excitedly. I've been glancing ominously at the ceiling for well over a year, expecting each torrential downpour to join us in the living room. I have questioned imminent electrocution every time water dribbled from the bathroom light fixtures and reached for a gazillion Chinese containers to catch the freak rainstorm in the kitchen. Needless to say that relief is only one word that comes frequently to mind.
So now hubby and I have to move out while the house gets a well deserved makeover. The boxes and cello-tape are crowding my living room and yet I don't have the foggiest idea where to begin. I've been wandering around like an aimless idiot, lovingly stroking the spines of my books and other treasured possessions, simply incapable of shoving them into a box and out of sight.
Plus there is the whole fear of having to unpack everything. I'm not talking about re-organisation, I'm too OCD not to enjoy that part, I'm referring to the disgusting, crawling, creepy little bastards that somehow snake their way into your belongings and jump out and surprise you whilst unpacking.
I'm talking about cockroaches!
Anyway, I have to run, the mere thought of their little feelers and and crunchy shells and quick moving legs make me want to barf. I hate the little f@#%kers. So wish me luck, I'll let you know how it goes.

Have a good one,

Kristy :)

Follow Friday #43

Happy Friday everyone!

Yes, it’s that time of week again where bloggers unite to participate in the Follow Friday venture. The idea behind #FF is to promote traffic to your own blog, make new friends with other like-minded bloggers and discuss new and interesting topics each week.

Participating is simple. First you need to follow my blog because I’m totally awesome, then you can follow me on Twitter @kristyberridge (actually you don’t have to do this, it’s wishful thinking), but do follow my blog or assassins will get you …

Then you must follow our illustrious hosts Rachel of http://www.parajunkee.com/ and Alison of http://www.alisoncanread.com/ If you want more details on how to enter your own blog in the follow and hop, all directions are on their webpages

Now, once you’ve followed, check out my answer to this week’s questions and don’t forget to leave a comment so I can do the right thing and follow you back!

This week's question: What hyped up book do you think was not worth all the talk?

My answer: Well, I've said this before and I know it's an exceedingly unpopular answer, but for me, it was 'Shatter Me' by Tahereh Mafi. I did enjoy the book but there was definitely nothing especially WOW about it for me. (Check the review here)

Book Review: Soul Mates: Scent by Elizabeth Lance

Soul Mates: Scent is an indie novel that I picked up based on the tenacity of the author's constant appreciation for the written word, whether by self promotion or the share and advertisement of other paranormal authors in the social networking world around her.
The novel starts typically of the young adult genre - schoolyard setting, jocks and cheerleaders, and the perpetual telling of boy meets girl.
Following the story of Max Fergus, high school football star, honour student, and all round stud - we fall into a world of incessant make believe. Max leads a somewhat ordinary and predictable life. He dates the head cheerleader, drives a corvette and surrounds himself with seemingly flexible friendships. It isn't until he meets Anna Lissa Felidae that his world begins to change. Max discovers that he was born a shifter, a fairy prince, and bound to be forever tied to Anna Lissa in matrimony and quick blooming love.
Okay, what I liked about this story was the great sense of imagination that the writer displays, the realms, the magic, and the never ending sense of danger that Max appears to stumble upon within each passing chapter. I positively enjoyed the sense of menace and looming action. I never questioned whether the author would deliver some crazy turn in events that would undoubtedly lead to conflict. The chemistry between Anna Lissa and Max as the story progressed was also very steamy and unexpected in a young adult novel but alas, welcomed.
Unfortunately what I didn't like about the story often outweighed the positives. The writing style was a little sedate with limited descriptive content when it came to outlining scenery, processing action, and defining aesthetic features. The base story was also a little unstructured, with characters interwoven into the plot when needed, and dispatched again when redundant, almost like an afterthought.
As I read from chapter to chapter, our protagonist constantly unraveled a new, somewhat convenient power to eliminate all possible resistance, thus eliminating the complexities of struggle, resolution and hard-won achievement. Definable plots also expand beyond necessary reason, addressing constant character re-structuring, which in turn re-shaped original, relateable behaviour that I enjoyed within the characters.
I would love to give this book three out of five fangs as I can see an exciting story blooming from this web of elaborate, fairy-tale inspired ideas, but unfortunately I can't if I'm being true to personal opinion - which I reiterate that this merely is. But I really do hope that the author develops this series further as there is a lot of potential for a great story.

Synopsis:
When the girl of his dreams walks into his homeroom class one October morning, Max Fergus, a seventeen year old quarterback and star student, has his world turned upside down. Everything he has ever thought about himself and his life is changed in that instant and nothing will ever be the same again, because once you know you aren't human, there's no going back, no pretending you are less than you are.
Anna Lissa Felidae, a pure-blooded shifter has been searching for her soul mate, the one guy that was meant for her, and just when she is sure that she is about to run out of time, Diana, Goddess of the hunt, appears to her and sends her in the right direction. With another shifter on her trail, one who is determined to have her no matter what the cost, Anna has just three short weeks to convince Max he is a pure-blooded shifter, among other things, and teach him to fight so they can be together. With the help of a few Fae friends, a motley crew of shifters, and Max's best friend Tony, they are sure to win.