REVIEW | Vengeful (Villains #2) by V.E. Schwab

Name: Vengeful (Villains #2)
Author: V.E. Schwab
Genres: Adult, Paranormal Fantasy
Publisher: Titan Books
Format: UK Hardback
Source: Waterstones Pre-Order
Rating: ★★★★★
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Eli Ever and Victor Vale were only medical students when their mutual discovery that near-death experiences can, under the right conditions, manifest extraordinary abilities.

They were best friends, and rivals, and then enemies. They were dead, then alive, and then—Eli killed Victor, once and for all.

Or so he thought—but Sydney Clarke felt otherwise, and used her own superpower to tip the scales. Now, a trio hides in the shadows, while another takes advantages of post-death life to take over the city of Merit.

If there can be life after death—will there be calm after vengeance, or will chaos rule?

REVIEW | Solis Invicti series by Josie Jaffrey

Name: Solis Invicti series (A Bargain in Silver, The Price of Silver, Bound in Silver, The Silver Bullet)
Author: Josie Jaffrey
Genres: Paranormal, Romance
Publisher: Self-Published
Format: Paperback
Source: Author
Rating: ★★★★☆
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If the price of safety is slavery, would you bargain your life? 

A Bargain in Silver is book one of Josie Jaffrey’s Solis Invicti paranormal romance series, set in a dystopian, post-apocalyptic London.

A deadly infection threatens to wipe out humanity. The only people who can stem its advance are the Silver, a vampiric race who offer a simple exchange: protection in return for blood and subservience. It’s not a deal that Emmy’s willing to make, but as her world burns around her she finds herself in the arms of the enemy and the line between oppressor and saviour begins to blur.

After an attack by the infected, Emmy is rescued by the handsome Drew who introduces her to the world of the Silver. Desperate to escape subjugation and confused by her attraction to him, she gathers what remains of her surrogate family and plans to make a break for freedom.

But despite her efforts to resist, she is drawn further into the intrigues of the mysterious Silver through the agency of their ruler, the Primus: Solomon. Emmy refuses to submit to the cold and detached Primus and an attempt on her life makes it clear that he is unable to protect her from the political machinations of his race.

As the connection between them deepens she must choose between her desire and her will to rebel, but can she trust his intentions when everyone is after her blood?

KEY WORDS: Vampires, Zombies, End of the World, Roooooomance + Bonds + Love Triangles.

*I received these books from the author in exchange for an honest review*

I have a great deal of respect for self-published authors. It’s a very difficult thing to do; to motivate yourself to write and the publicise your own novel. You don’t have the same kind of assistance when marketing and self-published authors almost always have a completely different, full-time career to compete with their writing time. Yet in our community, there is a stigma when it comes to self-published authors. Some reviewers don’t accept them and there’s always a reluctance to read them because there’s a reason a traditional publisher didn’t accept them, right? Wrong.

Some authors want the autonomy that comes with self-publishing, others never even tried to be traditionally published, and yes, some were refused but if anything their self-publishing shows determination and perseverance to continue doing something they love – writing. However, I cannot deny that there are some self-published books that are terrible and yes, there is a reason that they aren’t traditionally published. I hate to admit it but despite my love of many a self-published work, hello Tarryn Fisher, Josephine Boyce, Jacqueline Silvester, I do still have that voice in the back of my mind saying, ‘ugh, this is probably going to be awful’. I have never been more relieved in my life to have enjoyed a book series as much as I enjoyed this one. It was fantastic.

Now, I will always be a sucker for the supernatural. Gimme those vampires and werewolves and I won’t put that book down for anything. The Solis Invicti series was no different. The plot was incredibly interesting, taking place in an end-of-the-world/apocalyptic situation with two different types of vampire, except one was more like a zombie. So if you’re a fan of The Walking Dead and/or True Blood this is 100% a series for you. The story follows a human, Emmy, through her experiences as the world as she knows it ceases to exist.

The books are written in first person past, with the prologue of each book taking place during events from the end of that book and then her going back to tell you everything that happened to make that event happen. i.e. The first book begins with her working in a vampire club, so the whole of the first book tells you about the Revelation; how the Silver, the “good” race of vampire took over the world.

This style of writing actually really annoyed me at first. I didn’t like Emmy’s self-introductions and the way Jaffrey wrote the prologue seemed to tell a lot more than show. It annoyed me, to be honest. But, as Emmy grew on me as a character, so did this form of storytelling. By the time I got to the fourth book and this prologue system went out of the window, I actually missed it.

I really loved Jaffrey’s characters, I think they were well planned and thought out, well-rounded and intriguing. Each one really grew on me as I got to know them more and more throughout the books and I could really feel myself beginning to really know them. Special mentions go to Cam and Laila, both of whom I love for completely different reasons and one I actually began the series hating. Can you guess who?

Now, there is one thing which every reader gets a bit tired of reading about once in a while – a love triangle. It’s been overdone, we all know it, but sometimes it can be done well enough that it doesn’t matter as much. I think this was actually done very well at times, while less so at others. Emmy’s inability to be near a male character for a long-ish period of time and not kiss him annoyed the hell out of me. It is pretty much the only reason any form of love triangle/square/octagon/whatever-it-was existed in the first place and it was the only thing that really irked me about Emmy. So many other events made her a strong female character, fighting for freedom and humanity etc. but that just diminished her strength. Also, there was an event in the final book with another character that came so far out of left field that it seemed unbelievable to me. Maybe I just missed the signs but meh.

HOWEVER, the Sol/Emmy/Drew situation was handled well. I love a good love-bond situation, mainly because I can’t trust them and that creates angst and friction and all kinds of great plot lines for the bonded to actually fall in love, or not as the case may be, and this triangle was fabulous. The angst was some of the best I have read and satisfied my angst-loving heart immensely. Again, if you’re a fan of angst, this series is a must. The world Jaffrey created gave her so many options for different plot lines that I never knew entirely which way she’d go with it. Of course, I knew how I wanted it to go and I was very content with how it ended, but I was also left guessing what was going to happen next a lot of the time.

TLDR; I loved this series. I thought it was pretty rad, even though there were some things I disagreed with or didn’t like as much. It may even end up being one of my many series that I enjoy rereading, like Vampire Academy and Law of the Lycans.

Also, thank you so much to Josie for sending me the first book and then the rest on ebook and paperback when I was halfway through and couldn’t cope with the idea that I was going to have to wait for the rest.

Paranormal:

• Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead ★★★★★
• Shadow Falls series by C.C. Hunter ★★★★☆

Love Bonds & Triangles:

• Law of the Lycans series by Nicky Charles ★★★★★
• Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi ★★★★★

Have you read Solis Invicti? Do you love vampire novels as much as me? Let me know in the comments!

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TOP TEN TUESDAY | Ten Hidden Gem Series

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish and I love a good list so here goes!

This was a lot more difficult this week because, to be honest, I’m a bit of a mainstream reader. HOWEVER, these are books which I haven’t heard loads of buzz about in the same way that certain series have become almost household names within the book-lovers sphere. Maybe you don’t think they’re hidden but either way, have a list!

Micah Grey series by Laura Lam
KEY WORDS: Intersex, queer, magical, circus, adventure, coming of age, SO SO GOOD.

I’m definitely going to be talking about this series for some time because I cannot believe that I’d never heard of it until I met Laura Lam in March. Now I’m completely mad for her writing. These books were beautifully written and one of my favourite series. If you are a fan of fantasy, magicians, circus and some good old LGBT+ representation, this is for you.

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Shadow Falls series by C. C. Hunter
KEY WORDS: Supernatural, summer camp, teen drama, trashy but great.

I am an absolute sucker for boarding school/summer camp supernatural novels. Vampire Academy is a long-time favourite so when my lovely friend Alys recommended Shadow Falls to me I was all in. It’s a little trashy teen drama but sometimes that exactly what I fancy. Vampires, werewolves, witches, fae, every kind of supernatural you can imagine all in a summer camp for ‘delinquents’. It is fantastic. Plus, with around twelve novels including the novellas and spin offs, it’ll keep you busy for a while.

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Shades of London series by Maureen Johnson
KEY WORDS: Ghosts, investigation, London, murder, mystery.

It’s been a while since I read Shades of London (and we’re still waiting on the fourth book) so maybe that’s why I haven’t heard a lot of buzz. Come on, Maureen, where have you been? Ghosts are all over London and Jack the Ripper is back – contemporary London, plus Victorian London, plus boarding school, plus ghosts. What more do you need, well, except the end of the series…

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The Elemental Trilogy by Sherry Thomas
KEY WORDS: Elemental magic, adventure, Victorian London, Middle East.

I can’t actually remember how I found out about this trilogy but I have to say, I haven’t heard very much about it since I started it. I loved this magical series – Victorian London (can you tell I like the Victorians?) crossed with mages in middle eastern desserts. Iolanthe Seabourne is my angel. It’s pretty great, I have to say.

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Mara Dyer series by Michelle Hodkin
KEY WORDS: Psychological, mystery, adventure, mind powers, head fuck.

Another great trilogy which I read a while ago but I will be all over The Becoming of Noah Shaw, a spin off from this series, when it releases at the end of this year. Paranormal, weird mind powers and psychological thriller all rolled into three mysterious novels. To be honest, I think a re-read might be in order…

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Law of the Lycans series by Nicky Charles
KEY WORDS: Supernatural, werewolves, trashy, romance.

Welcome to my wildcard entry. Imi will now tell you about her childhood. So I first read The Mating when I was about 15 on my phone in Biology because I hated listening to Dr Penny droning on about something I didn’t understand. I read the trilogy with ease and loved every second. Werewolves + romance = guilty pleasure. I continued to re-read them almost every year since AND THEN Nicky Charles kept writing spin offs and prequels and now there’s around ten of them! They’re all short and I will always have a soft spot in my heart for them.

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Rebellion series by Josephine Boyce
KEY WORDS: Dystopia, Europe, A* female protagonist, fast paced.

Josie is a self-published author who has done the most amazing job at producing a new and interesting dystopian series set in Europe. It seems so real and the politics within it reflect the world we live in now, making it seem all the more like it could actually happen. Due to her self-published status, this series is probably the most hidden of my hidden gems, but definitely a favourite. The first two books which are currently out work well as a duology, though there is a third novel on the way.

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Love Me With Lies series by Tarryn Fisher
KEY WORDS: Romance, amnesia, suspense, all the draaaaamaaa.

I heard of Tarryn Fisher due to my love of Colleen Hoover and if anyone knows Colleen, you’ve probably heard of her and Tarryn’s antics. Now, as much as I love CoHo, I have now become probably more fond of Tarryn’s writing now. She puts so much of herself into her novels and characters and I relate to so much of what she writes. The Love Me With Lies series was her first published novels and her only romance until the recently published Atheists Who Kneel and Pray. If you don’t mind having your heart shattered, repaired and then shattered again, give it a go because I loved this series. A lot of drama, hurt and emotion as well as love.

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I know that’s only eight, but I guess that means I’m failing this week…