Monday, March 30, 2015

Vic: Terror Incognita (The Incredible Adventures of Vic Challenger Book 4)

From the Publisher: After a little camping trip that was mostly fun, and a rumble in the streets that brings the Deputy Sheriff calling, Vic and her friend Lin Li head off on their next travel adventure.

No danger this time, they say. Eat good food, see exotic locales, little hiking, lots of photos. They do get all of that. And more. The cave dwellers, the madman, the dinosaur, the great apes, the snakes, the headhunters. And is Lin going to betray Vic for something so simple - to save her own life?! And Vic is still waiting for a call or letter from Stu James. For starters!

Just when things look straight ahead, there's a wall or a twist. Non-stop action. Accurate historical and nature settings. The #1 awesome adventuress from the 1920's in her 4th book and if you crave action you won't be disappointed!

My Review: To be fair, I need to start out by saying I came into this series on Book 4, so needless to say, I was a little lost. Victoria Custer (known as just Vic to most), Lin, and Emma seem to be the best of friends. So the book starts out with the three of them planning their shared birthday party and a girls trip. The only problem is one of them, Emma, seems hesitant. The other girls can't figure out why she wouldn't jump at the chance, given that she usually loves an excuse to hang out. They eventually find out, and once they do, Vic takes care of it.

Vic is the strong character, the one that seems to not have any fear and stands up for what is right. While the other characters were great in their own way, I liked her most of all. There's just something about a woman who knows what she wants and isn't afraid to get her hands dirty.

Once the situation back home was settled, Lin and Vic were off to the Amazon! They were paid to take the trip from Vic's editor. He wanted them to hike the trails and spend a couple of weeks getting stories to write for the newspaper. Along the way though, there are definitely obstacles that involve dinosaurs (yes, you read that right!), big ugly snakes (which I HATE!), and a lot of adventure!

One very interesting thing about this book, well, I guess about this series, is that Vic is actually from another time. She comes back as different people, all the while trying to find her true love, Nu. They were separated by Mother Nature over 100,000 years ago, so while on her adventure, she is looking for him. He even comes to her in dreams. So that was pretty interesting for me.

One thing I will say about Jerry Gill, he did an amazing job portraying the scenery, and the reader will for sure feel like they are witnessing everything that's going on.

Overall, I liked this book, but I'm sure didn't get into it as much as I probably would have if I would have started at the beginning. Having said that though, I do recommend it! But I recommend starting with Book 1 :)

Click here to purchase on Amazon!

Here are a few links to the website to read more information and get into the amazing world of Victoria Custer:

http://www.vicplanet.com
https://www.pinterest.com/glbwandvic/
http://youtu.be/ez7MUJPBrD0

                                                        ****4 Stars! I liked this book!!


Thursday, March 26, 2015

Morium: Dark Horizons

 From the Publisher: In Book 2 of the MORIUM Trilogy, Alexandria and Nathan's struggle with their supernatural powers continue.

When a new person enters her life, Alexandria or Lexi discovers that she doesn't need supernatural powers to have a brighter future. She can leave her bullied past behind and rebuild her life. Meanwhile, "The Gift" takes deeper hold of Nathan and his hunger for revenge grows. But he fights his need to absorb souls to regain Lexi's trust and save their friendship.

Stacy finds herself caught in the conflict between her closest friends, even as she battles her own demons. Whose side should she take? Will she choose love over friendship... or will she fail them both?

An opportunity to get back at Lexi's assaulter pushes Nathan back into the path of darkness. One final act of bullying sets him over the edge, and he decides to put an end to the never ending pain and humiliation he and his friends suffered over the years.

Can Lexi save Nathan from completely giving in to the dark influence of The Gift?
Will their friendship survive?

DARK HORIZONS will immerse the reader into the intricate psyches of the bullied characters we rooted for in MORIUM. Morals aside, can we really blame Nathan for his anger and his need for revenge? Through indifference, did we not have a hand in creating the monster he has become?

My Review: If you didn't see my review of the first book in this trilogy, Morium, then I suggest you read it now so you're not too lost in what's going on. 

Okay, this installment is absolutely everything you would want in a sequel!! It picks up right where the first book left off, and doesn't seem to slow down. It is full of action, and suspense. Nathan and Lexi are still on the out's with their friendship. Well, who can blame her? Nathan tried to kill her in the train yard! The gift is really blocking his common sense. 

Lexi, Stacy, and Nathan continue in their, what I like to think of as love-triangle (I know who I'm rooting for ;)) and it will have you on the edge of your seat as to if he will finally come to his senses and listen to Lexi and give the gift up, or if he'll finally go all-in and forget about everyone who loves him. It really is a hard decision, if you think about it. 

Meanwhile, Lexi seems to be moving on with her life, but the whole time I was like, "What about Nathan??!" Haha! 

Everything pretty much comes to a head when Stacy and Nathan are the victims of bulling one last time. Nathan has had enough and is ready to get the ultimate revenge. While Stacy is dealing with her own set of problems. Other than having a boyfriend who has a supernatural gift, she is left with trying to figure out her future since she'll be leaving for college, and leaving her best friend behind (Lexi). Will Stacy finally tell Lexi how she really feels? And will Nathan get his final revenge on those who have caused him nothing but trouble? 

You have to get the book to find out!!! 

Oh my goodness, I honestly cannot tell you how good these books are. S.J. Hermann has quickly become one of my all-time favorite authors. And lets just say, I'm very picky. His writing is dark, but has a definite real-life feel to it. The characters are easy to relate to, and the situation is one that, I think, a lot of us can relate to. I mean, who hasn't been bullied at least once in their life and wanted revenge?? (Sheepishly raising my hand.) 

I can't wait until the third installment comes out so I can finally see how it will all play out!!

Click here to purchase on Amazon. 

                                                                 *****5 Stars!