Review + Cover Reveal: The Light Tamer by Devyn Dawson

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*Book Trailer, Cover Reveal and Upcoming Book Info after review 

so scroll down and check it out.

Title: The Light Tamer

Series: The Light Tamer #1

Author: Devyn Dawson

Published Date: April 14, 2012

Publisher: CreateSpace

Format: Paperback

Pages: 218

ISBN: 1475185804

ISBN13: 978-1475185805

Copy provided by: Goodreads First Reads

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal Romance

Add to: Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon ; Kindle

Synopsis:

Jessie's moved from New York to North Carolina one week after school lets out for summer break. Being a teen in a retirement area, is one more thing to add to her 'this sucks' list. It's bad enough to have to move, but even worse her alcoholic father left them as he went on a quest to be an artist in Greece.

Things begin to look up when she is reintroduced to Caleb, the dorky boy that saved her life one summer at the beach. Caleb is no longer scrawny and nerdy, he is now tall, dark and handsome. Caleb is a Light Tamer. Now, Jessie and Caleb must learn how to control the light...before they lose each other forever.

Jessie and Amber become fast friends. Amber is a no frills girl, her snarky comments and sassy attitude will raise a few eyebrows and have you laughing out loud. Amber is rough around the edges, a light tamer with only two years left to find the one she is bound to. Her father's surfing accident left her dad paralyzed and her brother dead.

This paranormal romance will keep you on the edge of your seat with humor, romance, and determination. Fall head over heels for Caleb and Jessie.

My Rating: 4 of 5 Stars

Review:

The Light Tamer is a reminder of what it felt like to date and find love for the very first time. It is a very sweet paranormal romance for the young adult audience as well as us young at heart adult readers.  A good quick read, that had me laughing, sighing and falling in love with the characters.

The story is told through the point of view of the main character, Jessie.  She is a fifteen year old that has just moved to New Bern, North Carolina and it doesn’t take long before she meets a handsome guy called Caleb.  Soon after meeting him, she learns they share a bond that continues to bring them closer together.  Caleb was, of course, my favorite character.  Who couldn’t fall in love with him.  He is handsome, a gentleman, has an awesome sense of humor and is the perfect white knight.

Devyn Dawson did a great job of portraying teenage thoughts, emotions, behavior and common worries.  This made the characters feel more alive and real to me.  One of the characters reminded me of myself at that age.  I remember all too well the awkwardness of being a teenager.  This story being a reminder of what it felt like to be young and to experience these things for the first time is what I felt was grasped the most in this story.  The awkwardness of dating for the first time, the first feelings of falling in love and finding a place you belong were portrayed so you could experience it firsthand.

Although the paranormal element in this story was interesting, especially where it supposedly originated, it left me wanting more and feeling like there were some questions left unanswered.  When first reviewing this book, I was not sure if this was a single story or if the author was setting up for a series.  I said that it felt like the beginning of a series to me.  And that’s exactly what it is.  This is the first glimpse of what will be a trilogy.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading The Light Tamer but still hope the author will expand on this story and reveal some of the unanswered questions.  It is a great read and I’m glad I got the opportunity to read it.  I will definitely be looking for the next one and checking out her other series, The Legacy Series.

Recommend to Paranormal Romance and Young Adult Fans.

The Light Tamer Trailer:

Enlightened (The Light Tamer #2):

Available October 1, 2012

Jessie Lucente, a Light Tamer, has started her junior year at Parca Academy in New Bern, NC. Her new classes aren't what she expected. Finding out the school is filled with 'gifted' kids is almost too much to comprehend. She finds out what it really means to be a Light Tamer. Some of the assumptions she had are debunked as half truths. Now that she is enlightened with the facts, she struggles with the truth. Jessie and her boyfriend Caleb are concerned when they see their friend Amber spending too much time with the new bad boy in town. Thorne Woodson has all of the girls swooning. His Doc Martens and hoodie stand out against his school uniform. He might be the guy to heal Amber's broken, grieving heart. The school is running an experiment to find out the chemistry of their DNA. Will they predict the proper mates?

Jessie's friend Jersey comes to town to visit over the Fall Equinox. The school is hosting a semi-formal for the juniors and seniors. It's the perfect time of year to show her best friend around town. The leaves are turning, the air is cooler, and trouble is brewing in this little town. Is it true that Nxy wants Amber's head on a platter, or is that something Fate wants them to believe? How will Fate weave this romantic love story? 

The second book in The Light Tamer trilogy will answer the questions that are burning in your head. Experience first love and loyalty of friends when family can't step in.

Cover Reveal
Light Bound (The Light Tamer #3):

Expected Publication
December 2012

Author Website: http://www.devyndawson.com/
Author Blog: http://devyn-dawson.blogspot.com/

Review: Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard

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Title: Something Strange and Deadly

Series: Something Strange and Deadly #1

Author: Susan Dennard

Published Date: July 24, 2012

Publisher: HarperTeen

Format: Advance Reader’s Edition

Pages: 388

ISBN: 0062083260

ISBN13: 8780062083265

Copy provided by: Epic Reads

Genre: Young Adult, Steampunk

Add to: Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon ; Kindle

Synopsis:

The year is 1876, and there’s something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia…

Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about. Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she’s just read in the newspaper—

The Dead are rising in Philadelphia.

And then, in a frightening attack, a zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor…from her brother.

Whoever is controlling the Dead army has taken her brother as well. If Eleanor is going to find him, she’ll have to venture into the lab of the notorious Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. But as Eleanor spends more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including their maddeningly stubborn yet handsome inventor, Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance.

My Rating: 3 of 5 Stars

Review:

Something Strange and Deadly is the first book I have read that fits into the steampunk genre.  In case you have not heard of steampunk, basically it is a story that is set in a time when steam power was still widely used such as the early nineteenth century or Victorian era.  Also the story has elements of science fiction/fantasy with the possibility of technological developments/inventions or the story may contain an alternate history of technology.  For my first steampunk read, I was not completely disappointed but I did have some issues with the story.

The story revolves around a young woman named Eleanor who lives in an earlier version of Philadelphia.  In her world, there are alarms for the people when the dead are close.  And by dead, I mean walking dead.  Petticoats and zombies.  Sounds interesting right?  For the most part, it was interesting but if you go into the story thinking the dead will be prominent throughout the story, then you will be disappointed.  The majority of the story is the main character trying to solve the mystery of her missing brother who she believes has been captured by whoever is controlling the dead.  In an attempt to seek help finding her brother, she seeks the help of a group known as the Spirit-Hunters.  This is where is she meets the character Daniel whom she begins having feelings for.  On top of the dead walking, there also seems to be an evil spirit following close by.

I thought the story and world building were creative.  What I had a problem with was the climax and ending.  Some readers may not feel the same, but I had the story figured out early on.  I kept hoping maybe there would be some kind of twist in the end but there was not.  While the main character seemed brilliant connecting some of the more obscure clues together, she was unable to see some of the more obvious motives and evidence right in front of her face.  I realize that shock makes you not want to see the truth sometimes but still I had a problem with this.  I am not sure what the author has planned in the next book, as this is the beginning of a series, but I feel this book would have been better as a single book or at least concluded better. I was so disappointed at the end when there was no real closure.

Besides the story being predictable to me, the story itself was not a bad one.  There was some nice mystery, romance, action and zombies.  Although the whole story did not feature the walking dead, they did have some good moments especially closer to the end.  There were also some rather dark elements to the main plot as well as a close up view of the thin line between sane and insane.  Even though I was not surprised by the great reveal of the murderer near the end, the author came up with a pretty extreme way of showing his insanity.  I liked the darkness in this story and how it reflected the inside of the human mind

Overall, Something Strange and Deadly was an experience worth having.  I will check out the next book when it becomes available in hopes of some closure.