Hot-Blooded Hunter by Katie Lewis ^_^

The frustrating thing about reading (or writing) a series or trilogy is resolving a self-contained subplot within each book while furthering the overarching tale and hooking the reader into wanting more...willing to await the next "fix."  Katie Lewis nails this and then hammers it into your chest on the final page!  Okay - I don't normally read romances...but DAMN!  I am not in this book's target demographic, but at one time I was and I must applaud Lewis for grabbing my attention enough with the main plot that I'm eagerly awaiting the next book, HOT-BLOODED HUNTRESS.  I mean...DAMN!  I like books that make me think (not that this one doesn't), but...DAMN!  Okay, okay.  Backing out of the heat broiling my brain and insides alive, the first page hooked me.  Entering at a mid-point with the characters at a natural pause in the action isn't easy to pull off, but it feels real - anticipation flows from the page into your fingers.  The shift from that scene into the next few chapters pulled me out a bit and I can't pinpoint why - this may be part of the whole not-my-thing thing - but Lewis hooked me again and the rest is a blur.  I couldn't turn the pages fast enough and I haven't felt that pull in a while.  The exhilaration of paranormal romance hit me like it did when I read the genre 20 years ago and a different kind of anticipation took over - as it should.  An info dump of backstory isn't given or necessary.  Lewis provides everything you need to know along the way.  I am left oh so satisfied with the subplot resolution, but have so many questions yet to be answered with the next book(s).  Trace reminds me a lot of Zero from the Vampire Knight manga, and those familiar with the hunter's society can easily picture the Institute.  I've returned to that series in my reviews lately, but there's a more direct correlation here.  Lewis offers the perfect opportunity for Zero fans who may want a bite (and rather large one at that) of hot sexual tension in a similar situation.  I connected more with Trace and feel like he is a better formed character, but that fits the story so far.  I don't believe, for an instant, that Ilana knows so little about guns after 10 years of vampire hunting and training, and I was disappointed at how weak she was against the one vampire, but, again, it fits with the story and each character is similarly flawed.  Ilana is clearly a healer, and the fact that she's uncertain of her place in life adds realism.  If your heart's not in it, you're not in it, and even down to life or death, certain expectations, hindrances, and confusion excuse her shortcomings (see? It does make you think).  I think Lewis has something in mind for Ilana and I'm rather curious about it.  (wink)  Even though it's not my normal read, I'm giving 5 stars because Lewis did her job and did it well.  She not only snagged someone outside her target audience, but also took my breath away in the end.  I've joined the ranks of those who can't wait for the next book!  Kudos for providing the guilty pleasure I've been unknowingly missing for a long time. 

Marianne by Ruth Miranda (Book 3 of The Blood Trilogy) ^_^

Intense, Emotionally-Charged, Blood, Sex, Magic

Ruth Miranda perfectly captures the peaks of ecstasy and pits of desperation, teetering between the two and teasing them closer and closer to become something else altogether tangible.  Velvety, thick love, both pure and tricky, honest and mysterious, mashes against viscous, red-hot anger, inciting a lingering ache that burns your heart.  Life is pain.  Life is joy.  On this rollercoaster, scars rachet uphill and blood slicks the rails for a thrilling and twisty ride.  The intertwinning of trauma and vulnerability exposes how we build our walls and wear our armor, which only we can break down or open.  By choice, we allow others in or permit ourselves to *feel* or to *live* beyond pain.  Sometimes we choose wisely, while other times let hurt pillage our souls to lows rivaled only by the highs of true love.  Marianne sucked me into rare emotional depths with an invested connection to the main three (Cai, Marcus, & Marianne).  It's arguably the most gripping of The Blood Trilogy, and all three read together form an absorbing and thoroughly engrossing tale about the "human" condition, whether you're human or not. 

Notes:  *I normally avoid books with sexual violence, but the scene furthers the story and elicits a response that drives the characters and reader forward.  *Read the author's afterword.  After such a whirlwind I admittedly wished for more, but her thoughts, questions, and musings sent me smiling into my mind as I carried her characters into their potential futures.  I hope we get to see more of them. 🖤🖤

Review posted to Amazon and Goodreads.  Please support indie authors and leave reviews for their books! 

Scars by Ruth Miranda ^_^

Delightfully absorbing.  SCARS begins 2 years after BLOOD.  Tidy bits of backstory fill those in while moving the current story forward in quick flashes.  Then we join Cai and Marcus in their lives both on and off stage.  Cai’s POV shifts a bit deeper and darker here, making his exhilaration and desperation palpable.  So, too, is Marcus’s love and angst.  The love and bond between the brothers make the book, and manifest how the duality of their scars, both physical and emotional, exist within both despite their drastically different childhoods.  The story is entirely focused on them despite other happenings in their world.  For example, there’s an organization mentioned early on that I was curious about, but we don’t learn much directly, which actually works well in the end.  It looms like a shadow in the background, impressing upon the reader that it’s like a governing or policing body for the preternaturals of the world.  As the story progresses and Marcus fights for Cai’s life, they never lament or question what they are, as is common in vampire fiction.  They just are what they are.  The other characters are what they are.  It’s refreshing to accept everything as it is.  Near the end, a coil of confusion winds up that’s fitting since it doesn’t seem that any one character knows exactly what is happening.  What’s left lingering between the lines is for the reader to decipher going into the next book, MARIANNE.  I enjoyed this!

Life & Writing Updates

Things at Pavlik HQ have been busy as usual.  Gunner, my husband's retired EOD K-9, crossed the Rainbow Bridge on March 19.  He was a part of our lives for nearly a decade, so we're rediscovering "normal" life where we can and making up the rest as we go.  Gunner was so much more than a pet.  He "spoke" five languages, came to the United States from Slovakia, and had the mentality of a 6-year-old.  He was Tim's partner for 9 years, putting his life on the line every single day.  They were attached at the hip, even after Gunner retired and spent his days at home with me and the cats instead of with Tim.  As soon as Tim got home from work, Gunner lit up, always excited to see his guy and to return to his side.  The house is empty and quiet without him, and his absence has left a large hole in our lives.

In other, typically-Pavlik, news, I was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder.
  It's not great news by any means, and might end up being the worst news I've ever gotten, but it does answer so many questions for my doctors.  After more than 5 months of my doctor and I arguing with insurance, we finally approached the lab directly and they agreed to run the required DNA panels at no cost to me.  This is an insanely great development, as this disorder has several subgroups, one of which being fatal, that can be confirmed with DNA testing.  Additionally, there is a global push for genetic testing to further research.  There is no cure and currently no adequate treatments for the defect itself.  People with this disorder are born with faulty collagen and not only suffer through life, but sometimes live rather short lives.  The results should arrive any day.

As is also typical for me, when I need something good in my life, I make something good in my life.  Today, I received my physical proof for my short story novelette, How to Make Lemonade.  I've had fun developing a few digital images using both photographs and original drawings, which I then replicated via pencil sketch and colored using blended oil pastel and chalk/charcoal pencils.  To complete the illustrations, I then merged the digital and physical copies and created hand-touched pictures with the added depth of digital.  I will post about this separately soon.  This should go live by the end of next week!

I'm still rather active on Instagram.  The writing community there is supportive and interactive, and it's nice to be apart of a group of like-minded individuals.  I'd been searching for a support group for my health, but I don't fit in with the MS or EDS communities, although both are helpful at piecing together ways to cope with my unique needs, so it's awesome to connect with other authors, writers, and readers.  It has truly worked wonders for coping with everything despite being completely unrelated to my health.

In fact, I've connected with an author whose books I enjoy, Serene Conneeley, who interviewed me for her Camp Nano MoWri daily challenge for today.  Check out her site to read the interview and check out her books, HERE!  I also reviewed one of her books a few posts down.  And I enjoy interacting with author Ruth Miranda, whose Blood Trilogy I am currently reading.  The review of the first book, BLOOD, is also in the posts below.  More reviews coming soon!

Finally, I'm preparing for my speaking engagement at the Tolono Library on April 23!  The library has received quite a bit of interest, so I'm nervous.  (laughs)  I'm seriously looking forward to it, though. I love talking about my books, the writing process, and so forth, and I'm not afraid of talking in front of people.  I am a little scared that my MS brain will steal something from me mid-sentence or mid-explanation, but that's a daily thing, so I'll deal with it, like I deal with everything else!

Bye for now!

   

Blood by Ruth Miranda Book One in the Blood Trilogy ^_^

I bought Ruth Miranda's Blood Trilogy and am reviewing each novella after I read it to keep it simple. In Blood, you come into a world equally as real as our own. But then reality begins to bend and shift in these twisty little ways, and I love how she does this. The majority of the novella is told from Cai's POV and in his voice, and this works well because you learn what drives him through his actions and in the meanings between the lines. There is a duality to his view of blood that multiplies by the end -- the blood on his hands, the blood that binds, the blood that gives life, the blood that takes, etc. It's an interesting concept furthered by magical/mythological additions still set within a very real and gritty reality. By the end of BLOOD, I was ready to open Scars and keep going! If you're a manga fan, there's a mythology in the Vampire Knight series regarding vampire hunter twins that I kept wondering about as I theorized. But, no spoilers from me. :) This first part is short, but it does its job quite nicely to start the trilogy. @kitchenwitchmiranda 🖤🖤  Originally posted HERE.

P.S.  I finished the second book, SCARS, last night.  Review coming soon!  I definitely recommend reading these books back to back as a complete story.  It helps maintain the connection to the characters.  I'll expand upon this more, but I love that there's no lamenting or acceptance of what the brothers are - they simply are who they are, love each other, and have an incredibly tight bond, AND how the world around them expands without stealing the focus.  This is their story, which is contained within their radius without narrowing the world at large.  I'll begin the 3rd book, MARIANNE, today or tonight. 

Into the Light by Serene Conneeley ^_^

Review:  Into The Light by Serene Conneeley, YA Magical Realism/Fantasy/Slice of Life
 
Love! "Into the Light" by @sereneconneeley completes the "Into the Mists" ya trilogy. This 'slice of life inside magical realism' begins at the end of book 2 and follows 17-year-old Carlie through the end of her journey of grief and self discovery. As someone currently grieving, I sympathized with Carlie's process and found myself empathizing with her at varying points such as the discovery of a new furry friend or her friend's unexpected aloof attitude in her time of need. Serene has a way of weaving magic into the page and pulling you in so you're sitting in Rose's kitchen, petting Luther, and smelling all those wonderful herbs and breads and cookies! (She needs to do a cookbook.) The descriptions of the rituals impress upon you the character's delight and wonder, and offer a sense of the power that Carlie can grow into - which is never explicitly mentioned, but lingers like a thread for the reader to pull and discover. Magic doesn't take the spotlight. Carlie's growth and acceptance of the self is the star, making her relatable and likeable as she navigates school, life, death, and everything in between. 🖤🖤  Originally posted on Instagram HERE.

The first two books in the trilogy, Into the Mists and Into the Dark, are both equally as good.  This trilogy follows Carlie on her life-changing journey as she moves halfway around the globe following a devastating loss.  Life throws hard lessons at her that nearly close off her heart, but she learns how to push forward, to keep putting one foot in front of the other, and is ultimately able to open her heart to love and friendship.  This trilogy is quite insightful and deep in ways that will keep you thinking for a while.

Also!  Serene interviewed me for her Camp NaNo WriMo monthly challenge for today!  Check it, and her books, out HERE.  (http://www.blessedbeebooks.com)