Review - Afterlight by Elle Jasper

First off, I have to say that I love this cover. Riley Poe is a badass chick with tattoos. What more could you want?

I loved Afterlight by Elle Jasper. It's the first book in the Dark Ink Chronicles and it was fabulous. Riley was definitely not one of those helpless females that needs to have everyone look after her. She wasn't falling all over herself to try and figure out which one of her many suitors she liked more. She was just... Riley. And that was enough for her. She was protective and strong and fierce.

Her brother and his friends do something stupid and it results in him being kidnapped by a "cult led by centuries-old vampires" and Riley has to find a way to save him. She comes across Eli Dupre who has smoldering good looks and the hots for our chick. The story has romance without being pathetic or raunchy. And lots of action.

What Riley doesn't know is that a lot of the people around her have known about the things going on in Savannah much longer than she has. And they've been watching out for her. They're there to help keep her safe as she fights to keep her brother from "certain undeath".

I loved the book. It was nice to read about a girl like Riley for a change. Who could still have a "romance" but didn't need to become a squishy damsel in distress in order to do it. It was a new twist on an old story so to speak. I've been trying to find the second book in the series in a store here, but to no avail. I would definitely recommend this read to everyone.

"I kept my eyes locked on his as I lifted my whiskey, downed it in one gulp, pulled two bucks from my pocket, and dropped it on the table. "Duties relieved," I snarled, and headed for the door. I was the last person who needed a freaking babysitter; I'd gone through too much in my young life and handled a lot of problems most never encounter in their entire existance. Screw that."

Take Me Home

Well, I've been gone for a week. Computerless even (Oh the HORROR). But I'm back. :-)

I did finish The Cowboy. And yeah... great book. My opinion of the back cover (remember I thought Trace was controlling and manipulative and a real jerk? Yeah... COMPLETELY wrong). I highly recommend anyone who's reading this to go get a copy. Or borrow it from the library.

ALSO...

In the last week I have started and finished Fire Bringer by David Clement-Davies. It was a book I picked up from the library last week and I must admit... I thoroughly enjoyed it. I wasn't sure I would, as it's about talking deer. BUT. It is kind of like Harry Potter... but with deer. Very cool. I don't have like, a formal review or anything for it. And right now I'm unfortunately too tired to type one up. But there wasn't a minute while I was reading it that I thought "WOW this is boring". I really couldn't put it down. It was great. Another one you should go check out from your library/friend/local bookstore.

I also finished Afterlight by Elle Jasper. It took it a while to totally grip me and suck me into the story (and by a while I mean 20 pages) but after that it was another one that I just couldn't put down. I mean, come on. A chick that's a wicked awesome tattoo artist and vampires. This was not a "Twilight-esque" book (and don't get me wrong, I love Twilight). Riley Poe isn't the sort of girl who just falls all over herself over the love of her life or who NEEDS someone to protect her from all the dangers of the world. I mean, the damsel in distress type of story is only appealing for so long. Riley can definitely hold her own in a crazy situation. Great book from the Dark Ink Chronicles. Can't wait for Everdark to come out in June!

And last but not least, while I was away I received a nifty little prize from brand new author Courtney Allison Moulton. Angelfire is her debut novel (just hit shelves YESTERDAY) and I'm really excited to read it. You all should go check out her blog for lots of fun stuff about her book!

She's wicked sweet and nice to chat with (and she loves horses!). I actually won another contest of hers a while back where I received a copy of Percy Jackson from her.

So... that's been my exciting week. I'm off to figure out which library book to dive in to next, and tomorrow will be a long awaited trip to the bookstore where I'm hoping to find copies of Angelfire, Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater, and whatever else I can get my mitts on.

Ciao!