Jonah ~ Nikki Kelly (earc) review [@Styclar @FierceReads @FeiwelFriends]

Jonah (Styclar Saga #3)
Feiwel & Friends
February 07, 2017
352 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depository/or Amazon

** Reviews of Lailah (Styclar Saga #1) and Gabriel (Styclar Saga #2) **

The conclusion of the Styclar Saga trilogy focuses on Jonah, the vampire badboy with a hunger for Lailah and a rivalry with the angel Gabriel.

Jonah is the vampire who saved Lailah from the appetites of even darker evil: the vampire Purebloods. Now he must decide whether he will give up his existence so that Lailah will survive—even if it means that she will spend eternity with his friend and rival, the angel Gabriel.

This stunning conclusion to the Styclar Saga will have fans deciding once and for all: Team Jonah or Team Gabriel?

I think I may have liked both Jonah and Gabriel a bit less in Jonah than I did in Lailah and Gabriel. Yet, at the same time, I really liked all that we learned about the characters, the different dimensions, and what they would all need to - and/or want to - do to keep others safe.

The things Jonah did or said, particularly in the beginning, that I found off-putting, were also things that I knew needed to happen. (I do feel the need to note that a lot of people will probably love how he was. I just did not.) So, while I may not have loved all of the characters as much (some of how Jonah acted, that we saw less of Gabriel), were also really central to the advancement of the plot. (Which leaves me all kinds of jumbled up about how I feel.)

The beginning and where it took the characters and the action was really smartly done. It was unexpected, yet still fit in with what we've learned about the world in the Styclar Saga and how things work. It got everyone to exactly when and where was needed.

There was one element of the ending that I figured out pretty early on but I liked it (more and more the closer it came to the ending) because it really amped up the tension and the suspense. I thought I had it figured out and what it would mean but didn't know if I was right or if the characters would figure it out, too. It really kept me turning those pages.

The world building in this series was fantastic right up until the very end. I love how the author took some known things (arch angels, vampires, etc) but spun them in a new direction. How the angels, demons, humans, vampires, even the Sealgaire all interact, the 'rules' for each of them and how they're all a part of the larger whole was brilliant.

I am sorry to see the Styclar Saga come to an end, but it was a very satisfying end. The journey all of the characters undertook from the first page of Lailah to (literally) the last page of Jonah, all that readers learned about the different dimensions, the characters and their histories made for some great reading* and I look forward to what's next from Nikki Kelly!


*Not to mention, each of the three books had a killer ending!






digital review copy received, thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley

Top Ten Tuesday: Supernatural Book Gift Guide

hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This week's Ten: is a Holiday Gift Guide freebie so my Top 10 is . . .

10 Books for Supernatural Fans

I have someone I'm forever trying to get to read more and they love the TV show Supernatural so I usually to re to them (or give to them) books that remind me somehow of that show, its characters or whatever. Here are ten of them:

Riders (Riders #1) by Veronica Rossi

Goodreads // review

The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle #1) by Maggie Stiefvater

Goodreads // review

American Gods (American Gods #1) by Neil Gaiman

Goodreads

White Cat (Curse Workers #1) by Holly Black

Goodreads // review

Storm Front (The Dresden Files #1) by Jim Butcher

Goodreads

Paranormalcy (Paranormalcy #1) by Kiersten White

Goodreads // review [of Book 2]

Lailiah (The Styclar Saga #1) by Nikki Kelly

Goodreads // review

Feed (Newsflesh Trilogy #1) by Mira Grant

Goodreads // review

Altered (Altered #1) by Jennifer Rush

Goodreads // review

Unbreakable (The Legion #1)

Goodreads // review

&

Unmarked (The Legion #2) by Kami Garcia

Goodreads // review

All of these books have something paranormal, supernatural about them. With ones like Riders, The Raven Boys, Altered and Unbreakable something about the way the group of characters worked together - especially, in many of them, a few male characters - reminded me some of Sam and Dean's relationship.

In Feed the premise is quite a bit different (with the zombie-like virus taking over) but Georgia and Shaun are siblings who are fighting against it (and blogging) and, though they're a brother and sister, the way they work together so often, travel together, etc has some similarities to Supernatural.

Riders, Unbreakable (and Unmarked) - and maybe Altered - would be the three that I think would be my top If You Like Supernatural, Read This . . . picks.

This is a list I plan to implement so if you have any suggestions, I would love them! And let me know what your Top 10 was this week.

Gabriel ~ Nikki Kelly (earc) Tour Review + Excerpt + Giveaway [@Styclar @The_FFBC #Gabriel @FeiwelFriends]

Gabriel (The Styclar Saga #2)
Nikki Kelly
Feiwel & Friends
October 27, 2015
384 pages
add to Goodreads/purchase links below review

-- Lailah (#1) review --

The handsome Angel from Lailah gets center stage in this continuation of Wattpad sensation Nikki Kelly’s romantic and action-packed series about mortals, vampires, and angels.

Gabriel is an Angel Descendant. He's also an ally to a generation of vampires who want to break away from the demon who controls them. His faith in the power of good over evil wavers, however, when he discovers that Lailah, the woman he considers his only true love, may be both angel and demon. Is their love enough to overcome the dark forces who are ready to go to war with Gabriel, the vampire Jonah, and the angel and vampire forces? And can Gabriel compete with Jonah, who is also in love with Lailah?

Once again, Nikki Kelly looks deeply into the heart and soul of good and evil to create a romantic, action-packed reading adventure.

The start of Gabriel was different than I was expecting. Lailah's return from her 'death' presents a whole new set of questions, concerns and circumstances. If you do not remember everything that happened in Lailah (really, you should read it first), Gabriel isn't going to remind you.

At least not of all of it - and not right away.

There were times when it bugged me - knowing that I knew something about a character or event, but not being able to remember precisely what - but, still, I couldn't fault how it was done. What is or is not touched on again, to refresh readers, fits with the story and the character. It doesn't make sense for Lailah or Gabriel to have all of the information, the relationships, etc right at the forfront.

I found that I liked discovering more of what happened in Lailah (what I had forgotten) more than anticipated.

In Lailah I loved how Gabriel and Jonah were used to show us the different sides to Lailah's personality. In Gabriel things are taken to the next level. Now, we know those sides of Lailah are there and the characters know, and it's time for everyone to find out if they can accept what it all means.

Though this is the book where Gabriel 'gets center stage,' there was something missing between him and Lailah, for me. I knew how she felt about him, how important he and his feelings were to her. Yet, I could not really see why. There was their past, yes, what happened in Lailah and how this book began . . . Still, I didn't get it.

I did like, though, how it all played into the ending of the book - and really the progression of the story as a whole. (Even some of what I felt earlier in the story, played into things.)

Gabriel is a great continuation of the Styclar Saga begun in Lailah. The characters form that first book are back and we get to know some of them even better (along with some new characters) and the contrast between light and dark continues to be excellent. The world Nikki Kelly created - angels, vampires, dimensions, etc - is further explained in Gabriel and how it impacts the characters lives (and who they are) is fantastic.

And, oh, can Nikki Kelly write an ending! After the end of Lailah, Gabriel was one of my most anticipated 2015 reads, but,that anticipation has nothing on how much I want to read Book 3. 2016 can't come fast enough.

(digital copy received for review & tour, from publisher, via NetGalley)

#0.1: Gabriel Short Story
#0.2: Jonah Short Story
#1: Lailah
#2: Gabriel

Follow the Gabriel by Nikki Kelly Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

I was born and raised only minutes away from the chocolately scent of Cadbury World in Birmingham, England. So it will probably come as no surprise that when I'm not dreaming in Vampires & Angels, I dream in chocolate! For the past ten years I have lived in West London with my hubby and two dogs, Alfie - the Pug & Goose - the Chihuahua.
LAILAH is my debut novel, and first launched in serial form to wattpad, a readers & writers community. Within just 6months, LAILAH had over a million reads and thousands of comments and votes.
Since then, The Styclar Saga has gone on to pick up a traditional deal with Feiwel & Friends, and LAILAH, the first book in the series is due for release on October 7th 2014.
These days I spend my time balancing my amazing job of writing fantasy fiction, with my other, very important role of Chocolate Connoisseur. I like to multitask and do the two together. It makes me happy.

Excerpt:

“Jonah!”

Panicked, I took my wrist, and for the first time in this new body of mine I willed my fangs to appear. I tore a strip down my wrist and, pushing the skin together, I helped my blood to bubble to the surface. I hoped his senses were not so far gone that the smell of my blood wouldn’t cause a reaction. I needed it to overpower his desire to protect me.

Still straddling him, I felt his brittle bones strain under my weight as I thrust my hand to his mouth. At first he didn’t react; he remained perfectly still and I thought for a moment that he was already gone.

But then his hand slapped over my wrist and he clutched it tightly. Finding some strength, he drew me close so that I was nose- to- nose with him. I nodded encouragingly as he held my arm suspended in the air.

“I can’t risk you. I would never risk you.” Slowly, one by one, he uncurled his fingers,

and moved my palm against his cheek. He nuzzled it, straining to breathe in my fragrance. “There is only one thing I want you to do for me, Lailah. . . .”

I suddenly couldn’t speak; a huge lump had formed in my throat.

“Let me die on your lips.”

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Lailah ~ Nikki Kelly (earc) Tour Review + Guest Blog + Giveaway [@Styclar @the_ffbc @mackidsbooks @FeiwelFriends]

Lailah (The Styclar Saga #1)
by Nikki Kelly
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Release Date: October 7th 2014

Read some chapters on Wattpad
Rate: 9/10

Synopsis:

The girl knows she’s different. She doesn’t age. She has no family. She has visions of a past life, but no clear clues as to what she is, or where she comes from. But there is a face in her dreams – a light that breaks through the darkness. She knows his name is Gabriel.

On her way home from work, the girl encounters an injured stranger whose name is Jonah. Soon, she will understand that Jonah belongs to a generation of Vampires that serve even darker forces. Jonah and the few like him, are fighting with help from an unlikely ally – a rogue Angel, named Gabriel

In the crossfire between good and evil, love and hate, and life and death, the girl learns her name: Lailah. But when the lines between black and white begin to blur, where in the spectrum will she find her place? And with whom?

Gabriel and Jonah both want to protect her. But Lailah will have to fight her own battle to find out who she truly is.

For someone who does not usually read 'angel books,' I seem to be reading a few lately (this one last month and Lailah). And they are changing my opinion on the genre. Not only does Lailah have vampires, too, neither paranormal being is the typical, rote imagining we already know.

Nikki Kelly did a fantastic job imagining the angelic and vampiric lore, giving each a beginning, a history and more than a little something different from other incarnations. It is very enjoyable to see how their inceptions and the characters themselves play into each other's (and Lailah's) stories.

I liked Lailah from nearly the very beginning. We meet her working in a pub and the action starts right away. We get only a glimpse into who she is and what makes her not your usual girl before the story really starts and the paranormal is introduced. That glimpse, though, is enough to know that there's something different about Lailah and that she is not entirely sure what or why.

Discovering her story as she discovers it herself was the best way. The right things are left unknown or are yet to be discovered and each revelation is as intriguing and exciting as it should be.

That's not to say there weren't times I found her frustrating and/or wanted to yell at her because there were. All of those times still made sense with who Lailah is and what needed to happen plot-wise.  It was the good kind of frustration.

There is a love triangle in Lailah and it was one of the few times I was okay with reading one . . . and even liked it. It isn't used as a gimmick or to lure more readers ('If you don't like Character A, well here's Character B!"). Here it really is used in the best way possible, to show us other sides to the character, things we - and possibly Lailah - would not get to experience with just one romantic interest. It is one of the very few times I can truly see the appeal of both characters.

Though Lailah is categorized as Young Adult, New Adult readers should also pick it up. While the content sticks with YA's PG-13 level (not NA's R), the age of the character as well as the maturity of the story will appeal.

In Lailah, Nikki Kelly has introduced readers to a richly imagined paranormal world and characters, Gabriel (The Styclar Saga #2) is one of my most anticipated 2015 releases.

Other Books You May Also Enjoy: The Beautiful Ashes by Jeaniene Frost, Altered series by Jennifer Rush and Black City by Elizabeth Richards


review copy received, through NetGalley, from publisher - separate from tour; thank you

Book Sp(l)ot Reviews: I would love to know about your decision to publish on Wattpad and any benefits (or drawbacks) to taking that route to publishing (as opposed to the more 'traditional' one.)

Nikki Kelly: For those who don’t know what Wattpad is, let me first throw out some info and stats:

Wattpad is a website (also available as an app), which is often referred to as the ‘YouTube’ of books! It’s a magical, fantastic community of readers and writers. Last time I checked, Wattpad had over 24 million users, of which around 10% are writers uploading and sharing their stories. Members of the community chat daily via inbox messaging, message board posts, commenting within stories and of course in the many forums.

A large proportion of the community is teens, and around 35% of users are aged between 18 and 30.

My story, Lailah, is YA PNR, which is a popular category on Wattpad, and for this reason I felt that Wattpad was the perfect platform on which to present my story to the world and to see what kind of response it would get.

I was super lucky, as Lailah grew in popularity very quickly – within six months it had had over a million reads, and thousands of votes and comments. The benefits of sharing my work on Wattpad were vast: I connected with lots of writers like myself, and made tons of friends on the site – most of whom I still chat to regularly; I received such wonderful messages from readers about the story, which was fantastic and always made my day; it also helped me to build an audience for the story and the characters.

I really feel I’ve had the best of both worlds. By posting my story to Wattpad, I was able to connect with an international group of readers, receive feedback as they read through the story with their ‘in-the-moment’ reactions, and of course, I was able to see from the comments the elements of the story that caused the biggest reactions.

Lailah went on to get a traditional publishing deal with an amazing house, Feiwel and Friends/ Macmillan, and my dream of seeing a book I had written in hardback on the shelf of a bookstore was realized.

Everyone is different, of course, and everyone’s dreams vary.

Some members post to Wattpad for fun, to share their stories with their friends, and are not looking for anything beyond that. Many choose to participate in the community initiatives, such as The Freshman Fifteens Program, which is spearheaded by Lori Goldstein (Becoming Jinn—Spring 15) and gives writers the opportunity to ‘pitch’ their short story. In this case, a number were selected to work with published debut authors on shaping their short stories to be collated into an Anthology. I have personally met writers on Wattpad who are not seeking a traditional deal; they want to remain Indie, preferring to retain full control over every aspect of their creative work. Some upload their stories to Wattpad to grow an audience there, and then sell their self-published works as ebooks or through print on-demand services.

Many established, best-selling authors use the site to further grow their audience and see Wattpad as a great opportunity to reach out to new readers. Some post their entire novel, upload sample chapters, and post short stories and do read-alongs. Others share the same dream as me, and hope to one day have their story supported and brought to the traditional market by a publishing house who can do what perhaps we alone cannot.

I don’t see any drawbacks to publishing on Wattpad – only benefits – and in this connected world that we now live in, Wattpad provides a platform where you can write, connect with like-minded people and have a great time!

BSR: Thank you, Nikki!

Follow the FFBC Lailah Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

I was born and raised only minutes away from the chocolately scent of Cadbury World in Birmingham, England. So it will probably come as no surprise that when I'm not dreaming in Vampires & Angels, I dream in chocolate! For the past ten years I have lived in West London with my hubby and two dogs, Alfie - the Pug & Goose - the Chihuahua.

LAILAH is my debut novel, and first launched in serial form to wattpad, a readers & writers community. Within just 6 months,  LAILAH had over a million reads and thousands of comments and votes.

Since then, The Styclar Saga has gone on to pick up a traditional deal with Feiwel & Friends, and LAILAH, the first book in the series is due for release on October 7th 2014.

These days I spend my time balancing my amazing job of writing fantasy fiction, with my other, very important role of Chocolate Connoisseur. I like to multitask and do the two together. It makes me happy.

Win (1) hardback of Lailah by Nikki Kelly (US Only)

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Also? FFBC is giving away Lailah during the tour week o their Twitter