TheKylieVerse

Defiance

By: Lili St Crow

Strange Angels bk 4

Dru is back and really pissed. Graves is still missing and Dru is done with playing nice, listening and doing what she is told. She is sick of the lies, of being sheltered and of the fact no-one seems to know where Graves is or even really looking for him. Finally she is let out on a hunt as bait but when it goes wrong the Order decide it’s not wise to allow that again, she is too valuable to them.

Thankfully the wulfen are around, and she has brief moments of freedom when they allow her to run with them.

She hopes Graves won’t be too damaged by the time they find him, and holds on to the hope that the broken Ash can be restored. Even with Anna gone Dru can still be reached by her enemies in the Schola Prima and it is all starting to take a toll. When certain information comes her way she finds she has reached her limit. She heads out on her own terms, if the Order want her they will have to keep up. Is Dru strong enough to face Sergij, save Graves and survive? And will she ever bloom?

The lastest in the Strange Angels series and (spoiler alert) sadly Graves isn’t in most of it. However it must be said that other characters step up to the plate and nicely fill the gap. Dru’s relationships with the other wulfen are a nice counter to her strained relationships with the djamphir. Even though there is no Anna at the Schola there is still plenty of plotting and intrigue. The layers are well developed and the traitor is not instantly recognisable (or at least wasn’t to me). In some ways where the story has been left feels like a beginning and in some ways close to an end. All of which left me wondering where she is going to take it next. The only thing that bugged was the mention of a random character that sounded too familiar too me and jolted me right out of the story (a Cajun named Remy who throws cards).

Publisher: Razorbill

Published: 19 April 2011

Format: Paperback

Categories: Fiction Horror & Ghost Fantasy

ISBN 13: 9781595143921 

Purchase: here

Jealousy

By Lili St Crow

Strange Angels bk 3

Dru is part of the real world, a place where monsters exist and will quite happily rip her to pieces. But when you are going to grow into something incredibly deadly to those monsters, their thinking makes perfect sense. Dru didn’t ask for any of this though She didn’t want to be taken to a reform Schola or then transferred to the Schola Prima – the central djamphir training facility and home to the Order.

Graves and Christophe would like to take each other apart and balancing them and the other wulfen and djamphirs isn’t always that simple. Now Dru’s training also begins in earnest, which is good because 400 year old Sergej is hungry for her blood and won’t stop until it no longer pumps through her veins. To complicate matters even further Dru finally meets the other Svetocha, Anna. Anna is used to running things and having the Order at her beck and call. She doesn’t like to share and is more than a little annoyed at Dru. Dru doesn’t understand why but it becomes clear that it is because Dru has Christophe.

At least Graves is still around and the werewulf attack he survived turned him into a loup-garou, a prince among the wulfen.

The third book in the Strange Angels series and the intrigues just keep coming. This continues to be an engaging read, the characters and their interactions. I am partial to Dru’s drive and her desire to not sit back and wait for others to do for her, I also continue to like the relationship between Dru and Graves. There is plenty of action and loads of sly machinations. There are truths and half-truths. If you have enjoyed this series so far, this is a read that won’t let you down.

Publisher: Razorbill

Published: 01 July 2010

Format: Paperback 316 pages

Categories: Fiction Adventure Horror & Ghost

ISBN 13: 9781595142900 

Purchase: here

Betrayals

By: Lili St Crow

Strange Angels bk 2

Dru is no longer alone as she was the night her father became a zombie she had to kill but the situation she now finds herself in is one that may take her a while to figure out. There is so much for her to adjust to. Her only friend Graves has been bitten by a werewulf and no-one can say how that is going to turn out. Dru is not entirely human thanks to her mother’s blood running through her veins, this makes her a Svetocha, a female djamphir, that makes her something like royalty in this little community and that is something she doesn’t want. Then there is the new school, a secret Schola for djamphirs and wulfen and she is the only girl, which is turning out to be more than a minor pain in the butt.

As if all that wasn’t enough there is the training and learning mixed in with the  certainty that someone at the school is trying to kill her. Finding her place amongst the wulfen and djamphir, when all they have ever been is enemies, is not going to be easy. Then again, Dru’s life never has been that easy.

This is the second in the Strange Angels series and it is full of intrigue and action. Dru’s frustrations are palpable as she and Graves adjust to their new lives. The half truths and infighting create layers and suspense that keeps you engaged in this dark world. I continue to enjoy these characters and the dark world they inhabit and am looking forward to what will be revealed next. 

Publisher: Razorbill

Published: 26 November 2009

Format: Paperback 304 pages

Categories: General Horror & Ghost

ISBN 13: 9781595142528 

Strange Angels

By: Lili St Crow

Strange Angels bk 1

Dru Andersen is a not so average teen who travels from place to place with her Dad hunting the things that go bump in the night. All manner of monsters come across their path, they destroy them and move on. Then one fateful day her father hasn’t returned from a hunt and the scritching on the back door turns out to be the zombie he has been turned into. 

Dru’s life is turned upside down. Now the monsters are hunting her and it’s only all the training her Dad gave her that is keeping her safe. Then a goth boy named Graves befriends her and things get more complicated. Can Dru remember all she has been taught and get both of them to survive when the werewolves and vampires are coming?

A dark and entrancing world that breathes a little freshness into the genre in that Dru is a hunter. I like that she makes mistakes and learns from them. I like that she struggles and still tries, even while hearing the voices of those who trained her. I also enjoyed the dynamic between Dru and Graves. This is one of the few paranormal YA books that has held my attention (though admittedly there are a lot that I haven’t read). St Crow has created a blended world, one where the monsters fit seemlessly into the world we know, it is both vivid and intriguing.

Publisher: Razorbill

Published: 02 July 2009

Format: Paperback 304 pages

Categories: Fiction Horror & Ghost

ISBN 13: 9781595142511

Purchase: here