Riley Blackthorne just needs a chance to prove herself – and that’s exactly what the demons are counting on…
Seventeen-year-old Riley, the only daughter of legendary Demon Trapper, Paul Blackthorne, has always dreamed of following in her father’s footsteps. The good news is, with human society seriously disrupted by economic upheaval and Lucifer increasing the number of demons in all major cities, Atlanta’s local Trappers’ Guild needs all the help they can get – even from a girl. When she’s not keeping up with her homework or trying to manage her growing crush on fellow apprentice, Simon, Riley’s out saving distressed citizens from foul-mouthed little devils – Grade One Hellspawn only, of course, per the strict rules of the Guild. Life’s about as normal as can be for the average demon-trapping teen.
But then a Grade Five Geo-Fiend crashes Riley’s routine assignment at a library, jeopardizing her life and her chosen livelihood. And, as if that wasn’t bad enough, sudden tragedy strikes the Trappers’ Guild, spinning Riley down a more dangerous path than she ever could have imagined. As her whole world crashes down around her, who can Riley trust with her heart – and her life?
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*This book is also known as The Demon Trapper’s Daughter (US). The title Forsaken is from the UK version.
3 stars.
I liked this book, although it did bore me in the first few chapters.
Okay, Riley Blackthorne is just like the cliché heroines: unaware of their beauty, stubborn and determined, and has this mandatory love triangle. Or love square, should I say, since she’s just soooo beautiful and special. I do not hate Riley though. It’s just that it would’ve been better if she was given a different love life.
Anyway, as I have said, the book really did bore me at first but then I had to give it a chance to save itself from having a bitchy review from moi. Surprisingly, I did sorta like it. For one thing, the “World” that the author made was pretty decent. The writing was easy and the characters had depth. But… there are also problems too.
I’m just confused how angels and demons are both existing on Earth and yet there isn’t much war going on. Not until this thing with “Blackthorne’s daughter” happened. I mean, shouldn’t they have driven the bad guys away already before? What’s the role of the angels anyway? They refuse to fight and let humans take on the responsibility of driving aways those hell spawns. Okay, I understand that we are instruments and all that but if they are just here to hang out, then what does that make them? I would’ve understood it much better if demons roaming the Earth was just a recurrence. But sadly, no. They seem to have been here for who knows how many eons ago and nobody’s ever done much except trap and hunt.
Not to mention, how am I supposed to believe that in the whole history of Atlanta, there hasn’t been a FEMALE TRAPPER??? And just seemed to have changed UNTIL RILEY CAME INTO THE PICTURE. Oh sure, her father’s a master trapper, but don’t other master trappers have families too? What about their daughters? It was mentioned that the Guild has been existing for centuries.
What about Riley’s treatment to Beck? Cut the guy some slack, girl. You already know his past before and yet you act like as if you are just starting to know who he is. I’ve thought of punching her, really. Okay, DENVER BECK. I understand that you are a pure country boy and it’s so carefully carved into your being that you must stay that way. But Jana Oliver, must you really make his every dialogue sound something like, “Ya girl is so fine. Yer really lucky, ya know? I love ya’ll!” Always replacing ya for you and yer for your! Couldn’t you have just written something like for EXAMPLE, “Beck had a really rich Southern accent. Always pronounced ya for you. I h8 it so much blah blah blah blah” from Riley’s point of view? And then wrote Beck’s dialogue in you and your, properly?
Then there’s Harper. How could he get away with his assholishness? Common sense people!!! YOU CAN REVOLT!!!!
And my last issue: Riley’s relationship with Simon. It just happened on a whim. Really immediate. To be honest, I don’t like him for Riley. He always says how Riley is such a temptation. Like she’s some kind of sin. I know it’s a joke. I mean, I have a good humor. But he often tells that to Riley that I’m wondering if it’s still a joke or if he is saying something else already. I know he’s really religious and all that. He’s really kind, and has such strong faith that never falters. But I just don’t think that he’s for Riley. I like Beck for Riley more. That girl needs some maturity in her life. And you can’t depend on her master for that.
Okay, that’s all. I’m still going to read the next book, you know, to find out if Beck wins Riley’s heart after all and to see if it improved. I’m really generous at giving chances, ya know? Oh my, I’m starting to sound like Beck. I better stop now.
1 Wish 2 Girls in love with the same boy 14 Days to stop the madness!
Kayla McHenry’s sweet sixteen sucks! Her dad left, her grades dropped, and her BFF is dating the boy Kayla’s secretly loved for years. Blowing out her candles, Kayla thinks: I wish my birthday wishes actually came true. Because they never freakin’ do.
Kayla wakes the next day to a life-sized, bright pink My Little Pony outside her window. Then a year’s supply of gumballs arrives. A boy named Ken with a disturbing resemblance to the doll of the same name stalks her. As the ghosts of Kayla’s wishes-past appear, they take her on a wild ride … but they MUST STOP.
Because when she was fifteen? She wished Ben Mackenzie would kiss her.
And Ben is her best friend’s boyfriend.
*from Amazon.com
This book is so cute! I didn’t expect it to be so good especially when I thought that the cover was too pink and girly for my taste. But trust me, this is not what you were expecting it to be: all fluff and no depth. I totally surprised myself when I found that this book has a great message and I loved it.
Sooo, the characters. Honestly, at first I didn’t like Kayla because she was so judgmental. But as the story progressed, I was happy that she changed and that when her best friend Nicole transforms into the popular girl, she didn’t became a green-eyed monster set on destroying her. Instead, she just felt hurt but at the same time proud of her too. That’s how friends really should be, you know. And Ann! I loved her so much. I wished that she stayed with Kayla. I think Kayla’s wishes were the ones that changed her like in the story A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens in which the protagonist there is visited by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Yet to Come. From those spirits, he learns many things that turned him into a good man. I think the same goes for Kayla. The ghosts of her wishes changed her. Or maybe it was just Raggedy Ann.
To be honest, I don’t know how Raggedy Ann looks like. I searched in the internet and found this. Now, in the book it was mentioned that she had a slim figure. So I imagined her to be like this
but after knowing that she looked awful because of not being able to clean up, I thought maybe she looked more like along the lines of this
Anywaaaaaay, I also love how Kayla was very persistent in not betraying her best friend, going to extremes like dodging Ben and avoiding contact as much as possible. I kind of found it creepy that she took into count the number of times she and Ben touched, smiled or laughed and talked at the beginning of the book. I mean, gosh, she already calculated everything that happens between them. O_O
So if you want a quick, fun read, I suggest you pick this book up and give it a chance. Perfect summer read. :)
Willow Thomas has a bad habit of running away from things that scare her. And most recently, she quit her high school cheerleading squad after a terrifying fall.
With time on her hands, she auditions for a musical production directed by a Broadway choreographer. Just as things are looking up, Willow discovers she will be performing opposite Eli McAvoy, the best friend she abandoned three years before. To make matters worse, the kids in the musical hate her, her singing sucks, and her dog is sick.
Eli has grown up during their years apart and now possesses confidence and good looks, as well as a giant chip on his shoulder. He is in no hurry to play nice with Willow, but their entwined roles in the musical lead to entwined bodies in the backseat of his car.
Just when Willow finally has her life under control, another surprise is delivered in the form of her greatest challenge yet. Will she run or finally stand and face her fears? And will Eli be there to help or turn his back on her for good?
Okay, don’t get me wrong here. I really liked the plot. But if there’s one thing that I would say about this book, it is that it feels very RUSHED. Like oh-my-gosh-i-need-to-get-these-ideas-in-my-head-out-and-about kind of rush.
See, the story starts with Willow urging her friends to help her do a complicated stunt. From there, she gets in an accident that, I should say, would change everything. And it did. But somehow, the execution of events seem kind of hurried. When her teachers immediately contact her and tell her to join, it was like they’ve been watching her every move, waiting for her to make a mistake and quit so as to snatch her from cheer leading and place her in theater. Not to mention her reconciliation with Eli. Feels like the 3 long years of her taking granted of the guy was nothing to him except pretending to ignore each other at first. Sure, it’s very professional and all but hello, these are teenagers we’re talking about. Isn’t this period supposed to be our “angst-filled” years? What kind of person lets people treat them like a doormat? And Chloe. Eli’s supposedly new love interest. At first, she was hostile with Willow but after Tyson’s lecture, she immediately backs-off. What happened to the jealous bitch?
Also, the characters. They all feel like they have one personality. They talk like the same person. There’s no diversity or what we call “uniqueness” in a person that sets them apart from another. like what they want is exactly what the other wants. That’s kind of wrong, don’t you think? I mean, realistic fiction books are supposed to somehow mirror reality; the things, people or events that normally happen in life.
And the cover! It features a stiff guy holding a girl who is oblivious to anything but what she is looking at. Yeah, definitely screams dream chaser. More like selfish prick.
This book just doesn’t do it for me.
Oh well, this is just my opinion. All in all, I’d give it 2 stars. I was able to finish it, right? That ought to count for something.
Really though, this sounds more like a rant. I honestly don’t sound professional. Not that I try.
How absurd it is of me to show up again after 6 months of absence! Yeah, well like it or not, I’m back.
I’m going to be writing book reviews. Yes, you read that right. BOOK REVIEWS.
Brace yourselves for my poorly written opinions about the books that I have read over the summer. Although I can never guarantee that this will be consistent.
So! Fortunately enough, I’ve been able to get a copy and read the book Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley, which isn’t even out until February 14, 2012 but was released in Australia last 2009. The book was good and it was like Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, only minus the numerous f-words. It is also a story that’s narrated on two-sides and their “love” built in only one night. I like Ed and Lucy very much and although they had a big misunderstanding in the past, they were still able to find comfort in each other’s presence. It’s about Shadow and Poet, who Lucy really wants to meet and as she sets off to search for Shadow, she finds out that what’s in front of her is what she really needs.
As for the movie The Art of Getting By, it’s still not showing here in the Philippines but luckily AGAIN, I was able to find a decent copy of it on the internet. I’ll be watching this today and hopefully, it’s as good as people say so. I like the paired-up Emma Roberts and Freddie Highmore, who I have known to be the Charlie in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Okay now, I’m heading off somewhere in my pajamas and slippers. I’ll update again, SOON.
