Guest Blog with J.E. Hopkins

Harsh Reality of War

My blog tour journey continues and I am very happy to have the opportunity to guest post on your site.

In my novel, We Shall Rise, an immortal race war has been waged by those considered lesser immortals (hybrids, witches, sages, demons, and other immortal misfits) against the pureblood vampires and werewolves who for years enslaved the “weaker” races. The tables have turned and those deemed the weaker class are uniting against the tyranny of the purebloods, using chemical warfare and other means of brutality to destroy their former masters.

Like any war, many innocents are caught in a battle for which they never wanted to fight. In the end, is there ever truly a winner when the inevitability of death impacts all?

I have always been fascinated with the art of war and the costly ramifications. Both sides feel completely justified in their actions yet so often a war that may have started out as a legitimate fight for valid goals morphs into something so dreadfully disturbing. Tactics are employed that call into question which side is good and which is evil. The reality is that neither side is truly innocent.

In We Shall Rise, the lesser immortals claim to be fighting for equality and freedom, yet they force others to fight their war as they set out on a mission to destroy all pureblood vampires and werewolves. As a result, they combat years of oppression, by turning into oppressors. Although their original goals seemed noble and right, their tactics make them no better than the purebloods they are trying to destroy. That’s the danger of war. The ends are tainted by the horrors of the means used to achieve them.

I hope you enjoy as much as I enjoyed writing it.


We Shall Rise
By J.E. Hopkins

Book Blurb:

War surrounds him, yet for vampire Kaden Gaspard, there is no greater battle than the one his mind has waged against his heart. He knows he should stay away from her. Reysa. The half-breed vampire warrior who had risked her life to prove his innocence for the seven murders for which he was accused, but had not committed. This stubbornly loyal woman who dedicated her life to her family of misfits - immortals shunned and abandoned by their clans for their impurity of blood and genetic mutations. This courageous and valiant African warrior who Kaden fears could never love the monster that he is destined to be.

As Kaden and Reysa struggle to accept the undeniable bond between them, they must come together to stop the emerging terror that threatens to destroy all immortals. The lesser immortals – witches, sages, shifters, demons, hybrids, charmers and foreseers – have declared war against the pureblood vampires and lycans who have used their purity of blood and greater strength to enslave the weaker races. No immortal is safe. This is a fight for freedom and a fight against genocide. There can be no true victor as death looms for them all.

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Author Bio:

J.E. Hopkins is a practicing attorney in New York and an avid fiction writer. Hopkins holds a Juris Doctor from St. John's University and a Bachelor of Arts from New York
University.

J.E. Hopkins published her first novel, The Broken, in 2007. She subsequently published her first paranormal romance of the Misfits of the Lore Series, Lover's Betrayal, in 2011.

For more information about this author and upcoming works, please visit www.jehopkinsauthor.com

YA Vamps in House of Night Series #9!

Destined is the 9th book in the House of Night series.

Goodreads says:
"In Destined, the forces of Light and Dark collide as their epic struggle focuses on Tulsa's House of Night. Zoey is home where she belongs, safe with her Guardian Warrior, Stark, by her side and preparing to face off against Neferet. Kalona has released his hold on Rephaim, and, through Nyx's gift of a human form, he and Stevie Rae are finally able to be together if Rephaim can truly walk the path of the Goddess and stay free of his father's shadow. 

But is Zoey really safe? Does she truly know those who are closest to her? And will love win when it is tested by the very soul of Darkness? Find out what is destined in the next thrilling chapter of the House of Night series."


There are so many twists and turns in this book it is unbelievable!  To even begin to explain them is... well, vamp-boggling! And there are not just vamps, but winged creatures and extra dark vamps and another type of vampires called red vamps.  There are also vamps or fledglings that aren't quite vampires yet that have special powers, one has true sight and she sees people in colors and as they are, their true nature.  Kind of a cool gift, I hope we see more of that, she's a new one in this book.  And there is the fledgling turned back to human, but not really who has visions that tend to come true.  And another who has the gift of poems that usually go along with the visions.  There is a circle; air, water, fire, earth and spirit that work together just as their gifts do and it makes for a very interesting adventure.  Especially when the dark and winged and this time even bull shaped figures interfere.  


It's definitely worth a read! Have you read it yet?  I look forward to the next one... Only 3 left in the series from what I hear.  A total of 12. :)  Find me on Goodreads and we can keep track together! 


Happy YA vamp reading!
~Shauna

Review: Angel of Darkness by Cynthia Eden

Release Date: 11/29/2011
Publisher: Kensington Brava
Genre: Paranormal Romantic Suspense
Length: Novel
ISBN: 0758242174 / 9780758242174

As an angel of death, Keenan’s job is to collect the souls on his list. He’s carried out his duty for two thousand years and never faltered once. Until he meets Nicole St. James.  When the moment of death comes, Keenan hesitates, and instead of taking Nicole, Keenan touches the vampire who’s attacking her.

Cast out of heaven for disobedience, Keenan plummets to earth. Six months later, he finally manages to track Nicole to a bar in Mexico. He’s stunned to discover that the woman he remembers has undergone a dramatic change—she’s become a vampire. And when he realizes that she’s the target of all manner of enemies—other vampires, demons, even shifters—he’ll do whatever it takes to protect her, even if all hell breaks loose…

Review:

Cynthia Eden is one of my go-to authors when I'm in any sort of reading rut. She always brings something new to the table, her characters are strong, and the relationships are usually steamy, just how I like it. However, I was skeptical about this new series, The Fallen, because angels aren't my thing. As in, I avoid reading about them. I'm not sure why, except that I don't usually like my paranormal romances steeped in religion, and yes, I've had a few bad experiences with exactly that. But, I consider myself an open minded reader, and Eden has never disappointed before, which is how I came to review this book. I am so glad that I gave angels a chance!

Angel of Darkness jumps straight into the action and I was hooked before I finished the prologue. Keenan defies his orders to protect Nicole and I just had to know why he would do something so incredibly against his nature. This one act strips him of his wings, sends him plummeting through fire towards earth where he is forced to learn a whole new way to survive. Only he isn't letting Nicole escape that easily. After months of searching he finally finds her only to discover that she has changed...a lot.

I enjoyed this fallen angel/vampire story and found the relationship between Keenan and Nicole to be very emotional and full of passion. They shared a few scenes that were crazy hot, especially the very first because it was so raw and primal. As with all of Eden's sexy scenes, this one was expertly written with none of the flowery prose that can easily crush what should be erotic. I'd have to say that Keenan put his years of observation to good use!

After poking around at the author's website I discovered that I have but a few months, about 6, to wait for the next Fallen book. Angel Betrayed will be out this summer and I'm seriously hoping that it gives us a whole lot more of the mysterious Sam. This guy has some deep dark secrets that I want to know all about.

Reviewed by Anna Dougherty for VampChix
This book was sent via publisher for review

Win Adele's talisman!

Clay and Susan Griffith, authors of the amazing Vampire Empire series are hosting a cool contest right now. You can win a replica of Adele's geomancer talisman. Click on over to enter at their blog!

Review: Bella Notte by Jesse Kimmel-Freeman

Book description:

Vampires? Check. Werewolves? Check. Death prophecy to hang over your head? Double check.

Seventeen year old Emma Hutchinson struggles to find her place in the world she has been born to as she tries to decide whether she should be with Michael, the boy she has been dreaming about since she was three or if she belongs with Dominic, her betrothed.

Review:

Emma is haunted by the same dream every night. She enters the woods with him and then there is howling in the air.  She heads off to her senior year only to find that the boy from her dreams is sitting in class with her.  She does not know what to do but feels instant attraction to this young man.  Mike introduces himself to her and then spend the rest of the day together, and they fall into a fast track system of spending all their time together. They fall in love with each other at first sight.  The problems start for Emma when she is told that she betrothed to Dominic her long lost best friends older brother. She is frustrated and confused because she is learning that her family is keeping secrets from her that she just cant quite put her finger on. The more time she spends around Dominic, she begins to have different dreams as her and Mike are being pulled apart. They are both going through a “change” that he seems to understand and she does not as no one will tell her about it. But after two weeks in Italy with Dominic things are starting to get more out of her control. She finds out that Mike is also betrothed to someone.  When she gets back to school it is very difficult for her, and her change finally occurs. She is a vampire and Mike has changed to a werewolf.  Can their love find their way through the hatred that separates their families? Or will her growing fondness for Dominic replace Mike?  What is she going to do now

 

I thought that this book had a great story line. A vampire and werewolf that are in love with each other, neither really knowing what they are, or what the other one is becoming.  I think that it made for an interesting plot point that the main character Emma was completely in the dark about everything around her, including that her whole family were vampires and she was changing into one.  It was also made interesting by the fact that vampires and werewolves are not created, that sometime around age eighteen they change into what they are to become. 

 

My only concern in this book is that I did wish that the characters were more developed. I had this sense that Emma’s character could have had more depth and the character of Mike was not a part of the story at all, he rarely said anything except to profess his love for her and then to ask her what she wanted to do. He just seemed missing from the story.  I wanted more of a relationship built there.  I thought it was odd that Emma left for two weeks to hang out with Dominic and then it seemed as though she was still in love with Mike. She did not do much to pursue the relationship while she was gone either. When she got back it just seemed ho hum about being together instead of fighting to see him again. It was missing the longing.  I guess I just wanted more relationship building between the lovers that wanted to be together. I think that if these characters were more captivating it would have had more impact on the story. The way they were developed it was hard to believe that they really wanted to be together.  I had a hard time with this book because the characters just seemed blah to me and some story lines were not developed enough to make sense to the story, so it seemed strange and disjointed. 

 

I think that this is appropriate for any high school reader or older.  

 

Author website and blog:

http://bellanottethebook.weebly.com/

 

Reviewed by Jenny for VampChix

This book was sent by the author in exchange for an honest review.