Showing posts with label amy meredith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label amy meredith. Show all posts

Monday, September 27, 2010

Review: Dark Touch: The Hunt by Amy Meredith


Publisher: Red Fox
Format: Paperback
Pages: 263
Source: Review Copy










" Something is hunting. Something that will kill to get what it wants. And it isn't human. Eve knows that her supernatural powers are called for, but she'd rather focus on dating than demons and gorgeous Luke is, frankly, pretty distracting. He's already a friend - but could he be something more? Do Luke and Eve really have a future? And with demons on the hunt, will either of them live long enough to find out?
"
(Description from Amazon.co.uk)

Background:
This is the second book in a series aimed at the pre-Twilight age group. The author, Amy Meredith, lives in California, but she has also lived and worked in New York and the Hamptons where the main characters in the Dark Touch - series are from. She has always been fascinated by the supernatural. I rated the first book in this series "4 books" and labeled it "gothic glamour".

Story:
Something evil and dangerous is preying on the people in Deepdene, something that can kill. The first victim is a football player. He has been drained of blood and torn to pieces. Soon, there are other victims. The town is in shock and Eve must again use her supernatural powers in order to protect her friends and the town.

Main Character:
Eve Evergold has grown a lot since the first book in this series. She is still a happy, and at some times a carefree girl, but the events in the first books has really affected her. Her character has gotten more depth and there is a seriousness about her that was not there in the first book. She is still likeable and a great main character, and I love her humour.

The Book
Dark Touch; The Hunt is an entertaining and a scary read, I had a hard time putting the book down. Eve is trying to figure out how to control her powers - with good help from her friends Jess and Luke. Eve soon discovers that Luke means more to her than just being a friend. A reporter comes to town to write about the death of the football player, but Eve and her friends thinks that he is hiding something.

Even though I could see it coming, I liked the fact that the author has picked Luke as Eve's new love interest. And I also liked the fact that it isn't quite obvious what Luke actually is feeling. The author has done well with the balance between the love story and the horror story. The mystery about who or what are responsible for the killings, is always at the centre of the story. The love story just adds a little spice to the mix.

We get to know Luke a lot better in this book, and he is an interesting character. The more I read about him, the more I want to know.

This books is much more scarier than the first one, and the author uses a lot of the teqniques you could find in the movies. The beginning could be the opening scene in a horror movie. And the thrill does not end there. Everytime you are about to finish a chapter, something new happens that keeps you reading on and on, and the plot is not so obvious as in the first book. The author has really stepped it up a notch.

The ending was a big surprise for me, and I read as fast as I possibly could to find out what was going to happen next.

Dark Touch: The Hunt has everything I like in a book: it is about the supernatural, is thrilling, hard to put down, engaging and with interesting characters. I loved it. Now I am eagerly awaiting the release of the next installment in this series, Fever, which comes out in January.

Read this book if you would like a taste of the TV show "Supernatural" mixed with a hint of Gossip Girl.

Other reviews:
I was a teenage book geek

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Review: Dark Touch: Shadows by Amy Meredith


Publisher: Red Fox
Format: Paperback
Pages: 240
Source: Book received for review.













" Fifteen-year-old Eve Evergold is cute, sassy and enjoying a busy social life. What she doesn't know yet is that someone close to her is an evil demon that only she has the supernatural power to defeat. She needs to work out who it is - and fast! Because although there's something very attractive about the dark side...dating a demon? Pure hell!"

(Description from Amazon.co.uk)

Background:
This is the first book in a new series aimed at the pre-Twilight age group. The author, Amy Meredith, lives in California, but she has also lived and worked in New York and the Hamptons where the main characters in the Dark Touch - series are from. She has always been fascinated by the supernatural.

Story:
The summer is over, and it is time to get back to school for Eve Evergold and her best friend Jess, in the town of Deepdene. And this autumn, two new boys are also attending school with them. Luke Thompson is the son of the new minister in town, and he is cute and very flirtatious. And there is Mal, smouldering and mysterious Mal, who have just moved into "The Razor place" - a mansion which used to belong to a rockstar and which is said to be haunted. And school has just started, when mysterious things starts to happen in town. Many girls freak out and are sent to psyciatric institutions. There are talk of demons appearing in people's nightmares, and soon Eve must figure out who she can or cannot trust and look into the town's dark history.

Main Character:
Eve Evergold is fifteen years old, and like most teenagers she has a very busy social life. She loves to shop and look at boys and enjoys a comfortable life. But even though her parents has a lot of money, she does not come across as a spoiled brat. She is quite likeable, and I became more and more fascinated by her as the story progressed. The author has managed to make her evolve throughout the story, and from being a carefree and happy girl you can actually see how the events in this book affect her. I love it, when authors manage to do just that. I am looking forward to get to know her better in future books in this series. Eve is a person I would have loved to have as a friend in real life; I am sure she would have made me laugh a lot.

The Book:
Dark Touch, The Shadows is a witty and spooky read. From the opening scene you are thrust into a story full of gothic atmosphere combined with glamorous surroundings. There is romance, riddles, suspense and dramatic events. I got more and more engaged in the book as the story progressed.

The friendship between Jess and Eve are so well described, you have no problem understanding why these two are best friends. They seem to be having so much fun together. "The shoe scale", their weapon for describing how hot a boy is, is hilarious. And there is also a great deal of trust here. Eve would do anything for Jess and Jess would do anything for Eve. They confide in each other and support each other. That's true friendship.

I also like how the author has portrayed Luke and Mal. They are both a bit mysterious and I kept on reading to get to know them better. I am sure they would appeal to the target group of this series.

The book does not require a lot of energy to get into. It is an easy and atmospheric read and I had no problem figuring out some of the riddles in the book. But despite all that, I enjoyed it. Sometimes it is refreshing to read something that does not require a lot of thinking.

Dark Touch, the Shadows is for readers who love the supernatural combined with lighthearted chick lit. A perfect book if you want to relax, get spooked and get in a good mood all at once.

The publisher has also created a beautiful and eye-catching cover that really captures the atmosphere in this book: gothic glamour.

Here are some other reviews you can check out:
So Many Books, So Little Time
Book Chick City
I Was a Teenage Book Geek

Sunday, August 15, 2010

In My Mailbox (3)

This is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren, where we share the books we got in the mail last week. I had an awesome week, and I also got my first copies for review!

Here is what I got:

For review:
Lauren Kate: Torment
Amy Meredith: Dark Touch: The Shadows
Amy Meredith: Dark Touch: The Hunt

Even though I knew they were coming, I actually had to pinch my arm when I saw them in my mailbox. I am so looking forward to read all of them. I have already started reading "The Shadows" and so far I am enjoying it! And I love the cover. It is so pretty:


Thank you Random House for sending me these.

Bought:
Kate Pearce: Kiss of the Rose.
James Herbert: Creed
James Herbert: The Fog
James Herbert: The Magic Cottage
James Herbert: Moon
James Herbert: Fluke
James Herbert: The Jonah
James Herbert: The Dark

Kate Pearce will be stepping by my blog for an interview soon, and she is also going to give away a copy of "Kiss of the Rose" - so keep your eyes open for that.

BookDepository sold a lot of cheap James Herbert - books, so I endes up with quite a few. I love a good horror - story, and when autumn comes and the darkness wraps ut the evenings, it is a perfect time to enjoy something scary.

I also got some Norwegian books, by Norwegian authors.

What did you get in your mailbox this week?
 
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