A Dark Kiss of Rapture (Renegade Angels, #0.5) by Sylvia Day Review

This is a spoiler-free review!

Vampires, lycan, angels... the list just keeps on going. Set in a modern world where a vampire will casually be using an iPad, this novella reminded me a lot of The Mortal Instruments in the sense that in that series they are just out of reach in using technology by choice, but Day chooses to have her characters welcome the advances.

Raze is a vampire on a mission and he does not hold back when it comes to carnage, whereas Kim has just witnessed a gruesome crime scene of someone close to her -- and yet, they somehow find each other when they needed someone the most. I think if we knew more about Raze and his past, it would have made their instant connection more interesting, but I went through the entire novella wondering what exactly was so great about him that Kim could not stay away.

For a novella tagged as erotica, it was plagued with fade to black scenes that made me feel like I was back reading young adult novels just alluding to what happened between the main characters. Especially since Raze and Kim are adults, it was kind of disappointing to have mild build up just to have the chapter come to an end or page break into the next scene. I fell victim to the free book section on iBooks and paid the price... I kept waiting for something more exciting to happen and at the end of every chapter I was only left hanging. I understand that this is an introduction to a series, but if the rest of the series is anything like this, I will not be continuing on.

Raze would have been a much more interesting character if the author kept the momentum going with him on how he was introduced in the beginning. If Raze had been more brooding or even cold -- ironic, since he is a vampire -- it would have at least added something to his character besides being interested in Kim. At least Kim had some more dimension to her with what she has been through, but her own characterization was lacking and she was running into the arms of the first man she laid eyes on and somehow turned it into a relationship overnight.

The scenes where Raze was just running around tracking random vampires and talking to his friends on his iPad had me rolling my eyes into the back of my head. For someone who thinks that himself and Kim might be in danger, he sure does take his time in actually doing anything about it. Every chapter had him either thinking how great Kim was or thinking about how to get intel on other vampires, and not much else.

If you are looking for a very quick read to up your reading goal for the year, this novella fits the bill. If you are looking for something with a bit substance to dive into a new series, I would say that you can pass on this one. It is unfortunate, because angel and vampire books usually are just what I am looking for, but Day's novella misses the mark when it comes to world building and characterization.

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Ninth House (Alex Stern, #1) by Leigh Bardugo Review

This review contains some mild spoilers for Ninth House - no major plot or character spoilers are included. A list of trigger warnings can be found here.

You can read my reviews of other publications from Leigh Bardugo here: The Grisha Trilogy, Six of Crows, Crooked Kingdom, Little Knife, The Tailor, The Witch of Duva, and The Too-Clever Fox.

When I first started reading this book, I was constantly confusing who the main characters were, since they have nicknames or go by their last names. Once I was able to orient myself into the plot after a few chapters, it was a lot easier to follow. Ninth House is very content heavy, so I found myself reading at a slower pace than I am usually reading it -- there is a lot going on all of the time, so I definitely suggest to take your time.

Reading about the trauma that Alex has gone through and comes to encounter, especially the bathroom flashback early on in the book, was heartbreaking. She constantly is trying to tell people what she is going through and what she sees, and it seems that no one will listen and those who do only use it against her or spread it like gossip. I could never imagine sending a child to one of those wilderness rehab programs for "troubled youth" like Alex's mother tried to do.

Darlington and Alex's relationship definitely starts off pretty rocky -- he expects her to do everything perfectly, and she has only been exposed to proper magic for a few weeks. He does not quite understand what she has been through and how she has lived her entire life seeing the Grays and basically being tortured by them for as long as she can remember. Alex is still discovering so much of the world that Darlington has been involved in for so long, but I appreciated the way that Bardugo is able to show the evolution of their relationship as they learn more about one another through flashbacks.

Dawes really is a mystery to Alex in a sense -- she is friendly, then turns cold, then agrees to help Alex but does a poor job of it. One third of the way into the book and I was still on the edge of deciding if I liked Dawes and if she was actually looking out for Alex. She did not let Alex know when Turner showed up at the medical examiner's office, even when Alex explicitly stated that she needed to give her a warning. She definitely grew on me as the book moves forward, and provides a lot of great back and forth with Alex.

I really enjoy seeing Darlington's past before coming to Yale and being a part of Lethe House -- watching him grow up and see his complicated relationship with his parents and his love for his grandfather put it in perspective to me of why he is the way he is. The way we see his development in flashbacks allows us to truly understand his character despite him not being actively present at Yale.

Alex may be spontaneous and make rapid decisions regarding dying and going to the underworld, but she is first and foremost a protector. We see her constantly trying to save and protect others throughout the book, whether they be dead or alive -- she fully embodies "girls protect girls" when it comes into play. Yes, she definitely does some questionable and perhaps unethical things, but she gets the job done at the end of the day. Her development as a character was fantastic, and we see her grow and expand into someone with so much more confidence than she started out with when she came to Yale.

The Bridegroom reminds me of Dorian Gray's portrait for some reason -- every time he shows up in a chapter, it has this haunting energy around him, from the way that he speaks to the way that he insists on particular things. He pops up in the most inconvenient times for Alex, yet also has a way of showing up in just the right moment.

Ninth House deals with a ton of world building and understanding the societies at Yale and what they specifically specialize in. Bardugo does an excellent job with character development and is able to clearly depict each character and the flaws they encompass. I definitely recommend this book to fans of An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson, The Wicker King by K. Ancrum, and Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor.

You can add Ninth House and Hell Bent on Goodreads now, as well as follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter, and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!