'Reckoning' Strange Angels #5 by Lili St. Crow

Received from the Publisher

From the BLURB:

This is it.

Sixteen-year-old orphan Dru Anderson has faced down suckers, zombies, and wulfen without flinching. And now that she's bloomed into a full-fledged svetocha, she doesn't even need a gun. But the Real World is still a frightening place . . . and things are about to get ugly. Really ugly.

Dru Anderson has escaped with her life, but she's not out of the woods yet. She's on the lam in a stolen car with her best friend Graves riding shotgun and a Broken wulf named Ash curled up in the backseat. Desperate, Dru heads deep into the Appalachian Mountains to the one place she thinks they'll be safe. But her grandmother's wards and enchantments can't keep Dru's scent from the suckers for long – especially when Dru is betrayed by the one person she trusts most.

It's all come down to this.

ONE battle. ONE choice ONE final sacrifice.

Dru Anderson's not afraid of the dark.

But she should be.

‘Reckoning’ is the fifth and final installment in Lili St. Crow’s helter-skelter paranormal thrill ride, the ‘Strange Angels’ series. We’ve come a long way with Dru, and readers will no doubt be sad to see her go. But fans will find no fault with this crashing finale.

This book comes down to just two people. Yes, fans have been divided into Team Graces and Team Christophe. But ‘Reckoning’ is really and truly all about Dru and her final showdown with Sergej. This is what the finale hinges on – Dru reaping revenge for her mother and father, her lost innocence and all those who were sacrificed along the way. It’s all distilled in one final, epic and bloody battle with Sergej … and it is good. Nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat thrillingly good! Big WARNING; set aside a huge chunk of time to read this book, because once you start you may be physically unable to stop.

The battle also highlights just how far Dru has come. From book one we’ve known that Dru is tough and independent – loyal, almost to a fault, and a butt-kicking heroine not to be messed with. But in the lead-up to her guns-at-dawn final battle with Sergej, we read just how much Dru has grown up. She no longer thinks of herself as a lone entity. In ‘Reckoning’ she is willing to ask for help – to trust and rely on people, to admit that she can’t go it alone. And this leaks into her relationships with two important men in her life, Christophe and Graves.

This is the big draw-card for fans – a love triangle of epically heartfelt proportions. And I refuse to give anything away… except to say that Dru gets very honest in this book, she lays it all out on the line and puts her heart on her sleeve. Fans will be gasping and applauding certain heart-wrenching scenes.

He scooched around a bit, making himself comfortable. His arm tightened, and my nose ended up in his throat. His leg curled over both of mine, and his free hand came up and stroked my tangled hair.
“The only one,” he murmured. His chin dipped a little bit. “You know that, Dru? You’re the only person who’s ever believed in me. You know what that’ll do to a guy?”
What? “I—”
“It makes him want to live up to it.” A sarcastic, bitter little half-laugh, just like the Goth Boy I used to know. The birdlike one who was a little ugly, sure, until you got to know him and saw what had been under the ugly all along. The true beauty.
Sometimes it hides deep, that truth.

Now, as to the ending … if you’ve been reading the reviews of ‘Reckoning’, you should know that the finale is not necessarily a crowd-pleaser. St Crow is not putting a definitive end on Dru and co. (despite this most certainly being the last installment in the ‘Strange Angels’ series). Undoubtedly, the open-ended conclusion will annoy some people. But for me, I liked the little bit of mystery that St Crow leaves readers. I think the infinite ending is a bit indicative of Dru’s life so far, and the overall feel of the ‘Strange Angels’. No journey should end on a definitive full stop. The end of ‘Reckoning’ feels like a befitting conclusion for Dru – like she’s still figuring it all out, taking each day as it comes. And that’s okay – because life is an adventure.

5/5

'Defiance' Strange Angels #4 by Lili St CROW

Received from the Publisher

From the BLURB:

Hey Sucker. It's showtime.

The Real World is a frighting place. Just ask sixteen-year-old orphan Dru Anderson, a tough girl who has taken on her fair share of bad guys. She's armed, dangerous, and not going down with a fight. So it's gonna take her a while to figure out who she can trust . . .

Dru Anderson has always been a good listener. She listened to her dad, but had to gun him down when he turned zombie. She listened to the Order, but got nothing but lied to in return. She listened to Christophe, but still lost the only friend she had left.

Time to buckle up, boys and girls. Dru Anderson is done listening. From here on out, she'll face the King of the Vampires on her own terms. And if the Order has a problem with that, they can kiss their sweet little svetocha goodbye.

DRU ANDERSON'S NOT AFRAID OF THE DARK.

BUT SHE SHOULD BE.

‘Defiance’ picks up where ‘Jealousy’ left off on a nail-biting cliff-hanger. Now that sixteen-year-old Dru's worst fears have come true and Sergej has kidnapped her best friend Graves, she'll have to go on a suicidal rescue mission to bring him back in one piece. That is, if she can put all of Christophe's training to good use, defeat her mother's traitor, Anna, once and for all, and manage to survive another day...

This is the fourth book in Lili St. Crow’s ‘Strange Angels’ series.

So many questions and only two books left! I will put your mind at ease and say, yes, the biggest cliff-hanger of ‘Jealousy’ has a resolution, but there is still much about the ‘Strange Angels’ series that is shrouded in mystery . . .

I love ‘Strange Angels’. This is a dark, kick-ass young adult paranormal series. Lili St. Crow writes violence, profanity and a main character that is at odds with her inner demons and great expectations. Dru is not perfect; she is magnificently flawed and emotionally broken. But in ‘Defiance’, she completely and utterly dominates. She comes into her own and embraces the woman she is becoming, and the girl she used to be;

How would Dad have dealt with all this? He hadn’t even told me the most basic things about myself. About who or what I was, who he was, who Mom had been . . . but I hadn’t needed to know, had I? I'd known everything there was to know when I was his helper. His little girl.

Daddy’s little princess. Who had emptied a clip into the shambling corpse that used to be her father.

Of all the things that will fuck you up in the head, that had to be in a class all its own.

In the past Dru has been on the back-foot. From having to kill her father, to learning about the svetocha and The Order, Dru has been reacting throughout the series, and on the defence instead of offense. Well that all ends right here, right now. In ‘Defiance’ Dru shakes off the shackles of her past, and takes control of her life and future . . . and her transformation is glorious!

Fury boiled up inside me, pushing aside the pain. The hunger fed on the rage, feasted on it, and this time I was a clear glass girl full of red wrath, but it didn’t own me. I stood in the middle of all that anger, a ribbon of cold steel inside me, and felt something inside me shift like a key clicking over in a lock.

As to the love triangle . . . I don’t want to give anything away! Grr. For those of you who thought Dru had been a little bit naively oblivious to Graves and Christophe’s interest in her, I can say that in this instalment she is confronted with the conundrum of her emotions. It’s all lain bare, in heart-on-sleeve, cheek-cracking glory . . . There are some hot, tense moments in ‘Defiance’ that will have both Team Christophe and Team Graves cheering (and squealing!).

There’s only one book left in the ‘Strange Angels’ series (‘Reckoning’, coming out November this year!) so it should come as no surprise that ‘Defiance’ ends on a cliff-hanger. Though I don’t know that it’s an overly steep cliff . . . fans should be anticipating this curve-ball, but will still be rabid to know how it impacts the finale.

Sorry if that’s frustratingly cryptic!

‘Defiance’ is a wonderful lead into what I am sure will be one hell of an explosively wonderful finale in Lil St. Crow’s ‘Strange Angels’ series. Dru is coming into her own; she is embracing the lies of her past and the violence in her future. Fantastic!

5/5

'Jealousy' Strange Angels #3 by Lili St CROW

Received from the publisher

From the BLURB:

Love is a battlefield.

Just when Dru thought she was safe, everything exploded her face. Her mom and dad are long gone, her protectors Graves and Christophe kinda want to rip each other's throats out, and a four-hundred-year-old nosferat named Sergej won't stop hunting her until his bloodthirsty army of suckers has torn her to shreds.

Dru's finally made it to the Schola Prima - the Real Deal djamphir training facility and home of the Order - and life is about to get even more Real World. There's a brand new svetocha in town - a readheaded vixen named Anna who's got the Order wrapped around her pretty little finger, and who'd rather kill Dru than share the spotlight. Turns out Dru's got something Anna wants. And his name just happens to be Christophe Reynard.

This is the third book in Lili St. Crow’s ‘Strange Angels’ series.

‘Jealousy’ picks up pretty much where ‘Betrayals’ left off. Dru and her band of merry men; Graves, Dibs, Benjamin and Ash have made it to Schola Prima. Prima is the main school training facility for wulfen and djamphir. Schola Prima also happens to be where the only other svetocha, Lady Anna, resides. But now with Dru at Prima, there are two svetocha... and Anna seems to think that two is a crowd.

Anna is a great villainess, mostly because she’s the exact opposite to Dru. Anna is beautiful and coquettish and the epitome of femininity. Anna revels in being the only woman amongst supernatural men, and she especially adores being a sacred svetocha. Dru, on the other hand, is more concerned with packing a punch than chipping a nail – so she and Anna make great adversaries. It’s a case of Anna’s feminine wiles versus Dru’s blunt force, and it makes a wonderful challenge;

Anna leaned against the open door, just like an illustration in a fashion magazine. Perfect, poreless, and with a sweetly poisonous smile. Another nasty, tiny little thought struggled in the back of my head, then drowned in the need to find a bathroom really, really quick.
“What?” As in, What do you want now?
“Welcome to the Schola Prima, sister.” Her glossy mouth quirked up at one corner, a half-smile that held no warmth. “We’re going to be great friends.”

‘Jealousy’ sees the ‘Strange Angels’ universe grow and expand as Dru is given a first-hand peek into ‘The Order’ who rule the supernatural underworld. A world that Anna currently oversees, and could one day pass to Dru’s leadership. There’s a lot more world-building in ‘Jealousy’ and it makes for fascinating reading.

‘Jealousy’ is also about Dru growing up and learning some new life lessons. In her previous life with her father she was always on the run and on the hunt for what goes bump in the night. In ‘Betrayals’ she was slowly unlearning all the training that got her father killed and put her in danger. In ‘Jealousy’ Dru is learning to trust those around her and is discovering that she’s not as alone as she once thought she was. It’s an uplifting message and a fascinating character progression for our girl Dru.

Going hand-in-hand with Dru’s revelations and realisations is the development of her relationship with the two ‘men’ in her life; Graves and Christophe. I don’t want to give anything away, but Lili St Crow is doing a masterful job at teasing out these two characters and their standing in Dru’s life. As much as the novel is about Anna’s ruthlessness and Dru understanding ‘The Order’, it’s also about her budding relationship with these two men – the most important men in her life since her father. I am as torn about Christophe and Graves as Dru seems to be, I love them both and what they bring out in Dru!

‘Jealousy’ is a wonderful read. Fast-paced, action-packed and with sharper edges and a more nitty-gritty storyline than the YA urban fantasy genre has seen recently. But be warned – ‘Jealousy’ ends on a Grand-Canyon-sized cliff-hanger. When you read the last page your blood will race, your heart will be in your throat and your skin will prickle with impatience for the 4th ‘Strange Angels’ book... Unfortunately, you’ll have to wait until 2011 to find out what happens next... damn!

5/5

'Betrayals' Strange Angels #2 by Lili St CROW

From the BLURB:

She's no angel . . .

Poor Dru Anderson. Her parents are long gone, her best friend is a werewolf, and she's just learned that the blood flowing through her veins isn't entirely human. (So what else is new?)

Now Dru is stuck at a secret New England Schola for other teens like her, and there's a big problem - she's the only girl in the place. A school full of cute boys wouldn't be so bad, but Dru's killer instinct says that one of them wants her dead. And with all eyes on her, discovering a traitor within the Order could mean a lot more than social suicide. . .

Can Dru survive long enough to find out who has betrayed her trust - and maybe even her heart?

This is the second book in Lili St. Crow’s YA series, ‘Strange Angels’.

Lillith Saintcrow writes the dark Urban Fantasy series’ ‘Dante Valentine’ and ‘Jill Kismet’. And I’m happy that the murky undertones that make those successful serials so addictive have translated into her YA books.

Dru is still reeling from the events of ‘Strange Angels’ in which she fought her Zombie father, discovered she’s half-vampire and a rare ‘Svetocha’ whom a vampire named Sergej Gogol is hell-bent on killing. Now she and her wulfen friend, Graves, are at the Schola to learn their training. The Schola is full of delinquent djamphir and unstable wulfen – all teenage boys, with Dru the only girl. Heaven?... more like Hell!
Adding to her troubles is Christophe, the mysterious vampire who saved her and Graves at the end of ‘Strange Angels’ but is now sneaking into her window at night and dropping hints about her mother’s past.
And on top of all this, Dru is waiting to ‘bloom’ – for her vampiric powers to kick-in and her real training to begin.

Dru is not your regular teenage heroine. She’s rough around the edges; a jeans and T-shirt kinda gal who fights dirty, packs a punch and speaks her mind. She is brilliant! I think she’s a protagonist for teenagers to admire because she’s so imperfect. Dru is impulsive, mulish and wonderful to read.

A lot of the story is Dru just trying to cope. Trying to cope with her parent’s death, her impending ‘blooming’ of supernatural powers and the weight of responsibility that comes with being Svetocha. Dru isn’t your typical heroine for just those reasons – she was in the wrong place, at the wrong time and is trying to limit the fall-out. It makes her very relatable, despite her extreme circumstances; she’s still ultimately a teenager just trying to get through the day. I like that she’s more concerned with her right-hook than her looks, and that she doesn’t take crap from anybody – she’s willing to go toe-to-toe with the unstable boys at Schola and prove herself capable. She’s a YA heroine to admire and inspire, and I love her!

I also love the boys that hover on the periphery of Dru’s life; Christophe and Graves. Both are a little mysterious in this book, for different reasons. Graves is letting his wulfen emotions run rampant where Dru is concerned, and growling at anyone who looks at her funny. Christophe is tall, dark and heavy on mysterious – sneaking into Dru’s window at night and talking endlessly about her ‘potential’. Some big hints are dropped about Christophe in this book, whetting my appetite for future books.

“Hello, Dru.” His mouth curled up in a grin. I had forgotten how the planes and angles of his face all worked together, making him not handsome but just... right. How his eyebrows slanted up a little, and how his shaggy haircut looked expensive and relaxed all at once.
“Have you been a good girl? Your guardian angels wants to know.”

Also introduced in this book is a new, interesting character called Lady Anna - the only other Svetocha Dru has ever met. Anna is everything Dru doesn’t think she can be – beautiful, confident and she has all the Schola men wrapped around her little finger. This is one mysterious lady, and I have a feeling she’s going to play a big part in upcoming books.

This is a great YA Urban Fantasy series – it’s dark and hard-edged, a more sinister read for a younger audience who aren’t impressed by the genre’s cookie-cutter counterparts. If you like Richelle Mead’s ‘Vampire Academy’ then this series is for you.

5/5