GoodReads - Demon Eyes

As you guys are probably aware if you have been following my blog for a while, I have a tiny crush on the lead in this series. But I'm not going to talk much about that - I shouldn't, really. Oh well... let's try without going all gushy over a possible fictional husband material.

Demon Eyes is the second book in the series, about a war on two witch families and Braden is caught in the middle of it. And while the war is on a tenderhook ceasefire, Braden is trying to get to grips over the events of the last book. Braden thought he destroyed a powerful demon. So why does Braden keep seeing him? Why does he keep seeing visions of him? Why is he hearing a cold winter voice inside his head? And when girls begin to disappear, Braden realise that the war between the two families is going to get suddenly worse, and only him and his powerful Witch Eyes can stop it from happening... but his Witch Eyes are dangerous. And he could be used as a weapon if he isn't careful...

Now, where to begin? I like this series. A lot. So my views on this is going to be a tad biased, but it is very much a continuation. You need to have read the first book, Witch Eyes, before you can read this as there's no real "This is what happened before". You have to no catch up. You're thrown into the story.

It's very magic driven. There was a lot of twist on magic, the feud and its history, and you have to be on the ball while reading this. It's going away from the normal world and the romantic element of the first story (which was fine with me as Trey, Braden's love interest, never gripped me and I got quite angry with him...), so if you were a fan of these sides of the story, you might feel a bit underwhelmed by it. But I like that it went away from it, though by the end, I was wondering if it was going too far away from it and was focusing solely on magic...

And character development with characters. That was good. Braden and Trey's character development was very good. We saw Braden go very dark and Trey no longer, to me, felt like a mindless robot-soldier. He asked questions and didn't always believe what his mother told him. This is a HUGE step as this was one of the flaws I had with Trey - he never questioned ANYTHING! And in Demon Eyes, he did! At last!

The plot - right, this is where I'm going to get a little unstuck. While the plot was good and we had magic and twists and moments where Scott Tracey pulled the rug from under you, there were times that I felt like this book was written to set up book 3, Phantom Eyes. Questions were asked, but answers... no where to be seen.

But saying that, I really enjoy this series and so, bring Phantom Eyes on! Only have to wait till next year. I can wait till then... though that ending... Not sure if I can get over that twist just yet. And I want answers! I need answers!

GoodRead - Homecoming

As you are probably aware, when I read Scott Tracey's debut novel, Witch Eyes, I kinda went gaga over the book. I LOVED IT! So, when I discovered that he wrote a prequel, Homecoming, I got excited, downloaded it on my kindle... and forgot to read it for several months.

I know. I do this ALL the time!!!

So, what is Homecoming about? Set a year before the events of Witch Eyes, all Braden wants is to have a friend or two. But being a witch in training that has to be homeschooled... well... that makes having friends hard. So, what's the worse that could happen if Braden uses a small charisma spell?

Now, seeing as I got a bit of a crush on Braden, of course I'm going to love thiss short story. I loved how the voice was still the same and to see more of his interaction with his uncle as we only got a few chapters of Uncle John in Witch Eyes.

The story was a short, fun story to get to know Braden before you dived headfirst into the world of Witch Eyes (and there are the opening chapters in this - as it clearly states on the cover).

I suppose I better say the bad thing. Oh, I have a bad thing. This isn't the author's fault. I paid £1.33 for this story and I am a huge person, as you know, about getting what you paid for. I love this series so I am happy to pay this, but surely, it could have been a tad cheaper... just a wee bit cheaper.

But I like this book and it tires me over till Demon Eyes, the sequel of Witch Eyes, comes out (just seen it was out on the first of this month)... so, when I rear in gear and read it!

GoodRead - Witch Eyes

I have no idea how I came across this book. It was either Emma from Book Angel Booktopia or Vivienne from Serendipity Review. I read the synopsis on their blog and instantly bought it on my kindle. Then it took... er... several months to actually get round to reading it.

So, the story. Braden is a witch with the power to see the world as it truly is with his witch eyes. To see explosions of colours, of memories, and of spells. But with his witch eyes, he must pay a high price. When he sees a vision that puts his uncle in danger, Braden runs away to Belle Dam to protect him. Only to find himself in the middle of feud between two warring witch dynasties. But as the two heads of the families, Catherine Lansing and Jason Thorpe, are try desperately to use Braden's powers, Braden decides that he won't be pawn in their war.

But Belle Dam has secrets, lies and not everyone's motives are as clear cut as their first seem. Braden better watch his step...

I have a crush on the lead, Braden. I do! I want him to be my Fictional Boyfriend/Husband (so to all my blogger pals, BACK OFF!). He was just a character I instant connected with and rooted on. And when you fall in love with the lead of a novel as fast as I did (within the first few chapters), you know you're going to love the book. And to get that feeling is very rare for me...

As I stated in a earlier paragraph, not everything is a clear cut as their first seem. So, when you read this, you must keep that in mind as, often, the rug will be pulled out from under you. So, you have to hold on to your hats.

Now, this book isn't perfect. Let me say this now before I go "Oh, Braden! He's a dream-boat!". First, the love interest, Trey. I have real trouble trying to figure him out and to understand why Braden has fallen for him. He kept changing. One moment, he was a nice guy. The next, he was a mindless soldier. It was impossible for me to warm to him. The second was the twists. There were several, but two were revealed in the synopsis. WHY?! Why did the publisher do that?!

I wish I read Witch Eyes sooner. And I can't wait till October for the sequel, Demon Eyes (have you seen the cover?!) is released. Not sure how I can cope till then, but there's a prequel, Homecoming, that I plan to read in the coming months...