Demon Trappers: Forgiven, Jana Oliver review

Spoiler Free
I can't tell you how much of a relief it was to finally be going in blind on this series.
I'd already read the first two books, quite a while ago too. And only recently have a brought the third installment.
I don't know what possessed me to wait such a damned long time. This genre of book is one of my all time favourites!
Demons, Lucifer, short tempered teens. Yay!

Happily, I'm not in any way disappointed with Forbidden.
I was worried I would find this book lacking somewhat, because I already knew what was coming and the tones of each of the first two books.

The one thing that keeps nagging at me though, is that, the fourth book it set up to appear not nearly as connected with Demons than the first three.
That's what it struck me that the Demons had never been the main plot point like I had originally assumed.
Usually the disaster happens while we're with the characters, but in Jana Oliver's world, Demons have been alive and kicking for the same amount of time we have, it's always when a character -mainly Master Stewart- talks about past Demon Trapper adventures that I'm reminded that for everyone else, it isn't a shock. Only to us a the reader as we're trying to pull this world together in our minds.

I do have to say that I was hoping for a little better of a showdown with Simon.
He's mentioned once or twice, nowhere near the amount of presence he had in the first two.

By the end of this novel, I feel like Riley Blackthorn has really come into her own, and grown into an adult.
She's suffered so much in such a short amount of time, she has no way of retaining that innocence from when we first met her, and is forced to come accustomed to the darkness the world can sometimes thrust down upon you.

We see a lot more into the background of Denver Beck in this installment, and I'm grateful for that. I find him to be such an interesting character, and I really can't wait to read how Riley fits into all that, now certain things he had hoped stayed buried are coming back to haunt him.

Again I have to comment on the dialogue. It's just stellar. Some of Riley's lines had me out-loud laughing.
The only downside I can find with the book, or the series in general so far, is that there are quite a few typos. But that's not something that would bring down my opinion of a book. It's just one of those things.

Yes, I loved it.
Yes, I would recommend the series.
And yes, I would totally read all the books over again.
4 stars from me.

Demon Trappers: Forbidden, Jana Oliver review

This doesn't happen that often, but I found myself liking this installment more than the first one in this series.
Forbidden, continues on directly from where we leave off in Forsaken, Simon is healing, Beck is still an asshat, and Riley is on the search for her dad and the person who reanimated him.
Add on top of that, Riley is trying to figure out the details of the deal she made with Heaven.

Again, Riley Blackthorne goes through it a bit. It seems the girl can't catch a break. Though she thinks she does when her and Ori start becoming closer.
It's just one thing after another that seems to go from bad to worse for Riley.

 The whole thing with the Demon Hunters coming to town really piqued my interest.
We hear what the Trappers think of them throughout the books, and then we finally get to see a slice of what they're like, though because they only pay a small part, I'm hoping they'll be more involved in the next book, 'Forgiven'.

Riley and Beck's friendship is strung pretty tight throughout the whole novel, and at the very end, it seems to snap.

I said in my review of the first book that the language and dialogue was spot on, and it's exactly the same this time around.
Every single conversation and situation, and the characters reactions to those situations seem so real and that is one of the things I love most about this author and series so far.
Nothing is too far-fetched and I feel like I would do exactly the same in the majority of the scenarios that Riley finds herself in.

Simon.. was an asshat.
Beck.. he pushed Riley to far.
Ori.. I knew was trouble from the start (only because I've read the book before).

I'm still rotting for her and Beck though, I really like the idea of them as a couple, though neither have them have admitted it to themselves.

I've finally caught up with what I had already read last year, and when I finished this book, I found myself asking, 'Why the hell did it take me this long to buy the next book' especially with the way it ended.
I'm so happy that I'm going into the next book blind, maybe my review of it will be different because I'll be reading it for the first time.

Like its predecessor, I'm giving this book 4 stars.
This is a series that I know I will enjoy reading and rereading. It's just such an interested concept, filled with colourful characters that you can really relate to. 

Forsaken, Jana Oliver book review

This is now my second time reading this book, and I have to say that I think I actually ended up enjoying and appreciating a lot more this time round.

Forsaken, is the first installment of 'The Demon Trappers' and I have to say what a brilliant start it is.
This whole idea of demons existing and are common knowledge, and their being a 'Guild', it all makes for a really cool read.

I admit there isn't much 'world building' as such, but the book doesn't suffer because it. You're so consumed with what's happening with the main character Riley Blackthorn, that you don't really give a damn about anybody else, or the rest of the world for that fact.

The language and dialogue is spot on and sounds true to what I imagine.
As I've said before, I hate books that water down their language, even though we know teenagers do swear.

I will say that I do actually like dual narrative and Riley and Beck.
It keeps things fresh, and the two are both similar and different at the same time.
I like Beck though, he's my type of character... slightly damaged yet cool.
I quite like people with short tempers, and this book supplies that in bucket loads!

Poor Riley seemed to go through such a bad lot in a very short amount of time, and even though I knew what was going to happen next, I was still always rooting for things for turn around for her. She is a beautifully written character, very realistic and relate-able and she has flaws too.

Once I had finished this book, I tried to think back to what the main plot actually was, and the question actually stumped a little. Is there one? There is a bunch of smaller plot points to be followed up in later novels, but as for a big main one, you find out the same time that Riley does, and even then it's not until one of the last couple of pages. I kind of liked that though, it gives you a chance to really get a feel for the characters and their situations and surroundings.

I'm definitely looking forward to starting the next one, 'Forbidden' even though I've read that one too, but I feel more excited this time around.
I give this book 4 stars!

Casual Curls Hair Tutorial

So I’ve gone and uploaded a hair tutorial video on my YouTube channel.
I've only done one before this, so I do hope it is easy to follow and that I'm not a complete bumbling idiot.

This is my go to hairstyle for occasions and events that need just that little more than just your normal hairstyle.

I would say it's perfect for dates, dinner parties, BBQ, that kind of thing.
But then you can also change it up a bit and do a lot of different things to make it more elegant or casual.

It's a very diverse hairstyle that really doesn't take much effort or time at all.

TBR Jar

This picture right here is of my recently filled To Be Read jar.
I've been wanting to make one for a while but I just never got round to it..
Then on a trip back from an IKEA where I bought this little jar, I thought what better way to use it than for my much desired TBR Jar.

It took me over an hour to write down all the names of the books that I haven't yet read on my shelves, which is way over 100 by the way, and then cut them all out.
I think I lost a couple of them on the way too, but alas, I'm sure I'll read whatever books they were eventually.

The books I've pulled out so far are:

1. Maximum Rise: The Angel Experiment by James Patterson - fifty pages in.
2. Forsaken by Jana Oliver - halfway through.
3. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - not yet started

Which are all kind of big books, I'm especially daunted starting the LotR one,

and...

1. Dash and Lily's Book of Dares - completed, review here.