Afterlife (Afterlife Saga, #1) (2024)

I gave this book a more than fair shot. I read 70% of it before I finally gave it up for lost. And 70% of a nearly 800 page book is a LOT.

It. Was. So. Slow. I kept waiting and waiting for something to happen--just a little further, surely we're almost there . . . but NO. Never.

By the time the two main characters finally started to make definitive progress, it was either MEH or it had taken so long to get there that I just didn't care anymore. I'm not sure which it was, but either way I threw in the towel.

Don't make the same mistake I did. I assumed that b/c of the incredibly high rating from a decent number of readers that eventually it was going to get better.

Never happens.

And I'm sorry, but if I read 560 pages of a book and it's still nothing special, then more idiot am I if I read the remaining 240ish pages blindly believing it will be worth it.

ALSO there were grammar issues. Not enough to be horrifying, but enough to distract and annoy.

Also, also, there has been speculation that many of the reviews posted here on Goodreads were created by sock puppet accounts, an accusation I'm inclined to believe b/c of the number of dislikes my Amazon review received.

Some authors encourage their fans or street teams to stalk Amazon reviews and vote any negative reviews as being unhelpful, a practice I find deplorable, but one I've encountered numerous times . . .

In this case, not only was it the most disproportionate reaction one of my reviews has ever received, but the gap between this review and the next most disliked is enormous.

SO. Someone is either posting fake reviews and using those fake accounts to undermine legitimate reviews, and/or encouraging friends, family, and fans to do it.

Personally, I don't care which one it is. I vote NO.

Update - 9/14/15:

It appears the page count has been updated since my attempt to read this book several years ago. Amazon is now listing it as having 436 pages.

Regardless of how many pages AFTERLIFE does or doesn't have, I can attest that it felt like 800 pages, so make of that what you will.

****Warning**** This review contains offensive language if you're offended by profanity.

I made it a little over half way. Which is longer than most of the books I have been reading lately. So, I think that I gave it a fair chance before giving up on this horrible...idea.

This drags....on...and on...and on. It is so very, very boring. I don't know that you ever figure out what the hell is going on in this book, and like Keira, I found myself just not giving a f*ck anymore.

Keira was PATHETIC. What a waste of character. There is so much that could have been done with her. But she is left an empty shell of a woman, who lusts after a man for-- from what I can gather, nothing more than his looks. She was dull, timid, insecure, so f*cking clumsy, and stupid.
Then she'd go and do sh*t completely out of character just so Hudson could continue on this train wreck of a so called "book".
She was not witty at all. All of her "come backs" were lame, and just earned eye rolls.
There's no development for Mr. Dominic Draven. The only thing you get an understanding of him is that he is an overbearing, presumptuous, controlling, stalking, asshole. Wow, how attractive. He also had a thing for talking in a bunch of random languages as if that was meant to impress you.
And how was he attracted to Keira, exactly? Because she was too stupid to live.

There was no development to the romance. Basically, Keira has some unnatural obsession with Dominic that is completely one sided. Then all of a sudden Mr. I can't give you straight answers without any actual reason other than "You're not ready" decides he's going to kiss her one time, while she's in a state, thinking she is being held against her will, and she's like, you know what? Sex sounds like a great idea, even though I don't know if I can trust you, since you lie to me over and over and over again, while treating me like I'm less than the sh*t on your friend of a friend's shoe! I am so confused as to how this book got decent reviews! This thing was terrible.

I was annoyed with how the American characters in this book did not sound American at all. They sounded just as English as Keira. This really ruffled my feathers. Why bother making this take place in a country that you have no idea how to show a reflection of?

From the beginning, and throughout the middle of the book, you are overburdened with useless information.
I don't give a sh*t about her clothes. I don't give a sh*t about her bathroom. I don't give a sh*t about this stupid clearing that has absolutely nothing to do with anything. I don't give a sh*t about all these rooms she will never set foot in again. I don't give a sh*t about these dreams that amounted to nothing. I don't give a sh*t about her grandfather and his working habits. I don't give a sh*t about her f*cking scars that kept being brought up but not explained until I was too far gone to care about it anymore.

So, honestly, this bullsh*t about her just dismissing what she sees and experiences got old REALLY fast.

The stereotyping did not help this book at all. Your idea of Gothic was terrible. Everything was described as gothic...just yuck. If you don't know what you're talking about...just don't.

Plot holes out the ass. The plot was, actually, pretty non-existent. Everything in this book was disjointed and made absolutely no sense. So much time was spent telling you about useless sh*t. Any time the book seemed to pick up and get interesting, it would plummet back into boring, dragging, bullsh*t. Hudson was seriously in need of putting a lid on her senseless rambling. This book was boring enough as it was. The writing was horrible. Just absolutely terrible. Honestly, why was the majority of this "book" spent on Keira's insecure monologue? There is NOTHING attractive about that. Nothing! Stop telling these f*cking girls you write for that they will get these incredibly sexy people by being horribly plain, insecure, nitwits.

Let's think about this for a second: If a friend thinks you are in danger, they keep you in the dark while trying to warn you. I don't know what kind of "friends" Hudson keeps, but that is not how a friend would behave.

I was such a fan of how many times Kiera conveniently fell into someone's arms. f*cking ridiculous.

I came to the realization that Hudson didn't know the meaning of a lot of words she was using. "Complicated" was one. "Racist" was another. I hate to break it to you, but "hom*o" refers to being gay...Being gay has nothing to do with your skin colour. Since when did royal mean attractive? Don't know if you've looked at the English royals lately...but they're butt ugly.

I just...yeah. Yuck. Absolutely do not recommend to anyone.

Dear, sweet merciful Jesus, where even to begin, to start untangling the catastrophic mess that is this novel.

Let's start by saying that it's long.....too long for the wrong reasons. From page one, the author launches herself in filling the pages with descriptions of Kiera's surroundings, down to the details of her every step. I wouldn't mind, if it wasn't for the fact that those bits of information weren't important to the story. Yet, when she reaches something that could get you emotionally invested in the novel, like conversations with supporting characters, she simply glosses over them in a way that gave me a headache, and made me think, "What's the point of all this?"

If you manage to get yourself further then chapter one, you will be launched in a world filled with contradictions, and scene changes that will give you whiplash. I could have ignored even that, and soldiered on, if i didn't slam head first in to a wall of unoriginal content so extreme, it bordered on fan fiction.

The contradictions made little sense all together and made it extremely difficult to follow the story. At first Kiera loves her sister's house, next thing she say's it's creepy. She moved to give herself a 'new life' away from her past, and her scars, describing how people take extra care around her because she is emotionally fragile. But, the emotional fragility is nowhere in sight, as her mind is focused on gossip and trivial nonsense, like outfits and clubbing. When it focuses on something else it's on a guy. Kiera in one chapter loves hiking and the outdoors, in the next chapter is a clumsy person that isn't focused on physical exertion. She is this fragile flower, and an introvert that also leaves her phone number to the first person she meets, and goes clubbing. She is supposed to be shy and socially awkward, but then gets a job working nights as a waitress in the hottest club in town. See where i am going with this? How the hell am i supposed to know who is this character, if the author herself had no idea???

She is supposed to be a young woman, but from her conversation you get the feeling that she is twelve.This happened because the author aimed for naivety, but overshot, and got stupidity. Small example. - She meets some girls at college, escorted by the most popular guy around, that is giving her his undivided attention, and the girls are giving her an evil eye. She says that she doesn't understand why. The author wanted to portray that her character is above the usual social and gender grouping, and the conflicts that come with them, as an individual that is so blissfully selfless and unaware of her physical appearance. Then a few chapter's later, she describes Cassie as being hormonaly overcharged, as she ridicules her 'slu*tty' behavior. So, she understands, but is just playing stupid. All for our benefit? Gee, thanks...you shouldn't have....

The entire novel was in a dire need of an editor. So dire, it was on the floor, thrashing, bleeding and screeching like a stuck pig for one. The scene changes were so rapid and unconnected you had to do a double take sometimes, just to know where you are. One sentence, she is in the club, working, trying not to look at the Dravens, followed by:“AGAIN! With my imagination, I should write horror stories for a living!” The sentence after that, she is choosing an outfit from her closet, at home.

The whole: "I should write horror stories for a living".., is a backhanded compliment from the author to herself, for writing this novel...in case you missed it.

There are further things that were annoying, but if i write them all down, my review will have the same page count as the novel. So let's just stick to why i gave up...Kindly note that i would have given up sooner, if i didn't have to shovel trough a mountain of furniture descriptions to get to the key points of the story. This is a Twilight, Vampire Diaries hybrid, without even an attempt of concealment of the key elements of the two. All the hype about the Dravens- seen it all before as all the hype about the Cullens in twilight. All the awe, all the gossip. The black raven stalking the heroine? Well hello Damon Salvatore. The whole cheesy I'm-there-but-not-there-when-you-suddenly-wake-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night-to-watch-you-sleep thing(Seriously? I mean, seriously?), meeting on a beautiful meadow in the mountain crap, hello Edward, where the hell have you been lately?

Overall, the story is a catastrophe, it's not thought trough, it's juvenile and completely over the top. The behavior and actions of the leading character is impossible to follow with your IQ still intact. I guess that there is an audience for this somewhere out there, but i am happy to report that i am not one of them.

The rating for this book is very high, and pushed me into reading it. The only thing i can say was thank god it was given to me and i didn't spend actual money on it. I would have been mourning it otherwise.

I Need book 2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I Have just read a 500 something bloody book in a day!!!! i have cooked with said book in my hand changed my kids nappy and ironed

The story follows Kaz as she is running from her past in England, she arrives in the states to the complete glee of her sister to start over.

She Gets a job working as a waitress at a nightclub, and soon starts to fall deeply for her boss, her eyes are opened as much is revealed with some brilliant twists thrown in.

I have read some reviews that this book goes on a bit before we get to the juicy bit (has no one heard of foreplay???) Anyway when it finally does happen (and oh does it) it comes with a few scary truths that the whole book beforehand had let us glimpse at giving us time and room to make our own predictions before the big reveal.

There where some hilarious moments, i was howling with laughter, i love characters with dry wit...

“Well, how was I supposed to know you had your very own bat cave? And considering it didn't look like a bloody door and I've had a knock to the head, maybe you could cut me some slack?”

But along with the funny we see the heart-wrenching and sometimes down right scary parts too...

I love it when i find a book series i think i am going to love this book ticks all the boxes!!!

Some of the supernaturals im not so keen on, but the book still rocks.

I read the author was Dyslexic and i have to say she wrote one amazing book! and a huge thank you for doing so.....

WIN A SIGNED PAPERBACK COPY OF AFTERLIFE NOW OVER AT PERUSING PRINCESSES - ENDS 2ND SEPTEMBER 2013. Mobile/Cell phone friendly link: http://bit.ly/13QgEpV

It's official, I totally get the term 'Crave the Drave' now, he has just jumped into my top ten book boyfriend list, OMG ladies, ladies, ladies, if you like your boys on the paranormal side, this boy has the lot! The good, the bad but definitely not the ugly.

This book is an investment and I'm not just talking about the cost of purchasing it, which I hasten to add is an absolute bargain for the kindle considering how long this book is, and yes, I am talking about the length here, it's a marathon read and one that if I'm honest, starts a little on the slow side. However, please don't let that deter you because this book is absolutely BLOODY Brilliant.

Keira the heroine, tells this tale in first person and it starts with her emigration from Northern England to New England in the United States, to be reunited with her doting older Sister who has married a lovely American gentleman called Frank. It is apparent from the offset that Kiera has gone through a terrifying ordeal and this move is the start of a new chapter in her life. Her arms are covered in scars, she is haunted by nightmares but all the while her character is incredibly elusive with all the shady details. Regardless of this little fact, her character is incredibly likeable. I warmed to her quickly as I like strong female leads, and she proved her worth countless times throughout this book.

Kiera makes a friend in the local gossip queen who is also a goth, who introduces her to an extensive nightclub called Afterlife. Run by the incredibly beautiful and wealthy DRAVEN family. Upon her first night at the club, she spots Dominic DRAVEN as he enters the club in what is traditionally known as his once in an annual visit, however she can't help but feel she has seen him before - in her dreams!

Frank, her Brother-in-law has connections to the club as he supplies the security and manages to get Keira a barmaid job there. Slowly, Kiera starts to question her sanity as reality and dreams start to intertwine and her alarming obsession with Dominic becomes overwhelming, especially when she is then asked to work the VIP area.

From here on out, an interesting story unfolds and Kiera comes to realise that not everything is as it seems at Club Afterlife. Take into the fact that Kiera has a gift of her own since the age of 7, although this more of a curse, she can't help but feel that this is actually a place where she belongs. However, as events take an epic turn, Dominic has no choice to give in to the pull that he feels towards Kiera, and as it turns out, she is so much more than the broken girl from England, she just doesn't know it yet.

Without giving anything more away, this book is written beautifully, the words flow effortlessly and the authors gift of pulling you into each scene is breathtaking. Her imagery is vivid and although a little wordy, I felt so engrossed in the story and due to the length, it gave all the characters room to grow and connect with the reader. By the end I was grinning like a teenager, holding onto my seat for dear life, and begrudging the fact that I read the first chapter of book 2 but am yet to have it in my hands. I cannot wait for the sequel, this is definitely a saga worth investing in if you love urban fiction. Great, Great read.

This was my first book by this author, she is now an auto-buy, and I just bought the second book. See my review on Amazon. I loved this book, I could not figure out what the hell type of creatures we were dealing with till it was revealed, so that was cool. I loved all the characters and the world and the powers that are given to Dominick Dravin are all kinds of bad ass!! I look forward to see what comes at them next.

DNF at 34%

It takes the main characters way too long to really meet and when they do it's a snooze fest.

Trying to read this book was like trying to push against quicksand. The only good thing about the book is reading two paragraphs or a page puts me to sleep on nights where I am struggling (I know sounds harsh but it is the truth), for that reason it's staying on my kindle.

So glad I purchased this for 99p and not more, although wish I hadn't.

My Good Reads group poll was rigged so this book book would win book of the month. I believe this was for the sole purpose of selling more books. I will not be reading it out of principle and if I could have returned the book I would have.

I have total respect for anybody that can finish a novel. I really do. I have tried enough times and cannot finish a damn thing, so hats of to those of you that can. I have read all 3 of the instalments so far in The Afterlife Saga, and whilst i think that the writer has good ideas and potential she desperately needs an editor on board now to refine her storytelling, structure and characterisation. This felt like a draft. She clearly wants us all to fully realise her setting but we are bombarded with so much description that the pace isn't right. I had to push through to finish. A professional editor could really take this to the next level.

Also the two central characters of Keira and Draven don't feel believable to me at all, and neither does their love for one another. At times their actions are cringeworthy. I am very intrigued by some of the secondary characters though, more so than the leads.

Wow, just where the heck do you start for this book. It's one of those books, it slow burns into your head and leaves you reeling and your senses alive. It's so evocatively visual and captivatingly written I am so glad I read this book.

Draven is just one cool alpha male, his strength and charisma just drip feed off the pages and Keira is a great heroine, feisty but also damaged, she leaves you quite emotional in places. These two are a great pairing.

All the characters in this book have a purpose, there is no inconsequential waffle, everything means something as do the actions of the characters as you steam you way through this riveting read building to a great ending well that isn't an ending, it leads you straight into book 2 and me I cant wait to lose myself for another day or so devouring the next book (yes I know I won't be able to put it down).

I started reading this book because of all these great reviews here on GR...I have to say that I am not sure I understand why so many people love this book...I mean really, there are people saying that this book changed their lives...or that they only started reading because of this book....I am sorry but just didn't see it....I couldn't get past the amount of exclamation points that were in this book, and all the CAPITALIZATION of sh*t that didn't need to be capitalized....Ohh and the fact that even when someone was asking a question like "WHAT!!!" the author didn't use a question mark, drove me crazy....ohh and the sex scenes need some major work.

There were a few good parts to this book that made me smile, but after 82% (and I am sorry but that is a lot for this book) I had to give up. The story line was extremely slow, and most of the time it was either describing everything in DETAIL, or it was the main female character talking to herself about how she was broken (I don't mind a bit of shyness but she needed to buy herself some balls...even ovaries would give her more of a spine). I think some of this book could have been trimmed down so that the plot could be followed easier. In the end this book didn't work for me, but to each his own. But for my friends here on GR I don't recommend this book.

It took me quite a while to get into this book as its a really slow starting book.
The first two thirds of the book dragged a bit and I felt myself giving up because of this but I was told by friends to persevere as its a really good book... definitely glad I did!
For how slow the beginning is, the last third of the book is absolutely amazing.
would definitely recommend this one, I'm now starting book 2

1 DNF Star

Super slow and bland, and I'm really not vibing with this writing. Didn't like any of the characters and the heroine is just too naive and weak for me, and based on reviews for other books in the series, she doesn't get any better, so I'm out.

Safety: didn't get that far, but based on reviews for the next books, I don't know if I would consider it safe.

Perseverance took a whole new meaning when I was reading this.

Summary of why I gave this a one-star rating.

1) The plot itself was just really flawed and not engaging at all, to the point where I didn't want to finish reading but forced myself so I could write a review based on the whole of the book. It was confusing at times, as in you could not see the plot going anywhere, it just sort of floated around. The discovery of who Draven was was left really late in the book, despite all the signs being there. The story about Keira/Catherine escaping from a stalker who kidnapped her felt like it was thrown in at the last minute and it wasn't properly embedded in the plot. The whole idea that Keira could see weird demons and stuff was just confusing and didn't add to the story.

2) Apart from a few, the characters were not interesting at all. Let's start with the MC. She is not someone you can fall in love with and follow for over 400 pages. I found Keira was bland, at times quite winy, and her personality was very cliche and honestly was contradicting herself. One moment she'll be like a badass telling Draven to shove it, the next she'll be weeping and crying and being very annoying.
Draven... your typical bad, brooding guy full of mystery and enigma that intrigues everyone. Apart from the readers, that is. I found Draven to be an annoying and possessive asshole that was actually just really mean to Keira, also reading so long about Draven's 'secret' when we could all guess what it was was just frustrating. He also repeats a lot of stuff.
The other characters were just meh. They were sort of there, without adding anything major, and didn't add to the story. That just made it boring and predictable.

3) The actual writing was not so good. It was by no means compelling or engaging. This is not even to mention the multiple technical errors involving weird punctuation and bracketing. I mean, these are small things, sure, but they're noticeable and after a while they start to grate on you.

I mean no hate. This is just my personal opinion!

→1 star

30 new members to a group, who all happened to have JUST joined GR and happened to have all voted for the same BOM. Sounds a little suspicious don't you think....

I was introduced to this world by accidentally reading Transfusion before this one. As a matter of fact, I finished the THREE first books in the Transfusion series before I learned that I have in fact started several years into the future! haha

So instead of continuing with the Transfusion series, I decided to start with the beginning.

And so I started 'Afterlife'.

And I must admit, it's been amazing! Now, I felt that the book started a weeee bit slow. It had a bit of a slow burn to it, a lot of secrets...mystery... what was Kiera's past...? And so forth.
I must admit, I have never really been a fan of these type of books that makes me wait for practically a whole book before it's revealed - but I hung on because I loved Transfusion so much and I really really wanted to read Draven and Kiera's story.

And I must admit, I am glad I did. Because even though it has a slow burn start - it quickly got more and more intriguing! And I could not put it down!!

Stephanie Hudson showed me again, that she is a fantastic author who not only has a brilliant world-building, she creates the most generating, heartbreaking and beautiful scenes. She creates a romance that makes you want to cry of happiness and you can practically FEEL the aches and love. And she creates the most amazing fight scenes. You really do get transported into this world of Demons and Angels and...well..Draven, who is a mix of both - the King himself. And he is truly magnificent! :)

So buckle up! This is gonna be fun! Only 11 more books to go! ;)

And I can't wait!

This is my second read and to be honest it was like the first time, half of the story I completely forgot.

It centres around Keira a 23 years old Liverpudilian who has moved to New England to escape the trauma of her past. Her life is full of horrors which includes nightmares and visions of monsters and this makes her withdrawn and self conscious. However an encounter with the infamous Draven's and in particular Dominic gives her purpose as she slowly puts her life back together with the help of some new friends too.

There really is too much to include in a review as it is over 700 pages. My summary above is less than adequate and as basic as possible. However it includes an ex stalker, angels, demons and a jealous alpha male.

I loved the story but never warmed up to Keira I'm afraid. She cried every other page which was frustrating she spent 3/4 of the book obsessing over Draven and then when she finally got him she was full of self doubt and couldn't believe he wanted her. Hello isn't this what you convinced yourself you both wanted.

I still can't wait to read the full series and find out the whole meaning of the 'chosen one'

Bloody love this book can't believe I haven't read it sooner :-) x

This is going to be a really long review with spoilers. But it’s a really long book and I didn’t know how else to go about it.

So the book starts out new girl in a new town, becoming friends with the locals, and then her first glimpse of the mysterious Dravens, catching the eye of the Dravens, and getting an invite up to the VIP area of the club they own and where they dwell night after night but for a limited time only. This happens much to the disbelief of the locals because “gasp” no one has ever managed to break into the inner circle before. Sound familiar? It reminded me of Twilight which is not a favorite of mine. It even has a similar first sighting when they all walk in to the club together but instead of gossipy teenagers pretending not to pay attention, it was tipsy college kids straining to have a look at them or to be noticed by them. They even have their own table in the cafeteria, oops I mean club. After the initial twilight similarities died it did seem to take its own different turn and I do try to make it past the introductory chapters before I give up on a book. I try to give it a fair shot.

Something very annoying that I noticed right from the start was that this author has a tendency to end an alarming number of sentences with an exclamation point! This over-use of exclamation points mostly applies to Keira during her internal monologues! This makes her seem like a thirteen year old drama queen, not an intelligent and artistic history major in her early twenties! Completely uncalled-for exclamation points are all over the place! I am not exaggerating! Sometimes they turned up at the end of a sentence during an actual conversation and then it just made the characters sound stupid! It was like following a conversation between two extreme idiots!

Keira, the main character who is hiding from her past, was a combination of passive pushover with occasional bursts of integrity and backbone. I can live with that, especially if she improves as the series progresses which I hope will happen because I feel like there is that potential. The past traumatic experience from which she saved herself added depth to her personality and I liked that she had these scars that she hid from the world, not because she was embarrassed but because she didn’t want pity and she was tired of others jumping to conclusions as to what happened. There were also some really good scenes in which she fought back and argued with Dominic Draven when he tried to boss her around. Oh but so many of these were caused by clichéd misunderstandings. He pushed her away so his enemies wouldn’t know how much she meant to him, he had to break her heart to save her, he told her to obey him only because it was for her own good, etc. There were plenty of times that she really held her ground. The problem was that she never really held it for any significant length of time. Sometimes I would find the passivity to just be too much. She was much too forgiving. Sometimes when she walked up to the VIP level of the club she held her head down in shame and I kept thinking, what are you so ashamed of? I think she was supposed to feel ashamed of the way she spoke to Draven – or maybe she thought she wasn’t good enough, as she was just an average girl and he was the boss. I never really figured it out but I think it was supposed to illustrate what a sweet pure-hearted person she was. This irritates me, because there are much better ways to depict kindness and purity of heart than by using submissiveness, passivity and low self-esteem.

Dominic the love interest was your basic asshole with good intentions. He is extremely sexy and dangerous. Being the king he is used to being obeyed and acts really quite spoiled when Keira refuses, especially as her association with him could possibly endanger her life. Their arguments were very intense and enjoyable at times I really did like it when Keira stood her ground. His brother Vincent is also very sexy and dangerous. Their sister Sophia is beautiful but spoiled and she loves Keira. Some of the other side characters were pretty interesting though.

So what it’s all about: Keira moves from England to the United States where her sister lives, in order to get a fresh start and go back to college following a tragic stalking/kidnapping/torture event in her recent past. Her sister’s husband who works in security gets her a job at a local gothic type club called Afterlife. The elusive and mysterious owners of the club only show up once a year and only stay for a few months at most. It becomes apparent that the Dravens and their entourage look at Keira differently than everyone else and it causes all kinds of unwanted eyeballs on her. Turns out, Keira is part of an ancient prophecy which states that she is the “chosen one” basically created to be Dominic Draven’s mate. He has been waiting for her all of his very long life. Of course none of the Dravens or their entourage explains this to Keira. They just stare at her intently and creep her out, even though they are overjoyed that she is finally here. They spend their time at the club looking down at the main club floor below them and just watch people. None of the lower level staff is allowed upstairs. The people in the town are in awe of them or scared of them or both. They own half the town. They are filthy rich. They are a bit of a cliché. They are angels and demons living on earth. Turns out angels and demons need to feed off of the emotional energy created by humans, thus the reason for their club. Dominic is half of one and half of the other and the only one of his kind, making him less likely to take sides and this combined heritage along with his power has made him king. Basically he is the enforcer of rules for all other angels and demons living on earth. They all have a true form, one that they hide from humans – the demon version being varying degrees of terrifying. Keira can see demons in their true form at certain times and has been able to since the age of 7 after a run-in with presumably one of their kind, who helpfully decided to partially prepare Keira for the master she would one day meet.

During a very intense scene in which Keira had to be healed by Draven, she was able to see him in his true form for the first time. He tried to pass it off as a hallucination, because she just isn’t ready for the truth. To me, the only way this makes sense is if her ability to sometimes see them is unknown to Draven and Co. Also, why was it such a big deal anyway if she had already been seeing demons her whole life? I can’t decide if Draven and Co. knew about that or not. However later in the book (a few weeks maybe) he mentions that he knows about her gift of painting the demons away so I don’t know if he found out about it later or if he knew at the time of the hallucination conversation. I have a problem with a book that introduces a specific subject as a big deal but then doesn’t do anything else with it. I also cannot stand it when there is a contradiction of the facts which this might have been, or it just might not have been clarified enough creating what looks like a contradiction of the facts but which might not be really.

This book contains a terribly ill-timed first sex scene. It was such bad timing that it felt abusive a little bit. Keira finds herself in danger as her past torturer learns of her whereabouts as made known to her by a creepy phone call and as she is running away in a blind panic, Draven and Co. naturally stop her from leaving. Rather than doing it in a calming manner and ensuring her of her safety, however; they act like weirdos themselves, leaving Keira feeling like they might possibly be involved, which leads to complete terror on her part. They drug her and she wakes up in a strange bed; fakes sleep, and as soon as they leave she does a runner throughout the estate. She is eventually caught and taken to Draven’s room. He continues acting in a creepy manner. He drops a file folder on his desk and says it’s time for the truth….Catherine. Catherine is her real name and the name she used when she was kidnapped and tortured. What kind of cruel, sarcastic asshole would go about it like that? The file folder contains her case file which he has obtained, but it’s not good enough for him as it was unnecessary for her to give a statement due to an overwhelming amount of evidence. So she relives the whole terrible ordeal and this is followed by the aforementioned sex scene. It’s not comforting at all, Draven acts sort of dominant, shouting out random instructions. Turn around! Look at me! NOW! It seems to me there is just no way Keira would be down for that right at that moment and no man worth an ounce of respect would have instigated it. Or possibly it just seemed like he was yelling because of the exclamation points. There was also a lot of unnecessary information within the sex scene itself. For example there is some clothes-ripping on Draven’s part followed up with an explanation as to why he is ripping her clothes. The scene is told from Keira’s point of view and it was insulting to the reader. I can figure out for myself why he ripped her jeans off. I don’t need an explanation.

I didn’t think that any scene could have been more irritating than that but the after-sex reveal-all conversation gave it a good run for the money. This scene was just dumb. It was basically a Q & A between Draven and Keira. Now he knows her truth and so she demands his. Draven is telling her what he is and what his entourage is and she is acting like what she is hearing is completely unbelievable and guessing wrong about everything he asks her to guess about. I think it was supposed to make her look cute but it made her seem hopelessly unintelligent. He sounded flat and robotic. This conversation included the extremely important clarification from Keira to Draven that she was running because she needed to make sure her family was safe and not because she wanted to run from him. This section also included a very specific reveal from Draven to Keira about every single time he managed to get inside her head and help her through some situation she found herself in. The reader knows this, so it felt like a waste of time. It also included every single time he inhabited the body and mind of someone else in order to watch over (spy on) her, the Doctor, The Shrink, The used car salesman, the guy inside the restaurant, the guy outside the restaurant, the college student, etc. It was like a giant info dump with quotation marks and exclamation points. The wording and dialogue was bad throughout.

I still feel like there might be some elements to this series that I might enjoy. Some plot aspects that haven’t been revealed. We don’t know yet what the entire prophecy is behind the Chosen One. I still want to believe that the series has potential. There is plenty to keep me interested I just feel like this is written badly. I think that Dominic Draven can be redeemed if the author thinks it through a little bit first. I would suggest an editor and I really don’t think this book had one. I just cannot believe anyone would allow such a freakish amount of exclamation points to slide by.

I think the author deserves recognition for including and pointing out the differences in the word choice between someone who is English and someone who is American. For example trainers vs. sneakers; minced beef vs. ground beef, etc. She only missed a few that I noticed and I feel like this is more of an effort than what I normally see. Usually it’s the other way around, I’m reading a book supposedly based in London with a British character and yet it’s all bars and beers and apartments rather than pubs and pints and flats. Possibly written by an American author who didn’t really bother with terminology. I don’t expect the author to get them all but I appreciated the effort because it made the character more believable.

I really liked this. I loved the romance, the fact that I couldn't guess what Draven was, and the secondary characters seemed very real. It was filled with action and steam, and it definitely had a plot. We don't know what she is at the end, I don't think. That has me curious too.

The start was slow. I've requested it from Kindle Unlimited about four times, unable to get into it due to the beginning. It needs editing there badly. However, once it got going, it kept me enthralled. Only other complaint is the end of each chapter. Once or twice with the dramatic ending is fine, but EVERY FREAKING ENDING ending with...
Drama induced phrases.

Just, no more please. The story is good enough to avoid that.

Not a complaint, as I like long stories (though some editing would be nice for streamlining), but on what planet is this 436 pages? I'd hate to read that because the font would be so tiny.

I don't have will or time to read this..didn't capture my attention...

I've been meaning to write a review of this book for awhile because I don't understand why more people haven't read it. Listen - if you want to obsess over grammar and spelling then go find a kid and volunteer to proofread their essays and research papers. Geez! I did not find anything distracting about the grammar or spelling. Who knows, maybe all those errors had been corrected by the time I read it. What I did find was a great paranormal romance story. The female main character was not annoying to me. Does she sometimes make a bad decision? Yes. But if she was perfect in every way then this story would be boring. But it's not. I suppose I found her to be relatable, which is one of the reasons I enjoyed this story. This isn't like reading "Twilight." When she feels she is rejected she doesn't sit around and mope. Instead she dusts herself off and moves on. That takes strength in my opinion. I don't want to give too much away about the actual story, that's what a book description is for. I didn't know this was a series until I finished reading and it made me so happy! I read this book a second time because I felt like I needed to pay better attention to details I may have missed the first time around. But the main reason I read it again was because it was simply a great story that I could dive into.

Also, I rarely read books twice. Almost never.

DNF, much ado about nothing!
Very loooooooong book with nothing happening. A lot of stolen glances... and visiting in dreams, just to talk. Then when they actually talk in real life the hero is a jerk, and the heroine is an insipid star (is star the correct term? He isn't famous beyond the people of the town being fascinated with him) struck girl. Frankly there is no reason why she is star struck at all. The guy looked at her once, in front of everyone. Of course that is reason to loose your sh*t over a man! -_-
I just could not subject myself to anymore of this big, fat nothing happening. Honestly what is up with the reviews for this book? Were they paid people? It shows it to me as highly rated and recommended, but for the life of me I could not figure out why. It just drones on, and on, and on, about nothing!

Omg this book is bloody addictive I have a major crush on Dominic...I was hooked in from the beginning and so glad the book is long so I got to see Dominic more lol...I was so shocked when I found out what he was I did not see it going in that direction loved the afterlife club and the VIP.... now I'm going head first into book 2. I was recommended this by a friend in my fb book group and I rate this a must read LOVED IT.....

This book is so overlooked. I loved it. There was a lot of information in the first 47% of the book, but this series will consist of 7 books, so the author does need to set everything and everyone up. However, once you get past the 50%, it is wonderful. So glad I read it. Book #2 comes out October 1st so I am glad I do not have long to wait.

I enjoyed this book very much, I really loved it, but the girl/heroine is so frustrating in her lack of self-assurance and lack of observation and understanding skills. Other than that an amazing read. I also felt as though the author repeated scenes for the sake of it or the prolong the book. But the story was brilliant. I would definitely be reading the next.

This book is a well kept secret .... Why is this book not being read or talked about? If you read anything Paranormal you HAVE to read this book . It is worth the whole saga thing that is becoming so popular but frustrating, I have read the second one as well and can not wait for the third installment of this series.

At first I was not too sure about this book as it really is not something I am into or so I thought, boy am I glad I took the chance. This book was so addictive I could not put it down. I seriously cannot wait for the second book. Now I know what Crave the Draven is and boy do I crave it ;)

I am in love! Move over Christian Grey! Step aside Gideon Cross! Dominic Draven is my new man! Lol! There were times in the book I felt it was a little drawn out but I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I was absorbed for days on end!

the best paranormal book i've read,not only does the story captivate you keeping you hooked and wanting more,you can't help but for the hot men and love the women,this authors use of detail and description has you entering the world of the Dravens and you won't want to leave