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Lisa Collicutt

Autor/a de The Gathering Darkness

6 obres 53 Membres 5 Ressenyes

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Obres de Lisa Collicutt

The Gathering Darkness (2012) 22 exemplars
The Devil's Flower (2009) 11 exemplars
Reborn: The Serendipitous Curse, Book One (2013) — Autor — 11 exemplars
Reviled 1 exemplars

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Amidst an explosion in the street at the entrance to the historic Solomon Brandt Plantation a naked man and white horse appear. When police arrive the horse carries the man away. Who is the naked man? How did he get there?

The bruised and battered naked man is Solomon Brandt. Is he THE Solomon Brandt? Who knows? He certainly doesn’t. Solomon has no idea how he got where he is or who he is, just that the name Solomon feels right. Melba finds Solomon at the river where his horse, Excalibur, takes him. She takes him in, tends his wounds, feeds him, and gives him and Excalibur shelter in her shed.

There’s much more to Melba than meets the eye. She knows, or highly suspects, who Solomon is. It’s the why she can’t fathom. Melba can see into Solomon’s heart and does everything in her power to assist him. When Solomon and her niece, Desiree McClinton, meet Melba tries to stop the impending train wreck she believes their attraction and desire will cause. It’s like trying to catch the wind.

Solomon is suffering from nightmares, visions of a time long past, and a heavy sense of foreboding. He feels as if he’s being watched and what is that malevolent creeping darkness he sees? Who is that viciously cruel man he sees in his visions and dreams, a demon, himself, or both? When Solomon meets Desiree he feels an attraction and desire he’s never known. Her visage in his mind soothes his fears and can occasionally keep the demon at bay. But the visions are getting stronger, the darkness closer, and Solomon can’t run forever.

The past’s hold and influence over the present and future is central to THE SERENDIPITOUS CURSE: REBORN. Is love truly powerful enough to overcome cruelty and evil? Are some sins and people beyond redemption? Amongst the chills and thrills are some challenging questions. Light and dark hoodoo, demons, retributive justice, protective ancestor spirits, curses, sins of the past, all these and more await in readers in the compulsively readable THE SERENDIPITOUS CURSE: REBORN. Heads up warning…..If cliff hangers aren’t your thing you’ll want to snag The Serendipitous Curse: Reviled to have at the ready.

Reviewed by IvyD for Manic Readers & Miss Ivy's Book Nook
… (més)
½
 
Marcat
ivydtruitt | Apr 28, 2014 |
This review and more can be viewed on my blog: The Muses Circle

We've read about angels. We've read about demons. We've read about angels vs. demons. But how about angels vs. demons and Motorcycle Clubs? The Devil's Flower by Lisa Collicutt is what I like to think of as a wildcard. The cover art is eye catching and sexy. The synopsis gives you the illusion that you are treading into familiar territory but you can't deny there is a sense of mysteriousness. You decide to give it a whirl out of sheer curiosity, albeit very skeptical and find yourself in a bit of shock by the time you come to the last page. These type of novels, these "wildcards", tend to be my favorite kind. On a side note and I'm not sure why, but The Devil's Flower reminds me of the cult classic movie The Lost Boys. Even though this book has nothing to do with vampires, I think it shares the concept of innocence and perception. Both have a young, naïve person in a unfamiliar town that is drawn to a group of strangers. Instincts scream for them to stay away, but there is one in the group that they can't seem to stay away from and will eventually risk their very own life for. Definitely an interesting connection between the two.

Here is what I liked. The Devil's Flower is a refreshingly original novel. I know that may be hard to believe, considering there are very familiar elements on the surface. But what makes this story unique is how the author blends all of these pieces together. In the beginning, the story reads like a contemporary romance. Then somewhere around the 100 page mark, the paranormal element is introduced. This is an absolutely brilliant technique and here's why. Before even adding in the paranormal component, readers that are fans of contemporary romance, New Adult, MC (motorcycle club), even Young Adult, will find The Devil's Flower appealing. Not a fan of paranormal romance or new to the genre? This is the perfect novel to start and try because the transition from contemporary to paranormal is smooth and natural as strange as that may sound. The only complaints I've read are from hardcore paranormal readers that felt there wasn't enough of that particular element in the story. But I am confident this novel will appeal to paranormal enthusiasts who grow weary of reading the same type of story over and over again and are looking for something fresh and different.

The story itself was well written; great description, distinct character voices (and names), and had no issues with the pacing-- all topics that sometimes writers struggle with when writing the first novel in a series. I liked the third person narration and the switch in perspectives. The formatting and paragraph breaks signaled that a change in POV was coming, therefore eliminating any kind of confusion which sometimes happens. Speaking of the format, the layout, font, and overall style of the book (including the chapter titles) created a very aesthetically pleasing reading experience.

I really enjoyed the romance between Rosalie and Steele. There definitely was an instant attraction, but a good portion of the novel was about Steele trying extremely hard to fight it. Part of it was to protect Rosalie from himself and the unsavory kind he surrounds himself with. He also feels that he is undeserving of her love and acceptance. The other part of his struggle to hide his growing feelings for her is to show no signs of weakness since he is the leader of the Fallen Paladins MC. There is also another reason he tries to hide his feelings, but I want to leave some mystery! There is some good sexual tension building between Steele and Rosalie, although the sex scenes themselves are more alluded to then explicitly shown which surprisingly works in this novel.

I found the angel/demon mythology in The Devil's Flower interesting and original. For example, in order for a half demon to become immortal, it would need 3 things: a) tear of an angel, b) blood of an angel, and c) death of an angel. Also, angels have souls but demons and half demons do not. If a half demon should mate with an angel, the angel would lose its soul to the demon. The use of the drug heroin plays a very creepy, yet important part in the story as well. These mythological elements add up to create some very tense, suspenseful moments in the novel.

Overall, Lisa Collicutt has spawned some very interesting characters, but I will admit, there were 2 that I struggled (won't reveal their names to avoid spoilers) with until I had a light bulb moment. These characters took Rosalie under their wing, taught her some survival tactics and how to fit within the MC. But then, out of nowhere, Steele starts thinking to himself that he has to protect Rose from them. At first I just didn't get the sudden wariness from Steele towards these particular characters when they did nothing to warrant his suspicious behavior. But then it dawned on me. The devil comes in many disguises and is a master of manipulation, seduction, and lies. It's this attention to detail that elicited my admiration for the author to grow even more.

I only had a few issues with The Devil's Flower, most of which were a bunch of small things that added up to annoyances rather than huge problems, so I will be going through them rather quickly.

First, I found Rose's statement here a bit startling: "...the fact that she was actually in a relationship with this person, a near stranger, hit her." She is obviously talking about her and Steele, but what bothered me is the fact that they have never talked about being together or being in a relationship. It's like the statement came out of nowhere. No declarations of love, other then Steele saying she can trust him and he wouldn't let anything happen to her as long as she is with him. And once you read that part, you will see why he says that. I'm also curious as to why Steele is so adamant about calling Rosalie "Rose" since the very beginning of the story. I get why Lithium calls her "Rosebud", but Steele is quick to correct people that she is to be called Rose instead of Rosalie, at least in the beginning. It's never revealed why and I am probably just looking too deeply into it, but it definitely left me pondering.

Second, I felt that Rosalie's stay with her grandmother was rushed and glossed over when in fact we learn the time she spends there plays a pivotal part in the story. This is where she discovers who and what she really is, what she is capable of and what is expected of her. When she meets back up with Steele, she is a wiser, stronger version of herself that apparently can now kick some ass. But we never get to see her training. We just hear about it in a sentence here and there when she is filling Steele in on her time away. I also didn't understand why she started college while at her grandmother's. I'm not sure if she was biding her time, waiting for divine intervention, but the college thing bothered me since she ended up leaving to go back to Nowhere, Colorado. It just felt like an unnecessary detail.

Lastly, while I enjoyed the assortment of characters as I stated above, I did find Rosalie to be quite infuriating at times. I get that she is innocent and naïve (for more reasons that one) but I can only take the damsel in distress syndrome so much. Don't get me wrong, I love a strong alpha hero that comes to his woman's rescue-- it's sexy and it shows that Steele loves her and feels fiercely protective of her. But Rosalie puts herself in some really stupid and dangerous situations, especially with the drinking. Even when she knows the drinking got her into trouble before and she swears she will never drink again-- she still drinks AGAIN. Yeah, that's when my eyes start to roll and irritation sets in.

The Devil's Flower is a unique blend of contemporary and paranormal romance that doesn't fit into one specific genre. For this reason, it broadens its allure and I can see just about anyone picking this novel up and finding it an enjoyable read. This may also appeal to the YA crowd, since the female main character is 18. However, I would caution and recommend The Devil's Flower to mature YA readers (16+) since there are some disturbing scenes including, drinking, drugs, and sexual situations (although not terribly explicit). Lisa Collicutt has given us a gem and I absolutely cannot wait to see the continuation of this story in book 2, The Demon's Wrath.

Mia @ The Muses Circle
… (més)
 
Marcat
themusescircle | Mar 5, 2014 |
NOTE: I received this book from Netgalley.

Nothing too interesting about this one. It's rather trivial actually. I've seen similar plots all over the place. I mean, come on - long lost lovers, reincarnated several times in the past and this now is their last chance to defeat the evil.... it's not original at all. It's so similar to Cara Lynn Shultz Spellbound series, that I was entirely sure of the ending even before I was 20% in.

Also, I was disappointed by the lack of action in the end. I'm not going to say more, because I don't want to spoil the book for anyone, but the book could definitely have been written better.

I especially didn't like the fact that the lead female, Brooke, who was supposed to be this powerful magical creature, couldn't perform a single spell to protect herself or the people she loved. In my book that counts as lame. I mean, you can't have a strong heroine, only to totally disable her supposed abilities.

Another thing I didn't like was that the characters weren't all that realistic. Sometimes the dialogue sounded forced, and I couldn't help rolling my eyes.

It's definitely not an emotionally catching book. No feelings stirred my heart. So the most I can say is, it was an okay read.
… (més)
 
Marcat
VanyaDrum | Hi ha 2 ressenyes més | Jan 26, 2014 |
Jesus Christ. Where do I start.

You know, if I had read this book 2-3 years ago I probably wouldn’t be so harsh on it, but at this point in my life when I’m so, so, so tired of YA clichés, especially in paranormal romance, I cannot forgive The Gathering Darkness since it is literally a compilation of all of them, happening in the story one after the other. I mean, there's insta-love, love triangle (with brothers involved!!! UGH), tragic past lives, the heroine is the new girl in town&school, the love interest is the hot mysterious guy, every time they touch they get the feeling, they have vivid dreams about each other and their past lives, and so on.

As if the clichés weren't enough, this heroine really, really got on my nerves because she likes one brother, but it's the other one who's always all over her like a puppy you left for an hour alone at home to go to the store, and she doesn't want his attention or constant moves, BUT DOESN'T SAY ANYTHING!! She just lets him act like he owns her---WTF, DO SOMETHING!! This annoyed me so much I almost gave up right there, and that would have been the smart move because what I read next just annoyed me even more.

So, yes, this is a "did not finish" for me, because for the sake of my sanity I REALLY CAN'T.

(Copy provided by the publisher, via NetGalley.)
… (més)
 
Marcat
Jen7waters | Hi ha 2 ressenyes més | Nov 30, 2012 |

Estadístiques

Obres
6
Membres
53
Popularitat
#303,173
Valoració
3.1
Ressenyes
5
ISBN
7

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