The Gatekeeper´s Sons by Eva Pohler

Gatekeeper´s Triology #1

Fifteen-year-old Therese watches her parents die. While in a coma, she meets the twin sons of Hades—Hypnos, the god of sleep, and Thanatos, the god of death. She thinks she's manipulating a dream, not kissing the god of death and totally rocking his world. 

Than makes a deal with Hades and goes as a mortal to the Upperworld to try and win Therese's heart, but not all the gods are happy. Some give her gifts. Others try to kill her. 

The deal requires Therese to avenge the death of her parents. With the help of Than’s fierce and exotic sisters, the Furies, she finds herself in an arena face to face with the murderer, and only one will survive.

Review:

Tragedy happens in Therese´s life after she watches her parents die.. While she´s in a coma she dreams with a hot guy called Hypnos (She doesn´t know he´s the Greek God of sleep). She´s been known to be a lucid dreamer always taking control of her surroundings so she summons her parents and see that they are fine and "alive". Below her she watches as a raft with people in it. She flies to the edge of the Underworld where she sees that her parents are in the raft with a man. She calls after them and she almost faints. Thanatos holds her and still thinking she´s controlling one of her dreams she kisses Than. 

Having a God falling for you is not a wish of every girl...specially if he´s the God of Death. But this one is a Greek God Hot as Hell .!! called Thanatos.

A lot of twists and turns happen in this book that make you stay glued to your computer/Kindle as long as your eyelids allow you to stay awake LOL. After six pages and I was hooked and crying in my desk AT WORK.!! ;)

Thanatos wants to make her his queen of the Death so he makes a deal with his father Hares to make her a God. Hares accepts but with one condition. She has to avenge her parents by killing the man who orchestrated their deaths. Thanatos goes to the living world to try to win her heart.


I don´t want to give anything away about this book. You must read it to enjoy the fantasy world Eve has given us in this Triology. Even though I loved the plot, the love, the friendship, the twists and turns there was something I didn´t like about it that was the "sex" talk. I think this book should have been directed to a more mature audience giving Therese an older age and a less immature personality.

Therese personality is of a fifteen year old girl along with teenage problems. She was kind of childish and naive sometimes and I feel like her love for animals was exaggerated, like if we were being forced as readers to like the character for her compassion and all the love she had for the animals and living things in general and asking for permission to pet them. I thought that was slightly ridiculous. 

****BEWARE OF SPOILERS*****

Even though non of the characters had sex there is reference to rape/force. 

"Hera came by, too, and left a nightgown for you to wear. She said it will protect you from any God wishing to force his way on you tonight." or "I wonder if she´s a virgin. I can´t wait to pinch her pretty flesh."    


Usually when reading YA/Teen romances we know the main characters have certain friction and we know what their teen hormones want them to do but all that happens is some cuddling and a kiss.     
THAT´S IT.!! 

From my perspective Therese didn't grow much and she was conformed if she died or became the Queen of Death which makes no sense to me because she "loves" living things too. How someone who respects life would chose to avenge hes parents by taking the life of the one responsible of their deaths and not backing off? What made Therese think she could pull that off?


I repeat it again... I loved the story, the character but I felt that Therese should have been older with a less naive  or with  a different approach in her personality.

Can´t wait to see how this all ends in The Gatekeeper´s Challenge ( Gatekeeper´s Triology #2). I was torn apart when Thanatos had to let her go because the Gods wanted to keep her away from Death.... *Sigh* * weeping like a baby**

Wanderers of the Night by Tempest C. Avery

(The Dreamer Triology #2)

Seventeen year old witch, Lily Bryg, is about to realize there's more to the three realms then she thought. In the past month she's fallen for a werewolf, met a dragon, and found out her life was depicted in an age old prophecy. Now, she needs to figure out how to get into Sidhe, the realm of the fey, in order to rescue a kidnapped friend, all while trying to win a bet she made with an evil king hell bent on making her his queen. Lily doesn't know if she believes in soul mates, but she's torn between hoping he isn't hers and being eerily drawn to him. With the help of her three best friends, a raven, and a white wolf she needs to put her heart aside and focus on fulfilling the prophecy. Everything she knows about faeries tells her they can't be trusted, but when her own coven starts to break apart she's forced to rely on anyone she can get.

If Lily can't save her kidnapped friends and convince them not to fall under the sway of dark magic, she'll have to willingly go to the evil king Ronan. He's been trying to convince her they belong together for years, and she's starting to fear he might be right. Add in the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and Lily's task isn't looking any easier. If that weren't bad enough, it turns out she's just got a penchant for werewolves. 

Can Lily over come the three realms, or will she succumb to the wanderers of the night before she ever gets the chance?

Review:

Summary: After defending Moht and receiving visits in her dreams from her stalker A.K.A Ronan, she has to go to Sidhe and rescue Lennan who was kidnapped by one of Ronan´s men.

Stars: + + + + +

After wiring for the contents of this book to sink in I´m ready to give my honest opinion of this book.

This one was more twisted than the first one. There were a couple of part where I just stared at my kindle and think: "Woooww.. I didnt see that one coming.

So apparently the dark king isn't as dark and wicked as he was pictured in the first book. Nothing is what it seems

The story begins right where the first book left. Larking leaves Lily after Ronan had attacked his kingdom and killed his father, he has to go back home to take his place as new king of (XXXXXX). Meanwhile Lily has to go to Sidhe to rescue Lennan (Ruarc´s niece) and she takes with her Caer, Conall, Ruarc and Arlana (she wolf). Brid and Bran stay behind to defend Moht while Lily goes rescue Lennan. While in the woods they get distracted by ( Crawlers… or Grumblings?). Lily gets lost and meets a cat that speaks only in rhyme and claims to be sent to help her get to Sidhe.  Connall and Arlana find Lily and the cat. Flynn appears in the woods and gives lily the clue for her to find the key to reach the door in Vern that will take them to Sidhe. They meet Cadfael in the mountains and gives them a rhyme to solve where the key is hidden.  They find their way and arrive to a place that keeps a lot of keys along with the "Keyper". He´s very sweet and lets them wander over the place so Lily can try and find the key. They are met by Grumblings and they fight them. Lily has a dream of Ronan and she thinks she's experiencing a kind of Stockholm Syndrome (Guess I'm suffering from the same). Ronan shows her a memory Brid has had about a guy named Una who's messing with her head telling her lies about her boyfriend (Bran, former guard of Ronan). When they get to Sidhe they discover Lennan wasn't held prisioner at all. In fact she was very well treated by the king who happened to be in love with her and she with him as well. She stays and Lily gives magic to the pendant she gave her 300 years ago so she can be the temporary queen of the Summer. They stay in the Iomlan court and Caer gets kidnapped by Cadfael and his brother who are two of the horsemen of the apocalypse. They take her to Ronan and they have to go save her. Brids head was scrambled by all the bullshit Una and his brother (the other 2 horsemen of the apocalypse ) said to her and she leaves moht to meet with the dark king and ask for answers on who killed her parents. She wants justice and wants to kill them. The horsemen told her that Ronan is not that evil and that people think he's just missing the other part of his should to be good. On their way to Ronans castle to save Caer and Brid, there is an accident at the lake.. Who saves who? …. Ronan and Lily share a short time together but its worth it. Nothing like Connall or Larkin… Whatever. They get to Ronans castle find Caer and try to save her and Brid too. Lily finds Brid torturing the men that killed her parents. When Lily arrives they fight and while Brid is distracted both men attack her. As consequence, Brid kills one of the men and Lily the other to prevent her best friend to get killed too. Brid seals the bet Lily had with Ronan of her choosing sides with him. And she has to stay three days in Ronan`s castle. 

My feelings toward The Devlin brothers and Ronan are …

I honestly hate the love triangle she has with the Devlin brothers.. She so totally into Connall/Ronan … Larkin is just temporary distraction.. She doesn't know what she wants.

Why she should stay/leave Larkin:

Stay:

1. He says he loves her.

Run to the hills:

1. Control Freak
2. Doesn't believe she can handle Ronan and his army.
3. Doesn't have faith that she´ll win.
4. Sick with jealousy for his cousin.
5. Sees Lily´s love as a competition towards his cousin.

Why she should stay/leave Connall:

Stay:

1. Sweet.
2. Calm
3. Patient
4. Controlled (Most of the time when he doesn't explodes from being mad at his love triangle situation)

Leave:

?????

Why she should stay/leave Ronan:

Stay:

1. Fun
2. Sarcastic
3. Evil
4. Charismatic
5. H-O-T
6. He wants the best for Bevain and its people with justice and some black magic... Not the same way Lily would have wanted it.

Leave:

1. He´ll do what it takes to have Lily. Even if it means killing all people from Bevain.

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/583569795

Where Thy Dark Eye Glances by Tempest Avery

The Dreamer Triology #0.5

Three hundred years ago Lily Bryg was someone else. Now, she's dealing with demons from the past in the form of ghosts, fairies, and even a dream stalker bent on convincing her they belong together. As a witch, Lily has an advantage. But that all changes when she's summoned back to the third realm she used to live. And where she died.

With the help of a Shade, a tattoo artist, and her three best friends, Lily tries to escape the faeries out to get her, and the evil king who wants to make her his consort. Ronan will stop at nothing to have her back, and she'll stop at nothing to keep that from happening. Too bad her life isn't the only one on the line, and returning to Bevain might be the only way to save herself, and the world.

Review:

Summary: Lily Brygs recalls how she discovered how she and her three best friends were witches from another realm and how Ronan The Dark King is working with the Unseelie King to get her back.

Stars: + + + +

Characters: 

Lily Bryg (The Dreamer)

Brid (The Stargazer)

Caer (The Fortuneteller)

Ruarc (The Warrior)

Jacob (Tattoo Artist)

Galvin (Shadow)

Tynan (Unseelie)

If had read this one first I wouldn't have had the trouble understanding the beginning of All That we see or seem (The Dreamer Triology #1). That being said, I feel that this story planted the bases of the current situation Lily and her friends are facing. It is more detailed even though they can't remember SHIT.. But what did I expect if in this prequel we just get to know more about the life of the characters in NYC (The Other).

BEWARE OF SPOILERS.......

Lily gets a visit from her blonde gorgeous evil stalker Ronan and warns her that her time has run out and she will go back to him sooner than later. She decides to ignore him and doesn't tell her friends about it. She has met a Tattoo artist a couple of months ago and she has decided to get a tattoo in her neck of a celtic knot forming her symbol "The Dreamer" (An Aislingeach). He asks her out and she agrees but ends stood up. The reason??? Her date couldn't make it to the coffee shop because he was attacked by someone and is sent directly to the ER.. Who?!! They figure out The Unseelie king has sent his right had to collect her along with the other three. They fight back in central park and refuse to go back to Bevain the realm they once called home three hundred years ago. 

Lily gets to remember some bits and pieces of her past life. Specially  a guy with blue eyes. Who's the guy?! The one she can't see his hair ... is De- = to Devlin?? Larkin Devlin?! hmmm.. so much to think about ... I knew she was attracted to Ronan always knew it even if she didn't admit it in All that we see or seem ... *sigh*

What will happen next? Will they travel to Bevain? Is she gonna keep dating the tattoo artist? Will she succumb to Ronan´s desires? Please keep reading. I assure you this short story  will totally help you out with the sequel.

All That We See Or Seem by Tempest C. Avery

(The Dreamer Triology #1)

DO NOT READ THIS BOOK UNLESS YOU HAVE READ 

Where Thy Dark Eye Glances  #0.5.  IT WILL SAVE YOU A LOT OF TROUBLE TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHATS BEING SAID IN THE BEGINNING. 

Lily Bryg is a seventeen year old witch. She doesn't always know what that means, or how to control it, but she does know that to most, it paints a pretty little target over her forehead. If that's not bad enough, Ronan an evil king who believes she's his soul mate has been stalking her in her dreams. Should she fight Ronan and risk everything, or give up her freedom to possibly save her friends? 

And what about Larkin, the attractive shape shifter who sparks a strong sense of deja vu within her? He claims they knew each other in her past life, but how could she trust something she can't remember? Dodging witches, demons, faeries, dragons, and much, much more, the Four are just beginning to realize that having power comes with a lot of responsibility. And sacrifice. But one question stands out among the rest, haunting Lily through out the nights and days. Should she fight Ronan and risk everything, or should she give up her freedom to the gorgeous, yet wicked, king in order to possibly save her friends?


Review:


Characters:

Lily Bryg, Queen Bryg, Liliandra (The Dreamer)
Ronan Ambros (The Dark King)
Brid (The Stargazer, Female)
Caer(The Fortuneteller, Female)
Ruarc(The Warrior)
Galvin (Shadow, Shade)
Larkin (Faolan, Warewolf, Prince)
Ameliona (Last spellcaster)
Bran (Ronan´s former head guard, he betrayed Ronan)
Conall (Warewolf, cousin of Larkin, Prince)
Whiltierna (she-wolf bitch, former bed partner of Larkin or I assume)

Summary:  17 year old Lily and her three best friends live in The Other (Our world) and  know they are witches from another realm called Bevain and they must go back to defeat The Dark King so she can claim her throne as Queen.

Stars: + + + + +  ( I would probably give it more if I had the chance)

This was a great story. Tempest has a lot of imagination. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed Paranormal, Teen Drama books. 

Lily Bryg is a 17 year old teenage girl living in New York that feels like she doesn't belong where she is. Later she discovers she, along with her 3 friends (Ruarc, Brid and Caer) are witches that lived 300 years ago in a realm called Bevain and Lily is their leader. They are called the four: Lily "The Dreamer", Brid "The Stargazer", Caer "The Fortuneteller" and Ruarc "The Warrior". They are aware of Ronan´s (The Dark King) existence because he visits them in their dreams in "The Other" (Our realm, NYC, what we know as our world).. He can´t touch them because they are in different realms but he still can mess with their heads. He is after them because three centuries ago, The Fortuneteller told him Lily "The Dreamer" was his soul mate . So he claimed he loved her and that they were meant for each other and chase her along with her friends. Somehow they died and their souls were sent to The Other.

They all know they had past lives in Bevain but the more they have knowledge about it, the better their memory gets and even though they don´t remember everything, new memories arrive without warning. The Four are part of a prophecy in which they are supposed to go back to Bevain, the realm they came from so she can defeat Ronan and claim the throne. They end up going back to Bevain with Galvin´s (a Shadow/Shade) help because Ronan had send Unseelie fey to kill them in The Other.


When they get to Bevain they wake up alone and with no trace of Galvin´s whereabouts. While trying to get to Blairzeth their former home 300 years ago, they meet Larkin Devlin who´s been following them. While trying to figure out if he is trustworthy or not they get ambushed by Ronan´s soldiers. Lily feels a pull toward Larking but can´t recall why. She knows they met in her former life but can´t remember what happened between them. Larking takes them to Ameliona and old woman who happens to be "The Last Spellcaster". She explains to them the war had begun and they need to get ready to head to Moht where people has been gathered as The Rebellion to defeat King Ronan...


The rest you must read and you won´t regret it. I spent two days reading at work and going to bed until 2-3 in the morning. I was so intrigued with the path this story was taking and I just had to know what was going to happen next. This journey is full of twists and turns, drama, romance, mystery, intrigue, conspiracy fucking EVERYTHING.... I LOVE IT..  - Nothing is what is seems -  Or that´s my guess. Maybe that´s why I sympathize with the evil guy. hummmm *wink* *wink* *sigh*

Enough with the angel/human, Vampire/human love series. I must say this is one of the most ORIGINAL Teen Paranormal stories I have read in years YES years and it was FAN-TAS-TIC.

I have some questions though. BEWARE OF SPOILERS. DO NOT READ UNLESS YOU HAVE READ THE BOOK ALREADY.


What really happened between Whiltierna and Larkin in the past? (I assume much, but why did he lied?... Did he really lied?  (I sense that people are kind of taking advantage of Lily´s amnesia)

"What does he mean by that, exactly?" The thought of another girl making the moves on her wolf-She stopped herself before she could go on. When had Larkin become hers? And what right did she have to be mad at him for acting the ways he was in front of his cousin if at the mere mention of another girl she flipped?
"Nothing" Larkin told her, turning so that he could face both her and Conall.
"Whilt is just a member of our pack. She´s got a crush on me, that´s all.

And then this happens:

Before he knew what he intended, he was knocking loudly on Whiltierna´s door. The she wolf was frowning when she opened the door, her wheat color curls in disarray as if she´d just risen from bed. Her chocolate eyes widened when she realized it was him. "Larkin? What are you doing here?" He took a breath and frowned. What was he doing there? Whilt´s room was the closest to Lily´s that didn't belong to one of the Four, and he definitely wasn't going to talk to Brid or Caer about his jealousy. But this was a terrible idea. He wasn't going to talk to Brid or Caer about his jealousy. But this was a terrible idea. He wasn't that desperate, and he hadn't actually seen anything...

WTH.!!!! He wasn't that desperate?! What?!! Desperate to talk to someone? Desperate to be with someone?! What an ASS he´s mad at his girl and he just goes to the rebound girl ?!!! Agrrrr I was sooo MAD.!!!

Now, Ronan wants to kill everyone and the last time they speak before the war starts he says this:

"Good luck with that pain that I bring you tonight, Liliandra. That´s more luck then you gave for the pain you´ve brought me" ...

OK WHAT does that mean?!!! They totally shared a story?? yes?!!! No?!! What?!! Damn It... I know he´s evil but I honestly don´t want her to end up with Larkin.  With that statement he makes me think he´s wounded... yes he totally is ... but why?

The three tapestries with the images of them together...... ( I WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED BETWEEN THEM.!! IF THEY WERE TOGETHER AND WHY THEY BECAME ENEMIES AND SHE ENDED UP IN A LOVE TRIANGLE BETWEEN TWO WOLVES ...... HUH?!!! SHE DOES HAVE A STORY WITH CONALL TOO RIGHT?! RIGHT?! ** SIGH **


I´m definitely intrigued on how is she going to pull off the rest of the story and I might add that I wish I can see more Ronan/Lily interactions. They all speak of him all the time but he´s one of the characters that has less interaction in the whole book with the characters and still left a big impression  Lily can say she hates him all she wants but the bickering they have every time he visits her dreams is electric. It´s like she refuses to feel something for him but at the same time her body betrays her LOL. As you have noticed already my favorite character is Ronan The Evil King a.k.a (by me) The evil self confident arrogant mother fucker who I think is H-O-T and want him to win Lily´s love. Larkin is confused with the feelings Lily has towards him and it´s like Ronan knows her so well he knows the course of her every thought. I just don´t know why am I such a sucker for the evil handsome guys.

At the beginning I had some trouble understanding what was going on because I haven´t read the book before it, in which apparently the life of the four is explained better and I was also confused on who was saying what to whom. I found in this book a couple of editing errors and felt that parts of the story needed more explanation, BUT who am I to judge I am not a writer,  I definitely don´t have that imaginative capacity and English is my second language. If this girl finds a good publisher like I don´t know Penguin Group or other and changes the covers and advertise she will definitely increase her book sales and I´m pretty sure she will rise in the book industry.

I´m totally giving this book 5 stars. I think books shouldn't be rated based in bad editing. The writers put all their effort, time and imagination in their books for someone to give them bad rating because of verb use or punctuation ..etc...etc.etc.... She just needs to polish the rough edges and voilà.!!

Thank you Tempest for giving me the ARR of such a great book.

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/519459091