Series: Devil's Kiss, Book Two
Publisher: Penguin
Format: Paperback
Published: 1st July 2010
Number of Pages: 384
Book: Bought
Genre: Paranormal, Supernatural, Urban Fiction, Horror, Thriller,
Suspense, Action Adventure, YA, YA-Adult Crossover
Recommended
Age: 14+
Contains: Swearing, Loads of Violence... and Death... and Suspense...
and Werewolves... Some Alcohol References
No Drug References
Author's
Blog:
Billi SanGreal is a Knight Templar and has thrown
herself utterly into their brutal regime, shutting herself off from everyone
and everything.
But
when Billi finds herself at the heart of a savage werewolf attack, she knows
their target – a young girl – must be rescued at all costs.
For
this is no ordinary girl. Vasilisa is an
avatar with an uncontrollable force within – and it’s not just the werewolves
who want her. The Dark Goddess wants to
sacrifice Vasilisa and use her powers to unleash unimaginable catastrophes and
devastation.
Can
Billi protect Vasilisa from the ancient goddess – and at the same time stop her
from destroying the world?
Review:
When a book starts with a dead body, you
know you're in for a freaking awesome and terrifying adrenaline ride. I
should've expected it anyway. Those who have read Devil's Kiss will get how good Chadda is at writing horror, deaths,
sadness, betrayal, and badass teenager Templar Knights. Sarwat, you are
officially one of my favourite people ever…
The one person Billi SanGreal cared about
most is gone. Her way of coping? To throw herself into her duties as
a member of the Knight Templar. Fighting the Unholy, saving lives and
getting all battered up is a pretty usual night for her.
And then everything goes south. Because
Billi gets caught up in a werewolf attack. Something unlike anything
she's seen before.
The target? A little girl named
Vasilisa.
The motive? Who knows!
Ok ok, I know. So does Billi.
And the Knights Templar.
The girl is... special. Really
special. Special enough for a secret Unholy organisation with a deadly
mission to spring up, intent on stealing her.
Can Billi keep the girl safe, even when
she's totally out of her depth and in a country she doesn't even know?
When she's up against enemies stronger than anything she's ever faced
before?
When she's forced to ask a question that
could either save or destroy the world...?
And when she starts to fall in love again?
This is Billi Sangreal and she is here to
save the world. Hopefully...
Sarwat Chadda, I officially love you.
Not only have you managed to bring Billi SanGreal back with a bang, but
you've brought her back in a story that is somehow even better than Devil's Kiss, in a story that is
fast-paced, action-packed, emotional, and at times slightly terrifying.
And how I love every single minute!
Billi: oh, I love you too! She's just
so funny, so tough, so reluctantly caring, so stubborn and so totally kickass!
I also really love that she just feels so real. She's flawed but in a totally believable way.
She's tough but also relatable. She's mature but in a way that's completely
truthful to her personality and lifestyle. She's just the perfect
heroine. And I am just... I don't want to let her go. I want
more of her. So please, please, please
people at Penguin. Publish the third Billi book! I will buy a
million copies if you'll just PUBLISH
it so I can just READ it!! And
damn you, Sarwat, for giving me those first few chapters! Now I’m even more desperate!
I'm sounding slightly crazy right now so
I'll move onto Ivan. Now, Ivan... I may have started thinking you
were a stuck up Tsarevich, but I love you now and see you for the broken,
beautiful, caring, noble guy you are! I didn't think I'd be able to love
someone as much as Kay, but I loved Ivan just as much! Maybe... maybe
even more...
The rest of the cast was brilliant – and all
very varied. And I'm pleased to say that Sarwat didn't let me down and
killed off loads of them! That sounds really twisted but c'mon!
They're freaking Templar Knights! I'm sorry, but some of 'em are
gonna die. It's just the way life works, people. You know, in books
about demon hunters anyway... But still, Sarwat! Did you have to
scare the hell out of me so many times? I'm not sure how many more of
these close shaves and horrible, terrifying fears
my nerves and heart can take!
Right now, in so, so many YA books, it's
all about the romance. Sure, there's like demons or ghosts or whatever,
but much of the plot is about the romance. Dark Goddess is such a refreshing change to that trend! It's
all about the world, the suspense, the horror, the action, the evil and the
people. The romance? Just the sprinkling on the cake that is this
killer of a book. It doesn't overwhelm the hard, violent story but also
adds a nice break – a sweet dash of sugar in this action-packed thriller.
And I loved that. I really
loved it. And it means that this book, this wonderful wonderful book, is perfect for boys and
girls.
I also loved the history of the Bogatyrs:
like the Templars, only Russian and led by long-lost descendants of Tsar Nikolas.
Russian history is one of my favourites. I love Tsarist Russia and
absolutely adored all the elements of it in Dark
Goddess. Especially the one where there's a secret organisation led
by a secret Romanov. That's awesome. And of Baba Yaga. She is
freaking terrifying... But also just the tour of Russia as it is today.
Ever since Markus Sedgewick's Blood
Red, Snow White and Richelle Mead's Vampire
Academy, I've wanted to visit Moscow and St Petersburg. And after
reading Dark Goddess I want to go even
more! It all just felt so real – like I was actually there!
One of my favourite things about Sarwat's
books is that nothing is sugar
coated. People die. Like, a lot
of people. There are sacrifices, there are losses and it's not all
happily-ever-afters either. It just completely sets him and his books
aside. Well, that and the plot. Have I mentioned the plot? Not
really? Well, it was kickass. Like seriously. I never saw the
twists coming, I never guessed what would happen next, I never knew who was – and
who wasn't – going to die, I never even knew how the book would end – as in, with a fave character's death, more
heartache, happy-ever-after or with no world left... Yup. That bad.
That good. Man, I want
another book...
Towards the end of the book, I found it
really hard to read. Not because it was a let-down or anticlimactic or
anything. Oh no. Completely the opposite. It was just so good
I didn't want it to end! Ever. Which, if you ask me, is the sign of
an amazing book. And Dark Goddess
really truly was an amazing book.
Even better than Devil's Kiss,
something I didn't even think Sarwat would be able to manage. I adored
every single moment of this book and just could not put it down, even when I
really didn't want it to end... It didn't make sense to me, either.
But seriously. If you haven't checked this series out, you
absolutely have to. I don't care if you're thirteen or one hundred, a boy
or a girl: you will love this book and you will see it for the unique brilliance
that it is. Trust me.
Dark
Goddess started with a dead body and
ended with dead bodies – and one hell of a bang. Now it's time for me to
pray, hope and beg for the release of a Billi SanGreal Book Three. Would
it help if I put in a gif of someone begging? No? Oh well.
You're getting one anyways, people at Penguin. This is how serious
and desperate I am.
Because when a series is this good, it should
be illegal to stop it. A death penalty offence. Which is saying
something, since I like in the UK where there is no death sentence, and when I'm against it anyway. But now do you get how desperate I am?!
I need more Billi, more Ivan, more Templars and more of everything this
book is about. As soon as possible. Please...
Star Rating:
5 Out of 5
5 Out of 5
Read this
book if you liked:
Vampire Academy by Richelle
Mead
The Demon Trappers by Jana
Oliver
The Mortal Instruments by
Cassandra Clare
Supernatural
Challenges
It's Taking Part In:
Happy Reading
Megan
3 comments:
Sounds action packed with great characters. The cover is stunning too.
best book i ever read
english books
Emma: It's brilliant! And I adore the cover soo much!
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