Omega ( Penton Legacy 3) by Susannah Sandlin [ english Review]

Hello to all!!

 Today is really a good day! First only one day left before the release of Omega, third book of the Penton Legacy trilogy  which i already told you i really love. You can see my review of the precedent books if you haven't already  Redemption ( book1) and Absolution ( book2)

But even better we have just learned that while it's the last book of the initial trilogy the probabilities are high that it won't be the end of the series! Sussanah Sandlin has announced that she was thinking of writing something ( what we will need to wait a little more to know) to close the loose ends still existing after Omega.  I can't tell you how happy i'm because as you will see that's what i pointed in my reviews, written a few days ago, as elements that bugged me a little after this fabulous reads So yes! Susannah is even better in my opinion that she was a few days ago.

To be kept updated and to discover even more good news i encourage you to visit her blog and to follow the omega blog tour, you could even win big!

 Now without waiting, here is my opinion on Omega! Enjoy!

Publisher:  Montlake Romance

Publication: 2013

ISBN:  161218359X

Genre: paranormal romance, vampires
Violence: strong
Language: normal
sex: strong
Public: 18+

Source: e-arc received in exchange for an honest review

Short description from goodreads :

 The bloody war between the Vampire Tribunal and the defiant scathe of Penton, Alabama, rages on, forcing its residents and their bonded humans to retreat into the underground fortress of last resort: Omega. There, Will Ludlam is charged with the care of Penton’s humans, though he longs to fight alongside his vampire brethren. He knows the risks: as the renegade son of the Tribunal’s vicious leader, Will’s capture could doom the resistance. Yet he is determined to prove his worth to his adopted scathe, to his vengeful father—and to former US Army officer Randa Thomas, his beautiful, reluctant partner. Randa has little faith that a former member of the vampire elite has what it takes to fight a war. But as their enemies descend upon Omega, Will’s polished charm—and Randa’s guarded heart—finally give way to the warrior within. Fans of Susannah Sandlin’s Penton Legacy are sure to devour this long-awaited third installment of the steamy paranormal series.

My opinion:

          I’ve waited so long for this book that I was anxious to start it in good condition. The last book of a series is always special… we want to have a conclusion and in the same time we don’t want to leave characters we have come to enjoy a lot. It can either make of a good series a wonder, either crash all the authors’ efforts put in it. Omega is keeping his promises really well and gives us a wonderful insight on Will’s personality.

 Before in Redemption Will was the one who kept the ambience light, making fun, laughing, playing video game but still a real member of Penton Scathe. Later in Absolution, we got to see how he was also the strategist and the mind of Penton, always thinking ahead and supporting Aidan more ways than that was under the light; and a good fighter when needed.

Omega shows us Will in all his complexity with the explanations from his past – though I would have loved to have more details how he met Aidan- and glimpses of his future opportunities. Will is full of potential like the readers could have guessed from the precedent instalments of the story but there is so much more he is unaware of. Under his cool boy façade is a young man who lacks confidence in himself, who fights to prove his worth and thinks that for that he must keep his weaknesses hidden. He is underestimating himself as a result of years of insults and recriminations, to cover how deeply he is hurt emotionally he hides under his façade.

Randa is a new lieutenant of Aidan and the most recently transformed, coming from a military family where she was the only girl surrounded by brothers she has learned to be though and that hasn’t changed when she became, against her will, a vampire. But it’s mostly a mask too to keep people at distance. At first, she judges Will only on his looks and doesn’t give him a chance but circumstances will force them to open to each other and she will be really surprised as well as be surprising.

Aidan did pick his lieutenants really well^^; .

I was also really happy to see Hannah learning more about her powers and staying a child, I think she found a great playmate in Barnabas ^^; and perhaps a new father ‘s figures but that’s to be seen if we get more books. Mirren and Glory as well as Aidan and Krys are still perfectly in character and it’s a pleasure to keep this stability along the story. Now we also get new characters like Cage and Edward…. Cage is a former psychiatrist and it’s needed in omega as well as a bonus to form strategy. He is Edward’s emissary and loyal to Aidan.  He is a great addition and I loved to see how he loved and was loyal to Penton first, yes he plan to try to export the idea but the city counts a lot for him. I liked how he was responsible enough to give Mark a chance even if he was really interested (though as a psychiatrist he should think about the saviour syndrome and takes a step back to analyse what part of his feeling are real and which one is due to the circumstances) To be honest that part of the things that bothered me a little, but mostly because of his profession, and I was terrified to have guessed what Matthias did… I don’t want to uncover anything to let you the pleasure to find out but the fact I understood so well his mind as to guess his next move *brrr * terrifying Susannah made it possible by describing him so well in the precedents books and by the description of the final scene in Absolution but still ^^;; I was surprised to right on my assumption. (Perhaps I’m watching Criminals minds a little too much too^^;;)

Omega is really well written with the focus put on the characters’ psychology thanks to Cage input but not only. Secrets are revealed and we can see a side we don’t often get to see from the heads of Penton. I’m glad they were alone. It’s really perfect, since it’s true: living in Omega and under pressure must have an impact on everyone vampire or not. The intrigues thicken, allegiances are revealed, alliances are created and new perspectives are opened. Not a minute to get bored!

 The action is strong and fast paced, with some moment to take our breath and reflect on what we are learning and the romance is  burning  after hesitations, and so many risks the sparks left place to a real inferno^^;; who would have guessed the seductive power of the military undergarments.

Really it’s a good book, if I don’t give it a 5/5 it’s  only because personally I didn’t bonded well with  Cage’s attraction (only a little) but more because of the ending. Susannah did it well in the sense that the main plot and secondary one have found their conclusion, nothing is amiss but in the same time she let the door open so future books to be added to this universe so we could be happy if it’s the case and not feeling like we are missing something if the publisher don’t contract for more. However, with my personality I would have loved to see more of what happen next, would Mirren take his ex job back only a last time just for pleasure? Since there was some corruption is there no risk at all with the situation?

I would recommend this book without a doubt for those above 18, it’s really a wonderful paranormal romance one you will enjoy more if you read the books in order. Still, I think it’s better if I inform you that there are mentions of rape, child abuse and some torture.

Score:  4,5/5

Disclaimer: Source: a copy in exchange for an honest review, no other compensation was received. All opinions are my own.

 To have more info about the tour ( it last until february 28th) or the series check Susannah's Blog

Don't hesitate to pre order / order Omega !  You can buy it on  amazon or on  Bookdepository

Challenges:

What do you think of open ending? Do you like them or do you prefer the see all looses end fixed?

Omega (Penton Legacy3) par Susannah Sandlin [avis en Français]

Bonjour à tous!

 Aujourd'hui est un jour très spécial... déjà c'est le premier avis que je poste en français sur le site en 2013 mais surtout le dernier jour avant la publication du dernier tome de la trilogie " Penton Legacy" écrite par Susannah Sandlin et intitulé Omega.

Depuis un an, vous avez pu lire combien j'appréciais cette série et ce tome était très attendu par tous les fans de Susannah. Toute fois avant de vous donner mon avis, je tenais à vous rappeler que le tour promotionnel pour ce livre  se déroulera jusqu'au 28 février avec de multiples opportunités de gagner quelque chose même pour les participants vivants hors des Etats Unis. D'autre part ^^ si vous suivez ce tour et le site de l'auteur vous serez heureux d'appendre que quelque chose devrait être fait pour combler les petits éléments qui m'ont titillé à la lecture d'Omega.

Envie d'un petit rappel des premiers tomes? Vous pouvez lire mon avis sur Redemption ansi que sur Absolution

Alors bonne lecture et n'hésitez pas à vous joindre à l'aventure!!

Editeur vo : Montlake Romance

Publication: 2013

Genre: romance paranormale
Violence: élevé
Langage: normal
sexe: élevé
Public: +18ans
Reçu une ecopie en échange d’un avis honnête

Quatrième de couverture traduction personnelle:

La guerre sanglante entre le Tribunal des vampires et le clan de Penton en Alabama fait rage, obligeant ses résidents et les humains qui leur sont liés à se réfugier dans la forteresse souterraine du dernier espoir : Omega. Là, Will Ludlam est en charge du bien être des humains de Penton bien qu’il souhaiterait combattre au côté des ses frères vampires. Il connaît les risques : en tant que fil renégat du cruel chef du Tribunal, sa capture pourrait comdamner la résistance. Cependant il est déterminé à prouver sa valeur à son clan adoptif, a son vengeur de père- et à l’ancier officier de l’armée des USA Randa Thomas, sa jolie mais réticente partenaire. Randa a des doutes sur le fait qu’un ancien membre de l’élite vampirique ait ce qu’il faut pour combattre dans une guerre. Cependant, alors que leurs ennemis  font une descente sur Omega, Le charme poli de Will- et le cœur bien gardé de Randa, laissent finalement la place au guerrier qu’il dissimule. Les fans de Susannah Sandlin vont certainement dévorer ce troisième volet tant attendu de cette série de romance paranormale aux accents érotics «  Penton legacy »

Avis:

                  

      J’ai tellement attendu ce livre que je ne pouvais qu’attendre d’être dans de bonnes conditions pour le savourer. Le dernier tome d’une série est toujours spécial… nous voulons une conclusion mais dans le même temps nous ne souhaitons pas abandonner des personnages que nous en sommes venus à apprécier. Il peut soit faire d’une série uns merveille soit anéantir les efforts de l’auteur. Dans ce cas–ci Omega tient parfaitement  toutes ses promesses et nous offre un excellent  aperçu de la personnalité de Will Ludlam.

Dans « Redemption » Will était celui qui maintenait l’ambiance légère, riant, blaguant et jouant aux jeux vidéo mais malgré tout un membre à part entière du clan de Penton. Plus tard dans « Absolution », on a pu voir qu’il était en fait le stratégiste et l’esprit de Penton avec toujours un temps d’avance, il soutient Aidan de bien plus de façons qu’il n’y parait de prime abord et c’est également un bon combattant lorsque c’est nécessaire.

Omega nous dévoile Will dans toute sa complexité avec explications sur son passé- bien que j’aurais aimé avoir plus de détails sur sa rencontre avec Aidan- et des entraperçus des ses opportunités futures. Will est plein de potentiel comme les lecteurs avaient pu le deviner après les premiers volets de la série mais il y a bien plus dont même lui en a conscience. Sous sa façade de jeune premier il y a un jeune home qui manque de confiance en lui, qui se bat pour prouver sa valeur et pense que pour ça il doit dissimuler ses faiblesses. Il se sous estime suite à des années d’insultes et de récriminations. Pour cacher combien il est profondément blessé émotionnellement, il s’est construit cette façade.

Randa est un des nouveaux lieutenant d’Aidan et la plus récemment transformée, provenant d’une famille de militaires seule fille au milieu de ses frères elle a vite appris à ne pas se plaindre et lorsqu’elle est devenue vampire, contre sa volonté, cela n’a pas changé elle continue d’être une « dure à cuire ». Or ce n’est principalement qu’un masque pour maintenir les gens à distance. Au premier abord, elle a jugé Will en fonction de son look et le prenant pour un enfant gâté elle ne lui a même pas donné sa chance mais les circonstances  vont les obligés à se confier un peu l’un à l’autre et elle va être bien surprise tout en étant elle-même bien surprenante. Aidan a vraiment bien choisit ses lieutenants !

J’ai aussi vraiment apprécié de voir Hannah apprendre plus à maîtriser ses pouvoirs tout en restant une enfant, je pense qu’elle a trouvé un bon compagnon de jeux en Barnabas et peut-être une nouvelle figure paternelle mais cela ne ce saura que si plus de livres sont publiés. Mirren et Glory de même que Aidan et Krys n’ont pas changé et c’est un vrai plaisir de garder cette stabilité dans les personnages au long du récit même lorsqu’ils ne sont plus au premier plan. Maintenant, il y a aussi de nouveaux personnages comme Cage et Edward… Cage est un ancien psychiatre qui a travaillé avec des militaires et c’est nécessaire dans Omega ainsi qu’un bonus pour élaborer des stratégies.  Il est l’émissaire d’Edward et loyal vis-à-vis d’Aidan. C’est vraiment une excellente addition et j’ai aimé voir combien Penton lui tenait à cœur, certes il espère exporter cette idée mais la ville compte vraiment pour lui. J’ai apprécié qu’il soit assez responsable pour laisser une chance à Mark bien qu’il soit lui –même intéressé (bien que en tant que psychiatre il devrait penser au syndrome du sauveur et prendre un peu de recul pour analyser quelle part de ses sentiments est due aux circonstances et quelle part est réelle) Pour être honnête c’est la partie qui m’a un peu ennuyée mais c’est principalement dû à sa profession, et j’étais terrifiée d’être parvenue à deviner les plans de Matthias… je ne veux rien dévoiler pour vous laisser le plaisir de la découverte mais le fait que je comprenne si bien sa façon de penser pour deviner ses prochaines étapes*brr* terrifiant. Cela a été rendu possible grâce aux excellentes descriptions que Susannah a données de lui dans les tomes précédents et par sa description de la scène finale d’Absolution mais quand même j’ai été surprise de voir mon hypothèse confirmée. (J’ai trop regardé esprits criminels peut-être^^)

Omega est très bien écrit et se focalise un peu plus sur la psychologie des personnages grâce au point de vue de Cage mais pas seulement. Des révélations sont faites et on peut assister à des comportements inhabituels pour les dirigeants de Penton. J’étais heureuse qu’ils ne soient pas seuls. C’est parfait parce que c’est réaliste ; vivre dans omega, sous une pression /tension constante a forcément un impact sur tout le monde qu’il soit vampire ou humain. Les intrigues s’épaississent, des allégeances sont révélées, des alliances sont créées et de nouvelles perspectives s’ouvrent.  On ne s’ennuie pas une minute.

L’action est forte et rapide avec des instants pour respirer et réfléchir sur ce qu’on vient d’apprendre et la romance est brûlante, après des hésitations et tant de risques les étincelles ont donné lieu a véritable brasier qui aurait pu deviner le pouvoir de séduction des sous vêtements militaires.

Vraiment un très bon livre si je ne lui donne pas un 5/5 c’est uniquement parce que personnellement je n’ai pas accroché à l’attirance de Gage (juste a un peu) et un peu plus suite à la fin.  Susannah a très bien fait dans le sens où l’intrigue principale et celles secondaires trouvent leur conclusion, rien ne manque et dans le même temps elle parvient à laisser la porte ouverte dans l’éventualité d’un contrat pour plus de tomes. De cette façon on peut être heureux si plus de livres sont publiés et on n’a pas uen impression de manque si ce n’est pas le cas. Cependant, avec ma personnalité, j’aurai aimé en voir un peu plus concernant le dénouement, est-ce Mirren reprendrait son ancien poste une ultime fois juste pour le plaisir ? Puisqu’il y avait de la corruption en place est-ce qu’il n’y a vraiment plus de risque?

Je recommande ce livre sans aucun doute ou regret au plus de 18ans, c’est vraiment une fabuleuse romance paranormale que vous apprécierez d’autant plus si vous lisez la série dans l’ordre. Toutefois mieux vaut prévenir que guérir donc je préfère vous informer qu’il y a des mentions de viols, pédophilie et torture (mais pas de descriptions en détails, plutôt des allusions.)

 

Score:  4,5/5

Disclaimer: Toutes les opinions exprimées ici sont les miennes, il s’agit de d’un avis honnête et personnel. Aucune compensation n’a été fournie en échange de ce dernier.

Envie de ce livre? vous pouvez l'obtenir sur  amazon ou sur   Bookdepository si vous voulez éviter les frais d'envoi

Pour en savoir plus sur le concours et la série, rendez-vous sur le site de auteur "Susannah Sandlin"

Challenge:

The Penton Legacy Series by Susannah Sandlin

Hello to all,

 I was really surprised and happy to see how my last friday post got so many reactions. Until now, i had only done reviews but it seems that the discussion was something people liked so today i will try something different once again for our Vampires' Friday.

At first i wanted to read a new author to introduce you to a new kind of Vampires but life got in the way and after being really unwell - i'm better thank you but not healed yet- lots of things happened and the free time i wanted to spend on reading and the blog was taken from me. No free time at all, so nearly no reading either, i'm not giving up so it will be for another vampire's Friday post but this week i want to  put under the spotlight a series that i love and whose book 3 will be released shortly : The Penton Legacy series by Susannah Sandlin.

The main plot will be developed in 3 books but there is still a possibility to see more of this world depending on the success of this series.

The story:   A global pandemic has cost the life of thousands of people before a vaccine was found. Unknown to the humans, this vaccine had an unexpected consequence: the human blood has become deadly for the vampires.
The vampires are now starving and a civil war is starting because the unvaccinated human donors are only a few left and some vampires are fighting over them. The governing system is a tribunal with the goal to keep the vampires existence unknown from the human and to enforce their own laws, like the one prohibiting the creation of new vampire. On paper that seems a good system but the fact is that corruption exists and that people in power don't what to loose it.

Aidan Murphy is a pacifist, he believes in a world where humans and vampires can coexist peacefully. He created in Alabama a community of vampires and unvaccinated human donors in the city named Penton. He wants to show that this could be a lasting solution for the Vampires. Careful he is the one selecting who can enter the community and he has set some rules that everyone must follow, he his seconded by lieutenants who earned his trust. However, his followers growing, some become jealous and would like to take those humans - which is not possible because each human is bonded in Penton and thus "out of the market". Others think that Penton is only a kind of military group growing to take the powers. For both of these camps the solution is to destroy Penton and Aidan.

There are secondary plots really interesting too and twists in the series are sometimes really unexpected and the reader is immersed in the story full of action, romance and lots of intrigues. I really recommend it.

The first book is Redemption and his centred on Aidan and Krys. you can find my review here
If you want this book you can buy it on  amazon or on  Bookdepository

Second book is Absolution with the story of Mirren and Glory , my Review
If you want this book you can buy it on  amazon or on  Bookdepository

and finally book 3: Omega will tell us the story of Will and Randa and it will be released on the 5th February 2013.

However, a blog tour will start on January 28th and last a whole month with lots of interviews, guest posts and giveaways (Susannah is a very generous person so i can already tell you that international readers won't be excluded!!) To have more info about the tour or the series check Susannah's Blog

I will have a review of Omega and if things go as planned i will also host a guest post in the future. So keep your eyes open.

Don't hesitate to pre order Omega already!  You can buy it on  amazon or on  Bookdepository

amazon still has a reduced price on all books of the series so it's time if you want to enjoy a good series without spending too much ( even if Penton Legacy series is really worth it!!)

Do you know this series? Do you like it? Want to discover it after reading this? Tempted to read my reviews of book 1 and/or2?  Are you going to join the blog tour?

To join in, copy and paste these rules and the above banner into your Fanged Mania post and add your link to this week’s Fanged Mania post at Elisabeth Wheatley’s Blog. Fanged Mania is a Friday meme counting down to the release of Fanged Princess and displaying all things vampire and awesome. Fanged Mania posts can be a review of a vampire book, a quote from the latest Vampire Diaries episode, a showcase of a cool vampire book’s cover, or whatever you like so long as it is vampire related. Don’t forget, participants will be entered in the drawing to win a fanged-abulous prize pack!

Arc review: Absolution (Penton Legacy2)par Susannah Sandlin [avis en français]

 Bonjour à tous,

                       il y a toujours parmi nos auteurs favoris certains que l'on préfère ou admire un peu plus, pour moi l'un d'entre eux est Susannah Johnson. J'admire beaucoup sa personnalité généreuse et attentive à autrui et son écriture est un pur délice. Aussi lorsque j'ai eu la possibilité d'écrire un avis sur le second tome de sa série je me suis sentie vraiment honorée et c'est avec grand plaisir que je vous présente aujourd'hui donc mon avis sur Absolution, suite de Redemption dont vous pouvez trouvez mon ici  .
Cette série n'étant de plus malheureusement pas encore disponible en français - l'éditeur qui en fera l'acquisition sera vraiment chanceux, vous pouvez découvrir mon avis en anglais si vous le souhaitez -lien-

Bonne lecture à tous et n'hésitez pas à pré commander ce tome qui sortira le 9 octobre !

Lu: en version originale

Editeur: Montlake Romance

Titre original:Absolution ( à paraître octobre2012)
Genre: romance paranormale
Violence: élevée
Langage: moyen
sexe: élevé
Public: +18ans
Obtenu de l’auteur en échange d’un avis honnête

Quatrième de couverture traduction personnelle :

Avec le monde des vampires au bord de la guerre civile suite à la rareté des humains au sang non contaminé, les lignes de batailles se dessinent entre l’enclave jadis paisible de Penton, en Alabama, regroupant vampires et humains et le puissant Tribunal Vampire. Mirren Kincaid a jadis servi le tribunal en tant que leur plus créatif et cruel bourreau- une époque où il était appelé « Le Slayer ». Cependant quand il se vit assigner un meurtre qu’il jugea douteux, Mirren abandonna les manipulations politiques du tribunal et disparut.- refaisant surface seulement deux siècles plus tard en tant que protecteur et second de Penton. Maintenant le tribunal veut le récupérer.

Afin de briser leur déserteur, ils capturent Glory Cummings, descendante d’un Shaman, et l’envoie ranimer la nature sanguinaire de Mirren. Toutefois au lieu d’un monstre, Glory voit un homme écrasé par le poids de son passé. Est-ce que son touché magique – supposé selon le tribunal éveiller un meurtrier violent- pourrait en fait aider Mirren à briser ses liens et découvrir l’amour qu’il croit ne croit pas mériter.

Mon avis:

         

       C’est toujours agréable et même génial lorsque le second livre d’une série est de la même qualité que le premier tome et Susannah Sandlin ne déçoit aucunement sur ce point !

Certes pour apprécier ce livre dans les meilleurs conditions, it est préférable de lire le premier tome  « Redemption » d’abord  puisque de nombreux évènements prenant place dans ce dernier ont des conséquences ici et que de nombreuses explications détaillées y sont fournies. Je suppose que Absolution peut être lu seul bien sur car l’auteur a bien prit soin de rappeler les éléments importants mais vous manqueriez trop de choses, des détails peut-être mais pas insignifiants selon moi. Maintenant, si vous avez lu « Redemption »  vous serez simplement replonger directement où vous en étiez restez et c’est un pur plaisir.

Ce livre est centré sur Mirren, guerrier expérimenté et  second d’Aidan. Ce puissant vampire n’est pas heureux, sa vie à Penton lui apporte de la satisfaction mais il reste prisonnier de son passé et de ces actes à l’époque. Jadis il fut le bourreau du tribunal des vampires et à ce poste il ne se posait pas de questions, il exécutait simplement les ordres car c’était assez similaire à ce qu’il faisait de son vivant. Cependant progressivement il s’est mis s’interroger jusqu’à un cas bien précis qui a mis les choses sous un jour nouveau. Il décida alors de disparaître en faisant croire à sa mort et jusqu’à ce qu’il rencontre Aidan il ne savait plus en quoi croire. Malgré tout il continue à se torturer, se croyant bon qu’à tuer alors que dans le même temps il essaie de changer sa façon de vivre et sa réputation.  Prisonnier au main de l’ennemi il va toutefois se battre pour rester celui qu’il souhaite être au lieu de tuer la femme qui lui est envoyée afin qu’il la tue dans une rage aveugle dû au manque de nourriture et au lieu de la tuer il se nourrit avec prudence et la sauve à la première occasion.

Glory a toujours vécu en marge de la société même sa famille était honteuse de sa différence. Capturée et torturée par des vampires elle refuse pourtant de leur donner ce qu’il veulent. Même droguée de force, elle continue de résister si bien que son ravisseur abandonne son projet premier et décide de se servir d’elle afin de retransformer Mirren en assassin sans la moindre conscience, assoiffé de soif. Cependant, face à celui qui est supposé la tuer, Glory voit d’abord un homme, un autre prisonnier qui a besoin de son aide. Sauvée et sous sa protection, elle apprend à s’accepter elle-même ou plus précisément à réapprendre à réver tout en découvrant ce que Mirren garde secret à son sujet et au lieu de voir son passé comme un obstacle elle prend la décision de le voir comme ce qui a fait de lui l’homme et le guerrier qu’il est de nos jour, un loyal protecteur. Rapidement, elle met ses talents à son service.

C’était formidable d’apprendre tant de choses sur Mirren, de voir pourquoi il semblait tellement effrayé par les responsabilité et combine il est troublé. Nous avions pu en avoir un léger aperçu dans « Redemption » mais cela restait vague. Dans Absolution, nous pouvons enfin réellement le comprendre et découvrir son humour. Sa relation avec Glory est touchante, la façon dont il la voit fragile et lui bien plus fort et sachant pertinemment ce qui est bon pour elle alors que elle voit les choses sous un angle complètement différent. Ils doivent tous les deux s’adapter et l’auteur a fait usage de la psychologie qui leur convenait le mieux, tellement bien même que nous pouvons aisément les comprendre et éprouver de la compassion pour ce qu’ils ont vécu et les obstacles qu’ils doivent affronter désormais.

J’ai également apprécié de retrouver Will , transformé à un jeune âge et encore immature dans le premier livre, jouant à des jeux vidéo et faisant des blagues mais qui pouvait également agir comme le lieutenant qu’il était. Dans ce tome on peut voir son évolution bien qu’il agisse encore comme un adolescent lorsqu’il se chamaille pour un rien avec Randa, il prend aussi ses responsabilités. Il prend des risques pour ce en quoi il croit et il reconnaît ses faiblesses, n’essaie pas de les cacher. Il n’est pas un dirigeant mais il est un excellent lieutenant et ses compétences ne devraient pas être sous estimées. Si Mirren est un grand stratège pour les combats, il a besoin de Will qui est un très bon analyste. J’aimerai vraiment en apprendre d’avantage sur comment il a rencontré Aidan et s’est joint à lui. En parlant d’Aidan il est bien évidemment présent ainsi que Krys mais leur rôle est ici plus mineur et j’ai été surprise de voir combien Krys était vulnérable alors que des semaines ont passé entre les 2 tomes et que Aidan n’était pas aussi protecteur vis-à-vis d’elle que ce à quoi je me serai attendue (un peu trop confiant et pas assez paranoïaque^^)

Après les personnages, que dire de l’intrigue ? Susannah Sandlin savait manifestement où elle voulait en venir car l’intrigue est parfaitement dans la lignée de la première partie de la trilogie, pas un pépin. Rien ne manque de ce que nous avons précédemment appris, pas de contradictions ou d’incohérences, un vrai régal. Nous avons toujours la ligne principale : l’antipathie entre Matthias et Aidan (ainsi que tous les habitants de Penton) suite à sa soif de pouvoir et sa jalousie. A côté de cette intrigue principale fil rouge de la trilogie, nous avons des intrigues secondaires qui viennent pimenté le tout et ont des conséquences  au long du récit comme les luttes d’influences au sein du tribunal, les alliés inattendu et les trahisons.

La fin n’est pas un cliffhanger mais je ne peux m’empêcher d’attendre avec impatience la conclusion de cette trilogie afin de voir d’en savourer le déroulement car Susannah peut bien nous révéler des surprises alors je ne sais trop à quelle conclusion m’attendre.

J’ai vraiment aimé ce livre avec la  douce et progressive romance et un Mirren un peu hésitant et bien loin d’être parfait et une Glory avec son humour, ses rêves et son esprit combatif. La douce Hannah si mignonne lorsqu’elle rit ou pleure. Les personnages sont vraiment merveilleusement construits, leur psychologie bien pensée les rend tellement réalistes.

C’est vraiment un excellent livre que j’ai bien eu du mal à mettre de côté lorsqu’il était temps de manger ou dormir et que je recommande à tous les fans de romances paranormales et de vampires pas nécessairement dominants.

Score:  4,5/5

                                 Source: une copie en échange d'un avis personnel et honnête, , aucune autre compensation n'a été reçue.

  Si vous souhaitez ce livre vous pouvez l'acheter sur amazon ou sur Bookdepository

       Vous pouvez trouver plus d'information sur Susannah et sur cette série sur son site Web

Challenges:

This book enter in the Romance and Me Challenge

Arc Review:Absolution (Penton Legacy2) by Susannah Sandlin [ english review]

Hello to all,

     It's with an great pleasure that i'm reviewing Absolution today. Susannah Sandlin is an important author for me and i really appreciate her kindness and generosity so i'm feeling honored to review the second book of the Penton Legacy Series. If you haven't read Redemption yet jump on it, it's really excellent, you can find my review here or even in french here.

Absolution is released on the 9th october so don't wait to pre order/buy it you won't have any regrets. ( It's even on promotion on amazon so take advantage of it) Also during october there is a blog tour celebrating the release of Absolution where you can win an kindle so check her blog please ( it's international!!!!)

Happy reading!

Publisher: Montlake Romance

Publication: 2012 ( October 9th)

Genre: paranormal romance
Violence: strong
Langage: mild
sex: strong
Public: 18+

Source: ARC received in exchange for an honest review

Short description from goodread :

 

With the vampire world on the brink of civil war over the scarcity of untainted human blood, battle lines are being drawn between the once peaceful vampire and human enclave of Penton, Alabama, and the powerful Vampire Tribunal. Mirren Kincaid once served the tribunal as their most creative and ruthless executioner—a time when he was known as the Slayer. But when assigned a killing he found questionable, Mirren abandoned the tribunal’s political machinations and disappeared—only to resurface two centuries later as the protector and second-in-command of Penton. Now the tribunal wants him back on their side.

To break their rogue agent, they capture Glory Cummings, the descendant of a shaman, and send her to restore Mirren’s bloodthirsty nature. But instead of a monster, Glory sees a man burdened by the weight of his past. Could her magic touch—meant by the tribunal to bring out a violent killer—actually help Mirren break his bonds and discover the love he doesn’t believe he deserves?

My opinion:

          It’s always great when the second book of a series is of the same quality than the first one and Susannah Sandlin doesn’t disappoint at all!

Now to enjoy this book to his full extend, it’s really better to read Redemption first because they are a lot of consequences from facts done in this first book as well as a lot of details explained. I guess Absolution can be read alone, yes, since the author took the time to explain again some important facts but you would be missing too many things at my opinion. Now if you have read Redemption first, you are just going to be immersed in the story where you left it.

This book is centred on Mirren, second in command to Aidan and experimented warrior. This strong vampire isn’t happy, his life in Penton is giving him some satisfaction but mostly he is still caught in his past and what he has done. Once he was the executioner for the Vampire Tribunal and while at his post he didn’t think about what he was doing since he what similar to his job as an human warrior but slowly he started to wonder until a case that put everything under a new lights. He then decided to disappear and faked his own death but until Aidan he didn’t believe in anything again. He keeps torturing himself, thinking he is only good at killing even if in the same time he is trying to change his way of living and reputation. While caught in his enemy hands thought he fights to stay who he wants to be and instead of killing the woman sent to him he drinks from her without abuse and saves her at the first occasion.

Glory has always lived the life of an outcast; even her family was ashamed of her because of her difference. Captured and tortured by vampires, she refuses to gives them what they want. Even drugged, she keeps resisting so much that he captor gives up and prefers to use her as a bait to make Mirren become a killer, lover of blood again. However, when confronted to her supposed killer, Glory sees first a man, another prisoner who needs her help. Saved and under his protection, she learns to accept herself while discovering what Mirren kept secret about him and instead of seeing his past like an hindrance she saw it as what made him become the man he is, the loyal protector. She decides quickly to put her talents to his service.

It was wonderful to learn so much about Mirren, to see why he was afraid of the responsibilities and how troubled he is, we had a glimpse of those reasons in Redemption but it was vague. In absolution, we really can understand him and discover his humour.  His relationship with Glory is cute, the way he see her as fragile and him so strong while she thinks and sees something quite different. They both have to adjust and the author did use the perfect psychology for them, so well that we can understand and feel compassion for what they lived and what they are facing now.

I also loved to see Will again, transformed really young he was still a bit immature in the first book, playing videogame, making jokes but he could also act like the lieutenant he is. In this book we see his evolution while he still act like a teenager when bickering with Randa about anything he also take responsibilities. He takes some risks for what he believes in and he admits his weaknesses, he doesn’t try to hide them. He isn’t a leader but he is a really good lieutenant and his abilities shouldn’t be looked down. If Mirren is a great battle tactician, he still need Will as an excellent analyst.   I wouldn’t mind to discover how he joined Aidan in more details.

Aidan and Krys also have they role in this book but a minor one and I was surprised to see Krys so vulnerable because some weeks have passed between the two books and Aidan wasn’t as protective as I thought he would be (a bit too trusting and not paranoiac enough^^)

After the characters, what about the plot? Susannah Sandlin really knew where she wanted to go because the plot is perfectly in the line of the first part of the trilogy, not a glitch. Nothing is missed from what we learned before, no contradictions or inconsistencies. We still have the main plot of the trilogy: the tension between Matthias and Aidan and all the inhabitants of Penton because of his thirst for power, his jealousy. And we have the smaller plots, which have consequences later in the story with the political power struggles with the unexpected allies and the treacheries. This book is just a bit darker yes but nothing too horrible ( and I’m really sensitive^^)The end isn’t a cliffhanger but I can’t wait to read the last part to see how the story will be developed to its conclusion.

I really loved this book with her sweet romance and a Mirren a bit hesitant and far from perfect and a Glory with humour and her dreams, her fighting spirit. Sweet Hannah is so cute and showing her innocence when she is crying or laughing. The characters are really well constructed, their psychology with real basis making them so easy to believe in.

Really, it’s a great book and it was really difficult to put it down. I would recommend it to the lover of paranormal romance and to those who like to see vampires strong, fierce but not overly dominant.

Score:  4,5/5

If you want this book you can buy it on  amazon or on  Bookdepository

You can find more informations on the series and Susannah on her Blog

Source: a copy in exchange for a honest review, no other compensation was received.

Challenges:

This book enter in the Romance and Me Challenge

Redemption ( The Penton Legacy 1) by Susannah Sandlin - english version

Hello to all,

                   It's with a great pleasure that i introduce you today to Redemption, first book of the series Penton Legacy by Susannah Sandlin. This very friendly author accepted to send me a copy so i could review this and i can't tell you how happy i'm. I absolutely adored it and i'm so happy to share it with you.

I wanted at first to do a review in French and English but i loved this book so much that i wrote a long post already without the second langague so in the end you get it but in two post instead of one so if you wish to check the french version of this review Click Here.

Now, if you loves this review go to check the author's website, there is a blog tour going on and you could win a copy as well as learning a lot about the series.

Now without waiting here come Redemption by Susannah Sandlin.

Publisher: Montlake Romance

Publication: 2012

ISBN: 1612183549

Genre: paranormal romance
Violence: strong
Langage: normal
sex: mild
Public: 18+

Source: book received in exchange for an honest review

Short description from goodread :

 For vampire Aidan Murphy, life has never been so desperate. The vaccine used to treat a global pandemic has rendered human blood deadly to his kind, leaving them on the brink of starvation and civil war. In tiny Penton, Alabama, Aidan establishes a peaceful community of vampires and unvaccinated human donors. He dares to hope they can survive ? until his estranged brother descends upon Penton and begins killing the humans. Determined to save his town, Aidan kidnaps an unsuspecting human doctor?and finds himself falling in love for the first time in nearly four centuries.

Dr. Krystal Harris thought she was coming to Penton for a job interview, but Aidan Murphy has other plans. Infuriated by his high-handed scheme to imprison her in the small town, Krys can?t ignore the attraction between them. But is it love? Or does her dangerous, charismatic captor want only to bend her to his will?

My opinion:

          After reading some excerpts since I follow the author, I had to read this book and I’m not disappointed at all. Susannah Sandlin exceeded my expectations I mean apart from the story the book in itself  is a real treasure, paper of high quality and all a real splendour that will be cherished. For the books’ Lovers, that’s something that deserves recognition.

Now about the story, I really enjoyed the originality of the concept. In the paranormal romance genre actually there  some similar big lines that a lot of authors follow and it’s not bad at all but the originality of one or another are a great bonus. Susannah Sandlin do gave us a new universe, in this one human beings are not rare and vampires are quite normal  yes they are stronger than us, heal faster, have mental abilities but  no special powers from being vampires. The ones who have some magical, mystical powers had them as human as well like with the “young” Hannah.  If you were a normal, common human you will be a common vampire as well.

These vampires are in fact an endangered species and I found that idea really interesting to start with.  Like often they have to keep their existence a secret, it hasn’t been a difficulty for them until now because of a  big pandemic  a lot of humans died and to survived they created a vaccine that unknown to them is deadly to vampires and make their blood poisonous. A great protection against vampires? Yes, but also a higher risk for the few who aren’t vaccinated , the starving vampires are more dangerous than never and a black market at all start to appears when they are fighting over a small quantity of people.

For me, it was really important since that explains better the personality and actions of the characters. Aidan was a farmer and in a way still is. He knows he has to take care of the humans because he needs them to survive and a human needs to be respected  not  breed like animals thus he creates a sort of family where everyone need the others. The humans need the protection and help, the vampires their blood and for some their presence. All are linked together. Aidan is really protective and also strict, he checks each person, vampire or human, who wishes to join the community and he does it himself.  Kidnapping Krys is something that goes against what he believes and in the same time it’s the only way to protect the group; for Aidan that’s really difficult but he is ready to face her wrath, to loose his reputation if that’s’ helps the majority. Disturbing? Sure, but how often are we confronted to such a choice and it’s not easy, at least he wants to do right.

For Krystal , her kidnapping is in fact quite positive.  For a long time, she is fleeing the memory of her father who abused her and wants her back. She has fought for her life and her dream of becoming doctor and in the same time she never took the time to heal herself. She has panic attack, nightmares and her abduction helps her to put things in perspective and to discover what she really wishes to be and to have. I loved how she could be practical when she give Aidan advices and still be so vulnerable.

The romance is moving, the way they both have to accept the past and closes those relationships that forbid them to advance and how they are learning about themselves in the eyes of their soulmates, so romantic.  I would just have loved if she didn’t had to make the choice or at least not so soon.

The intrigue is well constructed too, we are learning that the tribunal isn’t as neutral as it says and Aidan’s idea is making a lot of envious. He wanted to be independent before but now he really now he must be very careful when choosing who can be trusted. His brother was just a pawn and the threat is bigger that they expected.

The others characters are fascinating too, Hannah, the child vampire with magical powers, I felt sad for Lucy and her choices and I absolutely loved Mirren.  He is an old vampire and before his life in Penton he was the executioner for the Tribunal. However, he isn’t a killing machine without mind, and he started to be hurt but the kills he had to make when he wasn’t sure he could trust the tribunal. He even preferred to die than to be their tool. We don’t learn yet what made him doubt the tribunal but we know that’s when he wanted to die that he met Aidan. He is one of his trusted lieutenants but he doesn’t want to be more. He is strong and very intelligent but really afraid of the responsibilities. I’m really happy that the second book will be about him.

Really, it’s a great book and even if I wasn’t well I couldn’t put it down. I would recommend it to the lover of paranormal romance and to those who like to see our dear vampires struggle with their humanity^^

The second book Absolution should be out in October 2012 and I can’t wait for it!

If you want this book you can buy it on  amazon or on  Bookdepository

You can find more informations on the series and Susannah on her Blog

Source: a copy in exchange for a honest review, no other compensation was received.

Score:  5/5

Challenges:

This book enter in the Romance and Me Challenge