cem_214's review
4.0
3.5/5. I have mixed feelings about this one. Overall, I really liked it, but I found the end somewhat disappointing.
carlyoc's review
4.0
It must have been good because I read it in three days, although it didn't leave much of an impression on me afterwards.
delz's review
4.0
This novel actually started as a short story in The Eternal Kiss: 13 Vampire Tales of Blood and Desire. It was my favorite in the anthology because it really had potential to be just a little different from all the other science fiction fantasy offerings already out there. This novel did not disappoint. The first 3 chapters are the short story and then the story picks up as Rebecca finds out that on her 17th birthday she is to inherit the family role of being a healer of the supernatural as was her mother and grandmother before her. Now it is up to the Master Vampire Syd to give her, her training and protection. In addition to Syd as a protector there is an Anubis, named Billy, he is a man-wolf. Her first patient, Ryan, also a fellow classmate in high school,needs to be treated because he has been turned “vampire” and also been bitten by a Hellhound. Rebecca is in need of protection until her 17th birthday because the demons want to steal her powers to be. The story has some action, romance and some really terrific characters. I am defiantly looking forward to the next book.
iceangel9's review
4.0
Rebecca thinks she is just a normal teenage girl trying to get through high school while taking care of her grandmother who has Alzheimer's. Then one night a wounded vampire shows up at her door and she discovers she is a Healer. A descendant of Panacea whose destiny is to care for injured otherworldly creatures. She is about to turn seventeen, the age when her powers fully manifest, and her grandmother became ill before she even began her training. If that's not bad enough there is an otherworldly war brewing and there are those who wish to kidnap her and use her powers for their own purposes. A very original concept. A story girls and boys will enjoy.
jennifer_funknfiction's review
5.0
Vampires, and man-wolves, and hellhounds, oh MY!
Rebecca MacDonnell’s plate is full. On one hand, she leads a typical high school life, complete with snotty “it” girls, a bad boy hottie, and the day to day stresses of just trying to get by. On the other, she’s a caregiver for her “Nana”, who’s memory loss has progressed from simply misplacing keys, to leaving the stove on, or getting lost on walks. The last thing Rebecca expects is to find a classmate, bleeding and dying, being dragged through her door in the middle of the night by a master vampire, after being attacked by hellhounds, to seek the help of her Nana, their healer!
One of the things I really enjoyed with this book was the twist Dina created. Just when I “thought” I knew what I was getting into, I was wrong. Rebecca doesn’t discover a world of paranormal creatures who expect her to pick sides and fight their battles with them. She discovers her gifts, as the next in a line of ethereal healers. Her strength isn’t in fighting, but in staying impartial and offering aid to those who ARE fighting.
Had the hellhound who bit **** tonight been in need himself, we would not have denied him assistance. He would have been treated and sheltered just the same, right at the side of the one he harmed, with no further hostility between them.
So… could YOU do that?? Shelter and heal the good AND the not-so-good? That’s a decision Rebecca is forced to make. Her power will mature on her 17th birthday, if she can make it that long. It seems that having the benefit of their very own, captive, healer is the goal of quite a few unsavory ethereals. The days leading up to that occasion are filled with demons attacking from bathroom stalls and the introduction of one of my favorite side characters in recent memory, Billy. For those of you who are Southern Vampire Mystery fans, think Bubba, with more hair and the appetite of a small military battalion.
We’re getting our family bonding and learning from Nana, our fast-paced action and a lot of comic relief with Billy, so that leaves Syd, the master vampire. Yeah… he’s the dreamy one who warns Rebecca not to fall for him, and of course she does. He’s the master of his clan, but gets guilted and coerced into offering apprenticeship to Rebecca for her healer training. Syd is quick-witted and snarky, but genuinely wants the best for Rebecca. Being able to hear her thoughts is the catalyst for quite a bit of their fun banter.
The original, short story version of this (what was roughly the first three chapters) is in The Eternal Kiss: 13 Tales of Blood and Desire. I was so excited when I realized it was being reworked and extended into a full novel. I really loved the characters, the storyline is different and fun to read, and the action/comedy/romance balance is just about perfect. I say just about, because I could always read more Syd, lol. Luckily, we’ll be getting more Syd, and the rest of the gang, in book 2 of the Stranger Things series, Time Heals. I have theories about this next book. When you all read All Wounds (and that should be soon, or… now, even) let me know, cause I NEED to share!!
originally posted on my website: http://wp.me/pOeF4-gf
Rebecca MacDonnell’s plate is full. On one hand, she leads a typical high school life, complete with snotty “it” girls, a bad boy hottie, and the day to day stresses of just trying to get by. On the other, she’s a caregiver for her “Nana”, who’s memory loss has progressed from simply misplacing keys, to leaving the stove on, or getting lost on walks. The last thing Rebecca expects is to find a classmate, bleeding and dying, being dragged through her door in the middle of the night by a master vampire, after being attacked by hellhounds, to seek the help of her Nana, their healer!
One of the things I really enjoyed with this book was the twist Dina created. Just when I “thought” I knew what I was getting into, I was wrong. Rebecca doesn’t discover a world of paranormal creatures who expect her to pick sides and fight their battles with them. She discovers her gifts, as the next in a line of ethereal healers. Her strength isn’t in fighting, but in staying impartial and offering aid to those who ARE fighting.
Had the hellhound who bit **** tonight been in need himself, we would not have denied him assistance. He would have been treated and sheltered just the same, right at the side of the one he harmed, with no further hostility between them.
So… could YOU do that?? Shelter and heal the good AND the not-so-good? That’s a decision Rebecca is forced to make. Her power will mature on her 17th birthday, if she can make it that long. It seems that having the benefit of their very own, captive, healer is the goal of quite a few unsavory ethereals. The days leading up to that occasion are filled with demons attacking from bathroom stalls and the introduction of one of my favorite side characters in recent memory, Billy. For those of you who are Southern Vampire Mystery fans, think Bubba, with more hair and the appetite of a small military battalion.
We’re getting our family bonding and learning from Nana, our fast-paced action and a lot of comic relief with Billy, so that leaves Syd, the master vampire. Yeah… he’s the dreamy one who warns Rebecca not to fall for him, and of course she does. He’s the master of his clan, but gets guilted and coerced into offering apprenticeship to Rebecca for her healer training. Syd is quick-witted and snarky, but genuinely wants the best for Rebecca. Being able to hear her thoughts is the catalyst for quite a bit of their fun banter.
The original, short story version of this (what was roughly the first three chapters) is in The Eternal Kiss: 13 Tales of Blood and Desire. I was so excited when I realized it was being reworked and extended into a full novel. I really loved the characters, the storyline is different and fun to read, and the action/comedy/romance balance is just about perfect. I say just about, because I could always read more Syd, lol. Luckily, we’ll be getting more Syd, and the rest of the gang, in book 2 of the Stranger Things series, Time Heals. I have theories about this next book. When you all read All Wounds (and that should be soon, or… now, even) let me know, cause I NEED to share!!
originally posted on my website: http://wp.me/pOeF4-gf
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