aquariandancer's review against another edition
4.0
Beladors Book Two
Evalle's meeting with the Tribunal does NOT go well. She is accused of freeing three Alterants and tasked with finding them or being locked up herself. Not only will she face the Tribunal's wrath if she fails, Brina will also pay the consequences. After being thrown into the jungle at the mercy of Tristan, Evalle begins searching for the Alterants who could save her. Meanwhile, the Medb sorceress, Kizira, is up to more sinister plans.
If you're looking for an urban fantasy series with kick, this is it!
Evalle's meeting with the Tribunal does NOT go well. She is accused of freeing three Alterants and tasked with finding them or being locked up herself. Not only will she face the Tribunal's wrath if she fails, Brina will also pay the consequences. After being thrown into the jungle at the mercy of Tristan, Evalle begins searching for the Alterants who could save her. Meanwhile, the Medb sorceress, Kizira, is up to more sinister plans.
If you're looking for an urban fantasy series with kick, this is it!
jazzrizz's review against another edition
5.0
First off . . . can I say how much I love Storm!!
What a great book. Evalle is once again caught up in situations beyond her control. So many twists and turns in this book. I did want to choke a lot of characters in this one. Brina . . . Tzader . . . Macha (especially her!!) . . . Quinn . . . Tristan . . . even Evalle at times.
. . . and the ending! Geesh, I cannot wait for the next book to come out!!
What a great book. Evalle is once again caught up in situations beyond her control. So many twists and turns in this book. I did want to choke a lot of characters in this one. Brina . . . Tzader . . . Macha (especially her!!) . . . Quinn . . . Tristan . . . even Evalle at times.
. . . and the ending! Geesh, I cannot wait for the next book to come out!!
lpcoolgirl's review against another edition
5.0
Oh, great to see the characters again, and fast paced, and I can't wait to read The Curse! It sounds really good! Can't wait for it! And Feenix was cute again!
jacqueline1989's review
5.0
Action, suspense, more action, epic fight scenes, hardcore characters, more epic fight scenes...oh, and did I mention sheer awesomeness wrapped up in 407 pages?!
This book is exactly what every book should be, and more! Evalle is such a fascinating woman that I can't help but find myself enraptured with any and everything that happens to this female lead! What's more, the reality is simply that no author ever snags me so easily by creating what I call the single-character-stories. It's fairly popular for a writer to create one character, and subsequently telling this character's story in a series. That has never, ever interested me.
Why? Simple.
It takes an insane amount of talent, creativity, and excellent character development for me to stay interested in a single character for longer than one book. I once assumed this was a feat that no author could ever achieve, but Sherri and Di completely proved me wrong with the Belador series!
Alterant was, in many ways, so ahead of my expectations that it's almost a moot point. I was very interested in this series with book one, Blood Trinity, but my interest was of the standard "this-is-Sherri-and-Di-and-thus-far-I'm-loving-it" type. Now, having read Alterant, my interest is at the level of "HOLY HOLY HOLY GOD!" Not exactly a very literary description for my adoration, but the statement sure does a nice job of summarizing my emotions.
Alterant delivers in every conceivable way. The plot remains high charged and dramatic, sprinkling amazing action and suspense into an already action-packed suspenseful series. Every character, from those which remain close to Evalle physically and/or emotionally, to the perceived and obvious evil baddies, plays an extremely important role in moving this story from Point A to Point B, and so on.
The characters, of course, are perfectly constructed, and I would find it abysmal if a reader could think otherwise. The writing, as always, was on point and witty, professional and fun. I realize we all have our opinions, of course, but I doubt many could legitimately locate a single flaw within this novel...and that is such a rarity.
This book is exactly what every book should be, and more! Evalle is such a fascinating woman that I can't help but find myself enraptured with any and everything that happens to this female lead! What's more, the reality is simply that no author ever snags me so easily by creating what I call the single-character-stories. It's fairly popular for a writer to create one character, and subsequently telling this character's story in a series. That has never, ever interested me.
Why? Simple.
It takes an insane amount of talent, creativity, and excellent character development for me to stay interested in a single character for longer than one book. I once assumed this was a feat that no author could ever achieve, but Sherri and Di completely proved me wrong with the Belador series!
Alterant was, in many ways, so ahead of my expectations that it's almost a moot point. I was very interested in this series with book one, Blood Trinity, but my interest was of the standard "this-is-Sherri-and-Di-and-thus-far-I'm-loving-it" type. Now, having read Alterant, my interest is at the level of "HOLY HOLY HOLY GOD!" Not exactly a very literary description for my adoration, but the statement sure does a nice job of summarizing my emotions.
Alterant delivers in every conceivable way. The plot remains high charged and dramatic, sprinkling amazing action and suspense into an already action-packed suspenseful series. Every character, from those which remain close to Evalle physically and/or emotionally, to the perceived and obvious evil baddies, plays an extremely important role in moving this story from Point A to Point B, and so on.
The characters, of course, are perfectly constructed, and I would find it abysmal if a reader could think otherwise. The writing, as always, was on point and witty, professional and fun. I realize we all have our opinions, of course, but I doubt many could legitimately locate a single flaw within this novel...and that is such a rarity.
bibliofiendlm's review
3.0
I do like this series by Kenyon and Love. It's a departure from some of their other urban fantasy/paranormal romance. Good action, just enough angst.
dommiecf's review
5.0
Warning: this book will give you tons of anxiety and keep you on the edge of your seat the whole way through
wanderinglynn's review
2.0
Sometimes the sequel is better than the first, such as Empire Strikes Back or The Godfather II. However, Alterant, book 2, failed and if possible, was worse than book 1.
This story had potential. But there are two main failings. First, as I pointed out in my review of book 1, Blood Trinity, the world-building is atrocious. There's really no world-building. Just a mish-mash of majik (yes with a "k"), gods, and supernatural powers, but no explanation. Sure, the question of "what are alterants" is part of the overarching storyline. But there still has to be some explanation as to how the frigging world works and why. There seems to be a tribe-like structure. But where and how do humans fit in? It's set mostly in Atlanta (or Hot-lanta if you prefer) and includes cell phones, but no explanation of why or how the real world intersects with this "majik" world. Demons are real. Shapeshifts of a sort are real. Beings have powers like teleportation, kinesis, and telepathy, but no rhyme or reason as to who has what powers.
Without a decent structure upon which the world is built, then any old thing can be thrown in at any time with no explanation or reason. And that's exactly what's happened here. Celtic gods? Sure why not. Hindu gods? Of course. The Greek God of War? Abso-fucking-lutely. And then the contradiction begins because according to somewhere deep in book 2, beings have to belong to a god. But what about humans? What about Storm and other Native Americans? Do their gods exist in this world and therefore somehow protect them? Who knows?
Every world has to have rules, a structure. Even the most fantastical worlds still have some form, some constraints. When an author fails to provide any structure as to the world and so allowing herself to write anything, it's sloppy writing.
That leads to the next main problem, the writing itself. I will say it's not the worst thing I've ever read. But it ranks up there. Overused clichés, terrible similes, and just poor writing and grammar in general. It was cringe-worthy in places. For example, from the top of page 182:
I started skimming because of gems like this one and the trite dialogue. I didn't miss anything.
And I won't even get started on the character building. Because with poor world-building and terrible writing, why bother focusing on decent character building and three-dimensional characters?
As I previously stated, this series is far below the standard I had expected from Ms. Kenyon. Again, the story had promise, but it clearly needed a better author and much better editing.
This story had potential. But there are two main failings. First, as I pointed out in my review of book 1, Blood Trinity, the world-building is atrocious. There's really no world-building. Just a mish-mash of majik (yes with a "k"), gods, and supernatural powers, but no explanation. Sure, the question of "what are alterants" is part of the overarching storyline. But there still has to be some explanation as to how the frigging world works and why. There seems to be a tribe-like structure. But where and how do humans fit in? It's set mostly in Atlanta (or Hot-lanta if you prefer) and includes cell phones, but no explanation of why or how the real world intersects with this "majik" world. Demons are real. Shapeshifts of a sort are real. Beings have powers like teleportation, kinesis, and telepathy, but no rhyme or reason as to who has what powers.
Without a decent structure upon which the world is built, then any old thing can be thrown in at any time with no explanation or reason. And that's exactly what's happened here. Celtic gods? Sure why not. Hindu gods? Of course. The Greek God of War? Abso-fucking-lutely. And then the contradiction begins because according to somewhere deep in book 2, beings have to belong to a god. But what about humans? What about Storm and other Native Americans? Do their gods exist in this world and therefore somehow protect them? Who knows?
Every world has to have rules, a structure. Even the most fantastical worlds still have some form, some constraints. When an author fails to provide any structure as to the world and so allowing herself to write anything, it's sloppy writing.
That leads to the next main problem, the writing itself. I will say it's not the worst thing I've ever read. But it ranks up there. Overused clichés, terrible similes, and just poor writing and grammar in general. It was cringe-worthy in places. For example, from the top of page 182:
She put a higher value on independence than an asthmatic put on oxygen.
I started skimming because of gems like this one and the trite dialogue. I didn't miss anything.
And I won't even get started on the character building. Because with poor world-building and terrible writing, why bother focusing on decent character building and three-dimensional characters?
As I previously stated, this series is far below the standard I had expected from Ms. Kenyon. Again, the story had promise, but it clearly needed a better author and much better editing.
donnah's review
5.0
The Belador series is interesting and grabs you attention. Well written with very unique characters that you want to know better. As the series continues we learn more about each character and about the rules in the worlds they live in. I love when writers tell you a great story. This is the second book so if you haven't started this series grab the first book Blood Trinity and go along on the journey.
On the heels of saving mankind from destruction at the hands of the Medb coven, Evalle attempts to convince the Tribunal that she is an Alterant who can be trusted around humans. But the gods and goddess ruling over this Tribunal twist words she’d uttered in the heat of combat and hold her responsible for three dangerous Alterants that escaped their prisons. She is given a choice to either recapture those three who will lose their freedom forever or face the same sentence. Unsure that she can condemn another Alterant to a life she’d die before accepting, Evalle takes on an impossible task only to learn that the entire future of the Beladors rides on her success—and the only person who can help her is the one who wants to gut her.
On the heels of saving mankind from destruction at the hands of the Medb coven, Evalle attempts to convince the Tribunal that she is an Alterant who can be trusted around humans. But the gods and goddess ruling over this Tribunal twist words she’d uttered in the heat of combat and hold her responsible for three dangerous Alterants that escaped their prisons. She is given a choice to either recapture those three who will lose their freedom forever or face the same sentence. Unsure that she can condemn another Alterant to a life she’d die before accepting, Evalle takes on an impossible task only to learn that the entire future of the Beladors rides on her success—and the only person who can help her is the one who wants to gut her.
namita's review
3.0
Book was too long and dragged in parts. I’m sick of Evalle suffering so much despite being an innocent.
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