Publisher: HarperTeen

Release date: March 6, 2012

Rating: 5 stars – I LOVED THIS TO PIECES!

Purchase from Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million

SYNOPSIS

For hundreds of years, the vampire Balthazar has been alone–without allies, without love.

When Balthazar agrees to help Skye Tierney, a human girl who once attended Evernight Academy, he has no idea how dangerous it will be. Skye’s newfound psychic powers have caught the attention of Redgrave, the cruel, seductive master vampire responsible for murdering Balthazar and his family four centuries ago. Now Redgrave plans to use Skye’s powers for his own evil purposes.

Balthazar will do whatever it takes to stop Redgrave and exact his long-awaited revenge against his killer. As Skye and Balthazar stand together to fight him, they grow closer–first unwillingly, then undeniably. Balthazar realizes his lonely world could finally be changed by her. . . .

WARNING. MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS.

For fans of the Evernight series, Claudia Gray delivers in Balthazar with forbidden love and heart-racing suspense that will keep you captivated until the very last page.

I am one of those hard core Claudia Gray fans. I love all her work and was beyond excited to read Balthazar, a spin-off to the Evernight series following one of my favorite characters, Balthazar – or Balty as Vic calls him and is the only one that can call him that. In the Evernight series, Balthazar’s love for Bianca was unrequited and…that was it. He’s a really good guy – unlike most vampire lead protagonist. He’s loyal, strong, sweet, rational, and riddled with his own share of guilt and redemption.

Gray puts us in the center of the action from the beginning of the novel where Skye is attacked by a vampire and is saved by Balthazar.  Balthazar is in New York to protect Skye as she has developed a new psychic ability. Ever since she let Bianca possess her body in Hourglass (I believe it’s Hourglass, I may be wrong) Skye has been plagued by visions of those who have died. Whenever she goes into a room or place where there has been death, Skye sees the death unravel right before her eyes. This new ability causes her blood to have magical properties, giving a vampire the ability to relive a past memory again. It’s the reason why Redgrave is so keen on getting Skye to come with her and thus, is the beginning of an adventure for Balthazar to keep Skye safe.

Skye isn’t your average, defenseless teenage girl that seem to plague a book where vampires are involved. With that said, when Skye is put into dangerous situations she is more than capable of holding her own. Which makes me love her and cheer, “YES!” and give a little happy dance.

This brings me to characters and since I am on the subject of Skye I shall continue my praise. Skye Tierney is a strong, female protagonist. She fights and goes after what she wants. Her life hasn’t been easy as of late with the death of her brother and her absentee parents, not to mention her new-found ability. Even the constant rejection coming from Balthazar because of a little factor called – HE’S A VAMPIRE – didn’t hinder her ability to be a strong character. There were times where I thought she would break down and cry because of everything that was happening around her, but she didn’t. Why? Because she’s strong – I can’t emphasis that enough. She is unsettled by events, but it doesn’t make her weak. Instead it pushes her to keep on going.

She’s also not like other girl in books where they are completely oblivious to the fact that a guy likes them. Nope. She knows that Balthazar likes her and she’s not afraid of being bold, putting herself out there. Their swoon worthy flirting made me giggle like a little kid on Christmas morning! I just utterly loved it!

Then there is Balthazar Moore – that is with two O’s not one *sigh* He’s charming. Sexy. Fierce. Did I mention swoon worthy?  I would just like to say that I completely fell in love with Balthazar in this installment. I loved him in Evernight, but with his own novel I got to see and know so much more of him. The novel is littered with flashbacks of his past – both human and vampire experiences . His guilt over murdering his sister runs deeper than I could have every imagined. His thirst for revenge is the driving force for more than half of his immortal life. My heart hurt whenever he denied himself Skye. His mantra, “No humans” practically made me scream out in frustration because he deserved to be happy! He’s not a bad guy, but I understand his concerns for being with a human. His reasoning is logical but STILL.

With that said, I have to give brownie points to Claudia Gray and her frustrating but great job with the internal conflict surrounding Balthazar. He’s fighting the will of his undeniable attraction for her. He has his “No humans” rule, but with every second he spends with her it becomes harder and harder to not break it. How can he stay away from her when it’s his duty to protect her?

The thing I loved about Balthazar was that he wasn’t self-loathing. Let’s face it – a good percentage of vampire books have the male protagonist hating what he is. Balthazar is guilty for what he has done in the past, but he embraces what he has now with a little bit of hard, cold reality. I love how he is strong and protective, especially when it concerns Skye. There isn’t anything that he wouldn’t do to keep her safe and out of the evil clutches of Redgrave – the vampire that killed him and his family centuries ago and is now after Skye for what magical attributes her blood possesses.

We see a lot of old and new faces return in Balthazar that are pivotal for the story itself. I like that no character goes unused. They all have a purpose no matter how miniscule it might be. The plot line is heart-racing and full of suspense and heartache. There’s a little bit of mystery and jaw-dropping surprises that will leave you happy as a clam. If you have read the Evernight books and have not read Balthazar you are missing out! It’s a fun and thrilling roller coaster ride that will leave your heart filled with irrevocable love and joy. Gray does not disappoint in this last installment in the series. It’s mature and written brilliantly and needless to say, it’s definitely one of my favorite book in the entire series. I’m glad to have finally read it as I fell utterly in love all over again with the world Claudia Gray created.

Memorable quotes:

One thing you can always be sure of – any vampire’s life story has an unhappy ending.

Balthazar was the kind of guy who used totally correct spelling and punctuation even when he was texting, which was sort of bizarrely hot. She was in serious trouble if commas could get her going.

Her kisses tasted like poison, and he kissed her more deeply for that, hoping that one day the poison might finally finish this life that wasn’t life and let him truly die.

Don’t you see? It’s the first life I’ve had in four hundred years. With you–in the only way that matters–I’m alive again.

***

Speaking of Claudia Gray, she mentioned me in her blog a couple of weeks ago, which you can check out here! I was so excited. It”s a small mention, but I nearly died of happiness

THAT’S RIGHT! It’s another giveaway hop! (One of these days, I should probably slow down with these, right?) But that day is the future. For now, let me invite you to a giveaway with almost 150 blogs participating! It’s hosted by I’m a Reader, Not a Writer and Reading Lark. Click HERE for a link to the list of blogs!

NOW FOR MY GIVEAWAY!

If you follow my blog, you may or may not know that I’m a sucker for vampire books. (Yes, pun intended. I shouldn’t quit my day job. Anyways.) So I decided for my giveaway I’d help you all get bit by a new series – the Evernight series by Claudia Gray!

Evernight | Stargazer | Hourglass | Afterlife

Interested? Then please follow THIS link before 11:59 PM on October 8th! Note that this giveaway is US only.

by Claudia Gray

Haunted by memories from his first days as a vampire, Balthazar has spent hundreds of years alone—without allies, without love. When he emerges from his isolation to help Skye Tierney, a human girl who once attended Evernight Academy, Balthazar has no idea how dangerous it will be. Skye’s psychic powers have caught the attention of Redgrave, the cruel master vampire responsible for murdering Balthazar and his family four centuries ago. Having learned of Skye’s powers and the remarkable effect her blood has on vampires, he plans to use her for his own evil purposes. As they stand together to fight the evil vampire, Balthazar realizes his lonely world could finally be changed by Skye…just as Redgrave realizes that he can destroy Balthazar once and for all by taking her for his own.
In a story filled with forbidden love and dark suspense, one of the most beloved characters in Claudia Gray’s New York Times bestselling Evernight series will captivate readers with his battle to overcome his past and follow his heart

Hardcover, 374 pages
 Published   March 6th 2012  by HarperTeen

My Rating

My thoughts

Consider myself I am a huge fan of Evernight series the only emotion I had when I received in my mailbox Balthazar book was only one : joy

The book starts when Skye Tierney a ex form student of Evernight Academy was attacked from a vampire called Lorenzo and the ending would be very bad if Balthazar wasn’t there to save her.Lorenzo turns out to be a vampire from Balthazar past one  who has murderer his own family but he is not the main villain behind it. Balthazar has swear to Bianca and Lucas to stay and to keep Skye save.

If you have read already Evernight Series you know already the dramatic things that happened to Skye and why she is so important. If you haven’t lets just say that Balthazar needs to stay because of her ability and (this is also new for us too)because of how important Skye is.
I am not really sure if the love for Evernight series had anything major to do with Balthazar novella but I really really like it.
Balthazar was already a beloved character to the series but focusing more into Bianca and Lucas left us hanging there without knowing so much about his past and this the main reason I was happy to see him getting his own book because in my opinion he truly deserved it.

Skye is nothing like Bianca but getting to know her was fun and very interesting and with her sad parts of her life.
The relationship between Skye and Balthazar was adorable and cute. They really deserved to be together and I love the fact they really stand to each other difficulties
As always Claudia Gray created a story with a very interesting book with lots of storyline and action.

The ending was satisfied and it was what I really wanted for our characters. I just wish there is more in from Balthazar or in Evernight Series in General (a spinoff will be a great idea too). I guess it is still hard to say goodbye!
For Fans of Evernight Series i am sure they will love it for those who havent read i believe they can still read this since it is a standar alone novella but they should take a moment and read them to understand more about Balthazar

Paperback, 1 Reprint Edition, 327 pages Series: Evernight #1 Published February 10th 2009 by HarperTeen ISBN: 9780061284397 Buy: Amazon|Book Depository Genre: YA Paranormal Bianca wants to escape.She’s been uprooted from her small hometown and enrolled at Evernight Academy, an eerie Gothic boarding school where the students are somehow too perfect: smart, sleek, and almost predatory. Bianca knows she doesn’t fit in. Then she meets Lucas. He’s not the “Evernight type” either, and he likes it that way. Lucas ignores the rules, stands up to the snobs, and warns Bianca to be careful even when it comes to caring about him. “I couldn’t stand it if they took it out on you,” he tells Bianca, “and eventually they would.” But the connection between Bianca and Lucas can’t be denied. Bianca will risk anything to be with Lucas, but dark secrets are fated to tear them apart . . . and to make Bianca question everything she’s ever believed.

I read this novel after watching the movie Underwold: Awakening. I don’t know what got into me but I felt the movie was not enough and so I wanted to read a vampire themed novel to quench my growing thirst for blood vampires. I would have picked up an adult vampire novel but I still have a hangover with the Black Dagger Brotherhood Series and the Immortals After Dark Series plus I wanted to read something new—thus I ended up with Evernight.

This is another Twilight rip off with a mix of Vampire Knight. If you were fond of reading Japanese Manga or watching Japanese Anime, you would immediately notice it’s resemblance with Vampire Knight. If not, you would think that the plot is different from most YA Paranormal Vampire novels out there.

I enjoyed reading the first half of this novel. I know it’s a vampire book therefore, I’m expecting that half of the students in the school are vampires. I kindda liked the eerie-gothic feel of the school and the guessing of who the vampires are. Well, it’s pretty obvious since most of the vamps in YA books are almost perfect. You can easily point them out and you’ll just wait for the confirmation as the story progress. What I didn’t expect in the twist is the sudden change of where the story is going. The whole time I thought Lucas is the vampire. It turns out that he’s a vampire hunter and Bianca is the vampire not just today or a hundred years ago but since birth.

I was dumbfounded. All of a sudden, everyone in Evernight is a vampire (except for a few mundane students)—and it was no secret to Bianca. She knows it even before she came to Evernight. What the hell? She even has this running away drama at the start of the novel. She feels left out and she can’t get along with her fellow vampire schoolmates. Am I missing a joke somewhere? It’s as if I’m reading a totally different book.

After the hype that went on with YA Vamp-lit genre since Meyer’s mushy Edward-Bella tandem, I feel like all YA vamp books are patterned to give the readers a headache. I read and liked the series that started this madness but I won’t make a mistake of rereading it—a “book hurling” moment is something I don’t look forward to.

I would have rated this a little higher (like 2.75?) if the plot isn’t the same with Vampire Knight. I was even thinking of just giving it 2 Kiss Marks but I have to admit I was entertained regardless of the things I didn’t like in this book. Here’s a 2.5 Kiss Marks rating.

Bad: Read or watched but I’m not impressed.

I saw a hardbound copy of Hourglass, the third installment of this series, in NBS the other day for just Php 100. This time I hesitated—I’d rather buy a cup coffee and enjoy it than suffer another bout of disappointment.

I would still read Stargazer though. But only for the reason that it’s part of my Off The Shelf Challenge and that’s it—I won’t finish this series anymore.

Challenges:

Book # 25 of 2012

Other Reviews:
Reader Girl Reviews
Books from the Addict

Blurb: Goodreads
Photo Credit: Claudia Gray

For centuries, the vampire Balthazar has spent his years, alone and unloved. He agrees to help Skye, a human with secrets, that will put them both in danger. But is he also in danger of falling in love?

Fateful
Eighteen year old Tess is a maid working for a wealthy family who are now travelling on the HMS Titanic.
On board the Titanic she meets Alec, an upper-class passenger and soon falls in love. They each have their own secrets and must fight the force which is trying to tear them apart.
Very fitting seeing as the Titanic went down 100 years ago on the 14 April 1912.

Okay, I have to face it, my to-be-read list is SKY HIGH. Picking ten for the spring is going to be … death defying. Let’s give it a try! (All links will go to Goodreads unless otherwise noted.)

1. Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins

In case you missed my Waiting on Wednesday post last week, I WANT THIS BOOK. If Amazon’s shipping department wasn’t the worst, I’D HAVE IT BY NOW. But I don’t. And the wait is KILLER.

2. The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges

Really, as far as I’m concerned, you can’t go wrong with this book. It’s historical fiction in the fact that it takes place in Russia circa 1888. It’s fantasy because the main character is both a Duchess and a necromancer. This book’s blurb caught me on the first look, and I can’t wait to read it.

3. Die for Me by Amy Plum

Okay, Anna and the French Kiss maaaay have made me have an instant love of books set in Paris, which I discovered at line 2 of the blurb. Then I read the REST of the blurb and went DUDE. Let’s see if the plotline is cool enough to overcome the star-crossed lovers thing! You can bet you’ll hear which way this one goes as soon as I get my hands on it.

4. Balthazar by Claudia Gray

I’ll admit, my interest in the Evernight series continued to wane as the books went on, but it seems that this one is completley unrelated to the Evernight books and characters except for Balthazar, so sign me up! I was a huge sucker for this guy, and I’m not ashamed to admit it!

5. The Selection by Kiera Cass

Okay, this is one book where I read the blurb and I went I WANT NOW. NOW. I have no idea why, but I just fell in love right there. Plus, the CW is making it into a TV series so DUDE. I have to at least read the book so I can watch how much the series messes with the plot line.

6. City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

GUYS. GUYS. CASSANDRA CLARE. THAT IS ALL.

7. Insurgent by Veronica Roth

This is the sequel to Divergent, which I thought actually lived up to a lot of the hype it got. Enough is said.

8. The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead

MORE VAMPIRE ACADEMY WORLD. MORE ADRIAN. GIVE ME NOW. If you don’t believe the CAPS is pertinent, read my review of Bloodlines!

9. Grave Mercy by R. L. LaFevers

Girl escapes arranged marriage, becomes assassin. Seriously, do I need to tell you anymore? Also, for the life of me I can’t get this cover to actually show up here, so you’re just going to have to click the link to check it out.

10. For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund

I am a horrible person who judges books by their cover–only literally, I swear! However, CHECK OUT THIS COVER. Then CHECK OUT THE BLURB. Really interested in getting my hands on this one!

• On the Nightstand (http://onthenightstand.net/) on Thursday 22 March.
• Fangbooks (http://fangtastic.co.nz/) on Friday 23 March.
  

Claudia is doing one public event in Auckland. Come and meet Claudia live on Saturday 31 March 2012 at 2pm at Next Page Please bookstore, 445 Lake Road, Takapuna, Auckland.  For more information please call: 09 486 2453.

The latest book in the Evernight series, Balthazar is coming in March from HarperCollins New Zealand.

If you have any questions you’ve been dying to ask Claudia and won’t get the chance to see her in Auckland, post your questions here and I’ll pass them on.

“Neither Here nor There, Neither Alive nor Dead.”

Synopsis From Book Jacket:

After escaping from Evernight Academy, the vampire boarding school where they met, Bianca and Lucas take refuge with Black Cross, a fanatical group of vampire hunters. Bianca must hide her supernatural heritage or risk certain death at its hands. But when Black Cross captures her friend — the vampire Balthazar — hiding is no longer an option.

Soon, Bianca and Lucas are on the run again, pursued not only by Black Cross, but by the powerful leaders of Evernight. Yet no matter how far they travel, Bianca can’t escape her destiny.

Bianca has always believed their love could survive anything… but can it survive what’s to come?

Personal Thoughts:

When I started a book I owe myself to finish it and that rules also applies in reading a series. That’s basically the reason why I am on the third book of Claudia Gray’s Evernight series.

The setting is more on the city where we see Black Cross hunters move from one to another for hideouts. We now learned more about the Black Cross organization. A few history, how they function as vampire hunters, their rules, routines and operations. It’s more clear that they are absolute on their views that all vampire are evil and they are willing to kill all vampires to protect the humanity.

The characters are finally now sinking to me. Bianca and Lucas are growing up and maturing. There are still stupid and compulsive decisions on Bianca’s part but at least somehow she shows improvement. And there are still room for her to grow up. On the other side, Lucas grows up faster than Bianca in this book. He did a great job ensuring Bianca’s safety. Compare to his actions in Stargazer he improves a lot. Vic and Ranulf are back too, which is one of the best thing in this book. They simply add touch of humour which lifts the occasionally gloomy plotline. Maybe if they got more part of the book, Hourglass is more entertaining.

As for the plot twist, it surprised me – the part of what happened to Bianca in the end. It’s not that I didn’t see it coming, I just didn’t want it that way. I think Gray could actually make something better than that. When I’m reading that part my first reaction was in denial. I even said to myself that maybe it’s just part of Bianca’s dream, but I knew better, the fonts are clearly saying me it’s all real. And I feel sorry for Bianca and Lucas for that turn of event. It’s just so lame to have it that way. As for Lucas being a vampire, that’s quite expected already too bad that it just didn’t complement much to Bianca’s ending. Unless the next book, Afterlife can make something out of it than pure melodramatic plot.

To wrap all this up, Hourglass is fast-paced and well written but nothing really went on outside of the relationship of Bianca and Lucas. Nothing much new is added that we haven’t already know or anticipated. Ms. Bethany’s motive is still unknown. Charity is still the mysterious cardboard villain. Black Cross is still unsettled. As a third book, it doesn’t add so much information to the series which lives everything to the final book, Afterlife.

“We have to remember that life is to be lived one day at a time. You cannot worry about past or future. Happiness is in the now.”

Synopsis from book jacket:

The vampire in me was closer to the surface…

Evernight Academy: an exclusive boarding school for the most beautiful, dangerous students of all—vampires. Bianca, born to two vampires, has always been told her destiny is to become one of them.

But Bianca fell in love with Lucas—a vampire hunter sworn to destroy her kind. They were torn apart when his true identity was revealed, forcing him to flee the school.

Although they may be separated, Bianca and Lucas will not give each other up. She will risk anything for the chance to see him again, even if it means coming face-to-face with the vampire hunters of Black Cross—or deceiving the powerful vampires of Evernight. Bianca’s secrets will force her to live a life of lies.

Yet Bianca isn’t the only one keeping secrets. When Evernight is attacked by an evil force that seems to target her, she discovers the truth she thought she knew is only the beginning…

Personal Thoughts:

I found this book better than the first book, Evernight. It is much more action driven and more engaging. The writing is as good as the first book, it’s still quick pace and flowing. The paranormal element is much better. There is another supernatural element added into the plot, the wraiths. The mythology of wraiths and vampires, and why they’re natural enemies is unique. It gives more details to Bianca’s heritage and the story of her birth. The plot is continues but there weren’t any truly big shockers or twist. Everything happens so fast that you don’t have the time to really anticipate what next.

The characters are still flat and underdeveloped. But honestly I don’t care much about it anymore. It’s like that it already grows in my system. Too bad I don’t care much about them. If there’s one character I like to explore that would be the new character introduced in this book, Charity (Baltazar’s younger sister). She adds a lot of drama to the story. Given her villain persona, I think there are so much to discover about her. Somehow I felt that she’s a misunderstood person/vampire with a deep history left behind. A history worth digging and telling.

Other than the characters, there are also other concept that is underdeveloped. Like the Black Cross. There existence and the purpose they serve is already told in the first book, but we haven’t see any details of them. They are simply vampires hunters, it’s not clear how they functions or if there are any rules they actually follow. There are also some inconsistency like in the first book. Bianca professes to be shy in Evernight, but she never really acts shy and all pretense of being so is dropped by into this book.

Overall, Stargazer is a is a nice addition to Evernight Series and a huge improvement over Evernight (book 1). But it doesn’t make me eager to read the next book, Hourglass even if I already have a copy of it.

On with the show!

I think Hourglass is the best out of the series so far. Each book gets better and better! When I first picked up Evernight I was really scared. I didn’t know if I should keep going with the series and I’m really glad that I did.

There are a lot of vampire and paranormal series out there now and it’s hard to find something that you want to stay with. They are all starting to blend together.

In this book, we follow Bianca and Lucas as they move around with Black Cross. Not only does her secret come out, but

***spoiler alert***

someone dies!!

If you’ve read the other 2 books in the series, do pick this one up! I can’t wait to see what else happens in the story!

So, the holidays are over, and I’ve had puh-lenty of time to read a new book for this week… and yet I don’t have one.  Why is this?  Well, it’s partially because… well the holidays are over.  And as holidays do, they wreaked havoc on life as we know it for a few weeks.  Not that this is always a bad thing.  Actually usually for me it’s a pretty good thing—most of it was good this year, too.  Still, the holidays are enough craziness to throw anybody a little bit off their game.  Some years no matter how much you looked forward to the season, you’re a little bit relieved when January starts up and life gets back to normal.  Of course then we have to kickstart the year, and… well, that just hasn’t quite hit for me yet.  Which by the fifth of January is pretty bad, but I just haven’t gotten back in the groove just yet.

Which is not to say I haven’t tried.  Sigh.  I think I’m suffering from PFBS (Post Fantastic Book Syndrome) because I’ve started two books the past few weeks, but I’m not over Lament, which pretty much blew my mind (and I may or may not be rereading it as we speak—which I NEVER do that quickly).

The books I’ve been trying just haven’t been hitting the spot, though.  First there’s Michelle Zink’s Prophecy of the Sisters, which I want to like… I really, do, because the premise is creepy and eerie and  I really wanted to like the book, but it was due back at the library before I could even get a hundred pages into it.  Something about the gothic style Zink is trying to use just doesn’t flow for me.  You can really feel how out-of-her vernacular it is, and it reads false.  I think this is maybe because she pays a little bit more attention to the dialogue her characters are speaking than the way Lia, the main character, thinks things through in her head, and you can feel the disparity.  I do want to finish this at some point, because the concept seems pretty fantastic, and even though I didn’t get into much plot at all, I’m really curious as to what goes on here, so I’ve placed a hold on it to give it another go, but for now… it didn’t strike my fancy.

Nor has Claudia Gray’s Evernight.  I wanted to like this, because I’ve heard over and over that it’s a highly-underrated YA series, but I’m starting to realize something I’ve suspected for a long time now.  Or re-realize it, I should say.  That something is that… I just don’t like vampire books.  They don’t interest me at all.  I can read Twilight, sure, and I watch The Vampire Diaries pretty avidly… but neither one of those things makes me at all interested in reading a book about somebody that wants to drink somebody else’s blood.  This is enough to counteract my usual liking of new-kid-at-ancient-creeptastic-school types of storylines.  I’m not 100% ready to give up on this book yet, but I’m not super-invested in it, either, and I have a feeling the giving-up is coming…

Maybe this really is just the PFBS talking, though.  Maybe I’m being way too hard on these books.  Meanwhile, I have some other very promising books waiting their turn… I think I’m going to bite on Scott Westerfield’s Leviathan, first.  I’ve heard nothing but good things about it, and something outside of this girly girly fantasy might be just what I need…