Review: Eve of Destruction by SJ Day

Published: June 2009 by Tor

Number of Pages: 414

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Stand Alone/Series: Marked Book 2
Book 1: Eve of Darkness

Why This Book: I read book one and it left off with a cliffhanger so I had to read book 2.

From the Author Site: When you're learning to hunt demons, homework can be hell...

Class is in, but Evangeline Hollis is far from being the star pupil. She's struggling to get through the required training to be a full-fledged Mark -- one of thousands of sinners forced to hunt demons for God. When her class goes on a week-long field trip to an abandoned military base, passing the course suddenly isn't just a matter of pride... it's a matter of life and death. There's a demon hidden among them, killing off Eve's classmates one by one.

As the body count rises, a ragtag team of ghost hunters from a cable TV program unwittingly stumbles into the carnage. Now keeping the Mark system secret competes with the need to keep the "paranormal researchers" alive. With Cain on assignment and Abel investigating a new, terrifying class of demon, Eve must fly solo on her hunt to stop a killer before he strikes again. Excerpt here.

Heroine: Evangeline Hollis was "recruited" to be one of God's bounty hunters aka Marks and now has to attend her required training courses. Although she is a new Mark she has already has been on a hunt and has done some demon-ass kicking due to her having Cain as a mentor. Since Cain is God's number 1 Mark, all the other newbies are very jealous of her. Not to mention that her handler is Abel which also does not get her points with her classmates. Also going against her is being Archangel Raguel's teacher's pet (not her choice) and getting to keep her family ties. Therefore she's in the spotlight for many reasons and to many people which is mostly not good.

Other Notables:
Alex Cain aka Cain of Infamy: Eve's mentor and current boyfriend. Cain has the ambition of wanting to head his own firm of Marks and is pretty much willing to do anything to attain this goal except give up Eve. In addition to being Eve's mentor he is still "on-call" for the special hunts assigned to him by God himself.

Reed Abel: Eve's handler and want-to-be boyfriend. Abel also want to head his own firm and is also willing to anything to attain this goal even perhaps giving up Eve. Since he doesn't actually have her yet makes giving her up less painful. But as he spends time with her, the more he wants her. First he has to figure out how to get Cain out of the picture.

Review: The story picks up right where book 1 end. That being with a very toasty Eve. And Eve is still a tasty treat to be fought over in the oldest case of sibling rivalry, Cain vs. Abel. Cain has moved in to the empty condo next door but is spending most of his time at Eve's. Meanwhile, Abel is checking in on Eve at a regular basis. Both are leaving laundry and dirty dishes in her condo (isn't it just like a guy).

Eve's training as a Mark has begun in earnest with Archangel Raguel teaching the class just as Raguel intended. Eve is the most despised person in her class. Not only does she have Cain as a mentor (most think she has slept her way into this situation, which she did but not in the way her classmates think), she has Abel as her handler when all the other have not yet been assigned to a handler and on top of all that Raguel has made her his star pupil. Talk about a rough start.

The story is both fast paced and full of action and keeps you flipping those pages just so you can see what happens next. About half-way through the book there is a great plot twist which changes the Eve-Cain-Abel triangle in so many different ways that adds an extra layer depth and complication to their relationship. Ms. Day has certainly spiced up the age old tale of Cain and Abel to make it red hot and has added many more spices to keeps us all drooling and begging for more.

What I liked best: Eve's nicknames for her fellow classmates. But my absolute favorite is the demon Giselle's reaction to a certain incident with Cain. Since I am trying very hard not to give a spoiler, I'll end with that.

What I least liked: There isn't one thing in specific that I didn't like but the general feeling that God is stacking the deck against Eve in many different ways. As it is mentioned several times that there are no coincidences so it really does seem like someone wants to give Eve very hard time and its not all coming from the dark side.

Keeper?: Yes

Recommendation: This is book 2 in a the series and they should be read in order. Book 1 describes how Eve got into her current situation. Book 2 picks up exactly where Book 1 left off. They really could have been one really long book.

Grade: A-
Series Grade to Date: A-

Book & Movie Review: Twilight

I thought I would do something new. A combined book and movie review. I'm going to try to do this on the first of each month, we'll see how it goes... So for the very first Book and Movie review...

Title: Twilight

Author: Stephanie Meyer

Published: October 2005

Genre: Young Adult

Stand Alone/Series: Twilight #1

From Amazon: Bella Swan's move to Forks, a small, perpetually rainy town in Washington, could have been the most boring move she ever made. But once she meets the mysterious and alluring Edward Cullen, Bella's life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. Up until now, Edward has managed to keep his vampire identity a secret in the small community he lives in, but now nobody is safe, especially Bella, the person Edward holds most dear.

Hero: Edward Cullen is a gem. Complete hero material, an old fashion hero with gentlemanly manners from a time long ago. As a vampire, he thinks of himself as a monster and tries to repel Bella every way he can, from leaving town to being rude and telling her that they shouldn't be friends. But he can't help but be drawn to Bella, not only is she irresistible to him as prey but she is also a mystery since she has the only mind he can't read. Once he gives into temptation, he is quite funny and delightful.

Heroine: Bella Swan is typical teenager with many common teen angst but with unusually sensitivity. She moves from sunny Arizona, where she was mostly satisfied with her life to Washington, where her life suddenly becomes the opposite of what she is used to, from being one in the crowd to being in the spotlight. She is not used to being popular and doesn't quite know how to handle her sudden popularity and Edward's unusual responses. At first she can't believe that someone could dislike her so much to being determined to solve the mystery that is Edward.

Book Review: This is a great love story. Very Romeo and Juliet, where the hero and heroine are naturally incompatible but are helplessly attracted to each other. He's a predator and she's his natural prey. It's also a story of true love and has all the angst involved with being the first love as well. All told in the first person, Bella's, and it highlights all her teen insecurities. At times her continuing insecurities and continued descriptions of Edward's flawless exterior are annoying but I didn't find it too much of a distraction from the overall story.

While some have compared this series with Harry Potter, I find it to be a comparison of apples to oranges. I think Harry Potter probably has a greater base audience than this series, I really find it hard to believe this series would be of interest to adolescent boys while I would think it would be wildly attractive to the average adolescent girl. Perhaps that's stereotyping, but it's like imagining my brother reading Sweet Valley High books, quite mind boggling. This is truly a teen fantasy romance with all the drama of first love and those difficult years in between childhood and adulthood.

Movie Rating: PG-13

Movie Trailer: Here.

Movie Review: The movie followed the book for the most part and there weren't any great diversions from the overall plot. But as with most books turned movies, there are some leaps/short cuts that have to be taken.

For the most part it was quite enjoyable but I had issues with the casting. Jasper in particular, I thought he was particularly wimpy and sissy looking. I thought the actor who played James would have been a better fit for Jasper. James was delightful. Both wickedly evil but absolutely scrumptious. But I have to say Charlie was my favorite. His portrayal was dead on for me. The whole small town sheriff who's used to living alone who is suddenly the primary parent of a teenage girl and doesn't quite know how to deal with this strange species.

Keeper?: The book is definitely worth re-reading and a keeper. As for the movie, its worthwhile to rent for those who really enjoyed the book but not a must buy. Director Catherine Hardwicke did a good job of bringing the book to the big screen but there were some hick-ups in the storyline that I found distracting.

Recommendation: An excellent read. Anyone who enjoys a well crafted story will enjoy this book. The movie is good and worth seeing but, as always, I enjoyed the book infinitely more than the movie.

Book Rating: A-
Movie Rating: B-