Forgiven, by Jana Oliver

Series: The Demon Trapper's, #3
Author Info: Website| Facebook| Twitter
Publisher: St. Martins Griffin
Release Date: March 27, 2012
Paperback: 354 pages
Genre: Young Adult - Urban Fantasy
Buy: Amazon
Read it in: 7 days
Source: Publisher
Challenge: TBR Pile
Rating: ★★★★★

The days are growing darker for 17-year-old demon trapper Riley Blackthorne. With her father’s reanimated body back safely, Beck barely speaking to her because of a certain hunky Fallen angel, and a freshly-made deal with Lucifer, she has enough on her hands to last a normal teenage lifetime. Though she bargained with Heaven to save his life, her ex-boyfriend Simon has told the Vatican’s Demon Hunters that she’s working with Hell. So now she’s in hiding, at the top of everyone’s most-wanted list. 
But it’s becoming clear that this is bigger than Riley, and rapidly getting out of control:  something sinister is happening in Atlanta… or someone. The demons are working together for the first time ever and refusing to die, putting civilians in harm’s way. Riley thinks she might know who’s behind it all, but who’s going to believe her? Caught between her bargain with Heaven and her promise to Lucifer, Riley fears the final war is coming – and it may be closer than anyone thinks…

Can I just say that I. FREAKING. LOVED. THIS. BOOK! and be done with my review? No? Okay, well it's true. I love this series so much, it's definitely toward the top of my list of favorite YA series. This is one of those series that you just can't help but give EVERY book in the series 5 stars. And that is exactly what I did! I checked because I couldn't remember!

Forgiven completely pulled me into the story like no time had passed. Which, really, between Soul Thief and Forgiven, no time had really passed at all. Which I LOOOVE about this series! If my husband hadn't of stolen this book and started reading it after he finished the first two, I would have probably finished it within two days at least. Once I started reading it again, I couldn't stop. I kept having to MAKE myself to stop in order to savor it, but it was hard!

I can't think of a single thing that bothered me in this book, I mean yeah, sure there was a lot. But it was the things that are MEANT to annoy other you in a book. If that makes sense. That's the only things that bothered me. The writing is amazing and flows well and you just seriously can't stop.

And the characters, oh my! You get to learn a lot more about Beck in this book and I love it and you learn a lot more about the Demon Hunters, which now I've kind of grown to like. At least a few of them. =) You also see who Riley's REAL friends are and she's got a great bunch. =) I'd love to have them as friends!

You get to see her dad a bit as well, though I'm not going to say anything more about that as to not give off any spoilers. And if you haven't started this series yet, DO. IT. NOW! Seriously. I'm not joking. Buy it, borrow it, or even steal it if you have to. Okay, don't steal it....it's free at the library. To borrow....

Anyway, you can see I feel strongly about this series. Speaking of feelings. Oh, my God, what a roller coaster! Jana, I love you, but you drive my heart insane with these awesome books of yours. Really. My heart was thumping from suspense one minute, and then leaping for joy the next, and then completely being shattered the next minute! AAAH! Why?! Why must you torment me? I mean, it makes the book THAT much better, if that's even possible, but oh my!

Overall, this book is kick-ass. This series is kick-ass. Riley and Beck are kick-ass. EVERYTHING is kick-ass. Even the demons. They are scary! But that makes them kick-ass! I mean, I know they are bad and everything, but they are so fun to read about. This whole story arc is. I love this series, and I can't recommend it enough. READ IT! You'll love it. (Now I have the "Try it, you'll like it." Yo Gabba Gabba song stuck in my head, anyone else's children watch that weird show??") Trust me. You won't regret it.

Note: Yes, this was supposed to be the last book. But due to needing to tie up loose ends, because Jana is awesome, there will be a fourth book! It will sadly be the last, but at least there is another one coming! =D

The fourth and final book in this series is called Foretold. It will be released on December 11, 2012. 

                                                                                                                                     
Read my other reviews for this series:

• The Demon Trapper's Daughter (#1)
• Soul Thief (#2) 

Soul Thief by Jana Oliver

Soul Thief, by Jana Oliver
(Demon Trappers, #2)
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: August 30, 2011
Paperback: 320 pages
Age Group: Young Adult
Buy:Amazon
Source: Publisher
Challenge: none
Rating: 

Riley Blackthorne is beginning to learn that there are worse things than death by demon. And love is just one of them…Seventeen-year-old Riley has about had it up to here. After the devastating battle at the Tabernacle, trappers are dead and injured, her boyfriend Simon is gravely injured, and now her beloved late father’s been illegally poached from his grave by a very powerful necromancer. As if that’s not enough, there's Ori, one sizzling hot freelance demon hunter who’s made himself Riley’s unofficial body guard, and Beck, a super over-protective “friend” who acts more like a grouchy granddad.  With all the hassles, Riley’s almost ready to leave Atlanta altogether.
But as Atlanta’s demon count increases, the Vatican finally sends its own Demon Hunters to take care of the city’s “little” problem, and pandemonium breaks loose. Only Riley knows that she might be the center of Hell’s attention: an extremely powerful Grade 5 demon is stalking her, and her luck can't last forever…

Wow! That's all I keep saying in my head when I think about this book. I thought I loved The Demon Trapper's Daughter, and I do, but it's sequel definitely knocked it out of the ball park. A lot of people debate whether or not sequels are better than the first, in some cases they aren't, but in this one it is! 

If you haven't read the first book, you should definitely go do it now. I can't stress that enough. You don't want to miss out on this series. It's unique, has a kick ass female protagonist, and just so fun to read.  The writing is awesome, Jana Oliver definitely knows how to write. She pulls you in on the first page and doesn't let you off the ride until the last page. But then you're still hooked! You can't get it out of your head. It's embedded into your mind and you have to get your hands on the next book or you suffer the consequences. Withdrawels! I just finished this book last night, and boy am I suffering from withdrawels.   

They planned this! Have the first two awesome books come out in the same year, and then wait until Winter 2012 for the third to come out. Torture! 

But anyway, on to the characters. Amazing! They are very well developed. Real. They have problems, they aren't perfect. Just the way I like them! And Riley, poor girl just can't get a break! I'm not going to go further into that because I don't want to give away any spoilers. But god, I feel for her. And hmm, Beck. I'm so team Beck. I realllyyy hope to see some Beck and Riley action in the third book. If I don't, I think I'm going to cry. Please?! The other guys can just go to hell. Literally. 

Overall, if you haven't figured it out now, this book was amazing. Definitely on my top favorite series list and Jana is definitely on my author watch list. 

The cover is so pretty. I thought I loved the first book's cover, but this one is my favorite so far. Love the blue and the cemetery background. The model on the cover makes the perfect Riley! 

The third book in the series is called Forgiven. It will be released on February 28, 2011. My review of the first book, The Demon Trapper's Daughter. 

Teaser Tuesday #10

Teaser Tuesday is a Meme hosted by Mizb @ Should Be Reading. Anyone can join in, as long as they do the following:

• Grab your current read. 
• Open your book to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page. 
• Warning:  Not everyone has read your current read, be courtesy to those who haven't and not reveal any spoilers. 
• Share the Title & Author so anyone can add your current read to their list if they wish to do so. 

*Note: all my links go to Goodreads, the authors website, and the publishers website.

Soul Thief, by Jana Oliver
(The Demon Trappers #2)
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: August 30, 2011

Riley Blackthorne is beginning to learn that there are worse things than death by demon. And love is just one of them…Seventeen-year-old Riley has about had it up to here. After the devastating battle at the Tabernacle, trappers are dead and injured, her boyfriend Simon is gravely injured, and now her beloved late father’s been illegally poached from his grave by a very powerful necromancer. As if that’s not enough, there's Ori, one sizzling hot freelance demon hunter who’s made himself Riley’s unofficial body guard, and Beck, a super over-protective “friend” who acts more like a grouchy granddad.  With all the hassles, Riley’s almost ready to leave Atlanta altogether.But as Atlanta’s demon count increases, the Vatican finally sends its own Demon Hunters to take care of the city’s “little” problem, and pandemonium breaks loose. Only Riley knows that she might be the center of Hell’s attention: an extremely powerful Grade 5 demon is stalking her, and her luck can't last forever…

Teaser: "Hey, I saw you on the TV. You know, at the Tabernacle," the younger of the two men said as the other one checked the count. "Damn, that was one helluva fire." pg. 109

The Demon Trapper's Daughter by Jana Oliver

The Demon Trapper's Daughter by Jana Oliver


Series: The Demon Trappers, book #1
Next book in series: Soul Thief
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: February 1, 2011
Paperback: 340 pages
Age Group: Young Adult
Buy: Amazon
Add to Goodreads
Source: Library
Challenge: Debut Author, Support Your Local Library
Overall: 5/5 
Summary                                   

Riley Blackthorne is beginning to learn that there are worse things than death by demon. And love is just one of them…

Seventeen-year-old Riley has about had it up to here. After the devastating battle at the Tabernacle, trappers are dead and injured, her boyfriend Simon is gravely injured, and now her beloved late father’s been illegally poached from his grave by a very powerful necromancer. As if that’s not enough, there's Ori, one sizzling hot freelance demon hunter who’s made himself Riley’s unofficial body guard, and Beck, a super over-protective “friend” who acts more like a grouchy granddad.  With all the hassles, Riley’s almost ready to leave Atlanta altogether.

But as Atlanta’s demon count increases, the Vatican finally sends its own Demon Hunters to take care of the city’s “little” problem, and pandemonium breaks loose. Only Riley knows that she might be the center of Hell’s attention: an extremely powerful Grade 5 demon is stalking her, and her luck can't last forever…

First Paragraph                                                                                        

Riley Blackthorne rolled her eyes.

My Thoughts                                                                                            

Even though I read the summary and a few reviews on this book and knew it was going to be amazing, it still surpassed my expectations for it. It certainly passed Go! and collected it's $200! It was absolutely amazing! Definitely a great start to a wonderful new kick-ass series!

To be honest, yes, I kind of guessed a few things would happen before they happened. Like what happened to Riley's dad. You know what I mean? But still, it was fine. The full book in a whole made up for that with how great it was. 

The characters were great. You either liked them, was kind of so-so with them or you hated them. They all were believably real. And don't forget the dual perspectives. You mostly read from Riley's point-of-view, but you get some sections where you get to read through Beck's eyes. I loved it! Made it seem a bit more real. They both have their problems. 

I loved both Beck and Simon, but I can't figure out which team I'm on yet. I guess we'll have to wait and see with the second book. =) And the writing and world building was amazing! It flowed very well and everything was so unique and I just felt really drawn into the story. It wasn't just a story to me, it was real. It was happening to me. I was inside the book experiencing everything Riley did. It was amazing! 

Overall, it was just plain out amazing. I had a few small issues but it really isn't worth mentioning because it doesn't take away from the story. And by the way, this is set in 2018!! Amazing! I can't wait to read the next book in the series. 

Cover Love                                                                                           

Love, love, love the cover! I didn't understand the whole "ball thing" she was holding at first, but I totally understand it now. Love that they added one of the globes. Love the city in the background, everything on it is just amazing!