I kind of feel that way. It is one thing to have someone like something that you do... Don't get me wrong, compliments on whatever it is that I am doing, as long as they are one hundred percent un-basis and authentic, mean a lot to me.
But I feel like... oh, I don't know. Who is someone starting out and is pretty wicked? For example sake, let's say I am Krystan Ritter. And say Julia Roberts was my idol and she walks up to me and says, "Hey, I really liked you in
She is Out of my League!"
I feel a bit like that. It is not that Kelly the reviewer and blogger is the Perez Hilton of blogs or has a large amount of popularity or influence, but as a writer, I really respect how
she writes. Or in my case, reviewed. And to have her like something I have done, is huge for me.
So even though Kelly's review is 60% great feed back and 40% unhappy or annoyed, she is precise and detailed and I appreciate and respect that.
So I am Krystan and Kelly is my Julia. And that really rocks.
Release date: October 18, 2011
Pages: 154 (328 KB)
Format: eBook
Below
our feet, where the damned roam undetected, a whole other world exists.
Once a distinguished, high ranking tier nine angel, Lucifer challenges
the vision of The Light King. Before a rebellion can be formed, Lucifer
is banished from the Upper Levels, where he plummets to the center of
the Earth. Lucifer
forms a lava oasis, which descends nine levels deep, into the very
core. In this new world he creates an army of hellions, renounces his
former identity and stands as Abaddon. One
of his hellions Valafar has been in his service since the beginning and
millenniums later, it is his turn to prove himself worthy of being
Realm Lord of level Four. Before doing so, he is released from the
hell-mouth with the task of dragging a soul back with him. Thinking
himself triumphant, Valafar’s intended victim becomes his greatest
folly. Kai’s soul has been stolen, but his body remains. Without a soul
and not quite dead, Kai lives on, as a shade. It’s
been over seventy-five years since the birth of his new life. Kai seeks
a quiet existence with the possibility of the human interaction he has
been without. But Kai is not the only supernatural being to reside
within the sleepy town of Madeira Park. Unlike Keetes, Kai’s soul has been stolen from his body by a demon, leaving him as a shade; a stronger version of a vampire. Keetes
is the best friend to Riley, the town’s fire cracker and hot mouth.
Meeting at night classes and sharing a mutual love of art, Kai’s
connection to Riley is undeniable. Riley is unaffected by any form of
compulsion thanks to a shield her unaware clairvoyant friend and she is a
puzzle that Keetes has grown bored of trying to solve. It’s time to
change her. Kai
struggles with his need to remain anonymous and his blossoming feelings
for the infuriating red-head. Unwilling to let Keetes turn her, Kai is
forced to reveal his unequalled skill. As he is thrust onto a wooden
spike and lit aflame, Keetes vows to seek out Kai’s maker within the
Lower Levels and inform him that his mistake is siding with humans
rather than his own kind. There
is only a matter of weeks before Keetes will find Valafar and when he
does, a whole army of hellions will be sent to wreak havoc on the
disobedient shade. The only hope Kai has is seeking out the phantom
Unholy Priest.
“What will he be able to do?” Riley asks.
“Show me the hell mouth entrance.”
“And then what?”
“I go in and retrieve my soul. With my soul, I am human.”
Have
you ever read a book that you felt just lukewarm about it while you
read it and right after you finished it, but then after some time
passes, you realized it was better than you thought? That is exactly how
I feel about The Shade and the Nine Lower Levels. (Warning: This is not
going to be a short review!)
I was so frustrated
with this book while I was reading it! Initially, I couldn't stand
Riley. She annoyed me in the littlest ways, like how she always called
her car her baby, but then drove it pretty recklessly. And I hated it
that she didn't seem to like very many people--she complained a lot.
And her jealously toward Lance drove me nuts. BUT. Yes, there is a but.
BUT, Riley had redeeming qualities. She might not have liked a lot of
people, but there were people she cared about, and when she cared about
people, she did so with all her heart, it seemed. She was so incredibly
loyal to Willow and Fly, even if she didn't like who they dated or the
choices they made.
My
other main point of frustration was with Kai. We know he's a shade. But
I've never heard of a shade before, so I didn't really know what it
was. I went through the book frustrated that it wasn't explained what a
shade was until almost the end. Looking back on it now, though, I think
it was subtly explained throughout the novel, and I just didn't quite
pick up on it. Now that I realize this, I'm thinking, "Oh, I see what
the author did there. I think I like it."
The
writing was shaky in some areas. There were instances of the incorrect
words being used (for example, "wondering" instead of "wandering"). I
usually try to overlook these kinds of things, but I have to admit that
it drove me nuts with this book. It was a little distracting sometimes.
But then there were times when the writing was good. And when the
writing was good, it was good. I
loved the descriptions of the landscape and town. Some of it seemed to
be randomly placed (there's a chunk about halfway through the novel that
describes the town in a very thorough manner; it took me out of the
story a little bit, and I wish we would have gotten it in bits and
pieces instead of one big piece), but the author did a great job of
creating a place that I could see. I could imagine Riley's cabin (which
is adorable in my mind, by the way) and the woods surrounding it. I
could imagine the Grasshopper in detail. And then there's a scene near
the end of the novel that revolves around Kai, Keetes, and Riley, and
that is where the writing is strongest. During that scene, I was so
nervous for Riley! That scene really grabbed my attention and held it. I
couldn't wait to see how it would unfold.
As
good as that scene was, it actually wasn't my favorite part of the
novel. My favorite part of the novel was a scene during Riley's art
class, when the class has to draw a picture from France, 1826. I love
characters who create things, whether they're artists, musicians, or
writers. Those kinds of characters really resonate with me. For me, too,
watching a character play an instrument, write a poem, or draw
something, tells me so much more about the character than anything else
can. Riley pulling a painting out of the trash and cleaning it up to
hang her room because it was too beautiful to be thrown away tells me
more about her than anything else can. I loved the descriptions of what
Riley drew compared to what Keetes drew. I loved it that she wanted to
know what kind artist Kai was, because that's how I am with books.
Whenever I see someone reading, I do everything I can to figure out what
they're reading--without actually asking them. It goes back to that
kind of thing being able to tell me a lot about a person, and I feel
like maybe that's how Riley felt--knowing what kind of artist Kai was
would have told her a lot about him.
I
also really loved the mystery aspect of this book. I've noticed that in
some books, the "mystery" is revealed right away: so-and-so is a
vampire, this is how he lives, this is who his enemies are and why, and
this is what's about to happen. That wasn't the case with The Shade and
the Nine Lower Levels. By the time I finished the book, I didn't know
everything. I know what's going on with certain characters, but I don't
know everything yet. There's still a lot I don't understand about the
Nine Lower Levels and the role Fly and Riley are going to play in
everything. There's still so much I don't know about the way things work
with characters like Kai and Keetes, and I like that. It makes it more
interesting, and it gives me a reason to keep reading.
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Tannis Skye
