Blog Tour: A Review for Stolen (A Stained Novel) by Ella James + eBook Giveaway

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Posted by Guest Reviewer Melanie

Release Date: April 24th, 2012

Finished Date: May 20th, 2012

Publishers: Self-Published

Source: For Review

Format: Kindle

Pages: Unknown
Buy : Amazon UK / Amazon US 

In Stained: After a fire destroys seventeen-year-old Julia’s home and kills her foster parents, she chases the half-demon responsible across the country and back, determined to avenge her family and discover why a host of celestial baddies want her dead. With Julia is enigmatic hottie - Cayne, who has his own score to settle with the half-demon, and who might be just as dangerous as the creature he and Julia hunt.
Now in Stolen: With Cayne's fate in the hands of his enemies and Julia spirited away to the covert Stained compound, the two are separated by impenetrable walls and a gulf of unanswered questions. Soon Julia learns the truth about the Stained and the plans they have for her, the compound is attacked, and a new group is running from an unwanted destiny, searching the globe in pursuit of the knowledge that just might save them all.

The Review: We pick up exactly where we left book one which is that Cayne has been captured by the Stained and will stand trial for crimes against the Stained with a probable death sentence and with no other option Julia allows herself to be taken along too in the hopes she can rescue Cayne. Things don’t go to plan though because when Julia finds out exactly what Cayne’s crimes are, she begins to consider the fact that he might not be the person she believes him to be. Whilst at the Stained/Chosen compound she begins to find out more about herself and others like her, what she might be capable of and discovers that there is a big prophecy of a chosen one and she may just be it! With Cayne constantly on her mind and feeling like she doesn’t truly belong with the Chosen and still struggling with her trust issues Julia decides she would rather leave. . . but will they let her? How far will they go to keep her?
Again, this is a great read and I was as intrigued with this as the first. Julia’s character progressed well and it was nice to see her interact with more people so we can really get a feel for her character, she makes quite a few discoveries in this book which I was glad of because that was one of the things I wanted to see after reading book one and I was really satisfied with what we found out but I still think there is more to her. Cayne was missing for quite a bit – I missed him – but we still got more facts about him and more info that added more questions to who he is and again I still feel there is more to him and maybe the combination of him and Julia which fills me with excitement. Unfortunately I wasn’t feeling the love between them as much but I understand why. I liked the introduction of the new characters particularly Meredith, she was a one to watch from book one and I’m glad we are getting to know her more – she has a great sassy attitude and I love that in a character. I’m curious about Nathan too and hope we get more from him.
The storyline progression was good, as I said it picked up exactly where book one left off so there was no missing time or information and that was good the way the books flowed into each other. In book one, we got Samyaza and his M.O and how it affected Cayne, Julia & the Stained but in book two, we get the other side of the scales with the Stained/Chosen as Julia finds out what sort of impact the Nephillim have on them and what sort of operation they’re running but as with most stories there are good and bad sides to each and not everything is black & white. I loved the discoveries that were made in this, I loved that all of the chosen have different powers and everything about the plot, it really held my interest and I wished I could see more of where it’s going but I can’t and that is such a rare thing in a book. There is another cliff-hanger ending *arghhh* but that has left me desperate for book three in the same way I was for this.

 About the Author

Ella James is the author of Stained and Stolen, books one and two in the Stained Series; HERE, book one in an unusual sci-fi romance trilogy; and Before You Go, a one-shot YA romance beach read that tells the first meeting of Logan and Margo, who will be featured in her upcoming adult release, Over The Moon. She has a YA paranormal romance release scheduled for almost every month of 2012, including Chosen (Stained Book Three) in June and the second HERE book in July. Ella is inviting readers to help her write an adult romance shapeshifter novel, which is plotted via polls and questions on her blog and her Facebook page. Ella lives in Birmingham, Alabama, with her wonderful husband, opinionated baby, and mopey dog. You can visit her blog at www.ellajamesbooks.blogspot.com, or friend her on Facebook at Ella James Facebook. For a list of her award-winning YA romances, visit her Amazon page at Amazon. 

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Stained by Ella James

Posted by Guest Reviewer Melanie
Published Date: September 14th, 2011
Finished Date: February 3rd, 2012
Source: For Review
Format: Kindle
Pages: Unknown
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The Blurb from Goodreads: After a fire destroys seventeen-year-old Julia’s home and kills her foster parents, she chases the half-demon responsible across the country and back, determined to avenge her family and discover why a host of celestial baddies want her dead. With Julia is enigmatic hottie - Cayne, who has his own score to settle with the half-demon, and who might be just as dangerous as the creature he and Julia hunt.

The Review: What to say? . . . I always seem to start reviews with I liked it or I really liked it but I can’t help it because I did . . .  I really liked it!

We find 17 year old Julia watching her house turn into an inferno with her latest set of foster parents inside and what she believes is ‘the angel of death’ hovering nearby, she doesn’t know what to do, she was meant to be in that house too and there’s no way she’s going back into care so she decides to let them believe she is dead and makes a run for it, it’s not like she has anything left in this life. As she takes refuge in an abandoned warehouse a man literally crashes into her life, he’s in a bad way and she tries to help him but hot on his heals is ‘the angel of death’ who is not happy to see that Julia is still alive. The stranger defends her from this evil man and they come to realise that they have a mutual enemy in common and make it their mission to find him and kill him and find out just why he is hunting Julia.

I loved the two main characters in this, Julia is a bit ‘orphan Annie’ with losing her parents when she was a baby and being put through the foster care system all her life, never truly belonging anywhere and when she does finally gel with one set of foster parents they are cruelly ripped away from her leaving her all alone again. She is determined she isn’t going back into the system so it’s understandable how she clings to her knight in shining armour when he drops in and saves her from the hands of death. Cayne is just as lost as Julia but he seems to prefer being alone and doesn’t really want anything to do with her until he realises he can use her to his own advantage. He has the tall, dark, handsome, brooding hero act down to a T and I enjoyed Julia chipping away at him, trying to find out his hidden depths. He is packed full of secrets that Julia is just dying to discover but then again, so has she and none of them have any answers to their own questions. So this is a journey of self-discovery for them both. I wouldn’t say we see a huge change in Julia, we touch on her background and childhood but that left me with more questions than answers, we do see a lot of change in Cayne however. He sort of unravels throughout the book and we get a look under that tough exterior.

I enjoyed their relationship and how it developed through the book and how the mysteries were revealed. I liked the idea of the Nephellim, which is a slightly different concept to the usual version and these were more sinister and were a very fitting bad guy, you really felt the threat they posed and the brutality they had. The book pretty much centres on a road trip as they try to find the one who is hunting Julia; we have a few stops along the way to show what they’re up against and a lot of self-discovery. The thing I loved about the journey was that it didn’t focus on scenery and describing where they were etc. it was a getting to know you part (which usually drags) but there was tons of dialogue between them. It was like reading a conversation and I love that, the banter, the teasing out of information and the developing relationship as a result of it, it turned it into a really easy read that flowed well. I could read a whole book like that.
Even though main thread is to find out why Julia is being hunted I feel like we only touched on that and I would have liked a bit more but I suppose we are probably going to get more from her as the books go on and she makes her own discoveries. I have to say that the travelling was getting a tad too much towards the end so I was glad when the finale came about because it gave the book a good lift and what a finale it was with that cliff-hanger, I can’t believe we’re left hanging like that until the next book!

So, If you like a good, revenge seeking road trip that stops along the way for some car chases, murders, fights and prophetic dreams and visions all wrapped up with a couple of lost souls trying to find themselves – look no further,  this is for you.