A Review for The Dark Glamour (666 Park Avenue #2) by Gabriella Pierce

Posted by Guest Reviewer Melanie
Release Date: October 18th,2012

Finished Date: October 12th, 2012

Publishers: Canvas
Source: For Review 

Format: Paperback

Pages: 284
Buy : Amazon UK / Amazon US / The Book Depo

Welcome to New York City, where the socialites are witches.

Jane Boyle thought she'd met the man of her dreams. But it's hard to live happily ever after when you realise your new mother-in-law is literally a witch, determined to steal the magical powers you didn't even know you had. When Jane discovers that the man she fell in love with is a mere pawn in her mother-in-laws cunning plan, she flees. Now Jane is alone and on the run, hiding out in Manhattan.

But Jane can't hide forever... One magical Park Avenue makeover later and Jane is ready to settle the score with her witch of a mother-in-law. In her new guise as Ella the Brazilian beauty, Jane meets the devilishly handsome André. The magical blood that teems through her veins draws her inexplicably towards this mysterious man. But is André all he seems? And can Jane make it into the witches' den to overthrow the most evil of witches?

The Review: Following the revelations of book one, Jane’s world comes crashing down around her – newly-wed with no husband after finding out his most darkest secret, on the run from a psychotic mother in law and her family coven intent on using her as a brood mare to keep the family’s powerful heritage going, running scared with no place to go and terrified that involving her friends will be certain death for them - but does this bring Jane to her knees? Well it did…. But then she got tough and started to be pro-active in her quest to get the Doran clan off her back once and for all.

Jane and Malcolm are considered missing, there is a huge media circus surrounding their disappearance and the rumour mills are going wild, all orchestrated by the furious Doran matriarch. Whilst Malcolm leaves town, Jane stays in plain sight, never leaving Manhattan but she can only push her luck so far and with her funds dwindling and unable to get a job for fear of being spotted she is stuck. Fortunately Malcolm has left her a lifeline in the form of a safety deposit box fill with cash and a blue box….. and it’s that blue box’s contents and a misplaced spell that brings some startling information Janes way. This information is huge and it might just be the ticket she needs to get the Doran’s off her & Malcolms’ back, but she needs more information and in order to do so, she must infiltrate the Dorans’ home. Armed with a magical disguise, she is transformed into the beautiful Ella and sets her plan into action and finds and ‘in’ through the gorgeous Andre….. but not all is as it seems, for Jane isn’t the only one keeping secrets and Janes actions are about to have some huge repercussions.

So, I really liked this, especially when 44 pages in we a treat to a massive reveal – one I was hoping for but didn’t think we would get so early in the series – and this reveal became the main focus of the book so I’m afraid I can’t really say much without spoiling it. The storyline starts a few weeks after the ending of book one and flowed really well. The story itself is filled with magic, elaborate plots & schemes, dramatic twists and turns and even some sexy-time that comes together into a very revealing climax that definitely leaves you wanting more. I liked what happened, it addressed a few things I was curious about but also opens up a lot more questions. As I said in book ones review – I wasn’t really into the socialite aspect - but that seems to have been really toned down in this and focussed more on the events which made me enjoy it a lot more so I liked the whole set up this time and really enjoyed where it went and the direction it seems to be going in. I thought Jane had definitely become hardened in this, ruthless even, turning from a sweet young lady into someone willing to do anything to achieve her goal and I thought the turn-around was slightly out of character because she is like that in one respect and in another she is still willing to do anything for Malcolm even though his betrayal – in my eyes- was unforgivable, and I’m not quite ‘getting’ that. I did really enjoy the schemes she came up with - even if they were misguided – but wasn’t impressed with the love interest situation because I don’t feel like her relationship with Malcolm is concluded properly and I’m not keen on the Harris situation either but I can appreciate that it will create more drama for the future. TBH, this does read like a TV show because it’s very entertaining and moreish… I feel like I’ve just finished one series and am now left waiting for the next.

 

A Review for 666 Park Avenue by Gabreilla Pierce

Posted by Melanie 

Release Date:  August 2nd, 2012

Finished Date: July 20th, 2012

Publishers: Constable & Robinson 

Source: For Review 

Format: Paperback 

Pages: 336
Buy : Amazon UK / Amazon US / The Book Depo

Jane thought she was living a fairy tale. Now she has to contend with burgeoning magical powers and a soon-to-be mother-in-law who is a witch ... literally Welcome to New York City, where the socialites are witches.
Jane Boyle has been living a fairy tale. When her boyfriend Malcolm proposes, Jane can't believe her luck and decides to leave her Paris-based job as a fledgling architect and make a new start with him in New York. But when Malcolm introduces Jane to the esteemed Doran clan, one of Manhattan's most feared and revered families, Jane's fairy tale takes a darker turn. Now Jane must struggle with newfound magical abilities and the threat of those who will stop at nothing to get them. Welcome to 666 Park Avenue...

The Review: 666 Park Avenue is the start of a new series that could be compared to an adult Gossip Girl with less focus on the gossip and more on Witches. These aren’t your run of the mill tie-dye, earth loving, sisterly coven witches who would rather live in the woods somewhere and commune with the goddess, no – these women are power witches, dressed in designer clothes, an abundance of money at their fingertips and their finger on the New York pulse by way of controlling the socialite scene. These women are feared and revered throughout the scene and woe betide anyone who gets in their way because when you have a socialite with a superiority complex and you give them unrivalled powers with the chance to obtain more – you’ve created a monster who will stop at nothing, and I mean nothing to get what she wants. And they’ve set their sights on Jane Boyle who knows nothing about her powers until the death of her grandmother- who happened to be her last remaining relative. When Jane moves to New York following that and the whirlwind proposal from NYC’s most eligible bachelor- Malcolm Doran – she thinks her fairy tale has come true but she soon discovers there are no closets big enough to hold this particular ‘esteemed’ families skeletons and as she begins to discover them, she begins to fear for her safety and of those she has come to know. Can she save herself from the strongest witch of all? – Malcolm’s mother!
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I really enjoyed this book, at first I thought it wasn’t my thing – I'm not a fan of women who deem the way others perceive them as paramount importance to their lives, where your thoughts are meaningless because you're expected to act in a certain way, maybe I'm stereo typing 'socialites' but let’s face it the ones we see in the media aren't my kind of role models and not something I would aspire to be  therefore not a topic I really want to read about plus it mentions designers & labels a lot – again, not my thing (I’m a jeans & t-shirt kinda girl) I didn’t want to spend a time reading about someone shopping in expensive stores etc. but I got why it was done because she is thrust into this world and a lot of value is placed on appearance so it goes with the territory. When I looked past that and the story got going then the witchy part got introduced, that’s when I got into it, surprising myself with how much I actually did like it.
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There are a lot of characters to get to know in this and I liked the majority, Jane is nice – I liked her a whole lot more once she wised up to a few things and we see her get some backbone. I don’t want to say a great deal about most of them for fear of spoiling the story, let’s just say that not everyone is who they appear to be – that will be a major thread really because as we begin to get to know people we also find out who can be trusted and who can’t.
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The storyline is interesting but because its book one, we only really touch on some of the things happening, I think the focus on this is that Jane discovers she has powers and someone else wants them – but that’s not all she wants and it’s a shocker believe me! There are a few complications thrown in because when Jane first arrives she has nothing to lose but then she gains a couple of allies and now they are targets so it changes some of her decisions. There are a lot of twists and turns, you think it’s going one way and it goes another plus as I said there are a LOT of skeletons in the Doran’s closet – we get a couple – but it leaves you with the feeling that there is a whole lot more and Jane is likely to blow the lid off the lot. I really liked the little bit of history we got about the ‘families’ & we also get the hint of a love triangle that I’m not too fussed about – I’m not a fan of infidelity and it could very well go there which would spoil it for me. The pacing was good and everything was kept moving swiftly, throwing discoveries out along the way and I liked that it wasn’t just a big reveal at the end and as I said plenty of twists and turns and a great start to what promises to be a great series and I will be definitely looking out for book two.
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Things I’m hoping for the sequel are. . . more answers – I want to know about Jane’s heritage and what really happened to her parents, I want to know more about the Dorans and what they’re up to, particularly more about a secret that was exposed in this book, I want more of the history of the witches, I want to meet some of the other ‘families’ & I want Jane to master her powers – I’m not asking for much ;)
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Now, I was made aware just before I read this that it has been made into a TV series soon to be aired and that is how I visualised it when reading and I have to say it has all of the elements that would make me watch it, there are pivotal moments where you can see an episode ending and the drama of the reveals, so if you want a heads up on it – get reading this and be ahead of the game. I’m curious to see if they do it justice. 
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A big thanks to Constable & Robinson for giving the opportunity to review this book.