A Review for Incubus (Daughters of Lilith #2) by Jennifer Quintenz

Posted by Melanie
Release Date: June 21st, 2013
Finished Date: April 4th, 2014

Publishers: Secret Tree Press
Genre: YA, Paranormal Romance
Source: For Review

Format: Kindle
Pages: 295

Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US / The Book Depo

Braedyn Murphy used to think nothing important ever happened in her sleepy town of Puerto Escondido. But that was before she learned she was a descendent of Lilith, the mother of all demons. Now Braedyn fights to protect humanity from the Lilitu - the beautiful, souls-stealing daughters of Lilith.

As she fights the Lilitu, Braedyn must also fight her growing love for her boyfriend Lucas - because even a simple kiss could end his life. Their only ray of hope is an angel’s offer to make Braedyn human, but it’s an offer she can’t accept until the world is safe from the Lilitu.

Braedyn knows she’s a key player in this ancient war... but she’s not ready to believe she just might be humanity’s best hope of surviving the final battle for Earth.

The Review: 4.5 Flowers! 

Incubus is the exciting sequel to Thrall (Duaghters of Lillith #1) and carried on just where we left off.
Following the events of Thrall, Braedyn is given a glimmer of hope by an angel, if she can keep herself from doing wrong, there is a chance she can be made human. This is great news for Braedyn and also for her loved ones, giving hope that she can be with Lucas properly, never guarding her love for him, being able to kiss him, have a normal life with him but at the minute Braedyn knows she is needed in her Lilitu form to give the Guard the upper hand in the war that’s brewing. During a field trip in which Braedyn and Lucas are attacked by a Thrall, they uncover some symbols similar to that which adorns the guards weaponry and when they take this news to the Guards, realise it is a huge discovery but as they look into it they discover that there is more to it than meets the eye and a could infact end the war before it starts - giving hope to all involved and none more so than Braedyn because if there is no war, then there is no need for her to stay a Lilitu…. They do discover that the Thrall that attacked them was female and as such could only come from one source…. The rare and elusive Incubus, so when the threats become more apparent, Braedyn is faced with a tough choice which might just lose her everyone she loves.
I really enjoyed this book and think it was better than the first now we know what’s happening and about the world of Lilitu. It followed the same vein as book one in respect of the training aspect, we see Braedyn and Lucas train more as they painstakingly prepare for what they know will come to pass. We can see both improve and we see the inner warrior desperate for some escape as Braedyns powers start to manifest. Even though the romance aspect can’t be too full on because of what could happen if Braedyn loses control, there are still some super charged moments between our lovebirds to get the heart racing and they will always have their dreams. I thought that even though Braedyn had made the decision to stay in her current form that when she got that glimpse of hope, she got carried away and became desperate, forsaking what her rational self would have done and risking a lot on a possibility, they do say that the path of evil is paved with good intentions and Braedyn should really heed that…. it remains to be seen what damage she will do to those relationships she has. I liked the introduction of the Incubus, in book one it was all about the Lilitu who are a form of Succubae so it’s a perfectly natural progression to be dealing with the opposite too and even though they are rare, that doesn’t mean that they don’t exist. I thought it brought something a bit different to the story and I liked why it was introduced. I thought that the threat was more underhanded this time, quite subtle but sneaky and I liked how misdirection was used. The Guards seem to be banding together because something big is brewing but they can be frustrating in the way they view Braedyn & Lucas and how much information they are allowed which in turn, allows them to make huge mistakes. I won’t say that the story kept me guessing until the end, I knew who it was pretty early on but that did not spoil my enjoyment of the book at all, in fact…. It added to the tension because I could see it coming, I knew what was going to happen and I loved it all. As I said, it was very exciting and filled with secrets, misdirection, hope, faith and a little bit of divine intervention which made for a great read and I will be definitely reading more!. 

A Review for Thrall (Daughters of Lilith #1) by Jennifer Quintenz

Posted by Melanie
Release Date: May 16th, 2012
Finished Date: February 12th, 2014

Publishers: Secret Tree Press
Genre: YA, Paranormal Romance
Source: For Review

Format: Kindle
Pages: 281

Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US / The Book Depo

Braedyn is a normal girl just trying to survive high school with her two devoted friends, Royal and Cassie. Together they’re doing a pretty good job of shrugging off the slings and arrows cast their way by the popular crowd when a new boy, Lucas, moves into the house next door. Suddenly Braedyn finds herself falling in love for the first time.

But as her sixteenth birthday approaches, Braedyn discovers humankind is at war with the Lilitu, an ancient race of enticing demons that prey on human souls. Her father is a member of the Guard fighting against the Lilitu - and so are the new neighbors, including her crush, Lucas. 

As her world starts to unravel at the seams, Braedyn learns the right answers aren’t always clear or easy. And as for “good” and “evil” – it all depends on how we choose to act.

Inspired by the ancient Mesopotamian myths of Lilith and her offspring, Thrall explores first love, strong friendships, and taking on adult responsibilities against the backdrop of powerful supernatural forces and life-and-death stakes.

The Review: Thrall was a great start to the ‘Daughters of Lilith’ series, I also think the synopsis is spot on so straight to my thoughts….
I thought Thrall was a great read, it was also very original in its take on Succubae. I liked Braedyn’s character, in the beginning she is very much a wallflower, trying to blend into the background and stay unnoticed due to bullying in middle school but when she hits her 16th birthday things change in a big way. This brings about a new confidence in Braedyn but not only that, she goes through some life altering changes, trains and becomes not only more confident but more capable in everything and I liked the changes. I really liked her connection to Lucas which also comes as her life changes but this brought with it some sweetness & even hope to our character when everything else seemed so bleak, they were a good coupling and you really route for them as they come up against obstacles that would tear them apart….I really want more from them.
As I said, I thought the content was very original and yes I mentioned Succubae but these aren’t the usual and there is a whole otherworldly feel to these. I liked what background we got about them, what their aims were and I like how they use their prey and considering they’re the bad guys or girls as the case may be we need a good strong opposition…which we got in the form of The Guard, an army of people who know about the Lilutu and will stop at nothing to rid the earth of the soul sucking demons. The Guard are brutal, hard & unforgiving which doesn’t bode well for their enemies and just because Braedyn can be an asset to them, doesn’t mean she’s going to get an easy ride. I liked these a lot, I liked what they stood for, what their plans were, how they went about putting that into action and indeed the consequences of previous plans, they were very realistic and as I said – brutal. Braedyn is definitely in for an eye opener here because there are a good few secrets being kept and the reveals were really good. So if you’re after a great read, filled with secrets, lies, big revelations, action, intrigue, first love & a nice dose of the supernatural… look no further than this fresh & exciting story.