Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Damned by Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguié

Damned (Crusade #2)
Nancy Holder, Debbie Viguié
August 30th, 2011
544 pages (hardcover/paperback)
Publisher - Simon Pulse
Source - Publicist
There is a fine line between love and sacrifice...

Antonio would do anything for his beloved fighting partner Jenn. He protects her, even suppresses his vampire cravings to be with her. Together, they defend humanity against the Cursed Ones. But tensions threaten to fracture their hunting team and his loyalty—his love—is called into question. 

With an even more sinister power on the rise, Jenn must overcome her personal vendettas. Antonio and Jenn need each other to survive, but evil lurks at every turn. With humanity’s fate hanging in the balance, they must face down the darkness…or die trying.
With an action-packed storyline and a few heartbreaking twists, Damned is simply thrilling.

Jenn1 is officially the leader of the Salamanca team of hunters, but everyone in the resistance may be in over their heads as the risks grow higher. Vampiric control over the world is strengthening, the resistance is growing difficult to continue, allies are running low, and one of vampires has even begun manufacturing a surprise that could bring the downfall to humans everywhere. But even as Jenn and her team attempt to save humankind, they have to face their own personal demons. The more they try to fight and defend humanity, the closer they come to winning – or losing – everything.

Damned grows more intense and gripping by the page. Even though it's the second novel, Holder and Viguié recapped the events of the previous story while simultaneously moving forward with the sequel. Many characters are faced with new and old struggles to overcome. The 3rd person narrative gives great insight into each character, and some of the things you'll learn about them will surprise you. Damned is fast-paced, shocking, and filled with vicious vampires – can you ask for anything better?

Highlights: Damned surprised me, with both character growth, and even with who became a casualty of war. Internal/personal struggles with each character became more important to the story. Insight given to certain characters – like Aurora2, Eriko, Heather, Holger – was interesting, and it gave many of them more depth to their personalities. And as always, Holder and Viguié deliver when it comes to epic battle scenes, as well as touching (maybe even heartbreaking) moments between characters.

Lowlights: Two new characters needed a bit more development, because by the end, I felt like they just blended into the background. I'm also not a fan of whenever Jenn and the gang split up, because it's more difficult to keep track of what's going on when they're separated.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

My other reviews in this series:
Crusade


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1 Jenn really surprised me with her growth, she's stronger and assertive for most of the book...go Jenn!
2 I loved all the parts focusing on Aurora - she's one badass vampire.


15 comments:

  1. I just love the font on the cover. Though I haven't read the first book, you've already gotten me excited for the second!!

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  2. What a detailed and informative review. Though this really isn't my type of book, I totally appreciate the layout and easy to read review.

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  3. I wasn't a huge fan of the first book but the second sounds promising! Glad you enjoyed it, I may have to read it now. Thanks for the review.

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  4. I read this review first, then read your review on Crusade. I definitely think that I need to check out this series asap!!

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  5. Can't wait to read it! Love Nancy holder and Debbie viguies books :)

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  6. This one sounds really good! SO glad the release dateis close!! =D

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  7. Crusade was definitely action-packed and I'm glad this one keeps up the trend. I'm always for more character development, so although I wasn't a HUGE fan of Crusade, I might check Damned out... Thanks for the great review, Lea! :)

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  8. Great review! I haven't heard of this series, but have added it to my wishlist. Love the footnotes! Very clever! :)

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  9. Wow. Even though I'm kind of over vampires and have been for a long time now, even I am interested in reading this after reading your review!

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  10. I'm not sure this really sounds like it's for me, but your great review has me intrigued! Great review, Lea! :)

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  11. What a terrific review. If I hadn't already been sold by the author's interview your review would have clinched it for me. Gotta get this book!

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  12. I like it already! I'm def. going to get the first book! Ít sounds so good and I want to read about epic battle scenes! Yeah, I really do. Great review.

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  13. I so need to read Crusade! It's going to be my almost next read for sure lol! Glad Damned is even better!

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  14. This book souds interesting.

    ruby95660[at]yahoo[dot]com

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  15. I've really been wanting to read this, i'm glad you liked it so much!

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