A new town. A new
school. A new beginning. Seventeen year-old Cordell Griffin and his
mother move from Los Angeles to the Pacific Northwest to deal with his
"allergies," and start a healthier new life. Cor has one goal: To blend
in and be invisible. Unfortunately for him, no matter how far he goes,
he can't run away from his secrets. Secrets about who he is. Secrets
about why he's sick. And secrets about why so many people he meets end
up dead, drained of blood.
In "Dark Matter Heart", the origin
novel in the "Cor Griffin Bloodsuckers" Young Adult Paranormal Thriller
series from filmmaker Nathan Wrann, Cor must uncover the mysteries of
his past and conquer the secrets of the present in order to protect the
girl of his future, and save himself
*Excerpt from Goodreads.com
To be honest, I was not in love with this book when I started it. I thought it had some Twilight type undertones to it. I also thought that it moved along way too quickly and I wasn't sure how there was going to be any good closure to the story. This just goes to show that you can't judge a book until you are done with it. By the time I was through with this book I was loving every minute of it. I understood why the plot was moving along so quickly and Nathan did a fantastic job of wrapping it up at the end of book one.
I usually like more character development in my books. As I have said on here before, there is a fine line between not enough character development and too much character development. But, as I neared the end of the book it dawned on me that Nathan was keeping the characters somewhat mysterious and enigmatic on purpose. So, I would have to say that the characters are right on par with the mood of the story.
The plot was well done, even though I thought it moved too quickly in some parts (I think the whole book takes place in the span of less than one week...). I'm excited to see how the characters that came to light in the end of book one play into the plot of the following books.
If you are a fan of vampires, thrillers, and ya novels then I would recommend this read to you. It goes by very quickly. You could easily sit down in a day and read this book. I can't wait the start the next book in this series.
Overall Rating: 4/5
Most of his life,
Charlie Reese has been surrounded by a loving family and all the
comforts of home. But when a house fire claims them, he and his cousin,
Jimmy are sent to an orphanage in the heart of ‘Depression Era’ Chicago.
A year later, Charlie’s life is shaken by yet another tragedy and with
it comes the mysterious introduction of a secretive runaway, named
Bartholomew. As Charlie begins to discover more about his new companion,
he unknowingly becomes a participant in a two-hundred year old secret.
Come the morning of the Black Blizzard, Charlie finds he must make a
choice - flee the destiny laden at his feet or take on his
responsibility and follow a path full of supernatural wonders.
*Excerpt from Goodreads.com
This was an interesting read for me because I didn't remember that it was the beginning of a series (doh!). So, until the end of the book when I saw there was another one coming, I was really confused about the lack of closure in the book. Stupid me...
Having said that, this was a fantastic book with a perfect ending to set up a sequel! The plot is well thought out and well crafted. I love the setting of depression era Chicago. It is such a gritty and nasty place. It's the perfect setting to move the story of Charlie and Buck through. Charlie is a kid that has had to grow up too fast. He has a problem with not being able to leave "project" children alone. He feels the need to take them under his wing and help them along. Well, he get's more than he bargains for with "Buck". Buck gets him into more trouble then he really knows what to do with. It's an interesting relationship to watch develop and I'm excited to see how the author (Kimberlee Bastian) works all of the sub characters into the rest of the story.
This book has something for a wide range of readers. There is some action and adventure, some mortal vs immortal, and some mystery going on. If you are at all a fan of any of these things then this book would be a worthwhile read for you.
I apologize for the vagueness of this review because it's hard to tell you much about the story and what I liked about it without having some spoilers, and I hate spoilers. Just know that this book has a lot going for it and that it will keep you turning pages to the very end. If you have the time, pick it up and give it a read.
Overall Rating: 4/5
