hd gordon | ChooseYA

Approaching this book was difficult for me; not only did my friends love it on Goodreads but I had enjoyed Blood Warrior, HD Gordon’s debut so much I was scared this book would not meet my expectations – in some ways it did and in a few small ways it didn’t.
I really enjoyed this book and I have to mention that at it’s low price, it is a real bargain and proof of the worth of checking out self-published writing from time to time despite any preconceptions
Gordon writes romantic chemistry and general action very well and so her strengths naturally lend themselves to the paranormal romance genre. In this outing her writing and style are much more confident and she is taking more risks with her writing too.
In terms of character development, Alexa is much more accepting and ready for her fate, though she is battling the ‘monster’ within her. I felt this conflict was well-written and a particular highlight of the books; if violence and wrong are for an overall good, what does that mean?
I didn’t personally like the addition of narrative voices – Nelly and Kayden – and while by the end, I realised why Gordon had included Nelly and understood it was a way of keeping readers in the loop about Two Rivers in Alexa’s absence so that can be partway ignored, but I found Kayden’s addition to perhaps be a little distracting.
Alexa’s romantic conflict was well handled too; her guilt at her natural attraction to Kayden, partly through their species’ affinity for each other, and partly because he is attractive along with the fact she is dating Jackson is not played too melodramatically but felt real enough.
The first hundred pages felt a little slow, though this is in contrast to Blood Warrior which moved extremely fast. By the end however, you have been thrown into twist after twist and conflict after conflict and are left just as bruised as the characters – by the way, the twist at the end actually made this book for me and I loved the shift from convention here. There was only one twist I wasn’t so keen on and that is because I was very fond of a certain character but shan’t spoil it for future, readers!,
If you enjoyed Blood Warrior, then I am certain you will be pleased with Gordon’s latest addition to the series. Overall I really enjoyed this book though on a personal level I preferred Blood Warrior. I received this book for free via a review program on a Goodreads community and am grateful for the opportunity and great book!

Goodreads summary: When her home is attacked by murderous vampires, 17-year-old Alexa is forced to leave her mother for dead in order to save her sister. She soon learns that she is the last known member of an elite race of supernatural Warriors, and is thrust into a world full of vampires and werewolves who all seem to regard her as some sort of savior. Meanwhile, Alexa battles a monster within herself that seeks to gain control; a monster that seeks blood.

The hidden city she finds herself in appears perfect, but Alexa’s instincts tell her that all is not right within its walls. When she is asked to attend a school of fighters, whose exams consist of gladiator-style competitions, she must decide who she can trust among the smiling faces. And, when she meets Kayden, a vampire she feels undeniably drawn to, she must decide if she can trust herself.

So when I first received this book for review, I was a little apprehensive. A lot of my Goodreads friends loved this book and I was worried about not liking it myself. It sounded fun, but at the same time the vampire-werewolf-mysterious girl/last of race has been done. Despite this, I found it a fairly refreshing read and the ending in particular just proved to me that HD Gordon is a talented author, but more than that, writes female characters that are strong.

Although this debut carries many of the same tropes of many other YA novels, I found it really engaging and fun to read.
I loved the ending. I will discuss it now so here are spoilers, be aware! Not only did it make me want more, come on Half Blood Soul, but it also really went against what I normally expect and feel a little frustrated at with YA novels where the heroine goes off on an adventure with the boy and love will happen and so on. By not doing this and having Alexa go without Kayden or Jackson it made me really sit up and think here is a YA heroine that may in fact be a heroine.

The story is quick paced, with very short chapters that I think could overall have combined in places, but worked generally. I think I personally would have liked more of Nelly, Jackson and Alexa on their own before they discovered the settlement, but the set-up there was interesting and I thought the group politics were well done and chilling in places.

I think while love triangles are really prevalent in YA at the moment, I kind of liked this one. That said I think I’m Team Jackson because I always like to root for the guy who liked someone from the start than the new person who just sweeps in. Both characters are engaging.

An engaging, fun read I do recommend. I look forward to reading more of HD Gordon’s work!