Sunday, January 13, 2013

REVIEW: "THE REFUGEES" (A Jazz Nemesis Novel, #2) - by L.M. Smith


Title: “The Refugees
Series: (A Jazz Nemesis Novel, #2)
Author: L.M. Smith
Publisher: CreateSpace
Publication Date: December 21, 2012
Genre: Paranormal, Mythology
Reviewed by: Books4Tomorrow
Source: Received from author for review
My star rating: 5/5

SUMMARY

When Jasmine Marshall and her fellow hostages finally won back their freedom and escaped from the mysterious town of Kolob, they believed they would be rejoining civilization and resuming their normal lives. To their horror, what they found on the other side of the dense forest was far worse than anything they could have ever imagined.

On December 21, 2012, an unprecedented series of global attacks changed the world and shook the very foundations of society. A significant portion of the Earth’s population died following exposure to an illness that the media dubbed ‘The Maya Virus’, leaving the survivors to examine and question their humanity as vampires, demigods, and zombies crawled from the body bags of the aftermath. Valkyries, demons and other ancient creatures that had lain in wait for centuries began to emerge, seeking to claim the spoils and feed on what remains of mankind. Panicked governments are struggling to maintain order - some of them at any cost.

With her newfound empathic power driving her toward the tumultuous precipice of insanity, Jazz will now face the single greatest tribulations of her life. Will she choose to follow the man she loves despite his many unsettling secrets, or will she succumb to a treacherous phantom from her troubled past who could very well provide the ultimate key to her survival?

REVIEW

Some books stick with you, and others don’t. Some will leave you thinking about them months after you’ve read them, and some…well, there are some I really can’t wait to delete from my kindle when I’m done. The Refugees without a doubt falls into the category of books I’ll remember long after I’ve finished reading it. I’ve come to expect a certain pizzazz from this author which can only be found in her writing and the way she shapes her characters. As with The Citizens, the first book in this series, L.M. Smith again does not disappoint and outdid herself with this second instalment in the Jazz Nemesis series.

The first book ended with an incredible cliff-hanger which left me wanting to beg the author – even resort to bribing if I had to – to hurry up with the second book. Of course, sometimes it happens in a series that the second book leaves you feeling a little disappointed as it doesn’t always recapture the magic of the first book and that feeling of oh-gosh-I-hope-this-book-never-ends. Several chapters into the story I was relieved to find that this won’t be the case, even though the first few chapters had me slightly worried that the story might move in a less interesting direction and not regain the hold over me like it did with The Citizens. I absolutely loved the first book and it was constantly my book recommendation of choice.

Book two doesn’t exactly pick-up where the previous book had left off as I hoped it would, but instead takes the reader deeper into a richly illustrated, post-apocalyptic world buckling under the onslaught of the Maya Virus. So, what then can you expect from The Refugees? Well, definitely a few interesting new characters with powers of their own, and a heck of a lot more plot twists from the characters we already know and adore from the previous book. It was great to see how the author continued to develop Jazz and her posse, and then threw me for a loop when she brought in hottie Gabriel. Hmmmmm, a darn good-looking development to the storyline right there… Anyhoo, this of course creates what I consider the dreaded love-triangle (okay, that’s just me – love-triangles and I don’t mesh). Nonetheless, I’m curious to know who Jazz is going to end up with by the end of the series. I know who I’m rooting for, but I ain’t telling.

I’ve gotten used to the author’s style of writing in the first book – smooth, meticulous, easy to digest, and without overwhelming the reader with unnecessary details. She maintains this writing style in The Refugees and although it is a really long read with over five hundred pages, I never got the feeling that world- and character building descriptions were used as page-fillers to bore the reader into oblivion, as is sometimes the case in a number of dystopian novels.  

This is a series, after all, so naturally another epic cliff-hanger ending has me plotting and scheming all over again on how I might convince the author to hurry up with the third book. The Refugees is a captivating, exhilarating read filled with mystery and endless surprising twists. If you haven’t read the first book yet, you might not understand what I’m so excited about. Trust me though, once it gets you hooked, it’s nearly impossible to put it down. Kudos to the author for once more keeping me glued to the pages of another terrific Jazz Nemesis treat.

 



READ more REVIEWS

The Refugees by L.M. Smith has 8 reviews on Goodreads. Read it here.

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ABOUT the AUTHOR


  
L. M. Smith is both an avid reader and writer. Her favorite authors include Kim Harrison and Richard Adams. She began writing stories and poetry as a child and has always been fascinated by mythology and the paranormal.

A self-proclaimed 'desert rat', she lives near Las Vegas, Nevada with the love of her life, their two dogs, and two cats. She is currently attending classes at the University of Phoenix and enjoys horseback riding, kayaking, and taking long walks with Vladimir: her Doberman Pinscher.

While working on her next upcoming publication, her guilty pleasures include salt-and-pepper flavored sunflower seeds and cold, home-brewed coffee with Italian Sweet Cream ... though never at the same time because that would be yucky.

AUTHOR LINKS

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