Review: Surrender by Lee Nichols

Summary/Cover Image from Publisher's Website:

An evil ghost threatens Emma in this shocking series conclusion

After a devastating battle at headquarters in New York, the ghostkeeping world is in shambles. When Emma and Bennett return home, they are determined to defeat the wraithmaster, Neos, forever. But it's not going to be easy. Bennett's parents kick him out when they realize he is still using drugs to enhance his powers. Emma is convinced her aunt has come back from the dead to warn her of a new threat. And worst of all, Neos is using wraiths to possess the students at Thatcher Academy. If the ghosts manage to take over the entire school, even Emma won't be strong enough to stop them. But if either she or Bennett sacrifice his or her powers, they might be able to save the ghostkeeping world once and for all-and break the "ghostkeepers lose their powers when they fall in love" curse. The question is: who will be the one to surrender all power?

Fast-paced and romantic, this conclusion to the Haunting Emma trilogy will thrill readers as it brings the ghostly mystery to a close.

Review:

After reading both Deception, the first in the Haunting Emma series, and Betrayal, the second, I’ve been dying to read Surrender, the third and final one. I couldn’t wait to see how everything would end. Would Emma and her friends and family finally beat Neos? Would Emma and Bennett find a way to salvage their relationship before it was too late? There were so many questions swirling around in my head, and thankfully, Surrender was able to provided satisfying conclusions to every one of them.

Surrender picks up a little while after Betrayal ended. Emma’s still trying to find a way to defeat Neos, and she’s still dealing with the qualms she feels over Bennett’s addiction to Asarum. However, things are a bit different this time. Simon has left along with Bennett for headquarters, and replacing them is no one other than Bennett’s stony and cold parents, ones who aren’t particularly pleased with Emma, and so begins the third book...Plot wise this book kicked butt! There wasn’t a time when I wasn’t on the edge of my seat, dying to know what would happen next. Would another twist come out of the woodwork and blow everything away again? What was Neo’s big plan? I had to know, and this lead to me finishing this book in record time.

One of the things I loved most about this addition particular, though, was how the characters continued to grow even though this was the last addition. Emma in particular learns a lot in this one not only in making her own choices but as well as being there for the ones she loves. Sara, Natalie, Lukas, Henry, and Coby also get their moments of glory in this one, and believe it or not, even become more lovable, which made me all the more sad to finish Surrender. Last but not least, Bennett…I’ve loved this guy and I’ve hated this guy over the course of this series, because while he is a good guy deep down, his decisions and choices aren’t always the best things out there...However, he did manage to redeem himself quite a bit in this one, even though it did take a while.

Lastly, Lee Nichols’ writing was great in this one. I’ve loved seeing her writing grow as the series progressed, and just like Surrender was the best of the series plot and character wise it was just the same with the writing. She did a fabulous job in evoking and bringing to life the emotions of the characters as well as me, the reader, and I especially loved the ending. It was everything I wanted, but it still contained a taste of bittersweet.

In all, Surrender is a satisfying and amazing conclusion to the Haunting Emma series. I can’t begin to explain how sad I am to see Emma and her friends go, but it’s been quite the ride to say the least, one that I surely won’t forget. :)

Grade: A+

Surrender (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Goodreads) will be released December 6, 2011!

Source: Publisher via Netgalley

Betrayal (A Haunting Emma Novel, #2) by Lee Nichols

Summary/Cover Image from Author's Website:

Emma Vaile is the most powerful ghostkeeper in centuries. Which is great for battling the wraith-master Neos and horrible for her social life. Emma knows fellow ghostkeeper Bennett Stern is her soul mate, but when ghostkeepers fall in love, the weaker one loses all power. And until Neos is defeated, Bennett and Emma can't risk it.

When the temptation of being with Emma gets to be too much, Bennett disappears, pursuing a dangerous path to increase his powers. Heartbroken and alone, Emma tries to lose herself in school. But when the Knell, a secret ghostkeeping society, sends two new ghostkeepers to Echo Point—one a snarky teen guy, the other a British scholar—Emma throws herself into training to battle Neos. But as the team grows stronger, so do the ghosts. And worse, one of their own will betray them. One Emma never suspected. . . .

Review:

Ever since reading the promising start to this trilogy, I've been dying to know what will happen to next to Emma, Bennett, and all the other ghostkeepers and their friends, family, and enemies I came to love and even hate in some cases. Thankfully enough Betrayal was a fabulous continuation to this rock solid series. I'll even go so far to say this was even better than the first one- something I thought would be nearly impossible!

Betrayal starts shortly after Deception ended with Emma picking up the pieces after her beloved friend Coby died under some usual circumstances involving her and her ghostkeeping world. The majority of her friends and schoolmates think she's the one to blame, and that's okay with her, because she does feel at fault and at least she still has Bennett and Natalie to call friends and in Bennett's case something more than just a friend. Plus, she has bigger fish to fry, namely the evil wraith-master Neos and his army who want nothing more than to see her dead. But after a horrifying event everything is left askew in Emma's world. Bennett has pulled away, going so far as to move out of the house, she has a new ghostkeeping team including one hot heated British boy and a snarky teen, and Neos is growing stronger each and every day. Will Emma be able to defeat Neos when she sees him again? And when Emma's parents make their grand return will everything begin to make sense? Better yet will her and Bennett ever reunite? Only time will tell in this deeply thrilling and romantic read that will have nearly any Haunting Emma fan asking for more, more, and more.

Just like in the first one the characters were my absolute favorite part of Betrayal. Lee Nichols has done such a fantastic job of making each and everyone even more relatable and developed, even going so far to introduce some new ones into the mix. Better yet, I loved what she has done with Emma's character, because not only is she more fierce and kick-butt before, but I truly enjoyed seeing how Emma grows as a ghostkeeper and person in this one. Plus I can't help but love the star crossed she has with a certain boy whose name begins with a B. I also enjoyed seeing her friendship with Natalie continue to develop as well as the intro of the new snarky boy named Lukas.

Adding to this all, the plot of this one was filled with lots of twists and turns and drama that nearly always had me on the edge of my seat, curious to know what would happen next to Emma and her friends and foes. And when mixed together with Lee's excellent writing and characters, this book was such a fun way to spend a morning.

Lastly, if you thought Deception had a nail-bitingly bad cliff-hanger ending just wait until she wait Lee has up her sleeve with this one. It'll make you want to pull at your hair and scream, but in the grand scheme of things it was worth it and the perfect way to end the book, and that all I'll say about that.

In all, if you loved Deception or even just liked it, you sure to love Betrayal. Filled with romance, funny, well developed characters, and twist and turns every step of the way, it's sure have nearly any reader in love with the story at hand!

And if you haven't read Deception for some reason, be sure to pick it up as well! I promise you won't regret it.

Grade: A+

Betrayal is now out!

Source: Publicist at Bloomsbury. Thanks Kate!

Giveaway: Deception by Lee Nichols

Thanks to Kate at Bloomsbury/ Walker Books, as part of the Deception blog tour, I have one copy of Deception to giveaway.

Here's the summary:

When Emma Vaile's parents leave on mysterious business trip, it gives her the perfect excuse to be a rebellious teen. Throw some parties, get a tattoo (or maybe just a piercing), and enjoy the first few weeks of her junior year. Then her best friend stops talking to her, the cops crash her party, and Emma finds herself in the hands of a new guardian—her college-age "knight in J.Crew armor," Bennett Stern—and on a plane to his museum-like mansion in New England.

After enrolling at Thatcher Academy, Emma settles in by making friends with the popular legacy crowd. But she can't shake the strange visions that are haunting her. She has memories of Thatcher she can't explain, as if she's returning home to a place she's never been. Emma doesn't trust anyone anymore—except maybe Bennett. But he's about to reveal a ghostly secret to Emma. One that will explain the visions . . . and make Emma fear for her life. (summary/cover from author's website)

To enter, please fill out the following form.

Also, here are the 'rules':

~ Must be 13 or older to enter.
~ Open to participants with a United States mailing address only (international readers can enter if they have a friend in the States who can accept their prizes by mail). Also, no P.O. Boxes, please.
~ Don't comment below to enter or you will not be entered! 
~ This contest will close on June 21 with the winner being announced June 22 or 23.

Quick Qs and As with Lee Nichols

Lee Nichols is the author of Deception, one fab book that is a must-read for all you YA loving people out there. To find out, more about her, visit her website here.

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In your opinion, what are the top three reasons why teens or even adults should consider picking up Deception come its release?

• It's romantic.
• She's a kick-butt heroine.
• Ghosts are the new vampires.

Emma is the main character in Deception, so can you tells us a little bit about her.

She's a seventeen-year-old girl, who, when her parents disappear on a mysterious business trip, discovers she can see and control ghosts and that they've been keeping her powers secret from. her

Most of Deception takes place at Thatcher, a private school in New England, which leaves me to wonder what made you choose to have the story take place there.

I wanted her to be thrown into a situation that was completely foreign to her--she's never been to private school or New England. And the school has a significant influence on her powers.

What was your favorite aspect of writing Deception?

Creating the world of ghostkeeping.

If you were offered the abilities of a ghost keeper, would you take them? Why or why not?

I don't think I'd want Emma's life, which gets pretty scary at times, but yeah it would be cool to see ghosts.

If Deception had a theme song, what would it be?

Elbow's Mirrorball. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sq10PhUG9VQ

All of your previous books have been adult, so what made you decide to switch to YA for the Haunting Emma series?

I originally conceived the idea as a adult novel and kept making the character younger and younger, until I realized I wanted it to be a YA novel. YA is so fabulous right now, such great stories being told.

If you could spend the day with one of the characters from Deception, who would you pick? Why?

I love Emma. I'd love to have her as a friend.

With Deception's release date quickly approaching, do you have any plans of how you’ll spend that day?

Probably writing.

How do you come up with your characters names? Is it something that comes to you easily or do you go through many before deciding on the perfect one?

With Emma and Bennett, her love interest, I wanted names that were classic. And I always choose names based on personality and how they fit in with the mix of character names already in the book.

Everyone has guilty pleasures (T.V. Shows, magazines, etc.), so what are some of yours?

I love Private Practice, even though its plot lines are completely over the top. Apparently, I'll put up with any far-fetched story if I like the characters. And I'm seriously annoyed, if no one has left me their US magazine to read while I ride the bike at the gym.

What’s you typical day like?

Wake earlier than I want to with 5 year-old son. Make breakfast for him, coffee for me. Check email/blogs/facebook/twitter. Get him to school, write, pick him up. Have kid time, dinner, bed. Wow, I knew my life was boring, but writing it down, somehow made it more so.

What’s up next for you book-wise?

The second Haunting Emma book, BETRAYAL, comes out in March. I'm currently writing the third.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Fun questions! Thanks so much for having me.

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Thanks, Lee!

Deception: A Haunting Emma Novel by Lee Nichols

Summary/ Image from Author's Website:

When Emma Vaile's parents leave on mysterious business trip, it gives her the perfect excuse to be a rebellious teen. Throw some parties, get a tattoo (or maybe just a piercing), and enjoy the first few weeks of her junior year. Then her best friend stops talking to her, the cops crash her party, and Emma finds herself in the hands of a new guardian—her college-age "knight in J.Crew armor," Bennett Stern—and on a plane to his museum-like mansion in New England.

After enrolling at Thatcher Academy, Emma settles in by making friends with the popular legacy crowd. But she can't shake the strange visions that are haunting her. She has memories of Thatcher she can't explain, as if she's returning home to a place she's never been. Emma doesn't trust anyone anymore—except maybe Bennett. But he's about to reveal a ghostly secret to Emma. One that will explain the visions . . . and make Emma fear for her life.

Review:

I have to admit that there's going to be nothing but love for this one in my review, because quite honestly this novel was nearly a prefect combination of mystery, suspense, and romance, along with some very awesome ghost keeper skills.

Emma is a someone I'm sure that nearly anyone can see a bit of themselves in. Since she's still dealing with the backlash of an ended friendship (Who hasn't been there?), she's crushing on someone who she shouldn't (or there?), and sometimes she feels that she truly doesn't know whom she wants to be when it comes to nearly everything (or there as well?). Oh, and yeah, she's see thinks she just might be going crazy. Plus she's sweet, funny, and down to earth, which left her to be one main character that I had no trouble relating to or reading their story. Also her relationships with Bennett (*swoon*) and Colby to her frenemy status with Natalie always hit a true point of reality with me.

The beginning of this, I have to say, was a bit slow, but soon after that Deception become one novel that become nothing short of addicting and tension ridden.  The constant twists to the plot always left my mind filled with questions ranging from 'What happened to Emma's parents and brother?' to 'Would Emma and Bennet ever be together?' to 'Was Emma really crazy or did she have something extraordinary going for her?' among others; leaving this to be one novel I raced to finish in one sitting. Plus Nichols' writing was readable and always made me, as the reader, feel like I was right there with Emma and Bennett the whole time.

In all there's not much else to say besides that Deception is one book that is must-read for this upcoming summer and the Haunting Emma series, as well as Lee Nichols, are ones to watch.

Grade: A-

Deception: A Haunting Emma Novel will be released June 8, 2010!

Source: Around The World Tour