Friday, September 6, 2013

Blog Tour - Review - The Outside

Title - The Outside
Author - Laura Bickle
Series - The Hallowed Ones Book Two
Genre - Paranormal YA 
Published - September 3rd, 2013
Publisher - Harcourt 
Format -Review ebook copy

Synopsis

One girl. One road. One chance to save what remains…

After a plague of vampires is unleashed in the world, Katie is kicked out of her Amish community for her refusal to adhere to the new rules of survival. Now in exile, she enters an outside world of unspeakable violence with only her two “English” friends and a horse by her side. Together they seek answers and other survivors—but each sunset brings the threat of vampire attack, and each sunrise the threat of starvation.

And yet through this darkness come the shining ones: luminescent men and women with the power to deflect vampires and survive the night. But can these new people be trusted, and are they even people at all?

In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, it’s up to one Amish girl to save her family, her community, and the boy she loves . . . but what will she be asked to leave behind in return?


Review 

I received The Outside in return for an honest review as part of the tour hosted by Bewitching Book Tours. After being banished from the only home she’s ever known Katie is on the run from the vampires. Accompanied by Alex, Ginger, and the white horse the group head north hoping to find new and families that they haven’t heard from in weeks. They spend the days traveling in the sunlight by night they fight to stay alive staying on holy ground when they can find it. The group comes across a private wildlife preserve with several predators wasting away having been forgotten with the vampire epidemic.
Katie risks her life to free the animals two tigers, a bear, jaguar and a wolf pack but one come back to join the group.  After several days at the animal farm, the group finds a nunnery that Ginger had been two as a child they are sure that they will be safe for the night. When they see the glowing red eyes in the trees it’s clear that the nuns have been turned and before they can make it to safety Ginger is bitten. Katie is heartbroken to lose her friend but vows to tell her family that she loves them.

The loss of Ginger is hard for Alex as well it causes him to question everything. When suddenly the pair finds two humans being attacked by vampires they risk their lives again to save someone else. However, they are not alone because glowing people help scare off the vampires. They learn that they have a treatment that protects them from the vampires changing their DNA. Both Alex and Katie accept the injections with plans to return to their homes to spread the treatment. Will they make it home? Will their families still be alive?

I love Katie she’s one of my favorite characters because she refuses to change and stands up for what she believes in even if it’s not the Amish way. I think Alex is perfect for her in every way, he’s smart, he loves her for her, and he’s willing to risk his life to protect her. My heart went out to the pair when they had to stop Ginger’s transition to a vampire I don’t know if I could have done it.

The Outside is the next chapter in Katie and Alex’s story. I read the first one on a long deserted highway while on a road trip it was creepy and I saw vampires at least thought I did in the trees. The Outside I read during the afternoon late into the night, and my dreams were filled with red glowing vampires. I love the characters they aren't your typical vampire slayers after all Katie is an Amish girl. A captivating story that grabs you by the throat, and refuses to let go until the last page. Filled with scary vampires, adventure, romance, and big cats The Outside has everything to keep you entertained. I love that the vampires are scary it makes for an awesome scary story. The author has done a beautiful job creating another fantastic installment of The Hallowed Ones. I hope to see more from this series because I’m not ready to let Katie go just yet. A must read if you like creepy vampires and kick ass heroes.  



About the author 
Laura Bickle’s professional background is in criminal justice and library science, and when she’s not patrolling the stacks at the public library she’s dreaming up stories about the monsters under the stairs (she also writes contemporary fantasy novels under the name Alayna Williams).

Laura lives in Ohio with her husband and six mostly-reformed feral cats.

1 comment:

  1. I'm so excited that you enjoyed THE OUTSIDE, Mandy! Thanks very much for taking the time to read and review my book! :-)

    ReplyDelete