Russian Roulette
Helena Hawthorn Series Book 1
by May Freighter
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance
Who could guess that one brush of a fingertip over a shimmering
soul-string could flip your world upside down and inside out?
Nineteen-year-old Helena’s life changes when her spirit enters the Angel Realm in
search of her father. But, things don’t go as planned. Against her
guardian angel’s warnings, she binds her soul to a vampire—a
creature she thought only existed in horror movies.
Lucious has spent his immortality looking for the monsters who killed his
sire. The last thing he needs is to be vulnerable because of a bond
with a reckless girl. Yet, he sees how he can turn this to his
advantage. Believing that Helena possesses great power, he plans to
use her against the Council as a bargaining chip.
When Helena meets the gorgeous and also terrifying vampire with whom she’s
now stuck sharing an emotional bond, she realises that her life will
never be the same. Despite fighting against Lucious’s manipulative
ways, she can’t deny their attraction.
As their desire for each other intensifies, she needs to know if she can
trust him. After all, her life and soul are on the line.
For readers who enjoyed The Vampire Diaries by L. J. Smith, Twilight
Series by Stephenie Meyer, or A Shade of Vampire by Bella Forrest
**.99 on Amazon!**
My Review
5 stars
Helena Hawthorn is no stranger to the paranormal. She has a guardian angel, Michael that tries to help protect her. But she goes against his warnings into another realm and manages to bind herself to a vampire. Lucious is on the hunt for the person that killed his sire when he finds himself bound to Helena. He does his best to try and protect her but now she is among vampires, demons, and so many other paranormal creatures.Helena is being tossed around in this paranormal world. One minute she is love, another she is abused, taken advantage of, and no longer the same person she started this journey. I loved following her journey. She doesn’t always have the best opinion of those around her but she sure learns quickly that everyone is out for themselves.
This is a huge world that quickly drew me into the story and didn’t let me go easily. I love how although Helena and Lucious are soul-bound it’s not the insta-love soulmate thing you see so often. This book has a fresh look at the paranormal and normal and has left me wanting to jump headlong into Demon Gates as soon as I am done with this review. This is a must read.
Demon Gates
Helena Hawthorn Series Book 2
Uncertain whether she is human or not, Helena is forced to undergo new
nightmares while her mental battle continues with a demon called
‘Lazarus’. Without her guardian angel to protect her, she is left to
rely on vampires who have their own reasons for everything.
The attraction between her and Lucious grows, whether it is a side effect
of the soul-bond they share or of their own volition. Yet, how can
they be certain?
With the help of her new friends, they must seek out a Demon Gate and
enter the Demon Realm to stop Lazarus from claiming her and Lucious’
souls. But, will they succeed or perish as the only weapon that can
kill a demon has been lost centuries ago.
My Review
5 stars
Helena is up to her neck in trouble. Lazarus is intent on trying to claim Lucious and her bonded soul. Helena and Lucious are going to have to travel to the demon realm and fight him. But this is not going to be easy as Helena has learned that she may not be human and she starts doubting herself. She can’t really on Michael to help her and must accept the help from the vampires. But they have their own plans for her.Helena has some seriously tough challenges in front of her but she steps up and marches through them like a true hero. I loved Lucious and how he is falling more for Helena and finding it harder to just use her for his own gains. And have to say that Alexander drives me up the wall with his behavior sometimes but you can tell that Lucious and Alexander have had each other’s backs for a long time. The more you learn about the both of them the more I enjoyed reading about them.
This series is going strong with a great story, lots of twists and turns, and still not fully knowing who Helena can trust. I love it and strongly recommend it.
Crumbling Control
Helena Hawthorn Series Book 3
After attending a funeral in Aberdeen, Helena meets with a member of the
European Vampire Council. Vincent shares his concerns about the
imminent dangers local vampires are facing. After all, the hunters
are gathering in London, local packs of werewolves fight for
territory, and Eliza is up to something that will ‘save them all’.
Lucious is staying away from Helena. The hunters shot him full of tracking
bullets and every time he stops, they catch up to him. To prevent
those he cares about from being in danger, he ends up calling in a
favour from the man he never wished to see again.
Helena’s feelings for Lucious begin to waver as she cannot get in contact with
him. Andrew remains by her side and makes her laugh when everything
else is going to hell.
How will Helena and Lucious overcome their new trials once the hunters
come knocking on their door, demons escape through the Demon Gate,
and the Council begins to crumble?
My Review
5 stars
Helena has been through hell and back. But she is a strong woman and growing stronger. Lucious is coming to care for and protect Helena. He is willing to do whatever it takes to keep her safe, even staying away from her. Although this distance is hard on the two of them, this is the easiest part of the story. The vampire counsel is starting to crumble and Helena is going to have to start making some even harder decisions to try to save those she loves and herself and Lucious.This is an amazing series. Helena is clearly never going to get that break she has so clearly earned. You hit the ground running on page one and it doesn’t let up until the end, which was not expected. I have come to really like Alexander. He has hidden himself so deep that it has taken this long to finally fully warm up to him. He is there to help Helena when Lucious is gone.
I love how the main baddie is clearly batshit crazy yet seems to make sense. How can you really hate the bad guy when you can understand their motivation? Between this and making the tough decisions Helena has to make on who to save kept me flipping pages like crazy.
This is a great series and one that I strongly recommend. Although I would recommend starting it on the weekend because you are not going to get any sleep. Now I can’t wait to get my hands on Fated Origins.
I received Russian Roulette, Demon Gate, and Crumbing Control from Silver Dagger Book Tours for free. This has in no way influenced my opinion of this book.
Fated Origins
Helena Hawthorn Series Book 4
Helena’s life is back to normal. College, friends, family…everyone’s
happy. Yet, she can’t understand what is missing. No matter how
hard she tries to fake her excitement about a new movie or laugh over
a cup of coffee during lunch, it doesn’t feel right.
Peace doesn’t last long. A demon appears, claiming to be her friend and
lifts the memory block Lucious had put up. Outraged he had done this
to her, she decides to go against her family’s wishes and pursue
him in London. Only one problem remains: she’s losing control of
her body.
Lucious is unable to mend his broken heart. He grew complacent and cares
little about the proceedings of the Council while Kallias takes the
lead. With the hunter threat growing and the werewolves no longer
willing to help stabilise London, to unify the vampires all over the
world, Kallias believes it is time to awaken the one true
leader—Arthemis.
The full cycle comes to an end. Lilia and Helena are faced with the
original vampire. Despite their differences, a choice must be made
with grave sacrifices. Will they save humanity or let vampires rule
the world?
May Freighter is an internationally bestselling author from Dublin,
Ireland. She writes Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, and Sci-Fi
mysteries that will keep you entertained, mystified, and hopefully
craving more. Her only pets are cacti. They’re the only things that
survived. It may be too dangerous to entrust her with an animal while
she’s engrossed in writing.
On sunny, rainy, and overcast days, she spends her time with her
fictional friends, putting them through dangerous adventures while
wishing them the best of luck. Her hobbies are photography, drawing,
and plotting different ways of a characters’ demise.
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