Thursday, December 4, 2014

A Grave Inheritance - Review



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Author: Kari Edgren
Publication Date: December 1, 2014
Publisher: Carina Press
Series: Goddess Born, Book 2
Genre: Paranormal
Age Recommendation: 16 and up
Rating: 5 stars

Book Description:

Selah Kilbrid may descend from the goddess Brigid, but her heart beats—and breaks—the same as any human. Yet enduring the scorn of London's most noble lords and ladies is a small price to pay for a chance at true happiness. Selah would endure much more for love, and her betrothed, Lord Henry Fitzalan, is prepared to challenge anyone foolish enough to stand in their way—even another goddess born.

But when a captivating young gentleman draws Selah into a world shadowed by secrets, she is forced to confront her darkest fears. What if some differences are too great to overcome and a future with Henry is doomed from the start?

With these doubts threatening her impending marriage and the very last of Brigid's fire draining from her soul, a violent attack on an innocent child pushes Selah to the very edge of her power. She must find a way to cross into the Otherworld and regain her strength—or forfeit the streets of London to death and disease.




My Review

Selah is back and stronger than ever.  If you are looking for a tough, stand your ground, yet kind and loving character look no farther.  Salah's world will turn upside down, love and friendship is tested, and her future is uncertain, but she handles it all with perhaps a bit of naivety, but a lot of grace and courage.  

I love how Kari Edgren is able to transport me back in time with these tales.  She weaves a world that allows me to hear the sounds, see the sights, and unfortunately smell the smells.  Alas, Victorian England was not a pretty place, but if she had written it any differently we would have been walking into a world that never existed a world that would have rung untrue.  

"From the upper deck of the Callisto, I stared out at the most extraordinary sight. London, a city so vast and crowded it sprawled for miles in every direction to accommodate its half-million residents. The thought boggled my mind - a half million people living together in one place, and all but one complete strangers to me."

 Do you see it, a dock full to the brim with people?  People of every station in life.  People yelling to be heard, carriages clanking over cobblestones, horses whinnying, ships being unloaded, wives calling out to their sailor husbands, fish mongers selling their goods.  The sound of water slapping against the rocking ships, the smell of salt water, fish, horse, people, the stench of refuse...and more.  I get that in just that one quote.  I am truly transported into Victorian England and if you are history lover as I am you heart will race and time will fly by as you become engrossed in the story.

Taking the story from Hopewell, PA to London, England allows the story to remain fresh and new.  Sometimes with sequels what we are really getting is a rehashing, but not here.  The underlying story of Love and the Paranormal aspect are still there, but with the change of venue we truly get a second tale. I really appreciated how neither the love story or the paranormal overshadowed one another and Oh how much do I love that Henry is in on it all.  That Selah is not keeping this massive secret from him that leads to angst and leaves me feeling all Emo in the end.  Is there angst, sure there is a bit.  There are doubts and struggles, confusion, and unmet desires,but what would a good romance be with out those things?

Speaking of love, Henry. Henry, dear sweet Henry.  I can't mention how many times I wanted to give him a good swift kick, but I think I lean toward the American side like Selah in this and wanted to shove all that English propriety up their....well you know.  However, dear sweet Henry never fails to redeem himself, but we are still left to wonder if it will be enough in the end. 

Oh and let's talk swift kicks, James Roth, the man we love to hate, please someone tell me he will be getting his own story. He may be Saleh's nemesis and a right, well that's  a word I won't use here, but I think there is something there.  There is a story underneath his layers.

You know you thought it too. *wink*
 We get a glimpse of something from him his this book that I would love to see worked through and I like to think that he will one day be able to see in Saleh what we all do.  A girl can dream.

And not to be left out...Deri Girl.  Okay, I know she is evil, I know that she is hurting people, I know that she is a bit on the crazy (okay a lot on) side, but darn it if I don't love Deri.


"Deri watched Henry and the hounds, her face rapturous.  Thinking myself undetected, I studied the disturbingly pale features when her neck slowly swiveled, and our gazes locked. "So far from home, Biddie girl," she chirped in a childish voice.  "Did ye like little Deri's present?""

Seriously, you can't but kind of love her.  She's evil to the core don't get me wrong, but her little taunts make me both shudder and smile.  Deri is a fantastic antagonist and I can't wait to see more of her in the next book. Does that make me a bad person?  Haha.
What it all comes down to is that if you are a Paranormal book lover, a Historical book lover, or a Romance book lover this is a perfect read. It has everything to draw you in and keep you reading.  I know once I started I couldn't put it down and I am rooting for these characters.  Any book that can make you root for the characters, all of them, is a book worth reading!  I think Kari Edgren has hit another home-run with this one and I am so anxious for the third book to be released! 

If you haven't had a chance to start this series before, here are the links to Goddess Born, the first book in the Goddess Born series.  You will definitely want to start there. 



  *By the way, how gorgeous is that cover?  You guys know I am a Cover Lover and this one is fabulous!*

So check out the book, check out the author, and don't forget to keep on scrolling to enter a fabulous giveaway!  

Kari Edgren did not dream of becoming a writer. Instead, she dreamed of everything else and was often made to stay inside during kindergarten recess to practice her letters. Despite doting parents and a decent school system, Ms. Edgren managed to make it through elementary school having completed only one book cover to cover – The Box Car Children, which she read approximately forty-seven times. Things improved during high school, but not until she read Gabrielle Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude in college, did she truly understand the power of a book.



Ms. Edgren aspires to be a Vulcan, a world-acclaimed opera singer, and two inches taller. She resides in the Pacific NW where she spends a great deal of time torturing her husband and children with strange food and random historical facts. Ms. Edgren hasn’t stopped dreaming, but has finally mastered her letters enough to put the stories on paper.



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