Same difference #13

I've never read any of Jennifer L. Armentrouts books before but when I saw this cover for Obsidian a couple of weeks ago I knew I'd seen that couple somewhere else and it has been driving me nuts ever since! Well I just finally figured it out and had to share it, I first saw them a few months back on the cover of Dark territory by J. Gabriel Gates and Charlene Keel when I was reading it for review.

Does anyone else think that they seem to look so much prettier in the Obsidian cover, weird huh and I don't why the girls hair is cut on the second cover.

Update 10/12/12

Apparantly this couple is everywhere!

Accordance by Shelly Crane

Existence by Abbi James

How to ruin a summer vacation

Which do you prefer?

Dark territory review

Dark territory by J. Gabriel Gates and Charlene Keel

www.hcibooks.com

What's it about?

In the quaint town of Middleburg, an abandoned train yard and old railroad tracks form the dividing line between two rival gangs—the posh, preppie Toppers and the working-class Flatliners. When Raphael, the leader of the Flatliners, falls in love with Aimee, a Topper girl, the rival gangs prepare to do battle . . . but not with guns and knives. Their martial arts training dictates a strict code of honor, which all of the gang members adhere to. The only hope for peace between the rival gangs lies within the giant X formed where the railroad tracks cross. The awesome power contained in the X sends the Flatliners and the Toppers on a mystical quest to fight against malevolent forces that threaten the existence of Middleburg—and maybe the world.

My review
3/5
Well I liked this book and it has some great characters but it's really long, I felt it would've been just as good if it were missing a few scenes.
There are a lot of characters to meet in the book but I liked how they all became linked to each other by the end and there are a couple who weren't in it much that I think will be more prominent later in the series.
Though this isn't the first book I've read with martial arts in I thought it added something different to a great story, I really liked the rivalry between the Toppers and the Flatliners (Team Flatliners! lol) and I loved how when we got to the Supernatural element of the story it blended in so well with the Natural part it was believeable, though there were some parts that didn't make a lot of sense and I was left with a lot of questions, but I assume this is because there are further books and all will be explained later.
I felt the authors did a great job of portraying Raph and Aimees feelings for each other, especially when they were together, I found to hard to believe they are in love simply because they don't spend more than five minutes together a handful of times, they don't actually get to know each other making it feel more like lust or infactuation, but it was still engrossing to read them.
I thought Raph was a really great guy, honest and determined and despite his living situation he still stays true to who he is, I did feel sorry for him a lot at times and just hope everything works out for him. Aimee is a nice girl to, she's obviously getting over something big and I think she could be a lot more if she didn't have such a controlling Dad and Brother.
I think the story was very imaginative and not something I've seen before, the writing is brilliant with just the right amount of description on everything so you can easily imagine the world it made it easy to read through at the more drawn out parts, I'll definitely read the second book.

Books in The Tracks series:

Dark territory

Ghost crown (January 2012)

More by J. Gabriel Gates:

The sleepwalkers - Check out my review for this creepy horror

J. Gabriel Gates on Facebook

J. Gabriel Gates' website

The Sleepwalkers review

The Sleepwalkers by J. Gabriel Gates.

Releases 3rd October 2011

www.hcibooks.com

What's it about?

Privileged and popular Caleb Mason is celebrating his high school graduation when he receives a mysterious, disturbing letter from his long-lost childhood playmate, Christine. Caleb and his jokester friend Bean decide to travel to his tiny hometown of Hudsonville, Florida, to find her. Upon arrival, they discover the town has taken a horrifying turn for the worse. Caleb's childhood home is abandoned and his father has disappeared. Children are going missing. The old insane asylum has reopened, and Christine is locked inside. Her mother, a witch, is consumed with madness, and Christine's long-dead twin sister whispers clues to Caleb through the static of an a.m. radio. The terrifying prophesies of the spirits are coming to pass. Sixteen clocks are ticking; sixty-six murdered souls will bring about the end of the world. As Caleb peels back layer after layer of mystery, he uncovers a truth more horrible than anything he had imagined, a truth that could only be uttered by the lips of the dead.

My review:

5/5

I admit when I read the first page of this, I was skeptical. It's written so differently to anything I've ever read and I had trouble understanding what was going on. However once I got passed the prologue and the story started, it 'calmed down' a little and I got right into it, it's still written very uniquely but that just made it all the more interesting. And as soon as the mystery started I was desperate to get to the end and find out what was going on and stayed up later than I should have before forcing myself to put it down (I actually woke up still holding my Kindle up!).

The book is gripping and creepy with lots of action and is full of some wonderful, if odd, characters.

Our hero Caleb (Billy) is brave and caring and best friend Bean is hilarious, I loved the banter that goes on between the two friends even when things get scary. Though Caleb is the main hero I also loved another hero of the book Ron, he's been through a lot and is struggling with his faith, but he really steps up when it's asked of him and is also incredibly brave.

Though I found the end a teensy bit predicatable for me, it was an excellent read with some unique ideas and I'd recommend it to anyone.

There's a couple of loose strings which makes me think there will be a sequel... I certainly hope so!

Other books by J. Gabriel Gates:

Dark territory (The Tracks book one)

Ghost crown (The Tracks book two - Jan 2012)

Vist J. Gbariel Gates website.