Book Review By Ella Medler - Deadly Addiction By Kristine Cayne

Deadly Addiction is book two in the Deadly Vices series. I have read book one, Deadly Obsession, and I have enjoyed it very much. When I picked up Deadly Addiction, I expected improvement, of course, but what I didn’t expect was how thoroughly dynamite it was. Kristine Cayne has topped all my expectations with this book.

I found the background of relationships between the Iroquois and the perceived white oppressors a stroke of genius, perfectly observed and relayed with all its contemporary intricacies and complications. I learned a lot, and at the same time I was able to identify with and understand a lot of the predicaments faced by mixed-race individuals and the hurdles they must jump in order to be accepted.

The storyline touches lightly on book one, but the plot is a complete story in its own right, very well spun, with clever twists, and presenting the characters with circumstances that pose moral and ethical questions, besides the simple challenges posed by physical attraction and, in Alyssa’s case, staying alive.

The characters are real and believable, easy to identify with and engaging. I especially enjoyed the part where sweet Alyssa has one drink too many – that was so funny. The fine humour in the dialogue is pure skill.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a fast-moving story. I didn’t want to put the book down, and the last fifty pages or so were an uninterrupted adrenaline rush. The ending was very satisfying, even better than the one I envisaged and I absolutely loved Kristine for coming up with such a smart solution to a very real problem.

There are only five stars I can award to any book, and I have to say Deadly Addiction more than deserves every single shiny star there is. If I could award it more, I would. This is one author I will definitely keep an eye on. Ella Medler gives this book a "Life Changing Read" Award

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REVIEW BY GUEST BLOGGER Ella Medler: Tomorrow’s Child, by Starr West

Tomorrow’s Child deals with an apocalypse idea by going deep and scrutinising people’s habits, actions and emotions in a way most authors would shy away from.

We meet Psyche Darnell and we know she is special. It takes a while for her to discover why and what she is expected to do with her gifts, her teenage hormones don’t make for an easy ride, but at least she is surrounded by friends. All she has to do is merely accept the truth, because Starr West is right – ‘you don’t have to believe in something for it to be true’.

It’s never easy admitting you are flawed, but here none of the characters are perfect. Despite this, or maybe because of it, you can’t help but feel close to them. There aren’t many without special attributes, so you can’t really mistake them for normal people, but they exude warmth and friendship, a strong sense of right and wrong and they would gladly sacrifice themselves for the greater good – the very essence of humanity.

The story is well written, in a strong and clear voice. There are points of darkness and suspense throughout the plot but it is not a dizzyingly fast carousel of action, and neither should it be. Scenarios such as this require careful consideration. You can’t just skip merrily to the next page without thinking about the problems posed to the last few surviving humans. You can’t not think of all the ramifications, all the what-ifs, all of the what-would-I-dos.

Starr is clearly a people watcher, a very keen observer, and it shows. The way different people deal with their own personal crises is portrayed brilliantly. The outcome is a ray of light, quite satisfying, and the epilogue gives a glimpse of future frictions and even confrontations. We’ll have to wait for book two to see how they unfold.

A good first entry, by a deep-thinking author and a very pleasant read. Just don’t expect to stop thinking about it when you’ve put it down.

You can read the first five chapters free here http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/140165

Get to know Starr better http://starrwest.wordpress.com/

About Ella Medler

Ella Medler is a fiction novelist and playwright. Her first novel MARTIN LITTLE, RESURRECTED is available in print from Amazon.com and in ebook form pretty much in every format you can think of. Visit her website at www.ellamedler.com for updates, excerpts of her writing and links.