ARC Review - House of Night: Legacy

HOUSE OF NIGHT: LEGACY
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics 
PUB DATE: July 10, 2012
ISBN: 9781595829627 
AUTHORS: P.C. Cast, Kristin Cast, Kent Dalian
CONTRIBUTORS:  Daniel Krall, Dan Jackson, Eric Canete, Joelle Jones, Jonathan Case, Joshua Covey, Kari Kerschi, Ryan Hill, and Steve Morris



    House of Night: Legacy is set between the first novels Marked and Betrayed, and contains the first five issues: Earth, Air, Water, Fire, and Spirit. Zoey Redbird is a fledging (a future vampyr), but she is different than the others as her mark is filled in, as she is destined to lead the Daughters of Darkness even though she just wants to be a normal teen. With the help of her friends and with the guidance of Nyx, she has to learn about the five elements - earth, air, water, fire, and spirit. And in the process she learns a few life lessons.

Review - Dark Shadows: The Salem Branch

Dark Shadows: The Salem Branch
BY: Lara Parker
PUBLISHED BY: Tor
PUBLISHED IN: First Mass Market Edition 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7653-7002-0
PAGES: 336

    The now human Barnabas Collins is ready to start a new life with his fiancée Dr. Julia Hoffman, who curried him from the vampire curse set upon him by the witch Angelique. The Old House, which was mostly burnt in the previous novel, is now owned by the mysterious flower child named Antoinette, who is the split image of Angelique. Julia tells him to forget about it, but he can’t forget about all the horror the witch has put him through.

    Barnabas, along with his manservant Willie Loomis, stumbles into the reconstructed Old House and he shockingly finds that the interior is the exact duplicate, as if the fire never occurred. Now he is more than sure that Angelique has returned from the grave. Before leaving, they find a corpse with bite marks on the neck. Is there another vampire in Collinsport?

    Barnabas is determined to find out the truth, which takes him and young David Collins to Salem, where he starts to have doubts about who Antoinette is. He even starts to fall in love with her. Barnabas is soon encountered with the so-called-vampire and is bitten. Now to save the Collins family he may have to return to his curse.

Review - Dark Shadows: Angelique's Descent

Dark Shadows: Angelique’s Descent
BY: Lara Parker
PUBLISHED BY: Tor
PUBLISHED IN: First Mass Market Edition 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7653-7002-0
PAGES: 336

    Now cured of the vampire curse, Barnabas is ready to start a new live as a mortal, starting by furthering his relationship with his savior Dr. Julia Hoffman. He is now living in the Collinwood estate and plans on becoming a productive member of the family. The night before the demolition crew is scheduled to tear down the Old House, he returns there just before a mysterious fire occurs, burning down almost the entire house. The only item that survived the burning was a journal. The journal of the witch Angelique Bouchard.

    Despite of Julia’s demands for him to toss the book into the fireplace, Barnabas begins reading the haunted tale that takes place on island of Martinique. At a young age Angelique is ripped from her mother’s arms and forced to live with her father, a plantation owner. Voodoo witchcraft had been in her family line and at an early age her father recognized it in her. Angelique is treated more like a slave than a daughter as she is used in her father’s scheme to control his slaves, leading her into pledging her soul to darkness and becoming immortal.