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Emily May's Reviews > Veiled
Veiled (Ada Palomino, #1)
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Karina Halle at her best.
Halle is back on form. After loving her Sins & Needles trilogy and the spin-offs, I went through a series of disappointing reads from her. Love, in English wasn't my thing, Where Sea Meets Sky was an early DNF, and even the Experiment in Terror series didn't quite hit the spot. But this EiT spin-off featuring Ada Palomino is all kinds of creepy goodness, perfect for old fans and new readers alike.
Seriously, this book is scary. Ada's story was far more terrifying to me than that of her sister, Perry. It uses a lot of traditional horror elements - the voice in the closet, the thing that's there and then isn't - but Halle crafts the tension perfectly, playing with the lines of dreams and reality until you're unsure what's a nightmare and what's really lurking in the darkness of Ada's bedroom.
I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Veiled wasn't as romantic as I'd anticipated. It's being called a paranormal romance, but I'm inclined to call it "urban fantasy with a love story". Sure, there's the typical descriptions of male hotness, but it is excruciatingly slow burn (I mean this in a good way). No instalove - no insta anything, in fact - and a whole lot of ghostly plot to make this a book about more than young lovers.
There were many things I thought the author captured well. She remembers that Ada is a young woman grieving for her mother, and portrays that grief without melodrama. I also felt melancholy along with Ada when she discovers that an old friend is not what she thought - how difficult it must be to count on someone for so long and realise you never really knew each other that well at all.
I foresee fans of the usual New Adult romances coming into this book with certain expectations and not having them met. It's not typical of the genre, and actually does many great things that have nothing to do with romance and have everything to do with being a young woman with problems, heartache and, yes, a sex drive.
Also, it's funny.
If you find words like "twatwaffle" funny.
Which I do.
Creepy, sexy and really enjoyable.
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by
I swallow hard and my heart begins to thud. It’s not my imagination. I’m not asleep.
Karina Halle at her best.
Halle is back on form. After loving her Sins & Needles trilogy and the spin-offs, I went through a series of disappointing reads from her. Love, in English wasn't my thing, Where Sea Meets Sky was an early DNF, and even the Experiment in Terror series didn't quite hit the spot. But this EiT spin-off featuring Ada Palomino is all kinds of creepy goodness, perfect for old fans and new readers alike.
Seriously, this book is scary. Ada's story was far more terrifying to me than that of her sister, Perry. It uses a lot of traditional horror elements - the voice in the closet, the thing that's there and then isn't - but Halle crafts the tension perfectly, playing with the lines of dreams and reality until you're unsure what's a nightmare and what's really lurking in the darkness of Ada's bedroom.
I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Veiled wasn't as romantic as I'd anticipated. It's being called a paranormal romance, but I'm inclined to call it "urban fantasy with a love story". Sure, there's the typical descriptions of male hotness, but it is excruciatingly slow burn (I mean this in a good way). No instalove - no insta anything, in fact - and a whole lot of ghostly plot to make this a book about more than young lovers.
There were many things I thought the author captured well. She remembers that Ada is a young woman grieving for her mother, and portrays that grief without melodrama. I also felt melancholy along with Ada when she discovers that an old friend is not what she thought - how difficult it must be to count on someone for so long and realise you never really knew each other that well at all.
I foresee fans of the usual New Adult romances coming into this book with certain expectations and not having them met. It's not typical of the genre, and actually does many great things that have nothing to do with romance and have everything to do with being a young woman with problems, heartache and, yes, a sex drive.
Also, it's funny.
If you find words like "twatwaffle" funny.
Which I do.
Creepy, sexy and really enjoyable.
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Reading Progress
July 31, 2016
– Shelved
August 3, 2016
–
Started Reading
August 5, 2016
–
Finished Reading
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Sarah (booksargram)
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Aug 18, 2016 09:31AM
Twatwaffle is my new favorite word.
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Sarah wrote: "Twatwaffle is my new favorite word."Mine too :)
Wonderful review. And as you said, if it is good, and creepy, and you loved it. Then I will go for it.
Saw this on Amazon and immediately came to GR to add to my list....saw your review right on my homepage!! It sounds so good...and "twatwaffle" is hilarious!!
You had me at "Karina Halle at her best". Good to know she's back! Thank you for sharing your great review, Emily :-)
Great review! Do you think we need to read the EiT series before reading this one?
I'm reading your review and thinking..." This sounds very much like The Graveyard Queen. " Do you think they might be similar?
Alienor � French Frowner � (of badger and SNAKE) wrote: "Great review! Do you think we need to read the EiT series before reading this one?"Thank you! No, I only read the first one and wasn't a big fan. It contains spoilers for EiT but you don't need to know anything from that series to enjoy this one.
Ayaka wrote: "I'm reading your review and thinking..." This sounds very much like The Graveyard Queen. " Do you think they might be similar?"I haven't read that one. The blurb of GQ makes it sound quite different, but I'm not 100% sure.
I have been waiting for this review since I saw your rating for the book a while back. But I read the book anyway. XD And I'm glad I did. Omfg this book was so darn sexy... and scary. Brought back good memories of Sins and Needles. Halle is back! Let's see if we get more of Ada.
Emily May wrote: "Alienor � French Frowner � (of badger and SNAKE) wrote: "Great review! Do you think we need to read the EiT series before reading this one?"Thank you! No, I only read the first one and wasn't a b..."
Good to know :) I don't think I'll ever read the EiT series, so I don't care about being spoiled ^^
I'm so all over this one.
Enjoyed your review and am looking forward to reading this one :)
$2.99 ebook on Amazon --grabbed it!!
Thanks for the Amazon tip...just bought it!
I haven't read this, I just wanted some place to come and express that I completely agree. I know that Karina is writing her little heart out with The Offer, the Pact and all the other books she's been doing.. but I totally miss the type of books she initially wrote that made her one of my favorite. I miss the Karina of the Sins &needles books or the dirty triliogy.. can she be found in this book?
Shelby wrote: "I haven't read this, I just wanted some place to come and express that I completely agree. I know that Karina is writing her little heart out with The Offer, the Pact and all the other books she's ..."I think so! It has the snark, the slow-burn romance, and more plot. It's my personal opinion that a book doesn't need lots of sex and coarse language to be sexy - this book is a good example of less is more.
Is this app just for reviews ? Or can you actually read books on this ? If not then could someone recommend a good free app for reading books, please and thanks
Sinead wrote: "Is this app just for reviews ? Or can you actually read books on this ? If not then could someone recommend a good free app for reading books, please and thanks "You can read books in Kindle and iBooks. Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ is just for reviews.
