Review & Giveaway: All's Fair in Vanity's War by Elizabeth Marx

Title: All's Fair in Vanity's War
Author: Elizabeth Marx
Genre: Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, YA
Publisher: Elizabeth Marx (Oct. 23rd 2011)
Get it: Amazon | B&N | Smashwords

Goodreads Synopsis
Salem’s always held sinister secrets. No one understands this better than a sixteen-year-old girl who dies on Halloween night and is reborn a Seer.

The Seer can’t imagine anything worse than being an invisible teenager with enormous black wings. Until she finds out she’s been sacrificed to watch over Locke’s new flame.

Locke Cavanaugh is a Druid, and part of the Order, a clandestine organization entrusted with keeping its members cloaked in the Ordinary world. Physically scarred from the accident that took his girlfriends life, Locke is searching for the OtherWorldly magic that damaged him, because only those without blemish can rule the Order. And once at the helm of the Order he has every intention of finding those responsible for her death.

On the West Coast, Keleigh Flaherty witnesses her parents’ murder by beasts that should only exist in nightmares. She is whisked off to the safety of Salem, where she learns how potent and dangerous her concealed Vate talents are. Keleigh wants to be Ordinary, but when her mother reaches out from the OtherWorld, and implores her to find a forgotten relic she’ll have to use all her ExtraOrdinary powers to locate it.

As Locke and Keleigh join forces, they unravel the Order’s involvement in the witch hysteria and murmurs of a Celtic prophecy. While Locke’s affection for Keleigh blooms, The Seer is torn between her duty to protect Keleigh, and her desire to stop Locke from making the ultimate sacrifice in order to earn Keleigh’s love . . .

But if they don’t find the witches bottle before the ShiningOnes do, someone stalking Keleigh from the shadows will take her instead and plunge all worlds into chaos.


REVIEW 

Although Keleigh is aware magic exists, she'd promised her mother that she wouldn't use magic nor would she remove a necklace that cloaks the real her from Ordinary people. But after receiving a message from her mother, whom she thought dead, from the OtherWorld, she is charged with locating and protecting a relic that neither her nor Locke know how to find. And they only have a limited time in which to locate it. 

With the help of the Wyrd Sisters (the maiden, the mother and the crone) she is taught as much as possible about who she is and how to harness her magic. And between her, Locke, Madi (her best friend) and Wiz (Locke's best friend) they search for information that will help them in their quest.

I really enjoyed the magic and the mythology in this book. It's choke full of adventure, mystery, suspense, and a bit of romance. And plenty of magic!

The characters are great! There are so many characters in which to love and some you just can't help but hate. I love the interaction between Locke and Keleigh. Despite her best attempts at keeping Locke at a distance, Keleigh can't help but be drawn to him. And I love how cocky Locke is at times but yet, he's very sweet as well. Madi, Keleigh's best friend, is a fun character. She tells it like it is no matter who she's talking to. Plus, she can see and communicate with the Seer where Keleigh and Locke can not. There are just so many interesting characters in the book ... druids, vates, bards, cluricaunes, fairies, boggarts and other OtherWorldly beings. If you like paranormal and/or fantasy stories, I definitely recommend this! 

Being that I never used to enjoy reading until a couple years ago, I really like reading a book that I feel I've learned something from it. With All's Fair in Vanity's War I learned a lot! And not just about Celtic mythology either. I hate to admit it but there were quite a few words that I had to look up the definition of. LOL I don't know whether that would turn some people off or not but I certainly did not find the writing boring.

Now, I did actually find quite a few mistakes in the book. Maybe had there not been so many I may have actually given the book a higher rating. But I do feel that the story was interesting and exciting enough to make up for the mistakes. There were times, however, when I was a little confused because the story is told from the Seer's point of view and she's never named, other than being known as the Seer. So sometimes I would forget who's telling the story for a moment. But it was really just a matter of me remembering so that's my fault. :)

I'm definitely looking forward to reading the next book when it is released. 

Find Elizabeth Marx Online
FB: The Seer | FB: Elizabeth Marx | Website | Goodreads | Twitter


I received a copy of All's Fair in Vanity's War from the author in exchange for an honest review.

GIVEAWAY

Elizabeth has graciously offered two copies of her book to be given away! All you have to do to enter is "Like" The Seer on Facebook and fill out the Rafflecopter form below. There are also two optional entries. Giveaway open to anyone 13 years of age or older! Ends 12:01AM EST on March 3rd.



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