Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Review: The Hidden Ones (Book One in The Legacy of Watchers series) by Nancy Madore


Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Createspace
Published: January 10, 2013
Pages: 424
Source: I received this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis:LEGACY OF THE WATCHERS (the series) A historical, speculative, science fiction adventure

 Thousands of years ago something came out of the sky that changed the course of human history. Testimonies abound of these ‘angels’ and their hybrid offspring, the ‘Nephilim’ giants. These mighty ‘gods’ quickly rose to power, and the ancient world came alive with industry and culture. People who lived for hundreds of thousands of years as hunters and gatherers suddenly began settling in one place, cultivating the land and even governing themselves. They invented irrigation, the wheel and algebra. Yet amidst all this progress, an undercurrent of terror was spreading like wildfire, carrying whispers of ‘djinn,’ ‘daeva’ and ‘demons.’

 The Watchers were supposed to do just that: watch. But humankind proved far too tempting and they ‘fell’ to earth, taking wives and even producing children. But their children grew into unruly giants whose souls didn’t ascend like human souls when they die, but remained here on earth. These errant souls haunt the earth to this day. They are the ‘djinn,’ the ‘hidden ones,’ also known as ‘daeva’ and ‘demon.’ They have one purpose—to live. But to live they need bodies.

 This chain of events has now reached the point where the djinn need more than just our bodies to survive. They must take back control of the earth, just as in the days when they ruled as gods.

 The Hidden Ones (book one)
 As CEO of her own thriving company, Nadia Adeire is flush with success, but a secret society dating back to the Essenes believes her to be one of the ancient djinn—the notorious demoness of Hebrew legend, Lilith. What’s more, they have reason to believe that she’s plotting a catastrophic attack on the world.

 Nadia is snatched from her ‘perfect’ life and caught in a maze between a present day disaster and the ancient legends of the djinn. The only way out is to retrace the steps of her deceased grandmother, Helene. The deeper Nadia delves into the past, the harder it will be for her to emerge unscathed. But it’s the only way to stop this impending disaster that was set in motion five thousand years ago!

Review:

When I first saw this book I wasn't so sure about it. The cover didn't pull me in right away but I know from past experiences covers can mean essentially nothing. I read on into the synopsis and was highly intrigued. I mean in the first paragraph the author really grabbed me. I don't like much history except for ancient history... oh look this has that. Gods and Nephilim giants sounds interesting enough right and to put such a twist on this kind of a story. It was done very well I ended up giving this a 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads. 

The amount of research and knowledge that had to go into this book is amazing. The sort of cultures one must know or gets to know when reading a book such as this. It was done so very well. Again like I stated up above I don't really like any other history other than ancient history so I loved when we got to see from Lilith's point of view and kind of see ancient life so to speak. I loved the map of Mesopotamia and even seeing some names through out the book that I have learned about in past ancient history classes that I have taken. 

The only problem I had with the book at the beginning was when the point of view jumped. When you first start reading you read of  Helene at first  I was confused because I thought it was just going to be about Nadia and most likely from her point of view. But as you keep reading you find out there are three different points of views in this book. One is Nadia, the other is Helene, and then there is Lilith. This kept the book interesting and alive in some parts where lot's of info is told to the reader. 

My favorite character to read about I would have to say was Lilith to read about all of her adventures that she had when she lived and seeing through her ancient eyes so to speak is amazing. And sort of tells another side to the whole good vs. evil story. It is easy to see where her logic is coming from and why she starts to hate humans. The only thing she forgot was that not all humans are the same and that's where I kind of think she lost her way so to speak, and that they thought they deserved things when it should have been earned. 

I am very interested to see where this story goes from here and what sort of trouble Nadia is going to get into with Lilith. So I will be continuing on with the series. If you are curious and want to know more about the author and her books her website can be found at: http://www.nmadore.com

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Bout of Books 11.0: Day 7 Update

Bout of Books

Currently Reading: 

  • Elixir by Ted Galdi
  • Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Books Completed:

  • Rise of the Gryphon by Sherrilyn Kenyon and Dianna Love
  • The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan
  • The Hidden Ones by Nancy Madore
  • The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
  • Four by Veronica Roth
Pages read today: 75

Total pages read: 1,647

Toughts:

Didn't get many pages read today like I wanted to. I think the reason why is because I was really thinking that Elixir was going to be captivating and really pull me in and be a fast read. That is not what happened. So after a grueling read of 50 pages I switched to Clockwork Angel, which is a very good read so far. But by the time I started reading this I was getting tired so I slept a lot and didn't get much read. 

Saturday, August 23, 2014

Bout of Books 11.0: Day 6 Update

Bout of Books

Currently Reading: 

  • Elixir by Ted Galdi

Books Completed:

  • Rise of the Gryphon by Sherrilyn Kenyon and Dianna Love
  • The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan
  • The Hidden Ones by Nancy Madore
  • The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
  • Four by Veronica Roth
Pages read today: 292

Total pages read: 1,572


Toughts:

Again another good reading day! I just started Elixir but it only has 244 pages so I should be able to get through those by the end of the day... I hope. The Night circus was just sooooo gooood. I loved it and glad I was able to finish it today. I wish there was a movie to this that was just as beautiful or even better if I am wishing for things I wish for the actual circus itself. Being a person that is up overnight it would be perfect for me. 

Friday, August 22, 2014

Bout of Books 11.0: Day 5 Update

Bout of Books

Currently Reading: 

  • The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
  • Four by Veronica Roth

Books Completed:

  • Rise of the Gryphon by Sherrilyn Kenyon and Dianna Love
  • The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan
  • The Hidden Ones by Nancy Madore
Pages read today: 323

Total pages read: 1,280

Books to read:

  • Elixir by Ted Galdi

Toughts:

I got a whole bunch of reading done today! I flew through Four and am almost done with that, will be finishing that tomorrow and maybe even The Night Circus. I don't think I will be finishing Elixir by the end of this read-a-thon but it will be close. If I can read as much as I did today for tomorrow I might get through it but we will see. Also I broke into the thousands for pages read. Feeling so accomplished today!

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Bout of Books 11.0 Day 4 Update

Bout of Books

Currently Reading: 

  • The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Books Completed:

  • Rise of the Gryphon by Sherrilyn Kenyon and Dianna Love
  • The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan
  • The Hidden Ones by Nancy Madore
Pages read today: 239

Total pages read: 957

Books to read:

  • Elixir by Ted Galdi
  • Four by Veronica Roth

Toughts:

A good reading day if I say so myself. Glad to have another book finished now to dive into The Night Circus. I am loving it so far I think the reason being is because I love the circus so much. Also I have been posting on blogs and checking out as many new blogs as possible so I am definitely doing that goal as well. 

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Bout of Books 11.0: Day 3 Update

Bout of Books

Currently Reading: 

  • The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
  • The Hidden Ones by Nancy Madore

Books Completed:

  • Rise of the Gryphon by Sherrilyn Kenyon and Dianna Love
  • The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan
Pages read today: 170

Total pages read: 718

Books to read:

  • Elixir by Ted Galdi
  • Four by Veronica Roth

Toughts:

This was a day to catch up on some sleep. It also doesn't help that I wanted to play some Diablo 3 reaper of souls. But oh well it just came out I needed to play it! I hope to finish The Hidden Ones today and get some more read in The Night Circus. 

Bout of Books 11.0: Day 2 Update

Bout of Books

Currently Reading: 

  • The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
  • The Hidden Ones by Nancy Madore

Books Completed:

  • Rise of the Gryphon by Sherrilyn Kenyon and Dianna Love
  • The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan
Pages read today: 227

Total pages read: 548

Books to read:

  • Elixir by Ted Galdi
  • Four by Veronica Roth

Toughts:

I didn't read as much as yesterday but that is because I didn't get very much sleep so I got a huge headache which then made me sick feeling. The Night Circus is real interesting but definitly not a book to read when sleepy so I had to switch to The Hidden Ones.