Review: Nocturne by Heather McKenzie || Slightly Bland and Repetitive

Title: Nocturne
Author: Heather McKenzie
Series: The Nightmusic Trilogy, book 2
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Suspense, [Young-Adult]
Heat Rating: Slightly warm
Page Count and Format: 415 pages, Ebook
Expected Publication: March 20th, 2018 by Clean Teen Publishing
Source: I received an eARC of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
My Rating:

Blurb (from Goodreads):

I am hunted.
A pawn in a vicious game.
The only way I can protect the ones I love…
…is to disappear.

Finally free of her father, Kaya has the one thing that keeps her heart beating—Luke.

Blissfully content in his arms, everything seems perfect…until their world is shattered by a deadly invasion. When an old ally comes to the rescue, Kaya wants none of it. She is devastated to learn the identity of her attacker, and that she must do something truly heartbreaking if she wants to save the ones she loves. Sacrificing everything and sinking into bottomless sorrow, Kaya finds solace in an unlikely friend—one who shows her a different kind of love and helps her discover an inner strength she never thought possible.

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The first book in this trilogy, Serenade was a pretty awesome and engaging read. Compared to that, the 2nd book felt slightly bland and repetitive. But I have to say one thing, the covers of this trilogy are really unique and beautiful!

Kaya is still on the run from her father who is only after her fortune. After an incident, she truly understands that she poses a threat to anyone near her, so she decides to bail alone. But surrounded by enemies on all sides, will she be able to hide or will she be betrayed?

A lot of stuff happened in the first book, Kaya learned the truth about herself and why she was held captive by her father and why he is after her. She ends up getting kidnapped by Luke but along the way ends up falling for her captor. I felt this book was more of a kind of filler because other than the introduction of few new characters, this book only contained running and hiding and it was devoid of any interesting surprises. But seriously, Kaya definitely has the most shittest parents in the whole universe!

One of the things that surprised me was, I actually started liking Oliver. His actions disgusted me in book 1 but after knowing the real reason behind it, he slowly started warming up to me. But… but I felt Kaya’s character was a kind of irritating this book! And on top of that, Thomas. What even!! She miraculously gets rescued after bailing on Luke and ends on a farm where she manages to get a job there and ultimately one of the guys there fall for her. Why is that everybody end up falling in love with the main heroine? I would have rather enjoyed it more if it was a purely platonic relationship. It would definitely have been more meaningful.

On the other hand, one of the new characters Marlene was absolutely my favourite. Born with a hideous birthmark on her face, she mostly stays away from crowds but a beautiful bond develops between her and Kaya. I loved the fact that Kaya stood up for her on more than one occasion! But the most awesome thing about this book was the bromance between Luke and Oliver! I didn’t even guess that anything slightly normal was possible between these two because they were always at each other’s throats. This was definitely a delightful surprise.

Overall, Nocturn was an okay read. The plot felt a little repetitive and this book could have been a little less lengthy in my opinion. The action and stuff were there but I wanted more of it but nonetheless, I enjoyed those particular parts.But the way things ended, I am definitely interested to know what happens next to our characters!

Recommend it?

Yes.

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So guys, what do you think about this book? Is it on your tbr?

Review: Serenade by Heather McKenzie || Where I fell in love with the captor

Title: Serenade
Author: Heather McKenzie
Series: The Nightmusic Trilogy, book 1
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Suspense, [Young-Adult]
Heat Rating: Cool
Page Count and Format: 438 pages, Ebook
Expected Publication: April 17th, 2017 by Clean Teen Publishing
Source: I received an eARC of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
My Rating:

 

Blurb (from Goodreads):

Kidnapped and held hostage in the Rockies, a teenage heiress falls for her abductor while her corrupt father and devoted bodyguard fight to get her back. The discovery of true love and dark family secrets turns deadly in this epic coming of age adventure.

Kaya Lowen dreams of living like a normal eighteen-year old, but being heiress to a billion-dollar company has put her life in constant danger. Fiercely guarded by her powerful and corrupt father, she develops close bonds with those who protect her, especially Oliver a bodyguard who has proven his devotion to her time and again. He wins her heart – until a chance encounter with a mysterious stranger has her questioning everything she believes in.

Haunted by true love and reeling from a guilty conscience, Kaya’s world unravels when she’s kidnapped. Held captive in a rugged wilderness fraught with raging storms, mystical caves and deadly predators, Kaya’s father scours the forest and her bodyguard fights to get her back. But, the discovery of a dark family secret makes Kaya wonder if staying in the arms of her blue-eyed abductor, a captivating stranger with dark secrets of his own, is a safer place to be. At least, that’s what her heart is telling her, her head is saying run…

An epic adventure centered on a smoldering love-triangle, Serenade sings a timeless tale of courage, self-discovery, and life-or-death love that will leave you breathless.

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This book really took me on for a ride. So many things happened in this book and I enjoyed it very much.

Kaya desperately wants to live a normal life which is impossible as she is the sole heiress of a billion dollar company. Her father doesn’t give her the time of the day and she is left in the company of her bodyguard and other security officers who in due time has become her only friends. But when she gets kidnapped she comes face to face with a whole new reality she didn’t even think of. Now, it’s up to Kaya to decide if she wants to go back into that prison of a house or finally start listening to her heart.

The plot was pretty interesting and it kept me engaged throughout the book. Kaya’s life is a lot like Rapunzel. She is not allowed to go anywhere outside the premise marked by her father and guards accompany her 24/7. I liked Kaya from the very beginning, she was smart and caring and just craved for a normal life. And with only a few people in her life, she has grown close to the guards, especially Stephen and Oliver. Stephen was more a father to her than a guard and I really loved him. But Oliver… eh, not so much. I didn’t like him much and as the book proceeded, my dislike for him grew more and more. He definitely cared for Kaya but in a weird twisted way, it seemed like he thought he owned her after she agreed to his proposal of marriage.

Nonetheless, I enjoyed how the plot was executed. After Kaya gets kidnapped, things take a different turn. We are introduced to three more people- Luke, Seth, and Reagan. I didn’t know what to think of them at first but slowly they warmed up to my heart. I liked Luke, a lot and it was pretty obvious that he and Kaya had chemistry. The only thing that I didn’t enjoy much in the whole book was the insta-love. I just wished their relationship was more explored because there was plenty of scope for it.

I was glad to see how Kaya handled everything in a mature way and I really loved Luke when he decided to stand by her with whatever decision she took. The plot twist was really, really good. I didn’t expect that to happen. There were so many secrets that Kaya’s father kept to himself and oh my gosh, I hated him so much. And that revelation at the end was mind-blowing, I can’t wait to see what happens next!

Overall. Serenade was a great read. The plot was executed neatly and I enjoyed the characters. The insta-love was the only thing that I disliked in this book but I did love Kaya and Luke together. The writing was beautiful and smooth and the pace was even throughout the book. There was not a single dull moment in this book and I will be waiting eagerly for the next one in this series!

Recommend it?

Yes.

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So guys, what do you think about this book? Is it already in your tbr?