| Title | : | Isis, Vampires and Ghosts - Oh My! (The Other World, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 098726527X |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780987265272 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | ebook |
| Number of Pages | : | 238 |
| Publication | : | First published August 30, 2014 |
With only the aid of the ghost of a pissed-off Buddhist monk with a potty mouth, and the modern day Priestess of Isis, Stephanie must battle demons and other denizens of a world she knows nothing about. Even her first task, to recover Branwyre’s crucible if she is to succeed in banishing the vampire before he has regained his full strength, is not what it seems.
But dealing with a demon, or double-binding a vampire in a sunbed pales in comparison to learning how to forgive her sister for what she did, especially if she is to have even half a chance of saving her soul.
Welcome to a world within our own, the Other World. A place of Darkness and Light; where gods, vampires, demons, and ghosts wage a constant struggle for survival.
Isis, Vampires and Ghosts - Oh My! (The Other World, #1) Reviews
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Estella has been trouble her entire life and it’s always been her older sister Stephanie’s job to clean up her messes and attempt to rescue her. Now it appears that Estella’s wayward lifestyle has led to an early death and that Stephanie will have just one final responsibility, her sister’s funeral. Except it turns out that Estella isn’t quite as dead as Stephanie had been led to believe. She’s temporarily undead to be precise.
Estella had gotten herself involved with a group of Isis worshipping women--which is a total surprise to Stephanie and a big change from Estella’s former partying ways--and while on a mission with her righteous cohorts to slay a vampire things went terribly wrong. Estella was killed but is still animated because she’s been possessed by Branwyre, an evil vampire who’s Lord of the Aegean, and now Stephanie must race against the clock to save her sister’s soul.
Stephanie has been angry with and estranged from her sister for years, and she doesn’t believe all the new age paranormal mumbo jumbo she’s being told, but what choice does she have? Estella is her baby sister. She can’t just let a vile vampire steal her soul. So now Stephanie is battling ancient demons she knows nothing about with the reluctant help of a foul-mouthed double-crossing Buddhist monk ghost as a sidekick--he was one of my favorite characters.
Like Janis Hill’s earlier Sci Fi adventure romance (Bonnie’s Story: A Blonde's Guide to Mathematics) this book is fast-paced, inventive, surprisingly touching, and beyond funny. Romance doesn’t play much of a role in this story because the important relationship is the two sisters, a dynamic I found refreshing. Four and a half stars.
Through its publisher and NetGalley I received an advance review ebook copy of Isis, Vampires, and Ghosts--Oh My! Review opinions are mine. -
Review: Isis, Vampires and Ghosts - Oh My! (The Other World #1) by Janis Hill Publication Date: 30th August 2014
Publisher: Hague Publishing
ASIN: B00MS0FG1S
Source: Netgalley
My Rating: 3½/5
Synopsis:
When Stephanie Anders discovers her estranged, wild-child little sister has died and she must attend her funeral, she discovers that Estella’s death is not necessarily as terminal as she had been lead to believe and that, rather than dead, her sister is more of the undead variety. Too late to save her sister’s life, Stephanie Anders must now try to save her soul from the vampire who has possessed her, Branwyre, eighteenth vampire Lord of the Aegean.
With only the aid of the ghost of a pissed-off Buddhist monk with a potty mouth, and the modern day Priestess of Isis, Stephanie must battle demons and other denizens of a world she knows nothing about. Even her first task, to recover Branwyre’s crucible if she is to succeed in banishing the vampire before he has regained his full strength, is not what it seems.
But dealing with a demon, or double-binding a vampire in a sunbed pales in comparison to learning how to forgive her sister for what she did, especially if she is to have even half a chance of saving her soul.
Welcome to a world within our own, the Other World. A place of Darkness and Light; where gods, vampires, demons, and ghosts wage a constant struggle for survival.
My Review:
I was intrigued by the title of this book, hoping for a tale of vampires, ghosts and other paranormal goings on. I certainly got what I wanted, and more besides.
Stephanie is a fantastic character, likeable and feisty. Her initial reaction to the world of Isis is believable and humerous, her sense of humour and sarcastic manner one of the great points of this book. I had a little trouble getting my head around the many events that were thrown at Stephanie all at once, but once she had got used to the idea of what laid ahead of her, so had I.
Branwyre, Trishna and the rest of the otherworldly beings are well described and fit in with the story well, but I did find Trishna's insults rather repetitive; he could do with more varied vocabulary. Roxanna and Estella are also well described.
I found the whole concept of Isis a bit rushed, I would have preferred an introduction to it prior to Stephanie's arrival, but I'd probably read the next book in the series to find out what happens next. -
I received this ARC courtesy of Hague Publishing and Net Galley
Bell, Book & Candle | Isis, Vampires and Ghosts - Oh My! Review
I am under the impression that this is a stand alone novel, or at the very least the only book in a series. Which, coincidentally, is kind of a bummer since I actually want to read more of this story. There were a few grammar mistakes that I caught, but it didn't really take away from the story, in my opinion (it was an ARC so....). This book is most definitely a melting pot of what you would see in today's paranormal series. The whole Isis/vampire thing did sound interesting, yet unconventional.
"What did she want me to say? That, yes, Santa really was real and if she was a good little High Priestess this year she was going to get a new shiny red bike?" - Stephanie
The protagonist, Stephanie, is your everyday funny and sarcastic older sister. Except she is not one to be trifled with. I loved her humor and overall caustic reactions to everything; it's just how I would react if it were me. She totally owned the demons she went up against- I mean some serious butt kicking! Trishna, the ghostly not-so-Buddhist monk, was also a riot but he had a serious potty mouth; I feel like I need to scrub both his mouth and my ears with soap. Stephanie's sister, Estella, wasn't so bad wasn't so bad once you got to meet her, and I'm pleased that she redeemed herself in the reader's eyes. The High Priestess was, thankfully, not as uptight as I would have imagined, and was, eerily, like a mind reader.
The best part of this book was probably the characters. The setting just didn't really draw my attention as much. There is no romantic love interest, so don't expect one. The only focal relationship you read about, is that of Stephanie and Estella. Admittedly, I cried tears of joy when Stephanie finally forgave Estella for her past mistakes years ago. Be warned that this book contains a whole new level of swear words and phrases than your average everyday cuss words. I just might say these one day...
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This one is a very interesting new take on vampires, and the troubles they cause. As well as, ridiculous family members and the lengths you will go for them :) And on the side, it’s not just paranormal people hunting down vampires, think old school dracula, where normal, religious people use their beliefs and their will to fight the evil. The case here it the Goddess Isis, her followers, rid the world of vampires, but not the lovely Edward Cullen- no I don’t like him- or my fav Jean Claude-from Anita Blake- this is a disease and parasite that becomes a complete killing machine. Very intriguing about my love/hate relationship with vampers right :)
Stephanie starts the story on her way to bury her sister, who has been a bad new, pain in the @$$, bratty little sister. She comes off a little cold at first because she is relieved that her sister died, until you realize all the bad things her sister really did. LOL And then she meets the church people, and poof, her sister is dead, but not, and is attached to a very old, very evil vampire, and she needs to help rescue that bad sister all over again. It’s hilarious, all the things Stephanie says in her head while the priestess is explaining all of this to her. Stephanie has a fantastic sarcastic side, and she’s not as cold as she wants to seem.
Estella, the baby sister in rescue, Trishna, the over the top funny ghost of a monk who follows them, and of course the Mr Brandwyre, are our secondary characters, and with Stephanie, they made the story. The ridiculously hilarious curses that flew from their mouths, and the things they did, it made the story so awesome. Estella even gets to redeem herself to Stephanie, and the bad guy well, he’s still a bad guy so I won’t tell you :)
The writing flows well, and major props for finding some fresh creativity to go around vampires and the religious part, I thought would bother me, made it more interesting. I am definitely gunna watch out for book two, as this one was so much fun! 4.5 PAWS!! -
2.5 stars
I'll be honest here, when I first saw it on Netgalley, I wasn't going to read it because I thought it wouldn't be my cup of tea. It didn't seem like a book I was going to love but then, the storyline and characters got me curious. There weren't lots of explanations at the very beginning about the world created. I liked the writing and the ending was nice.
If you read this book, you'll find there is a lot of original cursing with quirky characters.
***ARC received through Netgalley in exchange of an honest review*** -
I really have no idea how to rate this book. On the one hand, much of it feels amateur and scoff-worthy and on the other hand, it did successfully pull at my emotions. And the world-building was interesting. The last third was certainly stronger than the rest of the book, but even there it seemed like the prose and the author's desire to have a witty, quippy, and quirky style consistently got in the way of a solid story with some intriguing characters.
I'm keen to see how the author improves over the next book or three, I think there's a lot of potential in her writing and her world. -
I loved the storyline of this book. I especially loved the depth given to some of the secondary characters. While I greatly appreciated Stephanie's (albeit occasionally waiving) strength, I didn't really enjoy the sentences of insults.
I really enjoyed the overall story and feel it closed really well, while remaining very open for future options and outcomes.
I've already purchased the second in the series and am looking forward to checking back in with Stephanie's continuing adventures. -
Review Courtesy of April Hollingworth
This is the first book in the Other World series. It can be read as a standalone book, but to be honest I enjoyed this book so much I’m looking forward to seeing what trouble Stephanie manages to get herself into and out of. Filled with a variety of characters both living, dead, undead and other, I found this book funny and emotional (my eyes filled up at the end). I would definitely recommend this book. But quick word of warning there is a lot of highly interesting swearing going on this unique novel.
Opening Scene:
IT LOOKED like one of those old Christian churches that had run out of funds and been sold off to the highest bidder.
The Review:
Stephanie Anders is putting her sister to rest. After years of not speaking to each other, it’s not something she’s looking forward to doing. Finding her sister in a state of undead-ness does not help especially when Stephanie realizes that she will have to destroy the Vampire Branwyre, currently trying to possess her sister, and that she is on a time line to do so. With biting sarcasm, a potty mouthed Buddhist ghost monk Trishna, and a sword, Stephanie tries battling evil, getting to know her sister, while tracking down the crucible to set her sister free and destroy the Vampire Branwyre. Only problem is Branwyre is the only one who knows where it is, and he’s not interested in helping.
Notable Scene:
There, to the right of the chamber’s centre was the pool of water among the rocks, shrouded in mist, and the source of the light blue light – my mind, of course, already trying to figure out how it was all wired up to give off those effects. Scattered about the chamber were women of various ages, shapes and sizes draped in white robes that were almost as varied as they were. The source of the quite chanting I’d heard as I’d descended also came from them. And there, on a raised stone slab in the middle of the chamber, bathed in a crisp, white light shooting down from the rocky ceiling was Estella, my sister.
I felt I was holding it all together really well, seeing the chamber, with all its put on mysticism, devotees, and the peacefully reposed corpse of my sister. I really did feel I was handling the whole situation quite well. However, when Estella sat up, autopsy scars showing above her death shroud, and said: “Hey sis, ‘bout time you showed up.” – I was out of there. The High Priestess herself could not bar my exit, although I swear she’d been preparing to do just that. Roxanna was almost thrown down the stairs in my retreat. I will say, however, I didn’t run screaming from the building, no matter how much I had really wanted to do.
FTC Advisory: Hague Publishing through Net Galley provided me with a copy of Isis, Vampires and Ghosts ~ OH MY! by Janis Hill. Published through Hague Publishing. Kindle Edition. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. -
I'm not sure about my feelings on this book. I understand the concept of the story. At points it is engaging and entertaining. More often than not, I found myself drifting off.
I like language. Colorful language has its place and in some stories can carry the excitement. Unfortunately, not here. Fore some scenes every sentence contained a curse word. It felt to heavy, too much. I'm by no means a prude, but didn't enjoy the coarseness. I do realize Stephanie was frustrated, it felt forced. Stephanie, at pints, sounded like a teenager learning to curse and not always hitting at the right time, rather than the adult she is supposed to be.
If I have to pick a scene I like, it would be when Stephanie spends the first night with Estella. Great scene. Great thinking on Stephanie's part in drawing the circle. This is one scene when the dialogue fell into place. Branwyre and Stephanie had a wonderfully colorful conversation, full of put-downs, mind games and expletives.
I have to give Isis, Vampires and Ghosts-Oh My! three stars. There are parts of the story that are entertaining but many are trying too hard. I'm not sure if I will recommend this book to readers. Due to the adult themes and coarse language I cannot recommend this to many of my students. -
Disclosure: I received this book on Netgalley as an ARC.
Synopsis:
Stephanie Anders the responsible sister is heading to the funeral of her hellion of a sister Estella. Or at least that is what they lead her to believe, when in all reality her sister is technically still kinda alive. As a priestess of Isis, Estella got herself possessed by an eighteeth vampire Lord of the Aegean, Branwyre. The mission is then bestowed upon Stephanie to clean up one last mess for her sister and banish Branwyre. With the reluctant help of a ghost of the Buddhist monk with a potty mouth Stephanie is opened to a new world that was hidden right before her eyes.
Review:
Overall, I would say it is a very well written novel. Relatively speaking as I have read over 300 this year I can say the editing and the wording is very well put together. The overall story is unique the incorporation of both colorful insults and character description lends to create a different world than most vampire novels. It doesn't romanticize vampire in any way and actually builds a good foundation to a whole bunch of follow up novels that chronicle the life of the heroine Stephanie Anders.
I would say this book is a good read for anyone who isn't looking for something in the Twilight realm of vampires. -
I thought this was a good story. It starts out with cult leader, Roxanne, contacting the sister of an "undead" member of her church. Turns out the main character Stephanie's, estranged sister Estella had joined with this religious group that worships Isis. While fighting vampires one night Estella dies and her body is taken over by a powerful vampire, Branwyre's, spirit. In order to keep her soul from going to Hell, her only blood relative, Stephanie, is going to have to help her. This is a big problem because she has treated her sister very badly in the past and Stephanie doesn't want to have anything to do with her, living or dead. Then there's the added problem of making Stephanie believe in all this hoopla in the first place. And here the adventure begins...
This may be the only book I've ever read without even a trace of romance in it. I kept waiting for Stephanie to fall in love with the evil vampire and turn him into a good guy, and then the ghost, and then the demon, and then the other demon, but no such luck, lol! Who knows, maybe in the next book if there is supposed to be one.
I received this ARC from Net Galley for an honest review. -
I found that the concept of this book was one that had a ton of potential! Vampires and sisters - who could resist?
Stephanie and Estelle are sisters who have been estranged for years, but there are some things family members just can't turn away from, and undead possession is apparently one of them. As is traditional for the two, it's Stephanie's turn to save her sister yet again... But this time she's up against entirely new challenges!
Sometimes the language in this book was a bit off-putting, but the story itself was engaging and interesting. I have two younger sisters myself, so it struck a chord with me, and the action was interesting throughout. It's also a character driven book, which I quite enjoyed - so often YA books now are focused on romance to the detriment of actually developing the characters, something that frustrates the hell out of me.
Quite enjoyable, a fresh take on some of the ideas out there! -
Stephanie Anders' sister Stella is dead. Only, when she arrives to arrange a funeral, she learns her sister was part of a Temple of Isis. Oh, and... she's technically undead. And there's more, she herself must help save her sister's soul by doing a list of wildly supernatural tasks. Like killing the vampire currently inside her sister's body, cohabitating in the most unworldly way. A total laugh out loud journey, ridiculous and refreshing.
Permalink:
http://martysreads.blogspot.com/2014/... -
Liked this book. It is a good vs. evil, light over darkness and an excellent storyline. Stephanie goes to the church of Isis to bury her sister and discovers that her body has been taken over by an ancient demon. With the help of a ghost she must find an ancient cup to free her sister and send her into the light. I am looking forward to more books staring Stephanie and the church of Isis. As the title suggests, you have many of you favorite paranormal creatures.
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Katharine is a judge for the Aurealis Awards. This entry is the personal opinion of Katharine herself, and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of any judging panel, the judging coordinator or the Aurealis Awards management team.
To be safe, I won't be recording my thoughts (if I choose to) here until after the AA are over. -
It took me until about half way through to get immersed in this story. The beginning was slow, but if you hold out it gets better. I will say that sometimes the cursing seemed a little much. But overall it was just an ok read for me - it did have me laughing at points.
I was given this book in exchange for an honest review via Netgalley. -
I don't know if it was just me, but I just couldn't get into this book. I tried, I just didn't really like it. Paranormal books are kind of a hit and miss with me, so maybe that's it. I wouldn't necessarily avoid this author in the future, but I don't believe I'll be picking this series up.
ARC provided by NetGalley -
It doesn't happen often that I don’t finish a book but this one I did not finish.In fact it was the first book I DNF since I started reviewing. It was just not for me.
You can find my review here
http://myreads.booklikes.com/post/924... -
I received this from netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I could not even bring myself to finish this. It was all over the place and did not make sense.
