Monday, July 24, 2017

Blog Tour: Seraphina Series


About the Books:
Title: Seraphina’s Awakening (Seraphina #1)
Author: Sheena Hutchinson
Publication date: September 1st 2016
Genres: New Adult, Paranormal, Romance


Synopsis: 
For as long as she can remember, Seraphina Cross has experienced these visions that made her feel like there was more to life. It wasn’t until one moment, one accident that her life changed forever.
She awakens the next day a new person in more ways than one. With no recollection of past night’s events, she’s forced to adapt to certain sensations she is experiencing all while trying to piece together what exactly happened to her that fateful night. Her strange, hectic life doesn’t seem to make sense until she meets a handsome stranger. Only then does the puzzle finally piece itself together.
What she doesn’t expect is the new powers she has developed attracting all kinds of unwanted attention. Thrown into a world she never truly believed existed she is forced to come to grips with who she is becoming while staying out of trouble long enough to figure out what needs to be done to fulfill her destiny.

Seraphina's Initiation (Seraphina #2)

Title: Seraphina's Initiation (Seraphina Series #2)
Publication Date: February 20, 2017

Synopsis:

Seraphina Cross is unexpectedly thrown into this crazy, spiritual world of Angels versus Demons.

Never did she expect to meet Nate who was just a figment of her imagination. Now she finds herself moving in with him because of her innate responsibility to protect her loved ones from harm. 

Finally beginning to feel at home in her new house and with her new relationship. Nate begins training Sera in all that she can do, surprising even himself at times.Just when she is starting to feel safe and powerful, Lucifer finds a new way to attack her at her most vulnerable. 

When her dreams are no longer a gift, can Sera control the powers needed to defeat what's coming before Lucifer fulfills his promise to her?




Seraphina's Vengeance (Seraphina #3)Title: Seraphina's Vengeance (Seraphina Series #3)
Publication Date: September 18, 2017

Synopsis:

One year ago, Seraphina’s entire world seemed to have dived into a mythical land over night. She’s somehow even gotten used to the madness of it all. But what happens when the craziness stops? Things become quiet… too quiet.

Sera should have known that things weren’t as quiet as they seemed. After one of the best nights of her life, Sera is forced into this treacherous journey to save one of her loved ones.

But following the path of evil begins to take its toll on Sera. As she struggles with her own internal dilemmas, Nate starts to take matters into his own hands. When this unseen world finally begins to affect Sera’s emotions and her relationship, can she hold it together to save her loved ones? Will love conquer all? Or will it turn her evil… forever?
 




Author Bio:
Sheena is a born and raised New Yorker, even her writing can’t seem to hide her hard sarcasm. She claims destiny has lead her back to her true passion for writing.
She constantly strives to be a positive role model and writes stories that empower and inspire. Sheena always roots for the underdog, believes in love at first sight, and that everyone should have their happily ever after.
While God is currently still writing her love story, she continues to put all her effort into her writing as she is constantly getting new inspiration.

For more info, updates, and fun facts visit her website at www.SheenaHutchinson.com

Review for Book 1

Overall, Seraphina's Awakening was a solid start to The Seraphina Series that will appeal to many fans of the paranormal/angel & demon genre. There were some things that I wasn't a huge fan of, but by the end, the story really started taking off and I was intrigued enough to check out the next in the series. 

I have always been a fan of Angel/Demon stories, so I was hoping this one would be another hit. And it was...for the most part. I thought that Ms. Hutchinson set up the story very well for readers and her world building was great. We are slowly introduced to the world, just as Seraphina is, and there is an overall mystery throughout the book where the reader (and Seraphina herself) is left questioning, "who or what is Seraphina?" I thought this was an interesting way to go about things, however it does mean the book is a little slow and predictable. For me, this was the book's biggest downfall. Maybe it's because I have read so many Angel/Demon stories before, but I knew where this book was headed as soon as it started. 

The characters were great and I did truly connect with Seraphina. However, she is very much the cliched heroine in this book...you know the one: the good girl that doesn't date that much and has this "mysterious" power that makes her different. I did like how she began to develop towards the end of the story, which gave me hope for the second and third books. I liked where her character was headed, which was another reason I was willing to check out the next book. I also adored Sera's friendship with Amanda. They are two peas in a pod, and I loved every scene they had together. Nathaniel was okay to be honest...he wasn't my favorite, but he wasn't terrible either. I thought his character development was a little awkward at parts only because it was so quick. Again though, by the end I loved him...and he is quite the heartthrob (at least how I'm picturing him haha). Lastly, Jack was a great character and I was pleasantly surprised by his storyline and his characterization. I didn't expect to enjoy his character as much as I did. As you can probably guess, there's a love triangle, which wasn't my favorite. It felt very forced and again was awkward at parts of the story.

The writing was pretty good as well. I'm not the biggest fan of present tense, but it worked well in this story. It just took some getting used to for me. So this complaint is entirely my own personal quirk. There were some grammatical errors too, but they don't detract from the story. The one part of the writing that I greatly enjoyed were Sera's dreams. They were very descriptive and came alive. I felt I was watching a film while I was reading these sections, and it shows that Ms. Hutchinson has a great amount of talent!

I would definitely recommend checking this book out if you are a fan of Angel/Demon stories. This was a good start to the series, and I enjoyed it enough to read the second (and the third) books! While there are some flaws (mainly the predictability and the love triangle), it is still an enjoyable read!



Review for Book 2

Seraphina's Initiation was an excellent follow up to the first book in the series, Seraphina's Awakening! I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, much more than the previous one. Looking back, I think the first one was a major set up novel, and this is where all the action begins!! Seraphina's Initiationpicks up right where the last book left off, and it just takes off from there. There is non-stop action and excitement from beginning to end! 

One of the problems I had with the first book was that it felt very slow and predictable at times. This was not an issue at all in this sequel! There were many exciting plot twists that I never saw coming and made the story more interesting. This book is all about Seraphina learning to use her powers, and it made for some truly fantastic scenes! We also learn more about how Seraphina become who she is now. 

Seraphina continues to grow throughout the novel, and truly was a stand out character. I loved her even more than I did in the first one, and she was a very realistic character. She still questioned everything and wanted answers to the questions that were plaguing her. Nate is by her side every step of the way, helping and guiding her through her struggles of accepting who she is now. Nate was AMAZING in this story. Gone is the awkward development that was his character. In its place is a strong male lead that truly loves and cares for Sera. Plus, it doesn't hurt that he's absolutely yummy. Jack still has a great storyline, but I still dislike him. I always felt that there was something fishy about his character (I won't tell you whether or not I was right though), and I hated how naive Sera was toward him. I wanted to shake some sense into her.

The plot is definitely much faster than the first story, and it worked very well. I didn't have any problem following the story, and the faster plot also worked much better with the present-tense this book is written in. I'm still not a huge fan of present-tense stories, but Ms. Hutchinson does a great job at making sure you still connect to the characters. 

If you liked the first book in this series, you definitely need to check this sequel out!! There are a lot of improvements from the first book that made this series even better than it already was. Ms. Hutchinson is a fantastic writer and I like the direction the story is going in. Definitely add this to your TBR now!


Review for Book 3

Sheena Hutchinson has definitely ramped this series up to a 10!! This was a fantastic addition to the Seraphina series and took an completely unexpected turn. I certainly didn't expect to love Seraphina's Vengeance as much as I did, but boy did this story impress me. Ms. Hutchinson delivered some amazing plot twists and has taken this story in a much different direction than I expected. Gone are the days of predictability...you will be left guessing the entire time with this one. Sure everything starts off great, but that's just the calm before the storm. The title says it all...this story is all about vengeance, and Seraphina isn't taking prisoners.

Let's talk about the characters first. All of them are absolutely amazing in this novel. Ms. Hutchinson further explores their growth, and not in the way you would expect. Seraphina is no longer the sweet, innocent person we have come to know. After a certain event towards the beginning of the story, Seraphina begins her quest for revenge. She becomes someone we (and Nate) don't know anymore. And personally, I loved it! I loved seeing this different side to Seraphina, and how simple events can turn someone to the other side. I think it was an interesting way to further the Angel/Demon/Repentance plot point. Nate tries to stay by Seraphina's side through it all, but even he knows when to admit defeat. Some things he cannot control, and he realizes when to back off and let her do her thing. Jack plays a much bigger role in this book, and I still didn't like his character. I was glad that Seraphina finally came to her senses by the end of the book about him...that's not to say that he doesn't manage to sway her to his side earlier on in the book though. 

The plot was very fast, similar to the second book in the series, but it was the perfect pace! I flew through this book, and never wanted the story to end. As I mentioned, there are many twists and turns that I never saw coming. Just when you think the story is going in one direction, BAM! Something big happens and the story does a complete 180! 

This is definitely a must read for anyone who is a fan of this series! Ms. Hutchinson delivered an excellent story that is fast-paced and a definite page-turner. I am excited to see where she takes the story (and the characters) in the next book, Seraphina's Revolution!! Read this one now!

Happy reading :)


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~Cassie

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for hosting today, Cassie! This sounds like a fun and entertaining series!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for your reviews! I'm so glad you enjoyed my story <3

    ReplyDelete