Lailah

September 8, 2014
Originally published serially on Wattpad, Kelly’s debut pits vampires against angels in a cross-dimensional battle for human souls. It’s a cold winter’s night when Cessie rescues an injured vampire named Jonah on her way home from work. Cessie knows how dangerous vampires can be, but she’s protected by her body’s ability to heal itself from even fatal injuries, reviving each time with no memory of her previous life. Fleeing Jonah’s powerful pursuers brings Cessie to Gabriel, an archangel who has been helping vampires like Jonah break free from their creators; in Gabriel, Cessie recognizes a face that has been haunting her. Unfortunately, little worldbuilding is realized in this first installment in the Skyclar Saga; most of the present-day events revolve around Cessie’s romantic entanglements, while the supernatural plot gets shoehorned into expository chunks. As a protagonist, Cessie tends to be reactive, and she has a habit of running out of the room whenever she’s faced with emotional conflict. There’s plenty of backstory to intrigue readers, and romance fans will enjoy Cessie’s complicated dynamic with her suitors, but the book’s pacing problems prevent it from fully living up to its potential. Ages 12–up.

September 15, 2014
Online writing community Wattpad's popular love-triangle story about angels and vampires. Francesca's a mystery to herself-every time she dies, she "wake[s] up again" with only occasional glimpses of memories from her previous lives, such as the memory of Gabriel's name and handsome face. A chance encounter with the badly wounded, good-looking Vampire Jonah draws "Cessie" into a world where a familiar figure-the Angel Gabriel-rescues Second Generation Vampires (humans who have been turned through Vampire venom, like Jonah) from their Pureblood masters. Her connection with Gabriel and chemistry with Jonah inspire jealousy in the two other female characters. Complicated Vampire and Angel mythologies and rules may inspire confusion in readers. The prose is plagued by awkward sentences, poor word choices and downright baffling sloppiness; for example: "My left arm lay heavy at my side; I could tell she hadn't broken it, but she had at least fractured my bone." The story has multiple mysteries-what, exactly, is Francesca, and how is she immortal; why are the Purebloods after her; what happened between her and Gabriel in her first life; and: Gabriel or Jonah? Unfortunately, the prologue answers the first question for all but the out-of-the-know characters, and Cessie's back story heavily implies the second question's answer. Her first-life mystery is more successful. Readers must wait for the next book to discover which guy she picks. Overderivative and underedited. (Paranormal romance. 12 & up)

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August 1, 2014

Gr 8 Up-Just when we thought the vampire fad was overplayed and finally vanquished, Kelly slams readers with an exciting new world-three worlds, to be exact: vampires vs. humans vs. angels. The brave, heart-stealing heroine is named Lailah-or is it Francesca? She's lived for over two centuries at the supreme age of 17 and cannot recall past lives upon her return to the human dimension. Immortality is not without suffering, but becomes more anguished than one seemingly human girl can handle when her memories begin to trickle in. Kelly opens her debut fantasy thriller with an aside explaining how Lailah (an Angel-Vampire hybrid) was created, and readers journey with her to piece together the past, flee across continents to escape the Pureblood Vampires targeting Lailah, and watch patiently as she discovers her latent powers. The genuine characters are dynamic and charming regardless of where their loyalties lie. The archetypal love triangle is a messy game of tug-of-war between Gabriel, Lailah, and Jonah, driving the story and superimposing on the desperate war between realms, making this equal parts romance and supernatural adventure. Vivid and cleverly crafted, this novel will appeal to fans of Julie Kagawa's The Immortal Rules (Harlequin Teen, 2012) and Courtney Allison Moulton's "Angelfire" series (HarperCollins), who will celebrate this new heroine of extraordinary strength.-Jamie-Lee Schombs, Loyola School, New York City

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2014
Grades 7-10 Cessie is certain that she has had other lives, but only snatches of memory offer clues. Evil and death, for example, seem to attract her. A prime example: the night she rescues Jonah and allows him to sip her blood, thereby saving his life. He in turn rescues her, bringing her into a family of second-generation vampires who have been saved by the angel Gabriel. The attraction between Cessie and Gabriel is immediate, peaceful, and purehe calls her Lailah in private momentsunlike her uncomfortable, lusty desire for Jonah. Originally serialized on Wattpad, Kelly's Styclar Saga drew an immediate audience, and now her world building expansion of vampire history, multilayered characters, and myriad plot twists have a mainstream home. With the obvious, but interesting, juxtaposition of the two loversone an angel, the other a vampireKelly invokes a long line of myth- and Bible-related fantasy. The bonus preview of the next volume will put fans on notice that further twists in the love triangle are soon to come.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)