Lost Colony

So Facebook loves to recommend books to me. This was one of them and so is the one I'm currently reading. The amusing thing is that until I cracked the cover on the second book, I didn't even realize they were by the same author. I didn't even glance at the author's name on the second book's cover. It was the layout that struck me as familiar. Turns out, this lady has written over 30 books! Mostly mysteries, I think. I plan on making my way through the series the second book begins and then we'll see if I pick up more of her work. 

The Lost Colony sounded right up my alley. It's about a reality show that pits a group of people against the living conditions of Jamestown. They can have no modern amenities. Everything is supposed to be as authentic as possible, except for the inclusion of women right away. It's set on a deserted island with a small settlement created for the show. There's a boat nearby with a medical team and any extra supplies the cast might need to keep alive, though they're supposed to do most of the work themselves.

As you can imagine, things immediately go wrong. When the contestants wake up after their first night on the island, the ship is gone. They're the only people on the island...and part of the supplies is also missing. Then the murders begin.

The book changes POVs every few chapters. It's easy to follow, because the POV character's name is under the chapter heading. The main two are Natalie, a school nurse, and Declan, a cop. But every character gets a turn at a POV chapter. 

I can't say much without massive spoilers, but I enjoyed this one a lot. I liked all the different backstories, the secrets each character hid. My only complaint is something I can't explain without spoilers, but let's just say I didn't care for the shift in her personality the last few days/weeks on the island and what she dealt with near the end was completely unnecessary. That bit of the story could have been removed without changing the plot a bit, so it felt like too much and it's the type of thing I think of as weak writing. Overall, I enjoyed everything except that bit. I'd recommend this.  

Daughters of Shadow and Blood 2

The second dark bride, Elena was an Albanian peasant girl in 1689. After her family was murdered by vampires, she found herself at a monastery, where she met a young monk named Stjepan. 

It's pretty quickly revealed that Stjepan is a dhampir, half-human half-vampire. The term "dhampir" is actually Albanian, with the hybrid having its origins in the Balkans. I didn't know this and automatically wondered if the author enjoyed Vampire Hunter D, but a quick bit of research revealed the truth. 

While Elena's backstory wasn't as interesting as Yasamin's, I found Elena to be a more interesting character. There's something about her that appealed to me more than Yasamin did, though I did definitely like Yasamin. 

In the present day, Adam Mire's disguise has been seen through and he works with Elena while she tells him her story. Clara, Dr. Mire's ex-girlfriend, is nearby, trying to find out what happened to him. So the story jumps around from Elena's origin to the present day, with POVs from both Adam and Clara. Clara is working with the brother of a man in the first book who helped Adam. 

Honestly, I forgot to review this right after I finished it, so I'm failing at remembering character names, but I do know I enjoyed this as much as the first. I haven't started the third one yet, but I'll get there soon.