Customer Reviews

Before (Heven and Hell)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Tease! That is what this delightful little Novella is. It's amazing, that in a short amount of time how invested I felt in these characters. Their story is very captivating and well written. I really really want to know what Sam's secret is? He is such a tortured soul, good, and mysterious. Heven is pretty, sweet, good and popular life is good to her then......??? I liked Kimber too, she is Heven's sassy best-friend. I completely enjoyed this prequel and am anxiously awaiting it's sequel Masquerade.
I love who Cambria dedicates her book to " To anyone who's ever been carefree; and then hasn't." Perfect!

Clean romance
Clean language

originally posted at onceuponatimebookreview. blogspot. com

Before

Two lives one light, one dark; One hiding in shadows, haunted by horror and the monster. The other, alive, happy and hopeful. Sam is desperate to escape the evil clutches of the monster, even if it means rescinding his chance to be near Heven. He is a dark moth drawn by an unrelenting desire to seek Heven's glow one last time. Heven, his beckoning ray, is a beautiful girl standing on the brink of teenage bliss; a cheer captain crowning, a handsome boyfriend prospect, friends and popularity, a life brimming bright with possibility. The only thing marring a spectacular, euphoric day is an essay; three pages looming over her head. Ignoring the temptation to cheat, she journeys to the library. A fateful decision that will forever change her world. As she heads home she is unaware of the beast lurking in the blackness, hunting the trail inadvertently left by Sam. He closes in lapping up her footsteps in the dark. A shrill scream shatters the night, piercing Sam's ears. He knows that his moment of weakness has led the monster straight to Heven. Will her glittering light be snuffed out by the blackness?

Before is the prequel to the upcoming novel Masquerade by Cambria Hebert. In this short story she tantalizes and teases with her gripping splice featuring Sam and Heven. This promising gem shows that Cambria is a talented new voice in the Young Adult genre. She offers a tempting taste in her small prequel, that will have you salivating for the rest of the story, to be continued in her debut novel Masquerade, December 16, 2012.

Favorite Quotations:

It's like her shiny blond hair and smile were a beacon to my lost ship.

Things were going so good. They couldn't get any better. I had no idea how quickly things could change.

This is from alternating perspectives of Heven and Sam who actually never talk to each other. It is a teaser for the upcoming book Masquerade, so it is a cliff hanger and takes less than 5 minutes to read.

Heven is a popular head cheerleader who wants to go out with Brice. He asks her to a future party and she thinks her life is looking good.

Sam is disgusted by his job of cleaning up dead people and wants to quit. He argues with his (inner?) monster to stop killing innocent people and focus on searching for the "item". The monster threatens Heven because he knows Sam likes her. He tells Sam to "remember what he is trying to forget" which I thought was a little confusing and a lot impossible.

To be honest, this preview did not make me interested enough to want to read the whole book. It does seem like it would appeal to the 13-16 age groups.

Would I/Did I buy it? Free Download
Would I read it again? No
Would I recommend it to friends? No

I found this short to be a bit dull, and the perspective switches too frequent. It doesn't stand on its own well at all. I am curious about the novel that is a prequel for but not psyched.

This is a bittersweet sensation,, great start,, tottal cliffhanging end,, me crying out NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO,,, as I read the last page and hiding my face in my hands,,

yep,, that's a recepie for hooking me up to a book LoL

The Plot - Since this is a prequel, there's not much going on here. Is just a taste of what to come. Mysterious guy likes pretty and oblivious girl. Something bad happens. I'm left hanging from a cliff. Yep,, I like that plot. LoL

The Characters - Mysterious guy is,, well,, mysterious LoL, but we can see a glimpse of him and I like the way he thinks and how he is so bad ass in one part and as soon as he sees her he kind of melts inside, but has to hide. She is your friend that is beautiful, cool to hang out with and honest. Yep. I mean, who does its own paperwork now a day? Seriously! Well, apparently, Hev does. <what a fool> But, nerds apart, I like them already LoL

The Writing - First person narrative!!!! Can I have a high five? o/
Yep,, my fave. It's actually split in to Sam's and Hev's point of view. So we can see what each of them are thinking and feeling, but the best part is, even though they are really different, the way they thinks is not that different so the jumping from one head to the other doesn't give you a head each. Her writing is very fluid and she doesn't over detail which I love. My attention span, as I said before, is of a 5yo and I can't retain to much info at the same time, specially if is a visual one. I don't particularly care if the wall paper have daises hand painted by a grand grandmother of the late step father of the neighbor's cousin. I just want to know what went down in the room, LoL,,, So, yep, really great, down to the point writing ,, high five on that uhuuuu o/

Considerations - The start let my hopes up for the next book and one of the things I really liked was the name: Before. Its about before it all,, before the change, before the start, before the encounter,, simply before,,, luv it cose it has all this meaning linked to it,,,

Before is a short story, the prequel to Masquerade. In Before we are introduced to Heven and Sam. Heven has the perfect life, looks, friends, guys...everything a girl could want.

Sam is in some kind of trouble, but we do not get to know enough about him to understand what kind of trouble it is. What we do know is that he is in love with Heven...but he should have stayed away.

This book is the perfect teaser to make you want to read Masquerade to find out what happens.

Before is a nineteen page prequel for the Heven and Hell series by Cambria Hebert. The story does not reveal the mystery of the story to be told, but it does leave lingering questions and caress readers curiosity that will secure readers for the debut of Masquerade when it becomes available. The writing style previewed here shows promise for future titles from this author. This short glimpse has definitely peaked my interest, and I am anxious to see where this story will go from here.

Before (Heven and Hell 0.5)
By: Cambria Hebert
ISBN: 9781936593279
Expected Publication: November 18, 2011 by Otherworld Publications
Available Format: ebook
My Rating: '''''
Goodreads' Synopsis: What if your life was charmed and everything in it was perfect...
Before.
This is the story of my past. Of what things were like for me when everything was normal. Of what every teenager's life is like. Clothes. Parties. Boys and summer vacation. What's so wrong with that? I liked it. I was happy.
Until things changed. I changed.
I didn't know that lies and secrets were about to take over my existence. I didn't know there was someone out there, someone meant just for me. I didn't know that I was about to go on a journey, a journey that would lead me to the girl I am today.
This is the beginning of the worst year of my life. Would I go back and change things? Erase everything that has happened to go back into these moments?
Not a chance.
This is a story of before.

This is a fantastic teaser story to get us ready for the debut of Cambria's full length Heven and Hell novel, Masquerade. We get to see how Heven's life was before we meet her in Masquerade. We are given a better understanding of how devastating the incident has been in her life and exactly what events conspired to lead up to that fateful night that changed everything.

First of all, how about that gorgeous cover? Gotta give the credit to the lovely and talented Regina Wamba for that and the fantabulous Masquerade cover. They're just so pretty!

Now, back to the story... Cambria is without a doubt a super talented author, and it definitely shows in this story. She gets inside the heads of the characters and gives us a behind-the-scenes look at each and every one of them. In no time I was completely absorbed in Heven's world and anxious to see what the dark stranger would bring to her life. In the end, we're left with a need for the remainder of the story--a need that will only be satisfied with the release of Masquerade (December 16)!

"Before" tells us a bit about Sam and Heven, and their lives ... before. Before "Masquerade" - this is the prequel, after all. Sam is trying to stop the monster from killing, and agrees to stay away from Heven. But he just can't. Heven is blonde, beautiful, and was just named captain of the cheerleading squad for the next school year. It's amazing how things can change in just one night ...

This is a short prequel to Cambria's novel "Masquerade" and as such it gives us a bit of background. The beauty of this short is the way that things seem mostly normal ... except when they are not. There are little hints here and there that things aren't necessarily what they seem - just who is Sam? Who is the monster? What are they looking for? And why Heven? Highly engaging, and definitely will whet your appetite for "Masquerade." Check out Cambria Hebert's stories - she's may be newly published, but she has her craft down.

Not a person known for reading novellas I downloaded this tonight when i couldn't sleep and found it surprisingly fun and captivating. I can see myself buying the next book by C. Hebert and saving it for an occasion when I would like to just step away from reality for a few moment.. Vivid details and a story telling that brings you to the end of the book before your ready to stop will keep you coming back to Cambria Hebert in future books.