Customer Reviews

Lost Reflections: Almost Human (Volume 2)

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(5)
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Before finding Almost Human Fatal Infatuation (Book 1), I had been searching for a series with the romance and action of twilight. I was pleasantly surprised to find the Almost Human trilogy. The author, Melanie Nowak, spent time developing each character with care.

Lost Reflections continues right where Fatal Infatuation left off, with an original plot and interesting stories.

According to the author, there will be more Almost Human trilogies concentrating on relationships between different characters - YEA!

The adult romance is grittier and darker than Twilight but the relationships between lovers warms your heart in more ways than just the obvious one.

As in the twilight series, the main characters were well developed so that the reader feels the emotions of each. You will fall in love with Cain, Felicity, and Ben as I have.

The Almost Human books are independently published so there are some grammatical errors, but not enough to distract me from this wonderful story!

Lost Reflections is the second story in the first Almost Human trilogy. It takes up, literally, where Fatal Infatuation left off. In this story we learn more of Cain's past, see more of Sindy and learn a little of her past, Cain and Felicity's relationship evolves, we catch up with Ben and Allyson. In this book we learn that Cain may not be all that we think he is (or possibly more than we think he is according to how you look at it) and Felicity matures a bit more. The characters are fleshed out more and we get a little more involved with the rest of them then in Fatal Infatuation. You will find yourself getting invested in these characters, the dialogue between them is well written and you feel like you are actually in the story and not just observing it.

I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the rest in the series.

The first book captivated me, but this one brought the story to the next level which happens to be on fire! If you hated how Twilight left out the "good parts", then you'll love how this second book tells you each and every detail but not in a gross way. Felicity is a very lucky girl, and I'm definitely falling harder for Cain. I also still have a soft spot for Ben as well. Maybe he can find happiness with Alyson.

Lost Reflections, Book 2 in the Almost Human Series...WOW! The story continues and in this volume the reader gets an inside peek into what made the main character "Cain" who and what he is. This glimpse into his 340 year history and the events that were instrinsic in forming his internal struggles, make you yearn to take him in your arms and hold him. Cain takes his relationship with his human love interest, Felicity, to the next level as she begins to discover her own inner strength, stepping away from tentative teenager into the role of decisive young woman. Cain himself is still grappling with the lure of his own kind and has yet to admit his need for their presence in his own life. This creates a split of sorts, he feeds his humanity with Felicity and feeds his vampiric nature with fellow vamp, Sindy. The attention to historical detail and fact speaks volumes about author, Melanie Nowak's dedication. The underlying psychological dichotomy of Cain's struggle to be a part of both worlds, and how it affects those around him...human and otherwise... makes both the story and the characters ones you will never forget.

It was brought to my attention that this review was lost thru Amazon when read. I am reposting. Original review can be seen on paranormalromanceguild dot com

Book two of the Almost Human trilogy continues where book one leaves off. This is where you really get to "know" Cain the 340 year old vampire. You also see the beginnings of Felicity growing up and you can see why Cain finds her so much "more".

If Felicity is addicted to Cain, then he truly is becoming enthralled by her. First, I must say, Cain's history as Ms Nowak writes it is incredible. Her historical research is clearly evident in the vivid descriptions and authenticity of the time periods mentioned. As Cain recounts his life to Felicity, the reader is held breathless as his story unfolds. His resolve that Felicity understand the exact nature of his existence before she makes any decisions about him, speaks volumes about his character. In his eyes she must know his past--both the good as well as the ugly.

The story evolves along with their relationship. Cain fears that he will not be enough for Felicity because he cannot give her a normal existence. He worries that the venom in his bite will eventually make her an addict, and her continued hesitation at the prospect of being turned tells him that his gut feeling is correct--that Felicity was not meant for this kind of existence. He begins to feel that Sindy might be his answer, as she is already of his kind. If he could just teach her he might have a companion that could fill the loneliness and the hope that Felicity has stirred in him. Cain does some things that readers will not like, but once the reasons why are revealed, forgiveness is a given.

I have to give more kudos for Ms Nowak in her handling of Felicity's `first time'. As a woman I found this to be a powerful depiction of a young, inexperienced girl, in love. Cain empowered Felicity to be open and unafraid of who she is and in doing so made this an endearing moment...

Sindy, in the meantime has formed her own band of undead, and has decided on a game of cat and mouse with Felicity and her friends, setting her sights on Cain as the prize. As the war between human vs. vampires continues, the story twists and turns, entwining the characters lives even more. We learn that the two worlds have collided in the past, and that Ben lost his best friend Mattie, to a vampire attack years before to a vampire coven passing through their town. Stunned and afraid, Ben sees Mattie as a vampire but denounces his existence and runs. The excitement and peril involved in fighting dangerous vampire covens explodes as the plot thickens in anticipation of book three.



A wonderful read to be continued with Volume Three--Evolving Ecstasy

Review by Gloria Lakritz
Senior Reviewer
Paranormal Romance Guild

After finally escaping the clutches of the vindictive young vampire Sindy in the first book Fatal Infatuation, Lost Reflections picks up right where we left off.

Felicity and Cain's relationship continues to flourish as we find Felicity become more mature and ask questions about the nature of Cain's vapiric existence. Is it Cain's Venom that is holding her in a trance, believing this is true love, or is it real? As the character's develop so does the story. Melanie's fantastic writing has ensured we feel as if we are in the scene itself, not watching from afar.

We delve into Cain's past and beginnings as a vampire as he relates the truly heartbreaking story to Felicity...I found myself teary-eyed throughout his whole story where I again felt as if I were right there.

We get to learn more about Allie and Ben as well, and a little more about the not so evil anymore Sindy...three wonderful side characters Melanie continues to developed.

All of this while still being hunted...this time by a more crazed vampires! I absolutely LOVED it!!!

If you are reading this review you probably already know what the books about - but just in case you haven't here it goes. "For Felicity, college turns out to be more of an adventure than she bargains for when she finds that her school is plagued by vampires! She becomes friends with Ben from the bookstore where she works. One night Ben and Felicity got attacked by some vamps. A guy named Cain comes to their rescue. Felicity starts having a crush on Cain. Cain turns out to be a vampire who struggles with past sins. Reborn a vampire, he's gained his faith and a purpose. His mission: find the hostile vamps in this college town, and teach them to live in peace with humans. Their leader Sindy is a wicked temptress who will be difficult to control; but after meeting Felicity, Cain's most difficult task lies in controlling himself."

I liked this book better than the first. Cain and Felicity start to date more seriously and Cain tells her his whole past life which he is sure Felicity won't be able to forgive. Ben is not in this book as much but he is still there. At the beginning of the book - Ben and Felicity share some tender moments which I loved.

This is my review for the second book only. The author still seems to have run on thoughts and stories that could last up to "way too many" pages. Cain's life story was so long and so over explained that I found myself skimming again (which I don't really do). I kept waiting for Felicity to tell Cain just to give her the cliff notes version. Cain's thoughts at times still contradict them selves within the thought (Ex. I like her but maybe this girl wouldn't be so bad on down the road). Maybe Cain is just a fickled vampire.

I really liked the second book (except for all the extra analyzing - once again). After reading the first and second book of the trilogy, I am hooked with out a doubt. There was however, a part in the book (Chapter 14 and 15) that bothered me deeply. **Please do not skip ahead out of curiosity -I just wanted you guys to know what part I was talking about) ** It did not bother me because it was too dark or too horrible - it just bothered me on a personal level. I had to take a step back and really think how I felt about it. I even asked my husband on his opinion which was so "male typical". I guess when I read a book; I usually kind of put myself in the place of the heroine. I can't really give much more that that because I don't want to spoil anything about the book.

I am looking forward to reading the last book. I still don't know which guy I want Felicity to end up with. I think I am still "Team Ben" if I had to pick right now. I guess we will see.

Book one sets the beginning of the series, and book two draws you into the world of Cain and Felicity. Here we learn of Cain's past and of how Felicity has to decide what to do; will her love for Cain override her shock of what he has told her, or will it drive her away? After telling Felicity of his past, she goes to visit her family. Cain suffers with the fear that when she returns she will reject him due to that past. The love the two share is a sorrowful type of sweet love, innocent yet at the same time touched by the horrors of the past and of what Cain is, a vampire.
More of the dynamics of the characters appear in this book an it progresses at a faster pace. Sindy and her group have a change in their structure; Ben and Allie have a change in their perception of each other, what they willand won't accept (especially the hard-headedness of Ben) and the interesting change between Ben and Felicity (is he interested in her differently than friendship?). The characters are realistic enough that I can accept them; this is a fiction, I don't expect it to totally mimic real life, but it is nice to see behaviors mimic what human being really do, get mad at friends, have other friends make them "kiss and make-up"; it adds another dimension to the story. This is not an action drama, so the pace is not fast, but for the type of story it is, the pace is fitting, if the author wrote it at a faster pace I believe the story would suffer in the telling.
At the end of the book the reader is left with wondering what is to come and feels drawn back to find out, not by the trickery of the author of a cliff-hanger, but by the connection that is created between the characters and the readers. Surprisingly, the two things that stood out to me in the last chapter was Ashley wanting Cain to open her car door for her when it was obvious that something dangerous was going on and the young boy who was trapped in the back; I could just see that happening in real life.
Ms Nowak has lined out 12 books in her series and I must learn to be patient and not expect to find out what is going to happen in the first three books, (VBG). What may seem unclear now will be explained later on in the series.
I have again noticed comparing of Ms Nowak's books to Ms Myer's books. That I think is unfair to both ladies. It is similar to comparing Miss Marple's stories to Nancy Drew stories. Both are unmarried females, both solve mysteries, and neither series have sex in them. Yet I would not expect a 10 year old to enjoy reading a Agatha Chrisie, or understand the underlying currents in the stories.
The negatives are similar as to what I had with book one, and they are of a personal aspect, not the writing ability, the story telling ability or even against the plot, I just like my vampires to be more supernatural and I like more sex in them. But, I do understand that Ms Nowak is basing her series on her vampires as being "almost human". Thus, to give them supernatural abilities would be contradicting of what she wants. And I applaude her for her willingness to go against what is seen as the norm, vampires having all those special abilities, strength, mind control, shape-shifting, and more. As for the lack of sex, well, when I want that I will just have read Ms Ward's, Ms Feehan's or another author who have lots and lots and lots of wild monkey sex, LOL. And read Ms Nowak's books when I want a story that has substance to it.

JLYates

It has been several months since I finished reading the first books of the series and am FRANTICALLY waiting on the next.

I love love love this series.

I find Melanie's writing to be very descriptive without giving you a lot of mundane detail which some times leaves you wanting to skim through pages of the book. This doesn't happen with Almost Human. She sticks to what is necessary. That is hard to find in a lot of books. Also, the characters are sharp and colorful. There are many different layers to each of her characters...sort of like an onion-ooops, I think thats Shrek. LOL!
I love that Melanie has taken a genre that has already been completely drained-pardon the pun-and spun a completely unique scenario well keeping with the whole Vampire/Human Romance that so many people have come to love, with the array of other seemingly endless Vampire stories.

Watch out Twilight! You've got competition! And I don't say this lightly cuz I am a Twi-hard to the fullest!

The romance in Almost Human, steps it up ever so slightly while still keeping it clean enough not to be considered what I would call SMUT. The Felicity, Cain, and Ben love triangle has given way to more anxiety in your reading journey. You actually find yourself rooting for one team or the other.
I wont give you a synopses of the book because I feel that its hard to do so without giving to much of anything away, but I would like to say that if you are a Twilight fan you should definately give this series a try. YOU WONT BE DISAPPIONTED!

Lost Reflections picks up right where Fatal Infatuation left off. Ben is trying to deal with what Sindy has done to him. Felicity and Alyson try to help Ben deal with the aftermath of Sindy's bite. I liked this book because I got to learn more about Cain's past. It was interesting to find out what his life was like before he became a vampire and the circumstances that led to his becoming a creature of the night. There is so much information he has to share with Felicity, good and bad. Melanie Nowak also gives us a glimpse into Sindy's past as well. Cain and Felicity's relationship gets tested a lot in this book. Several elements conspire against them, such as Cain's inner beast and the vampire vixen, Sindy. In the first book, I didn't really like Sindy very much but she has grown on me quite a bit. Sindy get's into some action packed trouble in this book. Some of that trouble includes zombies. I am happy to report that these zombies did not give me nightmares. I am really enjoying this series. I can't wait to see where Melanie Nowak takes it.