From the national bestselling author of Tainted/I> and Torn.
Three consecutive months-three explosive novels of The Blood Lily Chronicles.
When Lily Carlyle died in an act of vengeance, she came back as an assassin for the light. But when she discovered her masters' true darkness, she decided to choose the right side for once...
Her own.
With her cover as a double agent inside the forces of evil blown, Lily has no choice but to go underground. She takes along a cadre of warriors: humans, angels, demons, and other trusted creatures. Their only hope is to stop the forces who are attempting to use the Ninth gate as a wedge that will unleash the fury of Hell.
When Julie was knee-high to a grasshopper (an expression that she would like it known she has never, ever used in real life) she informed her parents that she was going to be a novelist, and proceeded to write Kitty Claws, a bestselling book about a cat as Santa. (The book sold out its entire print-run of one, so lets not split hairs about that "best-selling" thing, okay?)
After that stellar start, Julie continued to dabble in the literary arts, writing short stories on yellow pads that she forced her mother to type, scribbling poems on ruled notebook paper that she forced her mother to type, making up skits and songs that she forced her mother to watch and listen to, and diving head-first into high school journalism, at which point, mom finally got a break.
In college, she continued with the journalism thing, picking that as her major and working at The Daily Texan, the student newspaper for the University of Texas. The idea that she could actually write novels and, oh, buy food too, completely eluded her.
The journalism thing cranked along nicely for about one semester. Then Julie got a job as a production assistant on a movie originally called Splatter, but which was released as Future Kill (and can still be found in Blockbuster and through Netflix), with really great Giger poster art. Julie worked her tail off, appeared as an extra, had a great time, and promptly switched her major to film.
Graduating at the ripe old age of 19, Julie chickened out and didn't move to Los Angeles to become the next Steven Spielberg. Instead, she stayed in Austin and worked as a media assistant until she decided that perhaps law school was the better way to go because, hey, a degree in film slides so seamlessly into law. (Or, more likely, grad school was inevitable and the LSAT seemed doable.) Not one to waste time, Julie took the LSAT in December, and was admitted to Baylor Law School on a full scholarship the following February. Law school and Julie got along great, and after graduation, Julie went to work as a law clerk on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, where she had a fabulous time drafting legal opinions, preparing the judge for court, and taking regular trips to New Orleans on a government per diem. During her two year stint as a clerk, the writing bug bit again, and Julie wrote a stage play that will never, ever see the light of day. Really. So don't even ask.
After her clerkship, Julie decided she could handle moving to the Big City, and she took a job with Skadden, Arps in L.A., where she worked on a variety of cases with some very smart lawyers. After a year, she moved on to smaller and smaller firms (and had a short stint as a production exec at a small film company, thus justifying all those credit hours in college). She continued to work with very smart lawyers, one of whom introduced Julie to Julie Garwood (her books, not the woman herself), and the writing bug bit again.
Though Julie had been dabbling with writing in her limited spare time, she'd lacked focus. Now, she'd found it, and she was determined to write an historical romance. You may, after reviewing Julie's book list, note that there are no historical romances on there. Let's just say that she didn't succeed at that task. Julie did, however, discover that while she has a head for contemporary nuances, the ins-and-outs of historical detail are enough to make her head explode.
The in-progress historical was promptly shelved, and Julie turned her attention to fleshing out a contemporary romance, having decided that category romance was the way to go, since with the demands of a legal job, she'd be much more likely to finish 240 manuscript pages than 400.
Finish them she did, and though she got nice feedback on the voice, the novel didn't sell. One editor, Harlequin's Brenda Chin, returned a rejection letter with a note that the hook wasn't enough of a "sexy premise."
Always up for a challenge, Julie came up with the opening line, "You need a man," which she thought had oodles of sexy premise potential. She just had to find a story to go with the line. Eventually, she did, and Nobody Does It Better, Julie's first published novel, was born. She entered the first few chapters in contests, finaled, and was ultimately judged by that same Brenda Chin, who ended up buying the manuscript. (Which is not the reason Julie thinks Brenda is a really cool person. Truly.)
By that time, Julie had realized that 400 pages were manageable after all, and she'd almost completed a paranormal romance along the lines of The Little Mermaid about a cat who is in love with her master. The Cat's Fancy sold just a few months after the original sale. Both books came out in 2000, along with a second Temptation, and Julie has had at least 3 books hit the shelves annually every since, and now has well over twenty books to her credit, crossing over a multitude of genres, most of which are represented in some way by the clever pictures in the collage at the top of this page.
Praised by Publishers Weekly as an author with a "flair for dialogue and eccentric characterizations," Julie's books have hit lists as varied as USA Today, Waldenbooks, Barnes & Noble, and Locus Magazine, all of which has made Julie a happy camper. Julie is also a two-time RITA finalist, both times for books about strong women (a superhero and a demon-hunter). There's probably some deep meaning there, and if you know what it is, feel free to drop Julie a line.
Julie was also the winner of Romantic Times' Reviewer's Choice Award for Best Contemporary Paranormal of 2001, the winner of the Reviewers International Organization's award for best romantic suspense of 2004 and best paranormal of 2005, and the winner of the National Readers' Choice Award for best mainstream book of 2005. Not that she's keeping track or anything.
Julie writes a range of stories including quirky romances, sexy contemporaries, young adult novels, suspense, paranormal mommy lit, and (soon!) darker urban fantasy.
Her initial foray into the urban fantasy mommy lit genre--Carpe Demon: Adventures of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom--proved especially successful, resulting in a Booksense pick, a Target break-out book, other accolades and honors, and a movie deal. Specifically, Carpe Demon, is in development as a feature film with Warner Brothers and 1492 Pictures. Julie frequently pounds on her battered wooden desk (Salvation Army, $25, gotta love it) in order to urge the project from development to screen. (In Hollywood, these things are never certain until you're watching the movie and eating popcorn.)
Julie and her husband moved from Southern California back to Texas in 1995, and Julie quit the practice of law to write full time in 2004. Now, she lives and writes in central Texas with her husband, two daughters, and several cats. She is an active supporter of Love Without Boundaries. Click here to learn more about the charities Julie supports.
This review is from: Turned (The Blood Lily Chronicles, Book 3) (Paperback)
Turned is the third book in the Blood Lily Chronicles. It is impossible to review this book without including spoilers for the previous two books. The plot summary will also make a lot more sense if the reader is familiar with the first two books.
At the opening of this book, Lily Carlyle has obtained the Oris Clef and now faces an agonizing decision about the coming convergence. Should she wield the Oris Clef and become the demon queen (and thereby attempt to avert the apocalypse even though giving herself over to evil) or should she sacrifice herself to an eternity of suffering by throwing herself into the portal to Hell when it opens, which according to the angel Gabriel will permanently seal the portal? Instead, in the days leading up to the portal opening, Lily and Deacon, a demon seeking redemption, search for another legendary key - one that can lock all nine of the portals to Hell.
Deacon saves Lily and Rose, who is now in Kiera's body, from Penemue, his former master, although he has to retake his demon form to do so. Lily is able to talk Deacon back to his human form, and together they go to Father Carleton's (he was a character in the first book) church to see if one of his colleagues has any knowledge of the key. Lily does get a lead from an old monk, and in the days that follow, Lily finds out some shocking information about both Alice's mother and her own father. In the end, she and Deacon face the opening of the portal and overcome the forces of Hell (that shouldn't qualify as a spoiler; it was kind of a given that they would succeed).
I like that facts and elements of the story that were included/revealed in earlier books were relevant to the overall story and were tied into the action in this one. It made for a nice overall cohesive story, that was clearly well-thought out and well-plotted.
I also liked that all three of the female characters - Lily, Rose, and Rachel - faced their personal issues and overcame them during the course of the books. I find strong female characters very appealing.
I did have a slight problem with the consequences of Lily's actions during the final battle; a very similar combination of action/consequence occurred on a popular TV show. While reading up to the final battle, I was really hoping that this book would not take the same route, and unfortunately it did.
I also wish that demon possession was better explained. How can they possess people? Is there any way to resist? There were times when having a demon possess one of the characters (if they could) would have been the smart thing for the demons to do, and yet they didn't do it. They possessed others instead.
Overall, though, I very much enjoyed this book and will definitely be looking for other books by Julie Kenner.
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This review is from: Turned (The Blood Lily Chronicles, Book 3) (Paperback)
Turned is the third in the Blood Lily Chronicles (and hopefully not the last) I stayed up way past my bedtime last night so that I could finish this book and I was not disappointed. Lily, Rose and Deacon make a great demon butt-kicking team and the fight sequences were exhilarating, fast paced and well thought out. The still evolving relationship between Deacon and Lily reaches a tumultuous climax as the Ninth Gate opens over Zakim bridge with each finally trusting each other and Lily truly having faith in herself. You do need to read the first two books to have any idea what is going on in this book but they are all well worth it! I do hope the author continues on with these characters because they especially spunky Rose are favorites of mine.
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This review is from: Turned (The Blood Lily Chronicles, Book 3) (Paperback)
Turned: Blood Lily Chronicles Book 3 by Julie Kenner
Amazon Product Description:
When Lily Carlyle died in an act of vengeance, she came back as an assassin for the light. But when she discovered her masters' true darkness, she decided to choose the right side for once... Her own.
With her cover as a double agent inside the forces of evil blown, Lily has no choice but to go underground. She takes along a cadre of warriors: humans, angels, demons, and other trusted creatures. Their only hope is to stop the forces who are attempting to use the Ninth gate as a wedge that will unleash the fury of Hell.
My Thoughts: I chose this book simply because I had read the first two books and I couldn't stand for the story to be over.
What I liked about it: My favorite thing about this book is that I get the answers to all the questions I have been sitting on for the last two books. In this book Lily is forced to look inside herself and search for the kind of person she wants to be. The stakes are huge - the world/Armageddon - sacrifice herself, rule the demon hoards, or find the key and use it. Each of the characters faces their own soul search and we the readers are brought along on their journey as the story continues. My favorite character is still Deacon, has been since book one. His connection with Lily, their struggle to believe in themselves and each other, and the paths they take make for an interesting twist in the story. Without this piece I think the story would feel incomplete. The connections between the characters and the ways that they grow and change are the keys to the storyline and the plot.
I like that the storyline is kept intact in this book as well, the intro makes sure you know what's been going on and you are reminded throughout the story about how things are connected, and then they are wrapped up in this book.
My other favorite things: I cannot share without having this be a spoiler - so you'll have to read them for yourself! I suggest you do.
What I didn't like: Once again - the only thing I didn't like about the book was the ending. This one doesn't end on cliffhanger - demanding the next piece of the story, but it ends in such a way that there is room for more later. I don't think there will be a book four - hopefully I am wrong.
An all-around good read. I read this in one day, so it is a fast read.
This book, like the two before it, is a grab you,
keep you read that you just don't want to put down.
I readily recommend all three of Julie Kenner's Blood Lily Chronicles!
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