The Appeal of Evil (The Road to Salvation Book 1) by Pembroke Sinclair

Book Description from Amazon.comKatie wants to invest her heart and soul in love, but she may lose both to Hell. Katie, a senior in high school, is torn between loving the “good” guy, her childhood friend Wes who makes promises he doesn't keep and abandons her when she needs him the most, and the “bad” guy, the new kid at school Josh who is also a real demon from Hell. Katie wants someone who pays attention to her and puts her first, but what is she willing to give up to find him? 
This YA book is a love triangle with one hell of a twist. Literally. 
Katie finds herself torn between two boys. The first is the boy she has been in love with since kindergarten. Unfortunately Wes has never treated her the way that a girl wants to be treated. All Katie longs for is true love, devotion, and a real relationship. Wes leads her on just enough to keep her hooked but never quite delivers.
When Katie meets Josh, the hottest boy in school, it appears as if all her dreams are about to come true. It turns out some of these dreams are something out of a nightmare because Josh is in fact, a demon from Hell. However, he always seems to be there for Katie when Wes fails.
To make matters even more complicated, Katie discovers that Wes is a Praesul, which is an ancient order of demon fighters. Katie finds herself not only trapped between bids for her heart, but smack in the middle of the war between good and evil that has gone on since the beginning of time.
Josh's pursuit of Katie is nothing short of relentless. He is, to put it bluntly, a controlling stalker. What I really liked about this novel is that even though Josh is a demon, he behaves the way any psychopathic stalker and abuser would behave. I think the book is a great lesson for young women on behaviors to look out for in guys that do not have their best interests as heart.
What I also liked about the story was that even though Wes is supposed to be on the good side, his behavior is sometimes questionable. Even though his heart is in the right place, he tends to make decisions over and over that hurt Katie. These behaviors sometimes seem no less manipulative than those of Josh.
This means the book is constantly asking the question, what is good and evil? Penbroke Sincliar does an amazing job of blurring these lines. She asks is a demon capable of love? Any stalker will tell you what he does in pursuit of his obeject of desire is because he loves her so much. Katie can't help but wonder does Josh just do what he does because cares about her so much? If it's because of that, how can it be so wrong?
However, like any situation with an emotionally controlling stalker you know things are going to eventually go bad. Sinclair does a great job of building up the tension in the love traingle. Sinclair doesn't skimp on the action either. I have often read YA books where the author is afraid to actually have anyone get hurt or physically fight. Wes and Josh not only use their minds to fight for Katie, they also use their fists. 
I do have a few complaints about the book. The first is that Katie's thoughts about the boys repeat themselves over and over. Sinclair does a great job of letting us into the mind of Katie, but at times she goes into streams of consciousness that are overwhelming and repetitive.
My second complaint is that Sinclair started what would have been a fascinating subplot of Katie's best friend having a Preasul in her family, but then never follows through on it. The plot thread is left dangling.
Hopefully Sinclair will go back to this story thread in the next book in the series. The way the book ended lets you know the next in the series will take you even deeper into this world of good versus evil and Katie is right in the middle of it. 
Unfortunately Book 2 hasn't been released yet. I guess I'll just have to wait to find out what happens next. Sinclair says she is currently working on the sequel.
My rating:

Penbroke Sinclair has a website and also can be found on Twitter and Facebook. Her book can be purchased here.
I was given a copy of the book for an honest review. No other compensation was received.

FrightFall Read-a-thon Kickoff Post and Goals

I have had a very unproductive month of reading this past September so the FrightFall Read-a-thon hosted by Seasons of Reading is just the kick in the pants that I need.

I've found that I am far more productive if I set goals at the beginning of a read-a-thon so here are mine:

1. Finish reading The Appeal of Evil (The Road to Salvation Book 1) by Pembroke Sinclair. This was a requested review that is long overdue. The book is about demons so it fits in with the theme of the FrightFall Read-a-thon.

2. Read The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris. This book received the most votes in my What's Next post.

3. I have Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn on hold at my library. I never paid much attention to the book until I saw the movie trailer (I love Ben Affleck). Since then I have been practically foaming at the mouth to read the book. I'm #2 in the library queue but I may just decide to buy it if it doesn't become available in time. 

These are some pretty ambitious goals, especially for me. But I want to get the requested review finished and make up for this unproductive month. I'll be tweeting about my progress on Twitter @magicbookreview using the hashtag #FrightFall.

What's Next? FrightFall Read-a-thon Edition

Hi everyone! Welcome to the another week of What’s Next?! Click here to read more about the meme and be sure to link up your posts.

Next week is the FrightFall Read-a-thon and it's horror themed so I will be reading a scary book. This doesn't actually have to be a horror or supernatural book, it can also be a mystery or thiller. Here are the three choices I have narrowed it down to:

Choice #1 It by Stephen King
Welcome to Derry, Maine… It’s a small city, a place as hauntingly familiar as your own hometown. Only in Derry the haunting is real…. They were seven teenagers when they first stumbled upon the horror. Now they are grown-up men and women who have gone out into the big world to gain success and happiness. But none of them can withstand the force that has drawn them back to Derry to face the nightmare without an end, and the evil without a name.

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Choice #2 The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
A serial murderer known only by a grotesquely apt nickname--Buffalo Bill--is stalking women. He has a purpose, but no one can fathom it, for the bodies are discovered in different states. Clarice Starling, a young trainee at the FBI Academy, is surprised to be summoned by Jack Crawford, chief of the Bureau's Behavioral Science section. Her assignment: to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter--Hannibal the Cannibal--who is kept under close watch in the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane.

Dr. Lecter is a former psychiatrist with a grisly history, unusual tastes, and an intense curiosity about the darker corners of the mind. His intimate understanding of the killer and of Clarice herself form the core of Thomas Harris' The Silence of the Lambs--and ingenious, masterfully written book and an unforgettable classic of suspense fiction.

Choice #3 Dracula by Bram Stoker
Dracula is the ultimate horror story, producing one of literature’s most lasting villains: Count Dracula. A harrowing, memorable, and enduring story about the world’s most famous vampire. A true masterwork of storytelling, Dracula has transcended generation, language, and culture to become one of the most popular novels ever written. It is a quintessential tale of suspense and horror, boasting one of the most terrifying characters ever born in literature: Count Dracula, a tragic, night-dwelling specter who feeds upon the blood of the living, and whose diabolical passions prey upon the innocent, the helpless, and the beautiful. But Dracula also stands as a bleak allegorical saga of an eternally cursed being whose nocturnal atrocities reflect the dark underside of the supremely moralistic age in which it was originally written—and the corrupt desires that continue to plague the modern human condition.

A Quick Explanation On Why There Haven't Been Any Reviews This Month

I was doing the Sugar Free September Challenge this month. For the first week and a half I did awesome. Then I fell off the wagon and had some sweets. After that I started eating cookies, cake, and candy like crazy again and it's like my brain turned to mush. I have had the worst brain fog of my entire life! I haven't been able to focus long enough to read a book all month. I'm going to try and make up for it this last week.

So which scary book should I read for the FrightFall Read-a-thon? Leave your choice in the comments.