Turned

I just have to say this series just pulled me in and I finished the first 3 books very fast. Cannot wait till another comes out.

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.

This is the last book in the Lily Carlyle trilogy. I strongly suggest you read the two previous books (Tainted and Torn) before reading this book. I really enjoyed this book. It was a super fast read for me, solely because Lily dispensed an excessive amount of internal-dialogue. There are very few authors who can successfully carry-out continual internal-dialogue throughout a novel and still keep my attention. However, having skipped through much of the internal-dialogue scenes didn't make this book any less enjoyable for me. The story was chock-full of danger and excitement, a plethora of twists and turns, an abundance of intense action/fighting scenes and edge-of-your-seat apocalyptic events. Besides the internal-dialogue sections, this book didn't have a second to waste! Lily's dominating character is passionate, loyal, strong and fierce. This alpha-female literally has the weight of the world on her shoulders. She walks a fine line and fights a constant battle between reveling and surrendering to the darkness and cruelty of the powerful all consuming demon essence inside her; in contrary to her determination to achieve the aspirations for righteousness in her heart and her perpetual desire for ascension to be unsullied and virtuous. This last installment did wrap up the series but it also left a window for future books, if the powers-that-be decide to expand this series. This trilogy was my first exposure to Julie Kenner. Although, I won't be reading her Tales of a Demon Hunting Soccer Mom series, however, in the future, if Julie put out another trilogy such as this one, in all likelihood I would probably read it. As I've mentioned in my review of book one of this trilogy, I still didn't particularly care for this books affirmation of the Christianity version of faith and god. I don't usually read books that affirm any one particular religion; however, regardless of the non-preachy religious aspect, I still enjoyed this trilogy. I highly recommend this trilogy to fellow dark urban fantasy readers. I also recommend: Scorched: The Dark Forgotten Beneath the Skin: Book Three of The Maker's Song Soul Catcher (The Outsider Series) Personal Demons The Devil Inside (Morgan Kingsley, Exorcist, Book 1)

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.

In Boston, Lily Carlyle had died in an act of vengeance. She came back, in Alice's body, believing herself to be an assassin for the light side, Heaven. When she discovered that her master was of the dark, Lily changed sides. Lily is the Prophecy Girl with the power to open or close the Ninth Gate. She can either cause or prevent Armageddon. To keep it from demons, Lily wears the Oris Clef around her neck. Its dark power gives her two choices. Lily can let the gate open, allowing millions of demons to cross into our dimension, and be their queen or she can throw herself in the portal, save the world, and be subjected to an eternity of pain and suffering. Lily hopes she can resist the former option. After all, being a demon queen with ultimate power sounds better than being tormented for eternity. There is one other way to avoid having to choose. Lily and her allies must find the last key and lock the Ninth Gate forever. Problem is that the key is only a rumor and may not really exist at all. Even if it is real, Lily has no idea of where to search for it. Oh, and there is one more tiny problem: three master demons and most all of the demons already in our dimension, are trying to kill her. **** FOUR STARS! If you have not read the first two books then run, don't walk, to the nearest book store and buy them. Not only are they MORE than worth your time and money to read, but those who have not read them may be confused as to exactly what is going on. The author did an amazing job, especially on Lily's character. The tale is so well written that I could easily understand the turmoil Lily must be going through by having to choose between two, equally awful, choices. Fabulous Dark Drama is Julie Kenner's epithet! **** Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.