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Those Which Remain by Angela V. Cook
WOW. Angela V Cook does it again! If you read Into a Million Pieces, you have GOT to read this book
Title: Those Which Remain
Author: Angela V. Cook
Series: Pieces Duology #2
Publish Date: January 28, 2018
Genre: Contemporary Paranormal
Publisher’s Description: In Into a Million Pieces, seventeen-year-old Allison solved her sister’s murder, barely escaping an attempt on her own life. Now, with the past behind her, Allison is finally getting a taste of teenage normalcy—going to school, hanging out with her best friend, and sharing it all with her loving boyfriend, Ren. Life is good.
But it doesn’t stay that way. It never does for a succubus.
When Allison’s nature draws in a predator, shattering her sense of trust and safety, she realizes the succubus curse is behind all the darkness and heartache in her life. Determined to end it, she tracks down a distant relative with knowledge about the curse. But more questions are raised than answered when Allison meets the mysterious and wealthy Leona Doriano. Suddenly thrust into a dangerous world of money, power, and deadly secrets, Allison must find a way to break the curse—a curse not everyone wants broken—before she’s drawn in too deep.
Fickle Fiona says…
WOW. Angela V Cook does it again! If you read Into a Million Pieces, you have GOT to read this book. If you haven’t read it, go do that now, then come back for this one…..
If you still have unanswered questions from the first book, you’ll get your answers here! Ms. Cook does such a great job of pulling you in to such a seemingly simple story and then blowing your mind with twists and turns galore. And once again, she does a fantastic job with the sexual nature of the book – not going so far as to make it inappropriate for older teens to read (the vernacular sounds just like them), but keeping true to the succubus legends, as well.
One of the things I enjoyed, given that this is a book in a series, is that there isn’t much recap of the first book. I’m not ever thrilled when I get into the next book in a series just to reread the description of all the characters and the relationships, etc. So, I appreciated that. Anyway, in this book we find out a LOT more background on the curse over Allison and the females in her family. Can the curse be broken? Are there other advantages/disadvantages to the curse? We also find out Allison has more family – like, a lot more family – that she never knew about….on both sides of her family. And more family isn’t always a good thing. The new characters, the ups and downs that Allison experiences…..it’s just like a real teenager’s life! Except we aren’t typically succubi. And as you read, you get sucked in for the ride. I couldn’t put it down.
Our reviews in this series…
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Those Which Remain by Angela V. Cook
Once again, I plunge into the world of a teenage succubus!
I received an ARC or review copy of this book from the author/publisher. All opinions are my own.
Title: Those Which Remain
Author: Angela V. Cook
Series: Pieces Duology, #2
Publish Date: January 28, 2018
Genre: YA fantasy romance
Source: Provided by the author
Publisher’s Description: In Into a Million Pieces, seventeen-year-old Allison solved her sister’s murder, barely escaping an attempt on her own life. Now, with the past behind her, Allison is finally getting a taste of teenage normalcy—going to school, hanging out with her best friend, and sharing it all with her loving boyfriend, Ren. Life is good.
But it doesn’t stay that way. It never does for a succubus.
When Allison’s nature draws in a predator, shattering her sense of trust and safety, she realizes the succubus curse is behind all the darkness and heartache in her life. Determined to end it, she tracks down a distant relative with knowledge about the curse. But more questions are raised than answered when Allison meets the mysterious and wealthy Leona Doriano. Suddenly thrust into a dangerous world of money, power, and deadly secrets, Allison must find a way to break the curse—a curse not everyone wants broken—before she’s drawn in too deep.
Possible spoilers beyond this point.
Percy Procrastinator says…
The author’s previous book, Into a Million Pieces, is a captivating book about the life of Allison and Jade, two teenage twins who are succubi. Ms. Cook really made me care about Allison and Jade, even through their teenage angst, something I don’t usually like. I also enjoyed the mythology of the succubi and wanted to know more. So I was ecstatic when the author emailed me the next book.
Jade’s move to her other family has not been easy. She’s dealing with her teenage angst of fitting into a new school, making new friends, and having a long distance relationship. On top of that, while she loves this new family, including an aunt and grandma, she worries that one of her many secrets will come out and they won’t want her anymore.
Things go well until the holiday and the grandma’s favorite child comes back from college for the break. In a chilling scene, Allison’s dark nature comes out, and the uncle is drunk. Afterward, he threatens to reveal a secret if she doesn’t keep quiet.
That pushes Allison to search for answers about her family’s curse and how it happened. And does she find answers! Answers to questions she didn’t even know she had! The curse has taken her family into even darker parts of human society, and they are pulling Allison into it the longer she stays with them.
The story captivated me and kept me reading until the end. I thoroughly enjoyed the adventures with Allison. I desperately want to give this book a five, but here is why I can’t. The story ends Allison’s journey. I’m sure Ms. Cook could find a way to keep going with her story but I worry it would feel forced. I want to know more! More about the supernatural world, what other supernaturals could be out there, and most important, see what Allison does with the curse and with her knowledge when she is older. I think that could be a great series. As it is, I give the book a high four (which the site editor is rounding to five). If you enjoyed the first book, this cannot disappoint.
Our reviews in this series…
I received an ARC or review copy of this book from the author/publisher. All opinions are my own.
Into A Million Pieces by Angela V. Cook
Two sisters have a normal summer off of school. Well, as normal as can be when they are both succubi, kissing a guy will give him a cold, and “going all the way” will sentence him to death!
Title: Into A Million Pieces
Author: Angela V. Cook
Publish Date: January 27th, 2015
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance
Source: Provided by the author
Publisher’s Description: Allison McKready is a succubus. So is her twin sister. But while Allison spends her summer break hiding in the library behind her Goth makeup, Jade fools around as often as she can. Allison can’t believe Jade would ignore their mother’s fatal example so recklessly, but concealing a cursed bloodline and its dangerous effects is far from Allison’s only problem. Mean girl Julie’s snob mob is determined to ruin her summer, and Aunt Sarah’s Bible thumping is getting louder. Only her new friend, Ren Fisher, offers safe haven from the chaos of her life.
When one of Jade’s risky dates leads to humiliation and sudden tragedy, Allison reels, and Ren catches her. But as her feelings for him grow, so does her fear that she’ll hurt him—or worse—in an unguarded moment. The choice is coming—love him or save him—but Allison might not live to make it. One way or another, the curse will have its due.
Possible spoilers beyond this point.
Hey, you read Into A Million Pieces, right? What did you think?
I liked it. I liked that it was a teenage succubus book but it wasn’t preaching abstinence. And then the unexpected twist! That was a real slap in the face. Not at all what I was expecting. I went with it, though, and it turned out being pretty good!
I agree. I liked the book as well and I was surprised. The author got and held my attention for nearly two thirds of a book with no mystery, just plot of two teenage girls on summer break. I really liked the supernatural aspect to the story, but I liked the characters as well. I liked Jade and Alison and their interactions. I liked that Alison wasn’t a know-it-all. She caught onto a few things really well, missed a few things completely, and had to have a few things explained to her.
I was really hoping it wouldn’t be too sexual. I mean, it’s meant for the YA audience. Then we got to a point where the characters were going further and further, although still shy of sex. I would say this is obviously for older teens; I think it went a bit too far for a young adult. It is different than when I was a kid, though, and I’m a prude, so I’m glad they stopped where they did in those scenes.
It also surprised me how much sexuality they did have. What the girls were willing to do or try, knowing it would be dangerous to have sex. For me, it was a nice twist on how far you can go without having sex. I also thought it highlighted the dangers of sex by taking it to the extreme. I thought that was a good twist.
I agree. I liked the distinction between the sisters and the aunt. One of the sisters likes the attention and the other is going out of her way to be goth and go unnoticed. And then the contrast to their aunt, who is all preachy and embracing celibacy and Christianity. I liked how each of them had their own way of dealing with it and that it fit the characters.
That was another good point of the book. In fact, what stopped this book from getting a five from me was only that they didn’t go into the supernatural world enough. I wanted to know more about the supernatural. Are they the only ones? Is it only their family? I think it would have fit for Alison to do research on succubi and for the author to use that as a way to introduce her mythology, whether real or made up, into the story.
I also wondered how much longer until the family curse is over? They are paying for something done over two hundred years ago. When will it be over? Are they the last ones? Will it continue? From that perspective, I wanted to know more. I also wanted to know how tough it was for the sisters to live with their aunt, who looks just like their mother! Was it a daily challenge they dealt with? Or had it been long enough that they didn’t notice it anymore?
I also enjoyed how the author worked the title into the narrative. That was very well done!
I agree. I expected the title to be tied into the romance angle and when it wasn’t, it was done very well. It was a very pleasant surprise to me. The only bad thing is that I liked this book enough that I will have high expectations if there is a next book!
Very true! I can accept it if this is where the story ends, but I will want a lot more from another book!
Percy Procrastinator says…
This was quite an enjoyable read. A solid 4. I’m wanting more in this fictional world!
Things I didn’t like: Not knowing the romance genre very well, I found there to be too time spent with nothing really happening until the mystery started. I did think Alison was perhaps a bit too smart or intuitive at times but nothing terrible. I also thought the resolution of the mystery was quick.
The big thing for me was that I wanted more information on the supernatural side. (If more books are published, this is a great intro to that world. If not, I will be really bummed at the wasted potential. I want to see a wider world and how Alison reacts to that!) For my own entertainment, there wasn’t enough about that side of the world. Even if it was only via Allison reading legends to find out more about their heritage, or why her mom did what she did, I think this could have added that extra bit that I would want to see.
Things I liked: The big twist almost ended up in the things I don’t like side. When it happened, it didn’t make sense to me. However, instead of making me put the book down, it kept me reading to find out if it happened if it was described or not. I was not disappointed. Stepping back, the book starts out very well. I’m introduced to the sisters and quickly get a sense of them, their aunt, and their world. The author does a great job of describing them and kept me interested even as they did mundane summer things. It helps that Alison likes to read books; while I have not read the ones she references, at least I could relate.
I was very happy with this book at the end of the read. As I said, I would like more in this world to see it expand and what else might be in it. I might be asking too much from this genre, though.
Fickle Fiona says…
This book was nothing like I expected it to be, and I liked that! I was drawn to this book because of the teenage succubus character. Having read succubus books before, I am well aware of the sexual content these books usually discuss, and was intrigued to see how it was handled in a YA genre. I felt that the way the author approached the topic in this book was very creative. It does not tout abstinence or condone sexual behavior amongst teens, but takes the path of self control.
As for the main storyline, Allison and her twin sister, Jade, are opposites. While Jade flaunts her good looks and charming personality, Allison hides behind them to avoid temptation. But when Ren notices her and won’t let her walk away from him, she starts to fall. And hard. While the “love” story of this book is very heartwarming, the author hits you with tragic events that make you feel for the characters and want to hug those you love a little closer. Unexpected twists and turns in this story will keep you reading to find out just how Allison will survive.
Other reviews…
If you like this book…
… you might like Kelley Armstrong’s YA series, Darkest Powers, or Shiver Cove Part 1: Tamyra by T.J. Shortt. For an adult succubus tale, check out the Georgina Kincaid series by Richelle Mead (who is also the author of the popular YA series Vampire Academy).
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