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A review by bookfessional
Lailah by Nikki Kelly
1.0
Reviewed by: Rabid Reads
Anytime a Big Bad vamp bites through a pregnant angel's stomach and infects the baby with its venom in the first few pages of a book, it's a pretty clear indicator of what you're in for.
If that sounds awesome to you, then, hey, you might love LAILAH by Nikki Kelly.
BUT . . . if you're like me and think that's just about as cornball as it can get . . . you are not wrong.
Francesca doesn't know what she is, she only knows that she cannot die. If she's injured badly enough, she can appear to be dead while her body shuts down to repair itself. When this happens, she wakes up with incomplete memories from her prior life that come to her in fits and starts, and sometimes while she sleeps. She has no idea how old she is, but she knows she's much older than her seventeen year old appearance.
The only thing she's sure about is the man whose face she's been seeing in her dreams throughout all her lives. The man who radiates light, the man whose beauty makes her heart ache, the man with a golden halo of blond curly hair . . . Gabriel. *rolls eyes*
But while Gabriel is the man of her dreams (HA!), Jonah in the injured vamp in her backyard. And even though her last life ended when she came face-to-face with the darker nature of vampires (the more recent the past life, the more vivid the memories), Francesca has a "hunch" that Jonah is different, so despite knowing that he's been tortured, starved, and is grievously injured, she ignores his warnings to keep her distance, lest he exsanguinate her, and cuts her own wrist, forcing him to drink.
The only reason she survives this idiocy is b/c Jonah's captors show up, distracting him from her blood, and then--OMG!--freshly fed, he somehow manages to take out ALL the bad guys.
Hmmm . . . I wonder if there's something different, something super special about Francesca's blood?
But while Jonah is busy with the vamps, Francesca hears/sees a silver bullet racing straight towards Jonah's heart, so she jumps in front of it, getting hit in the shoulder, and passes out.
When she comes to, none other than Gabriel himself is leaning over her. And not only is her dream man there--in the flesh--but would you believe that he's also the angelic leader of the motley band of good(ish) vamps that Jonah belongs to?
SMALL world.
And what a cruel twist of fate. After spending countless lives alone, she had just found Jonah, with whom she shared an instant connection. Jonah, who bares a remarkable resemblance to Damon Salvatore, both in appearance and temperament.
But then there's Gabriel. Gabriel who she's longed for in all of her lives . . . it's just SO confusing. What's a girl to do?<------W-A-F-F-L-E.
So the plot's ridiculous. How about the writing?
He didn't hug or embrace her, he thrust her body against his. She didn't look up, she removed . . . her face . . . from his chest. *headdesk* His eyes weren't wide, they were . . . enlarged.
Then there was the single page in which Francesca was, "utterly perplexed," "bewildered," and "completely dumbfounded," in quick succession.
I also have this peeve about people using the word "literally" for emphasis: I literally walked out, he literally ignored her, she literally just got here, etc.
STAHP. Ugh.
And let's not forget about all the random and bizarre, yet technically correct, words that can be found on nearly every page. Like when the monster vamp slices off a lock of Francesca's hair, and instead of smelling it, or lifting it to his nose, he raised it to his "orifices."
*sing songs* Someone literally needs to have their thesaurus confiscated.
And that's all I got. There were moments that were relatively painless, but overall . . . Lailah by Nikki Kelly was not for me. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes the sound of a Fallen + Twilight + Vampire Diaries mashup + a surplus of adverbs, and a questionable use of adjectives.
Anytime a Big Bad vamp bites through a pregnant angel's stomach and infects the baby with its venom in the first few pages of a book, it's a pretty clear indicator of what you're in for.
If that sounds awesome to you, then, hey, you might love LAILAH by Nikki Kelly.
BUT . . . if you're like me and think that's just about as cornball as it can get . . . you are not wrong.
Francesca doesn't know what she is, she only knows that she cannot die. If she's injured badly enough, she can appear to be dead while her body shuts down to repair itself. When this happens, she wakes up with incomplete memories from her prior life that come to her in fits and starts, and sometimes while she sleeps. She has no idea how old she is, but she knows she's much older than her seventeen year old appearance.
The only thing she's sure about is the man whose face she's been seeing in her dreams throughout all her lives. The man who radiates light, the man whose beauty makes her heart ache, the man with a golden halo of blond curly hair . . . Gabriel. *rolls eyes*
But while Gabriel is the man of her dreams (HA!), Jonah in the injured vamp in her backyard. And even though her last life ended when she came face-to-face with the darker nature of vampires (the more recent the past life, the more vivid the memories), Francesca has a "hunch" that Jonah is different, so despite knowing that he's been tortured, starved, and is grievously injured, she ignores his warnings to keep her distance, lest he exsanguinate her, and cuts her own wrist, forcing him to drink.
The only reason she survives this idiocy is b/c Jonah's captors show up, distracting him from her blood, and then--OMG!--freshly fed, he somehow manages to take out ALL the bad guys.
Hmmm . . . I wonder if there's something different, something super special about Francesca's blood?
But while Jonah is busy with the vamps, Francesca hears/sees a silver bullet racing straight towards Jonah's heart, so she jumps in front of it, getting hit in the shoulder, and passes out.
When she comes to, none other than Gabriel himself is leaning over her. And not only is her dream man there--in the flesh--but would you believe that he's also the angelic leader of the motley band of good(ish) vamps that Jonah belongs to?
SMALL world.
And what a cruel twist of fate. After spending countless lives alone, she had just found Jonah, with whom she shared an instant connection. Jonah, who bares a remarkable resemblance to Damon Salvatore, both in appearance and temperament.
But then there's Gabriel. Gabriel who she's longed for in all of her lives . . . it's just SO confusing. What's a girl to do?<------W-A-F-F-L-E.
So the plot's ridiculous. How about the writing?
He wasted no time scooping me up off the bark and thrusting my body against his. He clung to me, allowing no space between us, pushing his hand into my soaking hair. Eventually I removed my face from his chest and stared up into his eyes; they were enlarged with worry and brimming over with sadness.
He didn't hug or embrace her, he thrust her body against his. She didn't look up, she removed . . . her face . . . from his chest. *headdesk* His eyes weren't wide, they were . . . enlarged.
Then there was the single page in which Francesca was, "utterly perplexed," "bewildered," and "completely dumbfounded," in quick succession.
I also have this peeve about people using the word "literally" for emphasis: I literally walked out, he literally ignored her, she literally just got here, etc.
STAHP. Ugh.
And let's not forget about all the random and bizarre, yet technically correct, words that can be found on nearly every page. Like when the monster vamp slices off a lock of Francesca's hair, and instead of smelling it, or lifting it to his nose, he raised it to his "orifices."
*sing songs* Someone literally needs to have their thesaurus confiscated.
And that's all I got. There were moments that were relatively painless, but overall . . . Lailah by Nikki Kelly was not for me. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes the sound of a Fallen + Twilight + Vampire Diaries mashup + a surplus of adverbs, and a questionable use of adjectives.