Reining In by Dawn Judd (review)

Summary: (Goodreads)

After witnessing the murder of one of her dearest friends, Khalida finds herself caught between doing what she knows is right and letting go of her past. With the help of the network, an organisation created to keep her secrets buried, Khalida will battle enemies as old as time. But will the secrets of the past destroy everything she knows and loves?

Soon, another friend is facing his death, and she will have to save him or others will follow, and she will have to make the hardest decision of her life. There is only one way to save her friends from this enemy. As she races against time, Khalida will learn that sometimes your past comes back to haunt you, even when you are a vampire.

I won't go into much detail with the plot of this book as there is plenty I could spoil without meaning to. Instead, I'm just going to go straight into what I did and didn't like...

Boy was this book action-packed! Things just kept happening - one adventure after another. There definitely wasn't a dull moment to say the least.

Some people may not think this is a good thing but this book was definitely out of my comfort zone. I liked reading something new to me, whether it's different because of the writing style of the author or a genre that is completely alien. I like it. It's a challenge to finish reading and then write a review even though my outlook towards this particular genre or the writing techniques could have completely changed. But if I find I like the new style/genre of book, then all's good for me, right?

What was different about this book was the writing style. Because of all the energy and action in the book, it consisted of mostly short sentences which kind of kept me in sync with all the drama.

I loved the mystery aspect of Reining In. I definitely think Dawn Judd did a brilliant job at revealing any secrets at a need-to-know basis at precisely the perfect time. It was worked very well into the story.

However, I do feel the story could have had a better flow to it. So much was going on, it sometimes felt like the story was jumping from one event to the next with no in-between development and the like.

I also felt the protagonist, Khalida, was a bit too easy going and laid-back for a five thousand year old vampire. I suppose this could actually be me comparing Khalida to the usual vicious, blood-thirsty beasts vampires are usually made out to be, but like I said before it was something different.

My Rating: 8/10

Author: Dawn Judd

Plus, make sure to check back tomorrow for an interview with Dawn Judd herself!!!