Series Review - Undertow, Stormfront, & Cruel Summer by K.R. Conway

Today we have a special treat. I present to you the Undertow series by K.R. Conway (Undertow, Stormfront, Cruel Summer) I have read these and let me just tell you they are amazing!! There is a bit of historical fiction and some supernatural elements that blend together flawlessly! Eila slowly became one of my favorite heroines. She is tough as nails and I LOVED the sequel even more than the first book!! Read the excerpts and I dare you not to want it! Here are my reviews. All of these book have almost a solid 4.5 average on Goodreads so you know what that means? You should get on it! Don't forget to check out the giveaway at the end!!

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Undertow

Luckless Eila is unknowingly the last of her kind: Rare. Gifted. Breakable. Stunning Raef is her kind's historic enemy: Soulless. Lethal. Lost. A legendary death 160 years before would set their lives to collide, forcing a beautiful killer to become a savior, a simple wallflower to become a warrior, and ruthless destiny to become a death sentence.

SUMMARY:

Seventeen-year-old Eila Walker’s new home has defied the brutal Atlantic for over 160 years. Abandoned since her 4th great grandmother Elizabeth vanished, the town legend declares that she drowned . . . or was struck by lightning.

Unbeknownst to the town and Eila, however, is that someone does know what really happened to Elizabeth, and he has returned, determined to protect the last surviving Walker from a history of violence.

But what starts out as a quest for redemption, evolves into something more and soon young guardian, Raef, is forced to reveal the truth to Eila. As hidden secrets about their warring

families come to light, Eila begins to realize that she may be their best shot at survival, even if it means following in her grandmother’s fearless footsteps to save her killer bodyguard.

My Thoughts

Whoa this book was unlike anything I have ever read!! Again my case of I hate the main character syndrome reared its ugly head again for some reason. It strikes at random I'm not sure why cause it didn't take anything away from story. Just goes to show how well the plot was formulated. All the other characters were well developed. I always love stories that have something historical tied into them. Conway really showed her love for the Cape Cod area. To hear the way she set the story up and the descriptions of the mansions and the town itself, I felt like i was really there. I loved it so much. The world building in addition to the reality of the area and there was a winning combo for me. I thought the history between Eila and Raef was super interesting and creative. There is so many unknowns still to this story i feel like its almost like an onion. We have just begun to pull back the layers of it. I was super excited to see that this is just the beginning. I have to say i didn't think the cast looked like they did in my head but hey they rarely do. Enjoy reading!!!

5 snowflakes

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Stormfront

Not long ago Eila Walker’s choices were limited: death by a bullet to the head, or at the hands of her beloved bodyguard, Raef. Now, five weeks after Raef triggered her power and she nearly leveled a historic mansion, Eila is dealing with the fall-out of her decisions. While she doesn’t remember dying in the arms of the soul thief who loves her, she knows that Raef remembers everything about the night he nearly killed her.

Now on the mend and attempting to keep one step ahead of the FBI, Eila and her team of misfits are desperate for a bit of normal. Eila is trying to navigate high school, while her BFF Ana is cautiously hanging with past-boyfriend and soul thief, Kian. Shape-shifter, MJ, is trying not to piss off his mother, while Raef is coping with his fears that Eila will never be safe.

But just as “normal” seems within their grasp, a powerfully built newcomer arrives. Raef knows the scarred man as a Blacklist Dealer – a soul thief, who peddles the names of humans who deserve to die. Eila, however, knows him as the protective hunter from the woods, who she nicknames Thor. Before long, Raef and Eila realize they’ve met the same killer, and he has one hell of a story to tell the five friends . . . if Raef doesn’t murder him first.

STORMFRONT is the second book in the Bestselling UNDERTOW series.

My Thoughts

Okay so now that you are done thanking me for suggesting that amazing book we can get down to business. I saw another twitter'er (?) speaking about this book and got so extremely excited to delve back into this world of Lunaterra, Mortis, Shape shifters, and Sways! There are so many awesome components that overall make this a home run for me. It is unique story line that constantly kept me on my toes and left me with a nasty book hangover. The way Mrs. Conway sets the scene is flawless as her love for her home, the Cape Cod, Massachusetts area, shine brightly through in her writing. If I had the means I would want to make it my home. The fictional world and history of the Lunterra and Mortis also play a huge role in this installment. I can say that I have never been more satisfied with a sequel in my life. Every single question I had swimming around in my brain was answered as more and more of the puzzle that was Elizabeth Walker's life came into view. Now I'm just left with a whole new set of questions. The pacing moved nicely along throughout the story. I do however suggest reading the last chapter of the first book before heading into this one. I was a bit lost until i did that cause there are just so many details one seems to forget. The all came rushing back the second i finished up and that made my overall enjoyment all the better. I think hell may have also frozen over since I had a case of the I-hate-you-for-some-unknown-reason syndrome with Eila last book and she has fully cured me of that which HAS NEVER HAPPENED before. She really grew as a person as all of the cast did. Conway has a way of giving you the maximum amount of details without it seeming like a complete info dump. Bravo on that! The ending was always quite perfect in my book. It was a cliff hanger but more of a perfect place to stop till the next edition. So often I'm left unsatisfied with endings in a sequels. If your looking for a unique supernatural YA thriller with ties to a historical fiction flashbacks give this series a try. Your inner bookworm will be sated I promise!

5 Snowflakes

Kian O’Reilly is flawless as a killer.Well-practiced in the art of making murder look like an accident, he is selfish, wealthy, and totally arrogant as a soul-stealing immortal. But when he ends up stranded on Cape Cod with a stolen car and a dead drug dealer in the trunk, he thinks his luck couldn’t get any worse.That is, until Ana Lane shows up.Gifted as a mechanic and surfer, feisty Ana is not a fan of the entitled Frat Boys who show up every summer, messing with local girls. Believing Kian is one of those typical rich brats, she fixes his car and ruthlessly dismantles his cocky ego . . . which intrigues the dangerous soul thief.Determined to spend more time with the prickly mechanic, Kian sets out to understand what makes Ana so fierce. Soon, however, he uncovers the painful truth behind the real Ana Lane, and the decision to save her, may destroy them both.
** This is the prequel novella to UNDERTOW and is based on the story of Kian and Ana the summer they met. While it can be read at anytime in the series, it is meant to be read after UNDERTOW and STORMFRONT.**

I just want to start by saying that I think this series is absolutely one of the most underrated out there. It is truly unique and riveting.  It took me a bit to get into the first book, Undertow, but by the end I was completely hooked. The second book, Stormfront, totally blew me away (no pun intended). My two favorite characters happen to be Ana and Kian. Even though they are supporting yet vital cast in the other books, they take center stage in Cruel Summer. This is their history....or a brief cruel summer that ended or began it, depending on your perspective.

Here is an excerpt from Cruel Summer
This can be read before the other two or after

I slowed as I approached the door to the busy shop, calming my roaring imagination, but then I heard Pix’s voice. It was coming from the backside of the building, and I slowly eased my way along the weathered shingles, listening. She was engaged in a heated discussion out behind one of the freezers with Apron Boy, both semi-hiding at the rear of the building. “He’s gonna have setbacks!” she snapped in a low tone. “He was good for almost a full three weeks! He’ll get back on track. I know he will! And this was my fault. I got in his way.” The anger in MJ’s response was damn near palpable. THIS is not EVER your fault. Damn it! Don’t do this to yourself again. Don’t get your hopes up and let your guard down. You have a plan, Ana. Stick to it. And don’t, DON’T, be home when he is.” “He can’t be helped if I’m not keeping an eye on him when he’s home. He wants to get better. He just needs me there, keeping him focused.” “HE DOES NOT WANT TO BE SAVED! It’s not your job to fix him!” yelled MJ, whose sharp tone made me unwilling to lurk any longer. I stepped around the side of the building and Ana saw me out of the corner of her eye, quickly turning away. “Go away, Kian!” she demanded, startled. “What’s going on?” I asked carefully, looking between Ana’s turned back and MJ, who was rubbing his face in frustration. “Make him leave, MJ. Please,” she whispered, but MJ just shook his head. Good grief, had I done something wrong? MJ, who was still not a fan of mine, looked at me with a hardened gaze. “I can’t hide this much longer and she won’t listen to me. And while I don’t like you, I’m hoping she will listen to you.” He turned back to Ana, who still refused to look at me. “Ana, this can’t continue and somewhere deep down, you know I’m right. Maybe Kian can make you see reason, because the mirror obviously can’t.” I watched as he walked away, leaving the two of us alone at the back of the shop. I stepped over to where Pix stood, her back to me and her hair shielding her face. “What’s going on?” I asked carefully. “I’m fine. I can handle it. MJ is just freaking out, as usual. It’ll all be fine.” She reached out and picked at the peeling paint on one of the cedar shingles and it floated to the ground, planting itself among a bunch of flowering weeds. Rather than ask her to turn to me, I stepped around in front of her and she tensed, trying to hide her face again, but this time I saw it – the remnants of true violence. Rage lit to life in my chest as I sucked in a sharp curse. “Who did this to you?” I asked, barely maintaining my sanity. A dozen ways in which to murder an asshole ran through my head at warp speed. I liked them all.

I have been a journalist for 15 years and serve on the Board of Directors for the Cape Cod Writers Center. I also drive a 16-ton school bus because I am ENTIRELY NUTS.In addition to working jobs that should come with a warning label , I hold a BA in Psychos (Forensic Psych), torment the tourists about Jaws, and occasionally jump from the Town Neck bridge in an attempt to reclaim my youth.I live on Cape Cod with two smallish humans who apparently are my kids, my fishing-obsessed husband, two canines (adept at both flatulence and snoring), and a cage-defiant lovebird that sleeps in a miniature tent. Nope - that's not a type-o. The bird is quite the indoor camper.

HERE IS YOUR CHANCE TO WIN SIGNED COPY OF CRUEL SUMMER!

US ONLY
All you have to do is comment below on why you would like to read this series and we will randomly choose a winner on June 1st.