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The Vampire Hunter #1
Living Dead Girl
When Aurora Stone awakens to find she's been buried underground, she frantically claws her way to the surface. But the nightmare has only just begun; she was buried in her own grave and has been resurrected on the one year anniversary of her death.
Aurora immediately seeks the help of her best friend, Henry, who is no longer the awkward sixteen year old she remembers from a year ago. Henry is tall, muscular, with piercing blue eyes.
But Henry isn't the only one who's captured Aurora's attention. Lucas, a sexy vampire, is watching her every move. He's been ordered to send her back to the grave, but he is immediately attracted to Aurora and can't bring himself to re-kill her.
As Aurora struggles with her new un-dead body, she must make a decision between the boy next door and the vampire who has nothing to lose. And time is running out - plagued by blackouts she can't control, Aurora knows her days may be numbered. She was brought back for something epic, but will she get the chance to find out what?
Aurora immediately seeks the help of her best friend, Henry, who is no longer the awkward sixteen year old she remembers from a year ago. Henry is tall, muscular, with piercing blue eyes.
But Henry isn't the only one who's captured Aurora's attention. Lucas, a sexy vampire, is watching her every move. He's been ordered to send her back to the grave, but he is immediately attracted to Aurora and can't bring himself to re-kill her.
As Aurora struggles with her new un-dead body, she must make a decision between the boy next door and the vampire who has nothing to lose. And time is running out - plagued by blackouts she can't control, Aurora knows her days may be numbered. She was brought back for something epic, but will she get the chance to find out what?
150 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 30, 2013
16 people are currently reading
370 people want to read
About the author
S.C. Reynolds
7 books23 followersBy day I am a cubicle drone working as an IT tester, by night I am a writer trying to unwind from my day job! I love reading and writing (duh) and I'm also an avid jogger and bicyclist when the weather is nice. I'm married (no kids) and I just started a blog ('just' as in today). Check it out! http://www.gimmickandgunfire.blogspot...
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
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February 15, 2020🎁 Books 1 -5 in the Series are FREE on Amazon today (2/1/2020)! 🎁
January 19, 2023
I really didn't like how the boys Squabbled over Aurora... and how she expected everyone to mourn her and not ever be Happy Again....
Its very teeny Angst and Drama.... Not really for me
And really No one letting her know how she died and her not pushing for someone to tell her... Or looking it up on the internet/Newspaper......
Still i am interested in what Aurora Might be.
Its very teeny Angst and Drama.... Not really for me
And really No one letting her know how she died and her not pushing for someone to tell her... Or looking it up on the internet/Newspaper......
Still i am interested in what Aurora Might be.
September 19, 2023
This wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. Some editing issues and such. I probably won't read the rest of the series as the FMC has the same name as a family member and it weirds me out.
June 29, 2020
Good read
It's a relatively quick, easy read that doesn't take much concentration which is great. The characters, I'm hoping well grow throughout the series
It's a relatively quick, easy read that doesn't take much concentration which is great. The characters, I'm hoping well grow throughout the series
May 3, 2015
Run, run away as fast as you can. You want nothing to do with this book. It's horrible. The main character is a shallow, mindless, boy obsessed nitwit that is so uninteresting I barely managed to finish the book. If this had been the only problem I had with the book I probably would have shrugged it off as a weak YA, but it's not.
This book is flat...I mean FLAT. There is no emotional resonance or peak anywhere in it. Example: Aurora has just mysteriously risen from the grave. Does she freak out? Search for a reason? Show any evidence that she's been dead? Nope, she gets upset that the boy she liked is now dating her friend. A frightening vampire kidnaps her and informs her that he'd been told to kill her. Does she get mad or frightened? Nope, she worries about what to wear. She is told that her vampire friend was an admitted killer at one time. Does she get nervous? Nope, she's mad he didn't kiss her. A werewolf attacks and almost kills her. Does she get the shakes and go into shock? Nope, she has a makeup session.
There is just nothing realistic about Aurora's rising from the dead. Even down to the rising. Look at the cover of the book. See that dirty, grime incrusted hand? Yeah, she's supposed to have dug her way out of the grave. But when she gets to Henry's house, she and her pretty pale pink dress are clean. So clean, in fact, that she even chooses to wear it again. How did she manage that?
Time passes that isn't accounted for. Aurora pulls the cliché TSTL storm-out-and-get-lost-and-endangered shtick when angry. She makes no effort to figure out what happened to her, even when it's obvious that people around her have the information. Assumptions are made and treated as fact (that she's a living dead girl, as opposed to a vampire, zombie, etc) based on nothing. The same belief is shared by several people with no sharing of information. She managed to go clothes shopping despite being dead for a year and having no discernible source of income or credit. She's supposed to be hiding in someone's house for several weeks without them noticing. People get stumbling, hiccuping drunk on three beers and seventeen year olds somehow manage to go on quick beer runs. The younger sister is horribly slut-shamed because her skirt is too short. There is the start of a love triangle. The book is from Aurora's 1st person POV for 25 chapters and then we randomly get a chapter from someone else's POV, before going back to her. (It's jarring.) The editing needs attention and the author uses ridiculous, contrived occurrences to artificially drag out reveals.
Basically, I found very little to enjoy here. I'll admit that the writing was fine, but the story is undeveloped, lacklustre and a time-waster. However, I read it because I'm doing a reading challenge in which the second book in this series factors, so I'm committed to at least the next book in the series before I can pretend I never read it. *sigh* I will persevere.
This book is flat...I mean FLAT. There is no emotional resonance or peak anywhere in it. Example: Aurora has just mysteriously risen from the grave. Does she freak out? Search for a reason? Show any evidence that she's been dead? Nope, she gets upset that the boy she liked is now dating her friend. A frightening vampire kidnaps her and informs her that he'd been told to kill her. Does she get mad or frightened? Nope, she worries about what to wear. She is told that her vampire friend was an admitted killer at one time. Does she get nervous? Nope, she's mad he didn't kiss her. A werewolf attacks and almost kills her. Does she get the shakes and go into shock? Nope, she has a makeup session.
There is just nothing realistic about Aurora's rising from the dead. Even down to the rising. Look at the cover of the book. See that dirty, grime incrusted hand? Yeah, she's supposed to have dug her way out of the grave. But when she gets to Henry's house, she and her pretty pale pink dress are clean. So clean, in fact, that she even chooses to wear it again. How did she manage that?
Time passes that isn't accounted for. Aurora pulls the cliché TSTL storm-out-and-get-lost-and-endangered shtick when angry. She makes no effort to figure out what happened to her, even when it's obvious that people around her have the information. Assumptions are made and treated as fact (that she's a living dead girl, as opposed to a vampire, zombie, etc) based on nothing. The same belief is shared by several people with no sharing of information. She managed to go clothes shopping despite being dead for a year and having no discernible source of income or credit. She's supposed to be hiding in someone's house for several weeks without them noticing. People get stumbling, hiccuping drunk on three beers and seventeen year olds somehow manage to go on quick beer runs. The younger sister is horribly slut-shamed because her skirt is too short. There is the start of a love triangle. The book is from Aurora's 1st person POV for 25 chapters and then we randomly get a chapter from someone else's POV, before going back to her. (It's jarring.) The editing needs attention and the author uses ridiculous, contrived occurrences to artificially drag out reveals.
Basically, I found very little to enjoy here. I'll admit that the writing was fine, but the story is undeveloped, lacklustre and a time-waster. However, I read it because I'm doing a reading challenge in which the second book in this series factors, so I'm committed to at least the next book in the series before I can pretend I never read it. *sigh* I will persevere.
December 21, 2014
Great idea but very slow.
The synopsis for this book sounded really interesting plus the first 5 books in this series are free so I just had to give it a try.
The book opens with Aurora digging her way out of her own grave, she's no idea what happened but exactly one year after her death she's alive again. Knowing she can't go home and with nowhere else to turn she visits her best friend Henry and together they try to work out exactly what's going on, well I say that but actually Henry goes to school and Aurora watches a lot of daytime TV, also Aurora feels like she's being watched.
Sounds fantastic? Yes it does, well apart from the school and TV part but it never really lives up to its early promise, to say Aurora is annoying would be an understatement and yes I appreciate she's only sixteen or is it seventeen but still, anyway it's also incredibly slow and well boring a lot of the time and I'm sorry but if I'd just dug my way out of my own grave after being dead for a year I think I'd be a little more freaked out and less worried about how quickly some guy I liked when I was breathing started dating.
I've already downloaded the next 4 books so I have to make a decision, I would like to know what happens and I do like the idea behind this but....I'm just not sure.
The synopsis for this book sounded really interesting plus the first 5 books in this series are free so I just had to give it a try.
The book opens with Aurora digging her way out of her own grave, she's no idea what happened but exactly one year after her death she's alive again. Knowing she can't go home and with nowhere else to turn she visits her best friend Henry and together they try to work out exactly what's going on, well I say that but actually Henry goes to school and Aurora watches a lot of daytime TV, also Aurora feels like she's being watched.
Sounds fantastic? Yes it does, well apart from the school and TV part but it never really lives up to its early promise, to say Aurora is annoying would be an understatement and yes I appreciate she's only sixteen or is it seventeen but still, anyway it's also incredibly slow and well boring a lot of the time and I'm sorry but if I'd just dug my way out of my own grave after being dead for a year I think I'd be a little more freaked out and less worried about how quickly some guy I liked when I was breathing started dating.
I've already downloaded the next 4 books so I have to make a decision, I would like to know what happens and I do like the idea behind this but....I'm just not sure.
March 4, 2014
Living Dead Girl was a boring read, with an annoying main character.
Rory was really annoying, and quite immature.
At one point, she got kidnapped, and all she could think about was how hot the kidnapper was.
Then he told her his name, and she had the same reaction again.
When he was masked, she described his voice as really old, and was really shocked when she saw how old he actually was because he sounded like he was 25-30.
I really don't get why she was so shocked, and why she thought 25-30 was really old. It's not that much older than her!
The pacing was slow, and was quite uneventful, so i got bored quickly.
Overall, boring and slow. I'm glad it was only short.
Rory was really annoying, and quite immature.
At one point, she got kidnapped, and all she could think about was how hot the kidnapper was.
Then he told her his name, and she had the same reaction again.
When he was masked, she described his voice as really old, and was really shocked when she saw how old he actually was because he sounded like he was 25-30.
I really don't get why she was so shocked, and why she thought 25-30 was really old. It's not that much older than her!
The pacing was slow, and was quite uneventful, so i got bored quickly.
Overall, boring and slow. I'm glad it was only short.
March 24, 2015
Living dead girl
Was so good, I read the whole book in one day. Can't wait to get the second one. Getting soon.
Was so good, I read the whole book in one day. Can't wait to get the second one. Getting soon.
November 3, 2017
The blurb to this book sounded really promising and the cover intriguing, however I found that the story was really slow moving. Rory, although 16 was immature and only seemed to care about hot guys rather than the situation she was facing. I found it very hard to connect with her character.
December 15, 2018
Did Not Finish
May 4, 2014
Oh my...
2,5 stars. Nowhere near as bad as some of the crown jewels of LKH's brainfarts, but utterly nonsense anyhow.
The problems I had with this book are (OH AND SPOILER ALERT):
- This all is just so ridiculous. I mean the reaction Henry had when he found out our speshul heroine has become a living dead? He offered her food to see if she'd eat some to determine if she was a zombie... The whole "rising from the grave" is handled like "oh crap, Im buried, oh crap, I'm dead, oh well at least Henry is SEEEXY".
- The logical problems. Please tell me, if the heroine is unable to breathe, how can she talk? How can she gasp? And since when has a young lad been SOOOOO DRUNK after drinking THREE beers?
"Tad clumsily raised his right arm up to reveal a half-full six-pack of beers. “One, two…three,” he carefully counted. “Three left. So I’ve had three.” He grinned broadly, obviously proud of himself."
- Slut shaming. Why the f- do these books, aimed at young women, promote slut shaming EVERY SINGLE TIME? WHY?!?!!?!
- Insta-love. Not everyone has to love the heroine to make heroine seem somehow speshul. It's lame, ridiculous and BORING as hell.
- Swooning over an abuser. Why the f- do these books, aimed at young women, promote abusiveness EVERY SINGLE TIME? WHY?!?!!?! If someone stalks you and kidnaps you, he probably ISN'T boyfriend-material. Or at least he SHOULD NOT be. F***!
- The story. What story? Our heroine rises from the grave, someone is supposed to kill her, she swoons over two guys and makes out with both of them (nice mental images about making out with a corpse... ewwwww), she does some useless detective-work and not a single f*** was given. There's nothing that made me interested to find out what happens to her. There are loads of better YA romances out there, and the fantasy-element in this isn't worth reading either.
2,5 stars. Nowhere near as bad as some of the crown jewels of LKH's brainfarts, but utterly nonsense anyhow.
The problems I had with this book are (OH AND SPOILER ALERT):
- This all is just so ridiculous. I mean the reaction Henry had when he found out our speshul heroine has become a living dead? He offered her food to see if she'd eat some to determine if she was a zombie... The whole "rising from the grave" is handled like "oh crap, Im buried, oh crap, I'm dead, oh well at least Henry is SEEEXY".
- The logical problems. Please tell me, if the heroine is unable to breathe, how can she talk? How can she gasp? And since when has a young lad been SOOOOO DRUNK after drinking THREE beers?
"Tad clumsily raised his right arm up to reveal a half-full six-pack of beers. “One, two…three,” he carefully counted. “Three left. So I’ve had three.” He grinned broadly, obviously proud of himself."
- Slut shaming. Why the f- do these books, aimed at young women, promote slut shaming EVERY SINGLE TIME? WHY?!?!!?!
- Insta-love. Not everyone has to love the heroine to make heroine seem somehow speshul. It's lame, ridiculous and BORING as hell.
- Swooning over an abuser. Why the f- do these books, aimed at young women, promote abusiveness EVERY SINGLE TIME? WHY?!?!!?! If someone stalks you and kidnaps you, he probably ISN'T boyfriend-material. Or at least he SHOULD NOT be. F***!
- The story. What story? Our heroine rises from the grave, someone is supposed to kill her, she swoons over two guys and makes out with both of them (nice mental images about making out with a corpse... ewwwww), she does some useless detective-work and not a single f*** was given. There's nothing that made me interested to find out what happens to her. There are loads of better YA romances out there, and the fantasy-element in this isn't worth reading either.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 24, 2013
I am usually not one for books about the undead unless they are vampires but this one caught my eye all the same. I read it in one sitting, which is a sure sign of a good book,turning the pages, wanting to know what was going to happen till the very end. The end came before I knew it and left me wanting more.
More review to come.......Lets rewind this review a bit, grr now I know why I don't do these often. The book is a quick read but a great read all the same. It is about a girl named Aurora Stone, who manages to crawl her way out of her grave a year to the day not knowing what had happened. Taking things rather well she seeks out her best friend Henry. Once he gets over the shock of seeing his best friend alive so to speak. They take matters into their own hands to figure out how and what is going on. Add in a mysteries stranger who knows more then he is saying causing an instant connection between Aurora and Lucas that in the end could lead to both of there deaths. Do I smell a love triangle in the making. We will have to read and see.
I would highly recommend the book. Didn't realize there was a second book in the series so off to find that one and read it as well.
More review to come.......Lets rewind this review a bit, grr now I know why I don't do these often. The book is a quick read but a great read all the same. It is about a girl named Aurora Stone, who manages to crawl her way out of her grave a year to the day not knowing what had happened. Taking things rather well she seeks out her best friend Henry. Once he gets over the shock of seeing his best friend alive so to speak. They take matters into their own hands to figure out how and what is going on. Add in a mysteries stranger who knows more then he is saying causing an instant connection between Aurora and Lucas that in the end could lead to both of there deaths. Do I smell a love triangle in the making. We will have to read and see.
I would highly recommend the book. Didn't realize there was a second book in the series so off to find that one and read it as well.
November 11, 2013
I'm kind of surprised at how quickly I was able to get into this book and how much I enjoyed it. I got this book as a kindle freebie and often when I decide to read a freebie, I end up disappointed at how mediocre they are. This book was intriguing and unlike anything else I've read. I quickly found myself enrapt in the story and it's well developed cast of characters. The ending came as a surprise to me. Not because of any particular action, but because I hadn't realized that I had devoured the book so quickly. I was surprised and disappointed to know that I was finished, and instantly looked into getting the next book in the series. I'm so glad that many of the books are very inexpensive and also available through Amazon Prime as a loan, because this is definitely an addicting series that I have every intention in completing.
If you were lucky enough to get this as a freebie, start reading it!!
If you were lucky enough to get this as a freebie, start reading it!!
October 4, 2014
The book is pretty interesting. I like how they can't figure out why Aurora is back from the dead. Her friend, Henry, and Lucas, the vampire who was hired to send her back to her grave, are researching and trying their hardest to figure out what's going on.
Aurora fears she'll become a zombie or some sort of monster. She's a very sweet and determined girl.
I really wish this story would tell us what happened to Aurora, how she died. Henry knows, but he won't tell Aurora, which makes it that we don't know.
I also want Aurora to confront her sister. She's acting out to feel something other then grief. I want to know what the sister all went through that caused her to change so much.
Aurora fears she'll become a zombie or some sort of monster. She's a very sweet and determined girl.
I really wish this story would tell us what happened to Aurora, how she died. Henry knows, but he won't tell Aurora, which makes it that we don't know.
I also want Aurora to confront her sister. She's acting out to feel something other then grief. I want to know what the sister all went through that caused her to change so much.
September 5, 2013
I think this story has the potential to be awesome, but the authors writing is sub-par & Aurora is freaking annoying. "Oh, I mysteriously rose from the dead without memory of anything but OMG, Lucas is so sexy!" I understand she's only 16, but comments like "I've never seen him act this way before," had me saying to myself "Of course you haven't, because you've only known him for a week."
I'm going to read the second book for the storyline, because I really want to know what's going on, but so far, the characters are underdeveloped & annoying, and I don't feel any ties to them.
I'm going to read the second book for the storyline, because I really want to know what's going on, but so far, the characters are underdeveloped & annoying, and I don't feel any ties to them.
November 21, 2015
I really enjoyed this book!
I liked Aurora and felt connected to her.
But I can't really say the same about the male characters. They're still a mystery to me. And even though I got to kind of like Lucas a little in the end, I wasn't crazy about him.
Henry... I don't know if I like him. At the moment I'm not very fond of him. And I don't trust him very much. He has some secrets, it seems. And I can't wait to know everything.
Oh and Aurora's death is still a huge mystery. I'm hoping to find more about the way/reason she died, in book 2.
I liked Aurora and felt connected to her.
But I can't really say the same about the male characters. They're still a mystery to me. And even though I got to kind of like Lucas a little in the end, I wasn't crazy about him.
Henry... I don't know if I like him. At the moment I'm not very fond of him. And I don't trust him very much. He has some secrets, it seems. And I can't wait to know everything.
Oh and Aurora's death is still a huge mystery. I'm hoping to find more about the way/reason she died, in book 2.
July 9, 2013
This isn't my favorite book of all time but for being free it wasn't all that bad. The girl in the book was kind of annoying to me and I didn't care for the fact that she was always worried about things that didn't seem like that big of a deal... (clothes, does he like me?) I mean you just came back from the grave I would have more things to worry about. However, that was my main meh about the book.
June 17, 2014
Okay, so now I want to read the next one! And I don't have it yet! Argh! This was a fun read. Probably more a YA novel, although I didn't look, but I'm really enjoying the story. I know there are at least 4 more, so I have just got to get more money on my Amazon account! The story itself was just different enough to leave me intrigued. And I really enjoyed the author's writing style. I'm definitely going to be reading more by S.C. Reynolds!!
July 3, 2014
In "Vintage Living Texts", teachers and students will find the essential guide to the works of Sebastian Faulks. It is unique in that it offers an in-depth interview with Sebastian Faulks, relating specifically to the texts under discussion. This guide will deal with Faulk's themes, genre and narrative technique, and a close reading of the texts will provide a rich source of ideas for intelligent and inventive ways of approaching the novels.
February 18, 2014
Ugh really? Seriously? This is the book that people reviewed about?
the characters all annoyed me, bunch of nincompoops really. Teenage anst and what what but I ony read to the end because it was such a short read.
Speaking of "the end" - that wasn't even a proper ending!
it was just pretty lame.
the characters all annoyed me, bunch of nincompoops really. Teenage anst and what what but I ony read to the end because it was such a short read.
Speaking of "the end" - that wasn't even a proper ending!
it was just pretty lame.
July 31, 2013
Says the f word a few times. Not sure if that makes it R for language or PG-13 because it was used in a non-sexual way.
Not too bad. The story was interesting and I always like to see peoples takes on vampire, werewolf, zombie, lore.
Not too bad. The story was interesting and I always like to see peoples takes on vampire, werewolf, zombie, lore.
September 7, 2016
This was an interesting book, but beware, it ends abruptly. Not quite a cliffhanger, but more like the story just stops, to be continued (I hope) in the next book. Overall, the story was good, if odd. This isn't your normal zombie tale. I would read more from this author.
March 24, 2014
Cute storyline
Cute storyline
Unique story with a quirky heroine who has an interesting personal issues to deal with. As if navigating high school wasn't difficult enough,she wakes up dead! The events that unfold are rather amusing.
Cute storyline
Unique story with a quirky heroine who has an interesting personal issues to deal with. As if navigating high school wasn't difficult enough,she wakes up dead! The events that unfold are rather amusing.
July 12, 2013
I enjoyed this story. It was very YA but the characters were great!!
April 22, 2014
This must be the most well written but boring book in the universe. Everything started just fine but ended up very predictable and very boring. Only half the book worths.
May 3, 2014
Excellent
November 2, 2014
Soooo annoying, this book just danced around the same issues, it never really led us to anything or any conclusions. Drove me mad!
October 1, 2013
Really good read, actually quite addictive as read all four within 3 days
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews