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Nephilim Quest #1
Shadowhunter
Dana’s best friend Kitty has died in a car accident, and the only ray of light in the misery is when her grandmother appears in her spiffy red sports car to cheer her up. At the same time a nightmarish shadow appears to hunt Dana and she has to flee from her ordinary life with grandma, who turns out to be something quite different than what Dana had thought – a Huntress of Shadows.
The truth about her ancestry is not an easy thing for Dana to accept – she was deliberately created to perform a task, to find something that should stay hidden, or it might threaten the world of humans as Dana knows it. Her existence is tied to the myth of the Nephilim, the descendants of angels, and her creator was someone who commands the forces of chaos and darkness, the source of all horror myths of humankind. Dana learns there is a world of shadows, the afterlife, dreams and time travel, surrounding the physical world, hidden behind a thin veil – and that there are ways to enter it from the physical world.
Dana has no option – she is being hunted by creatures of darkness, and the hunt can only end in either Dana and everyone she loves being captured and turned into creatures of darkness – or Dana finding what she was created to find.
Her hunters have skills no ordinary human can escape – but Dana is not an ordinary human. Nor is Daniel, the leader of a hidden Center fighting the darkness. Together with a chosen team they could travel the Unseen Worlds that surround the physical world, into the past, following a clue written down in ancient Egypt, and then walk the Trail of Angels, and find the hidden mystery before the dark creatures do.
Dana must prepare for a long search in another time and place, knowing that both she and Daniel are wanted and hunted by the darkness. At stake is her love, and the safety of the human kind.
The truth about her ancestry is not an easy thing for Dana to accept – she was deliberately created to perform a task, to find something that should stay hidden, or it might threaten the world of humans as Dana knows it. Her existence is tied to the myth of the Nephilim, the descendants of angels, and her creator was someone who commands the forces of chaos and darkness, the source of all horror myths of humankind. Dana learns there is a world of shadows, the afterlife, dreams and time travel, surrounding the physical world, hidden behind a thin veil – and that there are ways to enter it from the physical world.
Dana has no option – she is being hunted by creatures of darkness, and the hunt can only end in either Dana and everyone she loves being captured and turned into creatures of darkness – or Dana finding what she was created to find.
Her hunters have skills no ordinary human can escape – but Dana is not an ordinary human. Nor is Daniel, the leader of a hidden Center fighting the darkness. Together with a chosen team they could travel the Unseen Worlds that surround the physical world, into the past, following a clue written down in ancient Egypt, and then walk the Trail of Angels, and find the hidden mystery before the dark creatures do.
Dana must prepare for a long search in another time and place, knowing that both she and Daniel are wanted and hunted by the darkness. At stake is her love, and the safety of the human kind.
- GenresFantasy
586 pages, Paperback
Published June 26, 2016
57 people are currently reading
224 people want to read
About the author
Leena Maria
14 books20 followersLeena Maria writes novels that have one thing in common: ancient Egypt. Though her studies have been academic, the books celebrate the power of imagination. History is definitely not dry in Leena’s novels!
Leena’s Egyptology studies:
Certificate in Egyptology 2012 (University of Manchester, 3 years)
Diploma in Egyptology 2014 (University of Manchester 2 years)
MA Egyptology 2019-
Shorter courses:
Warfare and Weapons in Ancient Egypt 2015 (University of Manchester)
Ancient Superpowers of the Near East 2015 (University of Liverpool)
Ancient Egypt – a History in Six Objects 2015 (University of Manchester)
Leena’s Egyptology studies:
Certificate in Egyptology 2012 (University of Manchester, 3 years)
Diploma in Egyptology 2014 (University of Manchester 2 years)
MA Egyptology 2019-
Shorter courses:
Warfare and Weapons in Ancient Egypt 2015 (University of Manchester)
Ancient Superpowers of the Near East 2015 (University of Liverpool)
Ancient Egypt – a History in Six Objects 2015 (University of Manchester)
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 12, 2016
A bit immature but interesting story. Please read to the end.
I was intrigued by this book and purchased it as something to read through the Summer. About 75 % into the book I had mixed feelings. Without giving away spoilers, I found the author is using certain terms (like Nephilim, Shadows, etc) somewhat interchangeably and it's hard to figure out who's who, who came from whom, who made whom and who's good and who is evil. There is also very little differentiation between characters in the style of talking, behaviour and how they are written down. They all sound the same and the character development is, well, in the development stage.
The author does a lot of "telling" instead of "showing" and there are some long passages of explanations which could have been handled better as opposed to sounding like wiki page excerpts. The romantic stuff is written stiffly and I found it unconvincing. I was not able to connect with it, as much as I love a good love story intertwined with my fantasy.
And, for goodness sake, why would an author name their characters so similarly? Dana, Diana and Daniel, who interact throughout most of the book? And then we have Lilith and Layla. It's probably a personal peeve of mine, but I like my characters to have distinct names that do not sound the same so the reader doesn't have a hard time remembering who's who. It's confusing.
There are also a lot of typos in this book. In general, the writing seems a little immature and I think this author has a lot to learn yet, however, there is a lot of potential, too!
So, having said all of that, I want to go on record that I have ENJOYED this book. It may not be as polished as Robert Jordan's work, but it was fun and kept me interested. All the annoyances aside, it's a good story and flows well. The pacing is perfect and I didn't find any long, drawn out chapters where you just want to skip 20 pages ahead to see if anything happens. I've abandoned many a book written by well known authors for this very sin in the past. This one has kept me interested. So, by all means, give it a try!
I was intrigued by this book and purchased it as something to read through the Summer. About 75 % into the book I had mixed feelings. Without giving away spoilers, I found the author is using certain terms (like Nephilim, Shadows, etc) somewhat interchangeably and it's hard to figure out who's who, who came from whom, who made whom and who's good and who is evil. There is also very little differentiation between characters in the style of talking, behaviour and how they are written down. They all sound the same and the character development is, well, in the development stage.
The author does a lot of "telling" instead of "showing" and there are some long passages of explanations which could have been handled better as opposed to sounding like wiki page excerpts. The romantic stuff is written stiffly and I found it unconvincing. I was not able to connect with it, as much as I love a good love story intertwined with my fantasy.
And, for goodness sake, why would an author name their characters so similarly? Dana, Diana and Daniel, who interact throughout most of the book? And then we have Lilith and Layla. It's probably a personal peeve of mine, but I like my characters to have distinct names that do not sound the same so the reader doesn't have a hard time remembering who's who. It's confusing.
There are also a lot of typos in this book. In general, the writing seems a little immature and I think this author has a lot to learn yet, however, there is a lot of potential, too!
So, having said all of that, I want to go on record that I have ENJOYED this book. It may not be as polished as Robert Jordan's work, but it was fun and kept me interested. All the annoyances aside, it's a good story and flows well. The pacing is perfect and I didn't find any long, drawn out chapters where you just want to skip 20 pages ahead to see if anything happens. I've abandoned many a book written by well known authors for this very sin in the past. This one has kept me interested. So, by all means, give it a try!
January 31, 2016
If you love adventure then you will love this book!
At first there is a lot of information to take in and at times I found myself slightly confused. Then all of a sudden something just clicked and understanding flooded in opening up this fantastic new world!
The story is completely original, I have never read anything like it. Not only is it a fantastic story, it is also brilliantly educational. A lot of history, specifically Egyptian (which I found fascinating) is to be found. It is clear that a lot of research, time and effort has been put into this fabulous read!
The story has a few different narratives that kept me guessing as to the connection to each other, and offers many twists and turns that I just didn’t see coming. So many layers have been placed in this book and every moment spent unraveling them has been an absolute pleasure.
Leena has created some fantastic characters and really made me connect with them in ways that many accomplished authors have failed to do.
Nephilim Quest is the debut novel by Leena Maria and it is one you don’t want to miss!
I was gifted this book in exchange for an honest review.
At first there is a lot of information to take in and at times I found myself slightly confused. Then all of a sudden something just clicked and understanding flooded in opening up this fantastic new world!
The story is completely original, I have never read anything like it. Not only is it a fantastic story, it is also brilliantly educational. A lot of history, specifically Egyptian (which I found fascinating) is to be found. It is clear that a lot of research, time and effort has been put into this fabulous read!
The story has a few different narratives that kept me guessing as to the connection to each other, and offers many twists and turns that I just didn’t see coming. So many layers have been placed in this book and every moment spent unraveling them has been an absolute pleasure.
Leena has created some fantastic characters and really made me connect with them in ways that many accomplished authors have failed to do.
Nephilim Quest is the debut novel by Leena Maria and it is one you don’t want to miss!
I was gifted this book in exchange for an honest review.
March 23, 2018
(Has nothing to do with Clare's TMI)
Very surprising and mysterious. Much better than I anticipated. Absolutely adored the first 3/4 of the book but thought it got disappointingly cheesy towards the end. By that I mean that it was originally very different from your typical YA read but eventually got pretty cliché with the usual
(spoileeeerr)
chosen one, soul mate, annoyingly weaker, younger and inexperienced girl as opposed to the gorgeous, (much) older and perfect "man" (who somehow still behaves like a teenager despite being a few centuries old). That being said, I still thoroughly enjoyed it and would have gone with 5 stars if it hadn't been for the flaws previously mentioned. Would recommend and will most definitely be reading the 2nd one.
Very surprising and mysterious. Much better than I anticipated. Absolutely adored the first 3/4 of the book but thought it got disappointingly cheesy towards the end. By that I mean that it was originally very different from your typical YA read but eventually got pretty cliché with the usual
(spoileeeerr)
chosen one, soul mate, annoyingly weaker, younger and inexperienced girl as opposed to the gorgeous, (much) older and perfect "man" (who somehow still behaves like a teenager despite being a few centuries old). That being said, I still thoroughly enjoyed it and would have gone with 5 stars if it hadn't been for the flaws previously mentioned. Would recommend and will most definitely be reading the 2nd one.
July 7, 2023
*This would have been an IWSG Book Club Member Book.*
Chapter one is an unnecessary prologue which feels like the era of Downton Abbey when it’s actually two decades later (after the 20s no-one was too shocked by women wearing pants or having short hair – the various women’s movements had seen to that. Check out The Old Shelter blog about early 20th century history.).
Chapter two is where the action starts and without chapter one bogging things down, one can immediately bond with Dana and learn about this hidden world with her. The other POV chapters do a proper job of informing the reader about the other world without the need of the clunky first chapter.
There’s a lot of info-dumping with scattered good chapters (e.g. the bookstore scene was good, but the long-winded info-dump on what’s in the book? – that could have been given throughout the story).
Hints of a great story is hidden beneath loads of exposition. I tried, but DNF 14%.
Chapter one is an unnecessary prologue which feels like the era of Downton Abbey when it’s actually two decades later (after the 20s no-one was too shocked by women wearing pants or having short hair – the various women’s movements had seen to that. Check out The Old Shelter blog about early 20th century history.).
Chapter two is where the action starts and without chapter one bogging things down, one can immediately bond with Dana and learn about this hidden world with her. The other POV chapters do a proper job of informing the reader about the other world without the need of the clunky first chapter.
There’s a lot of info-dumping with scattered good chapters (e.g. the bookstore scene was good, but the long-winded info-dump on what’s in the book? – that could have been given throughout the story).
Hints of a great story is hidden beneath loads of exposition. I tried, but DNF 14%.
March 3, 2025
I found some parts of the story a little flat, and it takes a lot of concentration to follow the similar names and how they move around the world.
I also read something light in the middle of the book because I needed a break.
The story did pick a bit towards the end…
I wonder who the weaver is, who betrayed the Centre?
How will Daniel and Elijah find the time travellers who have gone back in time? Will they be able to find Merit?
I wonder who Seth is ?
I wonder why Merit’s twin daughters were split up?
Angel’s hunter is sent back with the help of the weaver who wants to be immortal( she uses a key)
He is immortal and he is tired of outliving everyone he has ever known.. he is wondering if drinking silver blood will heal him.
I will look for the next book😃 in my library!
I also read something light in the middle of the book because I needed a break.
The story did pick a bit towards the end…
I wonder who the weaver is, who betrayed the Centre?
How will Daniel and Elijah find the time travellers who have gone back in time? Will they be able to find Merit?
I wonder who Seth is ?
I wonder why Merit’s twin daughters were split up?
Angel’s hunter is sent back with the help of the weaver who wants to be immortal( she uses a key)
He is immortal and he is tired of outliving everyone he has ever known.. he is wondering if drinking silver blood will heal him.
I will look for the next book😃 in my library!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 26, 2024
Wow! This is a real tour de force by Leena! ... Took me a little while to get into the story, but soon got comfortable with Leena's writing style. So much research must have gone into the writing of this book that I have the deepest admiration for Leena. The story is very complex, but so worth the effort to pursue. It is a real page turner and I found it very moving and difficult to put down. Just brilliant Leena!
No plot spoilers here, just get your own copy and be absorbed!
Can't wait to get my hands on the next episode of the story!
No plot spoilers here, just get your own copy and be absorbed!
Can't wait to get my hands on the next episode of the story!
July 5, 2023
Dana's life suddenly changes drastically when her best friend Kitty dies in a car accident. Her grandmother takes her under her wing and she soon learns that she is not who or what she thought she was. The story follows her path as she becomes what she was meant to be, a hunter of shadows, part of the myth of the Nephilim.
September 13, 2025
Excellent story, good characters. Could have used another round of editing for word mistakes and there seems to be a lot of repetition. A character trait or scenario does not have to be explained every time that character comes in the room. I remember with a simple hint. Other than that...I'm 25% into the second book and it has been less than 24 hours.
August 2, 2023
Interesting new series for me, great premise and time travel - who could ask for more!
January 18, 2017
It was exciting and i was able to go in to the story and feel like i was right there along the characters loved the book
I enjoyed reading the book. It was exciting. I felt like I was right by the character s it was easy to read I loved the story. I would like to read the next book.
I enjoyed reading the book. It was exciting. I felt like I was right by the character s it was easy to read I loved the story. I would like to read the next book.
July 23, 2016
Very nice read
I enjoyed reading and want to continue reading the next book from this series. The writing of Leena brings a nice feeling.
I enjoyed reading and want to continue reading the next book from this series. The writing of Leena brings a nice feeling.
September 16, 2016
very captivating and thrilling book.
excellent writing style.waiting for part 2
excellent writing style.waiting for part 2
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews