Scorched: A Leila Marx World Novella

Leila Marx #0.5

by Amber Garr

Everyone has their demons.

Before Conner Hoffman began his new life free of collecting souls for his demon father, he spent centuries fighting against his true nature. As a cambion with a conscience, guilt plagued his mind, while the sweet taste of souls satisfied more than just his incubus cravings.

A chance encounter with a beautiful harpy leads Conner down a road to his inevitable fate. Hunted for his unique heritage, he’s forced to embrace his demon side in order to defeat those determined to see him destroyed. With friends masquerading as enemies, trusting his instincts may mean sacrificing part of his humanity.

And that’s the very last thing Conner Hoffman wants to do.

Genres: Paranormal, Urban Fantasy

108 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 25, 2014

About the author

Amber Garr spends her days as a scientist and nights writing about other worlds. Her childhood imaginary friend was a witch, Halloween is sacred, and she is certain she has a supernatural sense of smell. Amber is an award-winning author who, when not obsessing over the unknown, can be found reading or enjoying a good movie.

Learn more about Amber Garr and her other romance pen names at www.algarrbooks.com.

Reviews

[megHan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am part of the blog tour that this author is doing, starting this month, for a novel of hers. A few days ago she contacted all of us to see if we would be willing to do a book promo for this book and offered a copy to read and review. It sounded interesting so I jumped at the chance. Now, this book is the prequel to Touching Evil and, even though I haven't read Touching Evil, I figured a prequel (which tells the back story of one of the characters) would be a great place to start. I'm glad I did. I really enjoyed Conner's character and his interaction with the vampires and the other "special guests" at the party the vampire couple were giving. Watching his adventures over the many many years was really interesting. I definitely want to know more and plan to continue the series.

Note: I was given a free copy of this story in exchange for my honest review.

[Mingady · Rating 4 out of 5]

*listened to the audiobook*

I learned really Quick this is a story you want to pay attention to. I sometimes like to listen to books while I'm doing other things at work, but you can't do that with this one. You'll want to pay attention to the story as it unfolds.

I liked the story on the main character and I hope to hear more about him in another book to see how things ended up.

This is the first time I listened to this narrator and I found I enjoyed listening to him tell the story.

[Thais · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I would've enjoyed more if I had read the main series. This is a prequel about Conner, I was a little lost with all the time jumps and the pacing is super fast, I had to come back sometimes to pay more attention to stuff I didn't understand. That aside, I really love Connor's story, it's a well written novel with fun characters.

The narrator is really awesome, which helped to immerse myself in the story.

[Helena Ison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Writing Style:
Amber Garr's writing flows beautifully and draws heavily on your imagination. Her character and world development are outstanding. When I read anything from her feels like I'm having a waking dream; the whole story takes place right before my eyes as if I'm actually a part of it. I love that she goes the extra mile when it comes to subtle details because it paints a clear and realistic picture that is quite striking. To put it lightly her writing is AMAZING!

My First Reaction:
When I heard that a novella for the Leila Marx's series I had a difficult time containing my excitement. I couldn't wait to dive back into the mystic world of Leila Marx and become reacquainted with Conner.

My Opinion:
When I read Touching Evil Conner was one my least favorite characters. I was hoping that if I learned more about him that my initial reaction to him would alter. Fortunately, I am happy to report that it did. I think Scorched showed Conner's vulnerable side, which made him much more likeable. I enjoyed getting a glimpse of his past because now I can understand why he turned out the way he did in Touching Evil. Sometimes, you are your own worst enemy and this is true of Conner. He is fighting an inner struggle with his self that is taking a huge toll on him. (It totally explains his callousness) He is still such a complex and mysterious character to me. I really wish more was revealed about him and the deal with his father. It seems like something important was missing. There was a huge time gap between from the start until the ending of the story...I would have loved to know what happened during some of that time. (Possibly in another novella?)

The new cast of characters was pretty rad. My favorites without a doubt are Tasmin and Aldabert...I sure hope we get to see more of some of them in future books. I also loved that a few other characters from Touching Evil made an appearance; I feel like that little detail fully intertwined this novella with the Leila Marx world.

This book had so many different paranormal creatures, definitely one of my favorite aspects about it! You will have to find out for yourself which ones make an appearance, but I will say that there are some unique ones. The "celebration" they take part in will make you a bit uneasy but the outcome is action-packed! It had me on the edge of my seat!

So is Scorched steamin' hot or just lukewarm? I say it's on fire!! I would recommend that you read Touching Evil first; it will make you appreciate this novella so much more!

[Tien · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, I had no idea what I was getting into here. When the eARC was offered, my thought was that I could do with an Amber Garr’s short story. So, I’ve put my hand up for a copy.

When you read a prequel to a series, you would usually already have a vested interest in the character. However, as I haven’t read the Leila Marx novel, Touching Evil, I feel a lot of it is missing and my rating, therefore, is lacking the ‘squeee’ factor.

I enjoyed this sneak peek into the world of Leila Marx by reading about Conner’s background and how he came to be what he is now. It is a novella so there really wasn’t much of a plot especially since it had a lot of time jumps and the characters weren’t that well developed though I wonder if these characters are in the novel and so, again, am I just missing out on certain essential info?

Overall, it’s an interesting teaser and I have added Touching Evil onto my TBR. Conner, however, seems to be quite a different character in there though he sounds a lot yummier! -definitely better groomed than I imagined him to be in this novella. I am looking forward to get to know him better ;)

Thanks, Amber for preview of the eARC

[Claire Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

A prequel to Touching Evil (which I haven’t read), this novella adds backstory to Connor and shows how he got where he is. For those that know Connor, I’m sure you’ll love this insight, for those that don’t – be prepared to want to read more. It’s well written and flows smoothly, overall an enjoyable read and now I can’t wait to read Touching Evil.

I received an e-copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.

[Amber Garr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, I might be biased but Conner's story was a lot of fun to write!