Trembling

Jason and Azazel #2

by V.J. Chambers

Everything should be idyllic now that Jason and Azazel are settled down in sunny Florida. But Azazel can't shake the fear that the Sons are still after them, no matter how much Jason reassures her they're safe. He wants to have a normal life. She can't stop looking over her shoulder for danger. Lilith's back, and she's got her eye on Jason. Jason doesn't like Azazel's new gay best friend Jude. Someone put a bell, engraved with a picture of the sun rising over water, in Azazel's purse. Azazel's worried, but Jason thinks she's paranoid. Jason and Azazel might be at the beach, but the clouds are rolling in. . .

Genres: Paranormal, Paranormal Romance, Romance, Suspense, Young Adult, Ebooks, Fiction

334 pages, Paperback

First published August 28, 2009

About the author

V. J. Chambers writes about being inexplicably attracted to the dangerously alluring. Her works span mundane settings and fantastic ones. She writes about serial killers, cult leaders, werewolves, witches, for-hire assassins, zombies, space pirates, and regular everyday people.

She lives in Shepherdstown, WV, with her boyfriend Aaron and their cat Isis.

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was one turn after another. Loved it!

[Morgan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Click Here to read more YA reviews at READING, EATING & DREAMING

My review is of the entire Jason & Azazel trilogy!!

****THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS, BUT IT ALSO GIVES LIGHT TO THE TRUE SUBJECT OF THIS TRILOGY…I WISH I WOULD HAVE KNOWN WHAT THIS TRILOGY WAS REALLY ABOUT BEFORE I STARTED IT…SO CONTINUE PAST THIS POINT WITH CAUTION!!****

A crazy town full of Satanists who want to rape and kill innocent people, the “Messiah” who happens to be killing machine and satanic “hippies” who conceive the child of the Devil…this trilogy wasn’t for me!!

Breathless, Trembling & Tortured by V.J. Chambers missed the mark in my book. Breathless, the first in the trilogy, is the best of the three books (and that’s not saying much). By the beginning of the second book in the series, Trembling, I desperately wanted to turn off my Kindle and be done with it, but I stuck it out until the end (partly because I am sort of OCD and I HATE to leave things unfinished). I wish I could say that after concluding this series everything came together and I saw the light, but that wasn’t that case. Frankly, I didn’t like what I read.

The biggest disappointment, in my opinion, was how misleading I found the book descriptions. I understand you don’t want to give too much away, but based on these descriptions I expected: a love triangle, a mysterious bad boy, romance and suspense. Don’t get me wrong, this trilogy contains almost all of that, but it is more strongly based on Satanism, a secret society who have, literally, created the “Messiah” and parents who try to force their daughter (the reincarnation of the devil, of course) to participate in a satanic ritual. During this ritual, she is expected to be raped and to commit murder. Oh, those parents I mentioned …yeah, those same parents are foster parents who have taken in numerous children over the years. What a horrible message!

I gave the Jason & Azazel trilogy 1 STAR. I think some people might get a kick out of this story; I was not one of them. If after reading my review you are still interested in this trilogy then I highly recommend you read it, but if my review created any doubt for you then I wouldn’t think twice about reading this series.

-XOXO
READING, EATING & DREAMING

[audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jason and Azazel have moved to Florida and are trying to establish a normal life for themselves. They should feel safe knowing their freedom is secure with the blackmail material they have but Azazel is still paranoid. She keeps noticing signs that their enemies may be close. It puts a strain on her relationship with Jason which is further complicated by their surfacing insecurities. This is the second book in the Jason and Azazel series.

Trembling is a dark, young adult story that explores mature and controversial themes. The story picks up a few months after where the previous book ended. Jason and Azazel have developed a relationship that has turned into an obsession with each other. Their courtship was immersed in blood and violence. Now that the chaos has subsided they are struck by how little they actually know about each other.

Azazel's seductive ex-best friend seems intent on luring Jason away while Jason is jealous of how close Azazel has become to her new friend. It's a very dramatic story and manages to capture the emotional angst perfectly. It wasn't a comfortable read but it was engaging. I liked how complex Jason and Azazel's relationship has become especially with their violent lifestyle factored into it.

Character development was great. I especially liked how much Azazel has grown over the course of the series so far. Her psychological distress and paranoia felt authentic especially after everything that happened in the first book. She begins to realize that a relationship with Jason will require a lot from her while her doubts continually make her falter. I liked that the story forced her to make difficult decisions and that she chose such a dark course of action.

I liked that the religious order and satanic cult were further developed. It was interesting to learn more about them and how they influenced each other. I loved that the mystery surrounding Jason and Azazel keeps getting more intense and complicated. I enjoyed the irony of the revelation confirmed at the end and that there is an ambiguity surrounding both factions without one being clearly right or wrong.

Trembling is a dramatic and dark young adult story and I look forward to continuing the Jason and Azazel series.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jason und Azazel leben mit Hallam in Florida. Sie gehen zur Schule, haben Jobs - das normale amerikanische Teenager-Leben eben.
Azazel feiert zu ausgiebig und Jason prügelt sich öfter, aber das tun anderen Teenies doch auch!
Als Lilith allerdings plötzlich auftaucht, ändert sich die Lage dramatisch. Hat Lilith Azazel doch jahrelang mit deren Freund Toby betrogen. Toby an sich ist ein rotes Tuch für Jason, aber wieso Azazel immer noch sauer auf Lilith deswegen ist, kann er so gar nicht verstehen. Das wiederum macht Azazel wahnsinnig.
Klingt nach Teenager-Drama? Wäre es auch, wenn nicht wieder die Söhne der Aufegehenden Sonne auftauchen würden. Oder sind es doch die Satanisten, die wieder Jagd auf das Pärchen machen?
Was hat Azazels Oma damit zu tun?

Im zweiten Band wird es noch blutiger, verwirrender und spannender.

Was mir schon beim ersten Band gefallen hat, wird hier noch deutlicher: wer sind die Guten? Generell sind die Satanisten ja die Bösen, aber ihre Weltanschauung mit der Idee, dass jeder eine freie Wahl hat - und das meist im guten, angepassten Leben endet, weil es einfacher ist. Das ist doch das, was wir alle wollen?
Und die verrückten Christen wollen doch schließlich einen Diktator, der gewalttätig ist an die Macht bringen. So jemanden lehnt man doch eher ab.
Dieses Dilemma, in dem der Leser, aber auch gleichzeitig Azazel und Jason stecken ist wirklich spannend.

Ich bin schon sehr auf den letzten Teil der Trilogie gespannt, denn im Moment habe ich keine Ahnung, wie sich das auflösen soll/kann. Und das ist auf jeden Fall etwas ganz Besonderes!

[Vicki Keire · Rating 5 out of 5]

The stakes are higher, the heat is on, and tensions mount in book two of the Jason and Azazel trilogy. Did I mention intense? Our characters grow darker, but in typical Chambers style, darker doesn't always equal evil or bad. In fact, the definition of evil and the nature of choice and free will is at the very heart of this second book as Chambers tackles some very heavy issues for any YA book. This is what I love about her books, though. She unapologetically does not hold back. As Jason and Azazel struggle with their twin darknesses and a world that has used them and thrown them away, they must also navigate the rocky shores of teenage love. This is a tall order for any teenager, or even most adults, but when those teenagers happen to be a trained killer with anger management issues and a messiah complex and a pagan cult's goddess-incarnate-on-the-run exploring her first tastes of freedom and sensuality, things are bound to get... complicated. And dark.
This was another book I could not put down. This is another book that begs for more attention, more marketing, more publicity, more exposure. This book needs to be read. So. Once again, please tell your friends, their friends, your grandmother and her friends, and total strangers on the streets about these books. They are the rarest of finds among indie books- an original, brilliantly-executed story coupled with good editing.

[Vicki Keire · Rating 5 out of 5]

The stakes are higher, the heat is on, and tensions mount in book two of the Jason and Azazel trilogy. Did I mention intense? Our characters grow darker, but in typical Chambers style, darker doesn't always equal evil or bad. In fact, the definition of evil and the nature of choice and free will is at the very heart of this second book as Chambers tackles some very heavy issues for any YA book. This is what I love about her books, though. She unapologetically does not hold back. As Jason and Azazel struggle with their twin darknesses and a world that has used them and thrown them away, they must also navigate the rocky shores of teenage love. This is a tall order for any teenager, or even most adults, but when those teenagers happen to be a trained killer with anger management issues and a messiah complex and a pagan cult's goddess-incarnate-on-the-run exploring her first tastes of freedom and sensuality, things are bound to get... complicated. And dark.
This was another book I could not put down. This is another book that begs for more attention, more marketing, more publicity, more exposure. This book needs to be read. So. Once again, please tell your friends, their friends, your grandmother and her friends, and total strangers on the streets about these books. They are the rarest of finds among indie books- an original, brilliantly-executed story coupled with nearly flawless editing

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in less than a day... so yeah I guess I'm sort of sucked into this series. There are so many crazy things that happen in this book. Each one is totally ridiculous but I love it. How many times is Azazel almost going to be raped? It could be a drinking game. But yet I find it extremely entertaining and actually sort of fluffy despite all the violence and seriousness bits. I suppose one could argue that in some ways the books are trying to discuss human nature, duality, and the notions of good and evil. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. I just don't think it's that deep. I can't take it seriously. But it's still very amusing, entertaining and fun. Angst-y in love teenage runaways with secret societies out to get them? Yes please.

[Kacie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Azazel was scary in this book. I like the progression of her character and how it kind of hits on how impacted teenagers are by their circumstances. Again, just like with the first book, Breathless, this books is DARK and I definitely don't think it is good for teens.

[Chantel · Rating 3 out of 5]

i actually liked this one better than the first book. the first book took me longer to finish because I was frustrated what was happening. and in this one I was annoyed at how naïve azazel was. but overall it wasn't a bad book.

[sharon arizabal · Rating 5 out of 5]

theirs so much to learn!!!! so twisted!!!...love how chambers really wrote this book..im looking forward to the other books..

[Nurlely · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well....I was in love with Jason since the beginning. I updated Ms Chamber's page daily to read more about Jason and Azazel. Loved it.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great installment to the series. I am really enjoying these characters and the adventures they endure! :)

[Deidre McKee · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.2 STARS! can't wait to read the next one!!

[Mary Mooney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is so good!

[Krystal Conner · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite character in this book is Hallm!! H. Is so believable as a character

[Prismseven · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story was as good as the first! Cant wait for #3!!

[Renee Malm · Rating 5 out of 5]

The next to the last chapter blew my mind. Can't wait to start the next one.

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really good! Better than the first one.