Stained (YA Paranormal Romance) (Stained Series Book 1)
R**S
Mysterious and Exciting
I've just finished Ella James' book Stained. I loved it. And, here is why:This book is written in third person POV with the main character's name being Julia. Julia is a seventeen-year-old high schooler whose life hasn't been easy even before her foster parents are burned alive. Julia swears she sees 'something' within the flames of that fire. Instead of being at the scene when help arrives Julia flees knowing she will wind up in just another foster home. She's tired of foster homes and is on the verge of being 18 anyway so she lets everything burn, including her existence as her neighbors and friends knew it. She finds an abandoned warehouse where she seeks shelter until she can figure out her next move. Out of nowhere her 'hiding' spot is interrupted by a mysterious stranger who is fighting the same demon that destroyed Julia's parents. Cayne is not only mysterious but he has no memories and is blunt and not interested in keeping Julia in tow as he searches for that same demon. Knowing now that her foster parents were purposely murdered and that she was suppose to die with them, Julia doesn't want to be alone. The demon is after her and since she can see that Cayne has a fighting chance she puts her trust in him. They go on a journey together to search for the demon that wants Julia dead and the demon that Cayne wants to destroy.On their journey we learned that Julia is 'Stained' but we don't know what that means throughout the book. We know it means that she is important, but the fact a demon is trying so hard for her death, we already knew that. The mysteriousness of Julia's 'stain' and what it all means kept me reading and curious if we would ever find out. Even though I felt like nothing would happen to Cayne or Julia, I was lost in the action and kept cringing when people were chasing them.There was a lot of action in this book and I liked that. The arguments between Julia and Cayne were funny. They went from being just two people searching for a demon to friends. You can tell that Julia is falling for Cayne and though other reviewers have stated they don't understand why...well she's fighting for her life and he's helping her, naturally a woman will fall for a man like that. He's her protector and I'm sure her being only seventeen....well those emotions are going to be a little out of the norm because it isn't some guy on the jock team that she is falling for. Cayne takes a while to warm up to Julia, and I actually enjoyed that.*Spoilers*When Cayne and Julia do finally get together it comes after Julia throws a tantrum which I felt was awkward and juvenile. Though, she knew she was being juvenile I didn't like the way she handled it. Then it's almost as if the tantrum is forgotten and she tells him how she feels. Viola, they are then together. Though their relationship grew, I felt when they finally got together the scene just didn't fit for some reason. I did like reading what little romance was there because shortly after we learn they are 'together' the book ends. You don't find out what Julia is and there is a heavy cliffhanger that naturally leaves me feeling empty and makes me want to buy the next book in the series.I gave this four stars because of the excitement that sometimes is lacking in other books. It wasn't boring and kept me guessing. There was even amounts of dialog and description of surroundings. It made my stomach drop a few notches from wondering what was going to happen and I think it did that because of the way it was written. :) Julie and Cayne are likable characters. I want to see her grow and see what she does once she realizes what she is.The only valid complaint I have in this book is the formatting. Sometimes the font was smaller than other times and that was distracting. (I got the ebook) and then there were mistakes. Thankfully, the mistakes don't normally throw me off and I've seen way worse when reading other books so I was pleased there weren't as many.I also wanted to add there was a part in the book that made me laugh. Julia asks Cayne "Did you swallow a bug?" Then she says that he just looks like he swallowed a bug. I don't know why this made me laugh out loud but I was happy to see humor in this book.I will be reading more of Ella Jame's work.
M**.
Good
I totally loved this book!! It had a great story line and def a lot of action! Here's my account, more detailed:I totally loved Julia, Cayne and their relationship. Well, first off, i'm a total sucker for sarcastic type guys... i love guys who have good comebacks and dry senses of humors. So Cayne was right up my alley. He also seemed very real the way he was feeling one thing but then showing only a totally opposite and stoic outer image... i totally know guys who do that! Some guys need to learn communication skills!! Julia seemed very sensible and i could related to most of her feelings... esp with Cayne on the train! I've totally been there. The relationship between the two seems very authentic. Def no instalove here. I sort of like love stories where in the beginning they dont like each other...but secretly do. hahaha. To me, that's better than "love at first sight". They are cute as a couple.I really like the Characters backgrounds. I like know about how characters cam to be and i think good stories always bring in a bit of the past. It brings depth and interest to the story! I also sort of like Cayne's bad boy like image! :DI also really like that there are only 2 real characters. In some books (i wont mention breaking dawn...lol) there are like sssoooo many characters! I get confused easy and sometimes i just don't like them. On the other hand though, sometimes i do like them. I think if supporting characters are done right then they are good, but in this book i didn't mind Julia not having a constant best friend or brother/sister, etc!I totally love the ending too. I was torn at first and wasn't sure if i liked it. My kindle tricked me. I was at like 85% and reading happily, then bam, i turn the page and i see end credits.. wtf? Apparently there is a sneakpeek chapter for another book at the end...but dang, i wasn't prepared for then! Let's just say that the ending was a major cliffhanger...im not even sure if the climax was in this book. I have to say that book two is going to start off with a bang. Also, i sense a little second book syndrome...One thing that i didn't quite like, was the way some elements just appeared out of nowhere. Like in the first few chapters, you think that Julia is just a normal girl but then out of nowhere she uses her "talent" and your like wait...where did that come from. I was wondering if i even read it right. The was no previous thoughts on it or anything... It was kind of awkward but does pay a huge roll in the rest of the book. I just wished it was introduced more smoothly.Another thing i didn't necessarily love was the dream/thought sequences. These confused me a lot too. Especially the first one. I dont even think it was Julia's dream... it seemed awkward to me and i couldn't figure out where it came from or how it fit into Julia's story. It was like all about Julia then there was like this dream about something totally irrelevant seeming. Of course it ends up being somewhat explained, but im not sure if the place is right or if it needed at all. There are other dreams/thought sequences too and while they are story building, i've just never been into them much in books.Overall i totally love this book and i'd give it a very high 4 stars (so very close to 5 stars). I def recommend it to others, especially to people who would like a unique story about fallen angels. Or if you are new to fallen angel books! Im def going to read book 2 and would def try other books by this other as well.
L**Y
Deserves recognition!
So I just finished reading Stained and I loved it. I have to admit, the only reason I read this was because I randomly stumbled across it on my kindle and was confused as to how it got there, but I sure am glad that it found its way to my library! I was initially reading this on the Kindle app for iPod which is my least favourite method of reading but once I'd started Stained, I just couldn't stop! Stained had me gripped from the beginning to the end with its compelling story and characters and I can't wait to read the rest of the books in this series!The story centres around Julia and Cayne and there are very few other characters. I absolutely fell in love with Cayne as I suppose any teenage girl would. He's badass. Like Nephilim badass. He's super hot, super alluring and super secretive and you can't help but fall in love with him. From the minute he burst through the Julia's ceiling (literally), I was completely under his spell. You can see both Julia and Cayne develop as the book goes on and you get more and more engrossed in their story. What's interesting is that both of these characters are searching to find out more about themselves, but the more they learn the more complicated things get. Whilst Nora is one of the 'stained', Cayne is a Nephilim and it appears that these two races have it out for each other, though this isn't explored that much in book 1. Although this book is written from the third person perspective, you still get glimpses into Julia's thoughts and you really understand her as a character. Sometimes I found Cayne thoroughly confusing, but I liked that we didn't know everything about him because it added to the allusion.Some aspects of this book are pretty predictable, but some really aren't. Just as I'd started to get into the groove of this book, there was a random passage featuring some new characters teasing me just enough to have me turning pages like crazy trying to figure out how this new info would all fit in. You feel a build up as you're reading and you just know that something is coming, but you're never quite sure what it is.Stained ends on such an abrupt and unanticipated cliffhanger and as I hadn't been keeping tabs on how far into the book I was, I found myself frantically pressing the 'page turn' button, willing there to be more. I cannot wait to get started on Stolen, the second book in this series, so that I can find out exactly what happens to Cayne and Julia! I, rather shamefully, have to admit that I have never purchased a book from Kindle ebook from Amazon but for this book I think I'll have to make an exception because I need to know more!Having finished reading the book, I have to say that I don't think the cover is particularly representative of the content. The girl standing there is nothing like what I'd imagine Julia to be like, particularly because she has very short hair and I can't really imagine her in those clothes, but hey, that's just the way my imagination sees things. Personally, I feel the cover lets the book down a bit, but, as they say, never judge a book by its cover! For me, the cover is the only negative thing about this book, everything else is brilliant!This book very much reminded me of the series Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick so I'd definitely recommend this to any fans of Patch and Nora. This ebook is only £0.77 on Amazon, which is incredibly cheap for such a fantastic novel so get your hands on it now - no excuses!More reviews at [...]
J**Y
Wow, Can't wait for book 2
Ebook: StainedAuthor: Ella JamesFiction, Paranormal,This review may contain spoilersI got this free on AmazonSummary: BOOK ONE IN THE BESTSELLING STAINED SERIES:Seventeen-year-old Julia is finally living the good life. She's traded a hard cot in a Memphis orphanage for her very own room in a perfect little house, on a perfect little street, with a perfect set of parents who picked her to be their daughter.But Julia is hiding a secret - and one fall night, she returns home from a friend's house to find that her secret has found her. Her 'forever home' is ashes. Her parents are dead. And, in the sky above the flames, a winged creature hunts her.The Nephilim King, Samyaza, has taken everything from Cayne. After struggling in the darkness for years to piece together his shattered life, Cayne is finally ready to confront his past and avenge the loss of everything he loved. He tracks Samyaza to a Memphis warehouse, where he winds up flat on his back, in the healing hands of a beautiful, dark-haired girl he doesn't need to know.Unbeknownst to either of them, they are already bound. Cayne's past holds the answers to Julia's future. But what will pose the greatest threat to her? The bounty placed on her head by the leaders of two Celestial realms, or giving her heart to a man who is bound, by birth, to break it?The ReviewHow bad am I? I have never read any of this series, I have heard such great things that I thought hey go & get it girl, I am sooooo very happy I did, I loved this story, I really can't wait to get stuck into book 2 Stolen, I totally fell in love with Cayne, he was the star of the book for me, The author did a fantastic job, he had enough troubles in his life to make him a better person, I loved how this was a road book, travelling all over looking for Samyaza, I loved all the names, the action was great, just the right amount for this book, I thought. I am slightly upset with the ending, Why oh why? I read this into the morning and was just abit upset that it ended like it did, if you love a good cliffhanger, this one is for you, I ended up dreaming about how things turned out, which was not a bad thing in the end, I suppose but at 3.30am, oh I was cursing you, lol, would recommend to all my friends, well those that have not read it yet, 4.5/5
G**S
Intricate fantasy epic
Julia's young life has been an endurance test, until, finally, she is happily taken from an orphanage to a loving family home. She at last knows happiness - the elusive state she has always sought - until she returns home to find her adoptive parents' home destroyed by an evil entity. Fleeing from the death and destruction, she takes refuge in an abandoned warehouse. But her temporary safety is viciously interrupted by the same creature that destroyed her home. Enter Cayne, a powerful hunter from another realm who saves her from this creature, but pays dearly for it in the battle. Samyaza, the king of Nephilim, flees...leaving Julia to try and help the mortally injured Cayne. Her healing powers bring this young man back from the brink of death... and then the adventure kicks into overdrive.On the run from Samyaza, the beast determined to kill Julia, she and Cayne flee. Using his mystical powers, he is bound to protect Julia, but he isn't prepared to tell her why she is being hunted. Cayne is a frustratingly secretive and stoic individual, and Julia fights at every twist and turn to get him to open up and tell her why they are being hunted, and why he is determined to kill any Nephilim that cross their path. She also fights to mute her growing attraction to Cayne, confused by rapid events and confused by her own undeniable feelings.This story is like a high-speed car chase, all action and tension, in which the two race across the country to avoid the attackers - but also to find Samyaza so that Cayne can try and defeat him. It's a speedy adventure, with secrets gradually revealed, which keeps you guessing at every new chapter why Julia is the target and Cayne her protector.If you like mystery, romance, and a wealth of fantasy adventure, this one is definitely for your TBR list. Recommended.
D**E
Stained by Ella James
Stained (YA Paranormal Romance) (Stained Series) After a fire destroys seventeen-year-old Julia's home and kills her foster parents, she chases the half-demon responsible across the country and back, determined to avenge her family and discover why a host of celestial baddies want her dead. With Julia is enigmatic hottie Cayne, who has his own score to settle with the half-demon, and who might be just as dangerous as the creature he and Julia hunt.Are you looking for a fast-paced action and adventure story, with twist and turns, plus the added ingredient of a budding love story between two teens? If this sounds exactly what you need from your next read, then pick up Stained today. Detail and vivid descriptions abound, as Julia enters a deadly world; where no one is what they seem. Dreams and demons, mystery and tragedy are the added spice to this book. I enjoyed Stained immensely, for its swift pace and developing plot. Each chapter added interesting and new twists which pull the reader along and immersed them in Julia's world. Stained (YA Paranormal Romance) (Stained Series)
H**K
It was ok
Never have I read a book with a title that barely relates to the story. Don't get me wrong, it should be exactly what the story is about and it is - ish - but you never actually get ANY information on what being stained means.It's all a little rushed, no explanations although interactions between characters where, at times, refreshingly realistic. It was also very action filled, though some major plot holes and many ideas could have been developed further or explained better. Writing was also sloppy and confusing at times with very basic humour and wit.However for a free book you can't expect much, and this met what you would expect.
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