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The Pentacle Pendant

3.72 of 5 stars 3.72 · rating details · 32 ratings · 18 reviews

“On the last day of his life, Royce Williams met a woman who literally took his breath away …”

When Claire Delaney’s lover confesses he’s a werewolf, she laughs; when he begs permission to turn her, she laughs again—kinky sex, anyone?—and tells him to go for it. When she regains consciousness, she isn’t laughing any more.

As Claire learns to adapt to her new life, her lover...more

Paperback, 260 pages

Published October 14th 2011 by JournalStone (first published October 1st 2011)

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Mar 21, 2012 Heather rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: supernatural, first-reads, owned

I received this book from a Goodreads First Reads contest. The title is what caught my attention, and reading the synopsis intrigued me farther. Though werewolves and vampires are prevalent in young adult novels these days, I warn you, The Pentacle Pendant is not for the faint of heart. Adult language and subject matter, along with a plot that twists and turns, separate this book from the rest.

I highly recommend this title. I thank Goodreads and Stephen M DeBock for a truly pleasant surprise.

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Nov 14, 2011 Angie Holtz rated it 4 of 5 stars

From: Lilac Wolf and Stuff

The title Pentacle Pendant certainly catches your attention, but the cover seems a little stiff. It really left me unsure about the story. Here is proof of the saying "don't judge a book by it's cover."

The characters are all deeply written, there is no black and white within the story, except for the woman who demands revenge on Claire...and for something Claire had no control or knowledge of.

The story takes place almost exclusively in New England. Claire is getting rea...more

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Oct 30, 2011 Nancy rated it 4 of 5 stars

The White Mountains of New Hampshire hold more than beautiful trees, universities and other delights. They also hold things best left unspoken. When Claire meets Lukas at the college bar on her twenty-fourth birthday, she was immediately smitten. He was nice, good looking and obviously swept away by her. What more can you ask for your birthday?
A bit more, as it turns out. Lukas is so in love/lust that he gives Claire a birthday gift she can’t return. He makes her like him – a werewolf. Not only...more

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Oct 15, 2011 Michael Gibbons rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Pentacle Pendant by Stephen M. DeBock.
This is an absorbing tale about a young woman. We meet her on her twenty-first birthday, alone, buying her first drink at a tavern. The story takes us from the drink to a time when she is frolicking at Camp David as a wolf, and werewolf, working for the President of the United States.
This is not a “young adult” vampire/werewolf story if young adult includes fourteen-year olds. There is explicit sex and a lot of horror, well written but not for young re...more The Pentacle Pendant by Stephen M. DeBock.
This is an absorbing tale about a young woman. We meet her on her twenty-first birthday, alone, buying her first drink at a tavern. The story takes us from the drink to a time when she is frolicking at Camp David as a wolf, and werewolf, working for the President of the United States.
This is not a “young adult” vampire/werewolf story if young adult includes fourteen-year olds. There is explicit sex and a lot of horror, well written but not for young readers. I am not a censor. This is only a heads up. Pentacle is not a kid’s book.
Claire is picked up by Lukas, a werewolf and graduate student, who turns her that same night. He calls it a gift. Claire is not happy when she finds out, but is now stuck with Lukas. The first part of the book is about how they adapt to one another and to being a werewolf couple, a couple of morally confused werewolves. Lukas’ parents had taught him that it was all right to kill and eat bad people. The best bit is the brain, even the brains of bad folks. Clair doesn’t want to kill humans, but does like hunting animals with Lukas. There is a major problem however.
Werewolves age like dogs, about seven years to our one. It is not an immediate problem for Claire and Lukas because they are in their early twenties. But it will become one. The search for a “cure” is what Lukas is studying in graduate school.
The relationship is sometimes clumsy, but sincere. In some ways it is captivating. In their human profiles, both Claire and Lukas are well received, and loved, by their friends. I found myself wishing them well, but the story gets more interesting.
Daciana is a six hundred year old vampire and is absolute evil. She is also Lukas’ graduate advisor but has a gift for him. If he is both vampire and werewolf, he will not age. What she has in mind for him is not immediately clear, but he ends up killed by Daciana and is the person suspected in her husband’s murder. At this point the story takes on the pace of an action adventure. Daciana is a killer, good people die and are threatened with death. She is smart, beautiful, seductive, and, even for a vampire, murderous. She represents capricious evil and her character is well fabricated by the author. The task of destroying her falls to Claire and a charming, and unlikely, U.S. government operative.
The last chapters of this novel are spellbinding. There is urgency to them and plenty of the unforeseen. I found it a different story than the one I had started. It is far more exciting. I was not even allowed to expect the unexpected because it happened so cleverly and so fast. At the same time, the book remains witty and the language original. DeBock has an engaging writing voice; it does not flag, and I want to hear more of it.

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Aug 21, 2011 Christopher Payne rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: journalstone

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Apr 06, 2012 Sally Wolf rated it 5 of 5 stars

When Lukas, a handsome TA at Claire Delaney’s college, approached her at a bar, she had no idea that her life would change so drastically. At first she thought their meeting was just a cliché encounter that you could find in any smutty romance novel but as they talked she found him so intriguing she could not let him slip away. During their first night together, he begged her to share his gift with him. Unwittingly she accepts and soon finds that her whole life has been turned inside out. You w...more

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Oct 20, 2011 Stephanie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Normally, a book takes me anywhere from a day to three days to read. This book, took me five days to read. I am by no means saying this as if it were a bad thing, so please don't take it that way. I am say this, because this is the first book of this kind I can say I have read. Sure the books with werewolves and vampires all have some gore to them. This one however, well it took the cak..., yeah that's not the right word for it. With that being said, please note if you don't have the stomach or...more

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Oct 31, 2011 Books for Me - Linda rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, free-publisher-review-copy

Claire Delaney is a senior in college when she meets Lukas. Lukas decides he loves her shortly after they meet and decides to turn her into a werewolf. Together they are test subjects for a doctor trying to find a "cure" but Lukas calls it a gift. Werewolves are not the only paranormals out there and it quickly becomes very tense.

Honestly, I did not like this story. Everything was about sex and there was profanity all over the place. There was also a lot of graphic murders. It was a very uncomfo...more

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Jan 03, 2012 Jillyn rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I received this book through Goodreads First Reads.

We all know the expression "Don't judge a book by its cover." Unfortunately, this book is an exception to the rule.

The lead female, Claire, is changed into a "werewolf" by her boyfriend, thinking that when he had told her of his furry little problem, he wasn't serious. They are not the only supernatural beings in this world, and there is another female named Daciana who would like nothing more than to kill Claire. But, that's far too simple of...more I received this book through Goodreads First Reads.

We all know the expression "Don't judge a book by its cover." Unfortunately, this book is an exception to the rule.

The lead female, Claire, is changed into a "werewolf" by her boyfriend, thinking that when he had told her of his furry little problem, he wasn't serious. They are not the only supernatural beings in this world, and there is another female named Daciana who would like nothing more than to kill Claire. But, that's far too simple of a plan. Instead she chooses to harm everyone else around Claire, trying to ultimately get her way.

This book had the potential to be good- a unique spin on the plot, the paranormal, promises of murder. But at the end of this novel, I felt very little besides disappointment. Upon reading the back description, I did not expect it to be a horror novel. Maybe I would have liked it better, were it clearly advertised as being a darker themed book.

At the beginning, we're introduced to Claire, and her beau Lukas. The start seems rushed, in no time they've met, dated, and transformed. I didn't really get to know them. Claire is a grammar expert, and is constantly correcting her peers. I found that this made her rude and cold (not to mention ironic, seeing as there's a few errors in this book), and it turned me off of her. I didn't really care what happened to her boyfriend, or really to her for that matter. I found even the dialog between most characters forced. The girls all came across as slutty, and most men seemed to be generically written.

The perpetual use of *** in place of transitions gave the book a choppy, all over the place type feel. I felt as though I never had complete focus on the plot at hand.

I've labeled this work as horror, but I'm not quite sure what genre it was supposed to be. There's unneeded sex scenes between humans (and a few between wolves), the slaughtering of infants, and puns. I felt that they didn't really flow together to make one cohesive novel.

I did, despite my dislikes, give this two stars. DeBock's murder scenes are very well written. They're gory, painful, and detailed. They made me squirm, which is a good thing in my opinion (even if it was the characters I actually liked getting killed). I wish it would have focused more on the murder/horror aspect of the plot. Were that the case, this review would have been a lot different.

If you don't mind gore, unimaginative sex scenes, or the lack of a strong male character (for most of the book), you might enjoy it.(less)

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Oct 10, 2011 Natasha Halid rated it 2 of 5 stars

I was turn off by the cover but the story is not that bad, well at first. Although I do think the bedroom scenes are over excessive and does not really add to the story. At first, I was intrigued by the opening epilogue. After reading the first few chapters, I got lost. I mean the story is a flashback of sorts so you have to really get into the action to understand it. Claire is an unfortunate girl who got turn into a werewolf by her boyfriend; Lukas.

She's supposed to be this kick-ass character...more

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Oct 13, 2011 Antica rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads, giveaways-won, fiction, horror, modern, paranormal, science-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I'm not sure what to feel about this book. There are some good parts that I loved about it and there are some parts that I wish would be been done better that if done would be made this book a great book.

Editing wise: I noticed some mistakes that should have been corrected in terms of "" signs being left out between actions and dialogues which I couldn't get over, its no big deal for the most part since I only had to read the sentence twice to figure out when dialogue resumed again; its just th...more I'm not sure what to feel about this book. There are some good parts that I loved about it and there are some parts that I wish would be been done better that if done would be made this book a great book.

Editing wise: I noticed some mistakes that should have been corrected in terms of "" signs being left out between actions and dialogues which I couldn't get over, its no big deal for the most part since I only had to read the sentence twice to figure out when dialogue resumed again; its just that I kept thinking about those types of mistakes that shouldn't have happened had someone looked at it before printing.

Other than the Prologue, which really took me by surprise since I thought Royce was the main hero of this book so it defiantly grabbed my attention. The first couple of chapters after that were okay for me, nothing too special. Believable for the most part in terms of Lukas and Claire hooking up, you defiantly see the lust and spark between them but I never really saw how that lust turned into love, I would understand their relationship since it happens in real life but I would have wanted to see a little more interaction between them before they said that they loved each other.

What I was looking for in this book was the struggle and emotions that Claire would experience when she is turned. At first I couldn't see the struggle that she was going through, granted for was angry with Lukas for what he did but the book keeps switching from her being angry with herself to feeling excitement over being what she was. At first I didn't like how that was played out but as I read I realized that the writer wants to show us that while being in wolf form, they're feeling turn completely into those of an animal and even remain as such after a few minutes of turning back which is what I'm assuming happened with Claire, which I found was sort of interesting. We also see her first killing victims who we all know deserve to be killed, Claire does feel remorse for killing them but her 3rd kill was done for reasons that were far weaker than the reasons she had for killing the first two and she had no remorse whatsoever, this I did not get in the book

As the book progresses, I found the story becoming more interesting in terms of characters; Rowena has to be my favorite character of this book since she a) was so badass when she defended herself and wouldn't take shit from anyone and b) Emotionally I connected with her more than what I did for Claire

What this book did do different was with Lukas, I did not in a million years think he was going to die, I half expected him to turn up at the end being alive but he didn't. Instead the author introduced a new love interest for Claire which I thought was a much better match because I have seen the connection that the two had and it wasn't fast paced like with Lukas. Plus he had a much better back story to him than Lucas

Darciana was an okay villain, the reason I say this is because of her motives which were a bit weak but overall in terms of being ruthless ... boy was she ruthless.

This book is also considered to be a horror along with being a romance and I found the gore and bloody graphical scenes to be the best things in this book, it didn't spare us any details which I think it a good thing to have in a horror.

Overall it was a good read. I enjoyed it

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Sep 23, 2011 Cassie McCown rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Pentacle Pendant
By: Stephen M. DeBock
ISBN: 9781936564279
Expected Publication: October 14, 2011
Available Format: Hardcover, Paperback, ebook
My Rating: ★★★★☆

In the throes of passion, Claire doesn’t take her lover seriously when he confesses he is a werewolf and asks if he can change her. When she awakes, it isn’t such a joke to her any longer. Claire manages to somehow adjust to her new life. Soon, however, her lover is led astray by another woman who wants his gift as well as his loyalty. Wh...more The Pentacle Pendant
By: Stephen M. DeBock
ISBN: 9781936564279
Expected Publication: October 14, 2011
Available Format: Hardcover, Paperback, ebook
My Rating: ★★★★☆

In the throes of passion, Claire doesn’t take her lover seriously when he confesses he is a werewolf and asks if he can change her. When she awakes, it isn’t such a joke to her any longer. Claire manages to somehow adjust to her new life. Soon, however, her lover is led astray by another woman who wants his gift as well as his loyalty. When she realizes his heart belongs to Claire, she vows to destroy both their lives forever. Now, Claire is pursued by agents who wish to protect her and the evil that wishes to end her life. Who will succeed, and will Claire’s humanity survive the heartbreak and loss she must endure along the way?

Don’t let the synopsis fool you. This isn’t really a romance novel. There are werewolves and vampires and big, burly military guys…okay, so that doesn’t help much does it? Well, how about a kick ass protagonist who is after the next righteous kill and a nasty vampire that mutilates her boyfriend?

I love the way Claire’s character was introduced as cruel and vicious. It makes the reader want to hate her initially. Then, we get to go back and hear her story and see how she got to that point and what is driving her to be so vicious. We see her in a whole new light and can’t help but have sympathy.

I’ll probably get labeled a prude again, but all the sex in the first half or so started to get on my nerves a bit. I get what the author was putting across, but at some point, I really wanted more content and less bedroom. I was also a teensy bit put off by the art teacher’s intro to the story. At first, if felt like he was interrupting the plot…but as things continued to develop, it was easy to see exactly what a very pivotal purpose his character served. And, in a way, the interruption fit perfectly with his character (i.e. irritatingly persistent). ;-)

Overall, this is a great take on the darker side of werewolves and especially vampires. It’s nice to step away from the young adult interpretations of these creatures now and then. This story evoked so many reactions and emotions while being satisfyingly entertaining. What more could you ask for?!? Another great read from JournalStone!
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Oct 07, 2011 7hir7een rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: r2r, own, read-in-2011, paranormal, fantasy, stars-1, indie

The Pentacle Pendant had potential, but it couldn't quite live up to it. The plot itself is a generally interesting one. The synopsis of Claire's lover turning her into a werewolf, of Claire having to deal with moral/instinctual conundrums, of Claire's lover getting murdered and Claire herself being hunted sounds like an entertaining story. However, in practice, the style and approach left something to be desired.

I found that the book just did not keep my attention throughout a large portion of...more The Pentacle Pendant had potential, but it couldn't quite live up to it. The plot itself is a generally interesting one. The synopsis of Claire's lover turning her into a werewolf, of Claire having to deal with moral/instinctual conundrums, of Claire's lover getting murdered and Claire herself being hunted sounds like an entertaining story. However, in practice, the style and approach left something to be desired.

I found that the book just did not keep my attention throughout a large portion of the story. There were times when I just didn't know if I was going to be able to make it through the book to complete my review. The first third or so of the book (and last third or so) was fine, primarily because plot development was occurring. Unfortunately, everything really bogged down in the middle. DeBock tries to use a lot of banter, which doesn't always work. Sometimes it is difficult to know which characters are speaking, or why characters say what they do or act how they do. Additionally, the story feels very non-continuous. The generous use of "* * *" throughout makes the reader feel as if they are constantly being dragged from once place to the next. Using more transitions instead of breaking up the events in such a way would have gone a long way to make the story feel like more of a contiguous whole.

Another thing I didn't particularly love about the book was how graphic it was. Graphic sex and violence are somewhat gratuitous in this book. I can deal with sex in my books, but the descriptions of eating animals and humans, particularly the parts about eating the brain and other such gory details just skeeved me out.

If you think the plot sounds really interesting, don't mind slow middle sections, enjoy banter, and don't mind interruptions, graphic sex or graphic violence, then you could very well enjoy this book. It just wasn’t my cup of tea.

This book was obtained freely through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program in exchange for an honest review.
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Oct 07, 2011 Lisa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, horror, library-thing-giveaway, romance, supernatural, weres-shifters

I have to say, when I started this book, I wasn't terribly into it. But I am so glad I stuck with it. It took a while to find its rhythm and the plotting is a bit uneven, but I really enjoyed it. There were some great twists that caught me off guard and didn't feel trite or cliched. The second half is definitely stronger, so do stick with it; I think you'll find it's worth the effort.

Word of warning: This book is extremely graphic in terms of the violence, so be wary if that sort of thing upsets...more

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Oct 27, 2011 Sheri rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed, first-reads

The Pentacle Pendant follows Claire, who is unwittingly turned into a werewolf by her boyfriend. He asked her permission to do it, but of course she thought he was joking. After Claire is turned, the story follows her as she learns to adapt to her new life that she has no choice now but to accept as a reality. We see her struggle to live a "normal" life with school, a job, and friends, and also to come to terms with her wolf side.

The author did a great job at really making the characters come a...more

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Nov 11, 2011 Jennifer Wolf rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: won

I enjoyed this book! It started out a little slow, with characters who were hard to relate to. But as the book progressed, the characters' thoughts and actions became more believable and easier to relate to. By mid-book I was attached to the Claire, and really cared about what happened to her. And although the middle of the book was a little slow moving, the last few chapters were fantastic!
It's not a book that I would associate with the horror genre, I'd consider it more sci-fi/fantasy.

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Apr 22, 2012 Jessica rated it 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book. I couldnt put it down. Cant wait to read more books by Stephen!!!

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Mar 19, 2012 Lynda rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads, books-i-own

I won this book on goodreads firstreads. This book was great from the first page. I found myself caring about the people in it, I love a books that make you feel as if the people in it are people you know. I usually don't pick books to read that have werewolves in them, but that is one of the reasons I love goodreads, because I read books, and great ones at that, that I would have never picked up for myself from a store. Highly recommend this book.

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Nov 23, 2011 Adia2728 rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: giveaway, shifters, dark, first-reads

I won this book for free through a Goodreads giveaway.

I liked the fact that this book wasn't your typical paranormal romance - it was darker than usual.

Altough the middle of the book was a little slow for me, it really paid off at the end! I really wanted to know what happened to Claire, you just can't help yourself.

I would definitely recommend this. Thank you!

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May 06, 2013 Raven Ward rated it 3 of 5 stars

Apr 24, 2013 Squeak rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Apr 06, 2013 Natalie Shannon marked it as to-read

Shelves: journalstone-publishing, wishlist

Dec 18, 2012 Janice marked it as to-read

Dec 14, 2012 Marissa Wegner marked it as to-read

Dec 01, 2012 Emma marked it as to-read

Dec 01, 2012 Pretty Little Liar marked it as to-read

Nov 15, 2012 Christine is currently reading it

Oct 30, 2012 Tara rated it 2 of 5 stars

Aug 22, 2012 Natasha Curulli marked it as to-read

Jul 06, 2012 Brad marked it as to-read

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About Stephen M. DeBock

As a boy, Stephen M. DeBock used to entertain (and frighten) the neighborhood children by telling them stories from his favorite horror comics. As a middle school teacher, he continued the tradition by starting the year with a story from a horror anthology. Upon retirement from his public school and later college careers, he has had time to create his own horror tales: from a children’s vampire sp...more

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