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Bait

(Order of the Spirit Realm #1)

K.C. Blake,

Kasi Blake (Goodreads Author)

3.90 · Rating details · 525 ratings · 90 reviews

In a single night Bay-Lee has two visitors, a dead rock star and a reaper. One comes with a threat and the other with a warning. They know she's on her way to being the newest student at Van Helsing's school, where she will learn to be a great hunter like her father. Before she can reach her goal she will face wraiths, an angry boy with a dark prophecy hanging over his hea ...more

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Paperback, 384 pages

Published July 25th 2014 by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform (first published November 6th 2012)

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Sep 27, 2015 Dianne rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 1-in-series, ya-fantasy, own

Kasi Blake has a giveaway for her Spirit Realm Series! Enter to win an eCopy of Hunter!

Click an Banner to enter = Ends December 14, 2015 - INTL where allowed!

Bay-Lee is finally going to follow in her father’s footsteps and become the best monster hunter ever! Tough order, but she is determined, dedicated and able. The only thing left is to prove to everyone else, including her father that she has what it takes. What could you expect from the daughter of Van Helsing? If she happens to get to grab ...more

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Apr 28, 2013 Kasi Blake rated it it was amazing · (Review from the author)

Shelves: paranormal

You can find this, the first in the series, at Amazon, Smashwords, B&N, apple, etc. The second book will be out in October 2013.

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Apr 21, 2014 Mimi Wolske rated it liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: young adults

I got this book free based mainly on the summary and the idea of reading about the daughter of Van Helsing seemed like a new and original idea. BAIT pulled me in from the beginning. I'd state Blake can write a good story...but, I was pretty far into the story before I realized it was a YA book (the woman on the cover IS NOT 16 years old)...not that that's bad, it isn't...it's good. I appreciated the writing even more once I realized the genre.

What I Liked:
1. The writing and the length
2. You kno ...more

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Jun 10, 2013 Jonel rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I was captivated right from the 1st page of this stellar novel. Blake’s writing pulled me in even before I’d figured out what was going on. The author kept pulling me further and further into the story until I couldn’t put the novel down. It was a phenomenal rush!

With this novel Blake took the notion of a hereditary Van Helsing legacy and ran with it fast and far. It was a very unique take on an old story that kept me captivated throughout. Blake’s amazing storytelling definitely helped with thi ...more

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Jun 18, 2020 Shelley rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013-releases, young-adult, kindle-unlimited, paranormal-fantasy

*Source* Kindle Unlimited
*Genre* Young Adult / Fantasy
*Rating* 3.5

*Thoughts*

Bait - Van Helsing Academy, is the first installment in author K.C. Blake's Order of the Spirit Realm. Ever since her mother was murdered by werewolves 11 years ago, 16-year old Bay-Lee Bishop has been living under assumed names while being protected by her uncle Connor, and her friend Gavin Murdock. After Bay-Lee is visited by both a Reaper and Tyler Beck in the same night, she is warned that her uncle and her father ar ...more

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Jun 20, 2013 Scott Spotson rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Wow, to tell you the truth, I don't usually read romance novels, (I'm a guy) and I don't read paranormal fiction. But when the author asked me to read this book, when I started it, I was hooked.

First, I noticed how smooth the writing is. This author knows her stuff. I read on her author profile that she used to write for Harlequin. I was not surprised. She commands your attention to the story, and holds you there. I found absolutely no errors in this book.

Now, I'm a guy who, at times when bored Wow, to tell you the truth, I don't usually read romance novels, (I'm a guy) and I don't read paranormal fiction. But when the author asked me to read this book, when I started it, I was hooked.

First, I noticed how smooth the writing is. This author knows her stuff. I read on her author profile that she used to write for Harlequin. I was not surprised. She commands your attention to the story, and holds you there. I found absolutely no errors in this book.

Now, I'm a guy who, at times when bored, and wondering what the fuss was about, tried to read portions of the Twilight Saga. Each book made me feel like falling sleep! So I never read more than about 15 pages of any of the Twilight books. And the movies ... please don't get me started! I never wanted to see more than any five minutes of the Twilight DVD's at other people's houses after initially having an open mind, and curiosity.

So you see, I have little interest in paranormal or urban fantasy. But the author writes so well, she just drew me in. Against my natural likes, I just found myself caring about the relationship between Bay-Lee and Nick. (Also, I'm past the young adult age, so that gives you some idea how good the book was).

I really enjoyed learning about the different types of monsters in this book. Each class of monsters is described in good but not overwhelming detail so you feel like you are learning. I didn't know there were different kinds of ghosts and really enjoyed these descriptions.

I enjoyed reading the romance. There are no stereotypes there. Bay-Lee is driven by revenge, but questions what is important in her life - to forgive, or to avenge something traumatic that happened to her when she was young? And Nick - he has more than his fair share of demons (the personal kind that is) in his life. You can see how the sparks of attraction fall between Bay-Lee and Nick.

I even checked out "Van Helsing" on Wikipedia after reading this book as I was curious about his background. I'm not a Dracula fan at all and have never read books about Dracula or seen his movies. So you can see that it must take an excellent book to grab my interest, and this author pulled it off!

Now, for me to read another book of this specific genre, it will take only this author! ...more

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May 17, 2013 Emily L. Moir-Genther rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I really like the idea behind this book, with a child of the Van Helsing line and all. I was relieved to see that the story's monsters involved more than just vampires (of which I'm not the biggest fan). In fact, throughout the story vampires are something more mentioned in passing. The major monsters at play are the different forms of ghosts and what the book refers to as "border monsters".

Although the love story the book revolves around is your typical romance (boy meets girl, they hate each I really like the idea behind this book, with a child of the Van Helsing line and all. I was relieved to see that the story's monsters involved more than just vampires (of which I'm not the biggest fan). In fact, throughout the story vampires are something more mentioned in passing. The major monsters at play are the different forms of ghosts and what the book refers to as "border monsters".

Although the love story the book revolves around is your typical romance (boy meets girl, they hate each other, then they suddenly realize they actually love each other) and Nick's attitude is extremely typical for the male love interest (broken, broody, mood swings worse than a menopausal sociopath), I mean seriously people, find me a romance that isn't written like this these days! Still, a lot it actually makes sense for how this particular story plays out, which is way more than I can give other romances. Bay-Lee and Nick can't like each other from the get go and Nick treats Bay-Lee poorly due to a prophecy which trashed Nick's life. But hormones and the teenage belief that you will only love one person ever (thank you Romeo and Juliet) win out and set the lovers on a crash course for destruction.

I'm actually rather impressed with some of the risks K.C. Blake took in who she killed and who she left alive in this story. A lot of authors will skirt around killing anyone of actual importance, or save it for a late installment in the series. Blake was unabashed about who got the ax which added a lot to the story and helped build the suspense.

As for the characters, (aside from my comment about Nick) they were well defined and as a reader you like who you're supposed to like and are annoyed by those you're supposed to find annoying. I don't really think there was anyone to hate in this particular installment. There were bad guys, don't get me wrong, but their plans are intricate and, at times, almost beneficial to the good guys. Not to mention the specific bad guy in this book is a mystery until the end, so you don't have much time to hate him.

I'm interested to see where this series goes and am eagerly awaiting the next installment due in October. ...more

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Aug 15, 2013 Stacey (Sassy Book Lovers) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Holy Fricken Moly!! From the very first page I was swept away, with surprises around every corner, kick-ass action, addictive characters and a love story for the ages, this story will have you hooked too. K.C. Blake has created a wonderful world full of Hunters, wraiths, vampires, shifters, ghosts and loads more. When I read the blurb all I saw was "Van Helsing's daughter" and I was sold. I'm a huge fan of the movie (starring Hugh Jackman) and the book, which I have in my collection. When I star ...more

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Apr 30, 2013 Carrie (Book Fairy) Fort rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: order-of-the-spirit-realm

Favorite Line “Pride shone in his eyes like the noonday sun. “She was nine when she told me she would help protect my daughter, pretend to be her and move around the country to keep the monsters guessing. In exchange, she wanted me to train her so she could kill the werewolves who had taken her mother from her.”

Let me tell you about my journey of reading Bait. It started when I met this fabulous woman named K.C. Blake and we both realized we loved Supernatural (Dean and Sam how could we not) so ...more

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May 22, 2013 Melissa Cushing rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, kindle-books

I received this book in an exchange for a review..... and I give it 5 stars!!! It was a fabulous book and I cannot believe that I did not read this book sooner! That is the first thing I will say..... secondly I love Bay-Lee and Nick Gallos.... seriously! I can only say one thing, and that is that this book takes off from the very beginning. There was no waiting for it to "get good".... it just was! Basically... you can read the blurb for the book, here on Goodreads...... so I will not go into t ...more

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May 23, 2013 Kirsten rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-magic-and-stuff

Great start to a new series. The plot is good, the characters are interesting and believable. Bay-Lee is in interesting girl, living her life for revenge, but life gets in the way. This is a complex beginning to what I'm sure will be a fantastic story. I can't wait for the next installment in this series to come out. Fantastic!! ...more

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Apr 28, 2013 Kasi Blake rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal

This book is available online at ebook retailers such as Amazon, Smashwords, B&N, etc. It is the first in the series with the second coming out in October 2013. It will also be available in print in July 2013.

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Feb 11, 2021 Charles Daniel rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A Paranormal Who Done It and Done It and Done It . . . .

The writing is good. The plot is good and actually takes a few twists I didn't anticipate by more than a few paragraphs. This is a fairly standard Supernaturally Themed Murder Mystery novel. There is a "Young Heroine" and a "Bad Boy Love Interes"t for her; for bad guys there are the usual suspects: Werewolves, Vampires, Ghosts, Wraiths, Reapers (Well, theses are less than usual, but you get the idea), and Border Monsters (Which are pretty u ...more

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Oct 01, 2015 Donna rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017challenge, dec2017tbr

I loved the characters and the plot drew me in from the very beginning. I loved the variety of creatures and the explanations about how they all came to be. I think my favorite thing is that this book is filled with plot twists that will leave you guessing all the way to the end. When you think you understand what is happening, think again because another plot twist is about to creep up on you. Overall, I really enjoyed this great start to another interesting series.

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Jul 12, 2017 Donna rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Love story with a twist

I loved getting to know the main characters but didn't like the last 10% of the book. Star crossed love with werewolves, wraiths, rock stars and a link to the Van Helsing legacy. ...more

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Apr 14, 2019 J.S. Andersson rated it liked it

This book hooked me from the start.
I loved the story of van helsing's daughter.. Bay-lee was seriously kick ass. The story had some great twist and turns it certainly didn't give anything away...
There was a few things that I didn't get or that didn't make sense but over-all I liked it. ...more

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Oct 09, 2019 sneza talevski rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Really good

At the beginning I didn’t know what to think of the story but it turned out to be really good, I couldn’t put it down and read it in one sitting. Great story, great characters, and I will definitely be buying the rest if the series.

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Apr 27, 2018 Barb VanderWel rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I love this & I can't wait for more.
I will be also leaving a review on Goodreads @ Amazon.
And letting everyone know about it.
So i gave it a 5 Stars. ...more

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Jun 11, 2018 Amanda Bond rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Excellent

Excellent storyline and characters that you grow to love. . . . . . . . . . . .

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May 31, 2020 Joy rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Horrible ending. The reviews don't say much about future books. Will not continue. ...more

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May 05, 2013 Holly rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: favorite-books, arcs, freebie

I had visions of Buffy the Vampire Slayer while reading this with the addition of a school for supernatural hunters. Bay-Lee is the daughter of the legendary Van Helsing and following in the footsteps of such a legend has it's downsides, namely preconceived ideas of who she is and what she is capable of, and special treatment she receives. Bay-Lee isn't exactly interested in making friends and things that most girls her age are into like shopping and boys. She is more concerned about avenging I had visions of Buffy the Vampire Slayer while reading this with the addition of a school for supernatural hunters. Bay-Lee is the daughter of the legendary Van Helsing and following in the footsteps of such a legend has it's downsides, namely preconceived ideas of who she is and what she is capable of, and special treatment she receives. Bay-Lee isn't exactly interested in making friends and things that most girls her age are into like shopping and boys. She is more concerned about avenging the death of her mother. In order to do that she needs to become a hunter....but first she has to graduate from being Bait. Bait refers to the lowest of low military rank at Van Helsing's secret school for hunters. "...the only thing you are good for is to be used by us to draw out monsters." My favorite description of Bay-Lee from the book: "She possessed a "bite me" expression that must drive vampires crazy."

Nick is the last person she wants to be around and his feelings towards her are mutual, but because of his own agenda he steps in as her mentor at the school, with no intention of ever actually mentoring her. Bay-Lee however refuses to let him blow her off and she sets out to force him into the responsibility and role he took on. They are both very strong willed and hard headed characters. Bay-Lee can reach the status of Hunter passing all her classes and impressing the instructors. Or she can move up in ranks such as Warrior by doing amazing things. "...capturing a creature we've never encountered, solving a great mystery before anyone else does, or stopping a murder plot put together by the Order". But with the help of Nick, the best hunter at the school, who also is a Warrior, she can reach her goals a lot quicker with his guidance. So Bay-Lee sets out to solve the mystery of what is killing hunters on their birthday with the help of fellow classmate and the only friend she has, Keisha.

This is a story about how our plans don't always go the way they've played out in our minds. Filled with twists and secrets this book kept me guessing on who the mysterious killer was and there were a lot of surprises I wasn't expecting. You want romance in a book - there's some yummy scenes you'll love! Below is a snippet of one of my favorite squeal-worthy scenes:

She abandoned her chair to straddle Nick's lap. It was a toss up as to which of them was more stunned by her uninhibited behavior. This was a first for her. She wasn't the type of girl to get pushy with a guy. Maybe the abrupt, insensitive way he treated her was fueling her desire to make him shake in his shoes. She told herself she wasn't serious. This was just a game.

"W-what are you doing?" he asked. His arms dangled at his sides as if he didn't trust himself enough to touch her for the length of time it would take to remove her from his lap. The look or pure terror on his face provoked her to continue.

She whispered, "Call it an experiment."

"You need to stop."

Her slim fingers slid beneath his hair to stroke the back of his neck. "I want to know what it feels like to kiss you."

Final Rating - 4.5 stars!

Thanks K.C. Blake for asking me to be a part of this book tour! I can't wait for book 2!!

...more

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Jun 09, 2013 Rebecca rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Original review on www.gottoreadthosebooks.wordpress.com

* SPOILER ALERT *

Bait is the first novel in the Order of the Spirit Realm series by K.C. Blake. It’s a YA paranormal romance story that will keep you turning page after page and will keep you up reading all night. At least, that’s what this book did to me. I loved it. Totally loved it.

(view spoiler) Original review on www.gottoreadthosebooks.wordpress.com

* SPOILER ALERT *

Bait is the first novel in the Order of the Spirit Realm series by K.C. Blake. It’s a YA paranormal romance story that will keep you turning page after page and will keep you up reading all night. At least, that’s what this book did to me. I loved it. Totally loved it.

(view spoiler)[The story follows the life of sixteen-year-old Bay -Lee who spends her life pretending she is Van Helsing’s daughter. No, she isn’t a weird girl wanting to be a .vampire , she does this pretending act to protect Van Helsing’s real daughter, at least that is what she thinks. But I’ll explain that later. Bay Lee has been trained by Van himself from a young age. She learned monsters existed when she was only five years old. Resolves killed her mother and she doesn’t want anything else than take vengeance: shake the responsible wolf pack out. That’s why she did what she did, she wanted to be trained by the best, become a hunter and hunt the werewolves down. She lives with her pretend uncle Connor , moving from place to place to keep her safe. She has to be average all the time unit today attention to herself . That’s because the board wants to end the Van Helsing empire . And that’s not all. But again, I’ll come back to that later. First things first. There she is, living her pretended life, no real friends and always looking over her shoulder. One night, she gets a nightly visit . The first one is from a ghost reader thingie , saying she’ll be killed on her next birthday. That night, Bay- Lee is seems to be a poplar person to bay a visit to. The next nightly visitor is Tyler Beck , a famous lead singer of a rock band she hates. The weirdness thing is, if the vis it s aren’t strange enough is that Tyler was pronounced death a few hours before his visit. Bay- Lee doesn’t really understand what is going on… and then there’s the day Van decides to pay her and her uncle a visit. She has to come back with him to the school, she would be safer there with the board moving into action more often. She doesn’t really want to go, even if it is what she always dreamed of. At the school everyone thinks she really is Vans daughter, and that doesn’t really make it any easier. At the school she sees Tyler again, learning he is a trained hunter, the best the school has. But his name is not Tyler, it’s Nick , Tyler being his alias in the ‘real’ pretended world he lived in. They don’t go of on an easy start. Thinking she is Van’s daughter, the prophecy Nick has lived with all his life is true and even worse, coming true. It says he’ll fall for her and eventually stop the world from turning. Nick doesn’t want that to happen but he can’t stop thinking about her. He falls for her and falls for her hard . Even pushing her away doesn’t seem to work. And then there the monsters they’re fighting every day. Life is not easy. And this love prophecy thing isn’t really making things easier … nor are the ghost s killing students on their birthdays. (hide spoiler)]

Normally , I’m not a big fan of the not telling everything writing style. I get you need that to create suspense , but sometimes authors go to far with that if you ask me. Once, I raad this book in wich I found out the age of the main character over a hundred pages intro the story. But Bait is so well written, written so clever, you really don ‘t feel like that. At least I didn’t. I’d really recommend this book to, well, anyone. I’m looking forward to the next installment in this series.

5 out of 5 stars. Recommended summer (but any season really) read. ...more

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May 22, 2013 J. Nicole rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Sometimes, you just really want to read a clever, fun, action-packed, paranormal romance. If you are like me, you just really want a clever, fun, action-packed, paranormal romance that will cause you to stay up way past your self-assigned bedtime and have you thinking about it nonstop when you eventually drag yourself away from the brightly lit screen that has become a backdrop to your life and go into bed. (Is that a run-on sentence? I ramble...) Bait delivers.

From the beginning, the idea intri Sometimes, you just really want to read a clever, fun, action-packed, paranormal romance. If you are like me, you just really want a clever, fun, action-packed, paranormal romance that will cause you to stay up way past your self-assigned bedtime and have you thinking about it nonstop when you eventually drag yourself away from the brightly lit screen that has become a backdrop to your life and go into bed. (Is that a run-on sentence? I ramble...) Bait delivers.

From the beginning, the idea intrigued me. I am a huge fan of all things that go bump in the night, and Bait is full of all of them. You like vampires? Werewolves? Reapers? Ghosts? Monsters? Illusionist? Yeah, Bait has all of that. And the novel doesn't glamorize all of the monsters into being sexy, misunderstood secretly-sensitive heartthrobs, which is also refreshing. Having a protagonist that is the daughter of Van Helsing? If that isn't cool, then I no longer wish to be cool. I am also highly amused at the fact that the newbies are labeled as 'Bait' before they can move onto 'Hunter' and 'Warrior' or - even - (gasp!) 'Legend'. (It's the little things...) So, as far as the synopsis goes, Bait is absolutely brilliant.

I really liked the characters as well. I thought that the majority of them were developed excellently, and they are easy to connect to. Bay-Lee is a great voice to read, and I found myself rooting her on the entire time. (Which, you know, is what you are supposed to do with a protagonist, not that it always is the case.) Even the characters that ended up being not-so-good were written pretty-freaking-good (well, I know, but that doesn't fit the parallel, now does it?) Not that I can resist a well-crafted villain. (I can't.)

I am a little bit torn on Nick's character. On one hand, the hopeless romantic in me can't talk too much about it, given that she is too busy swooning on the floor. What self-respecting teenage girl doesn't fall for these bad-boy characters? Especially when they are funny and slightly Narcissistic ~~like me?~~ And can kick butt? And sing? Is it getting hotter in here, or...? I liked Nick's voice and character, I really did. There were just certain things that fall into the other hand. The romance is a bit cliche sometimes. The whole I-Was-A-Total-Ladies-Man-But-I-Never-Knew-Love-Until-I-Met-You is used a lot. Don't get me wrong, it can be okay, but it is a little less believable. I guess you can pull off the instalove with the whole "fate" argument, but the concept of "instalove" itself does not bother me too much. This is fiction, after all. Quickly falling in love is allowed. I think what got me is the whole tattoo thing. You'll know what I mean if you read the novel. Just...slightly unnecessary.

Even through the eh-parts, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Bait. The Mock Battles were insanely cool, and probably my favorite scenes.

Fans of the paranormal, this is a band wagon that you would want to jump on. Bait has excellent pacing, excellent characters, and will keep you interested the entire time. I am excited to be able to read more.

***Originally posted on http://www.theyalitchick.blogspot.com ...more

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Jun 08, 2013 Sandy rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: disappointed, arcs, 2013

Bait came highly recommended to me by my sister-in-law and fellow blogger, Holly @ Words Fueled by Love. So I decided to check it out and join the blog tour. I liked the idea of a series being about Van Helsing's daughter. While there might be a whole heap of books dedicated to all things Van Helsing, I've never actually read any of them, so Bait came off as being an original (or at least, new) concept to me.

Bait does have an insta-love kind of relationship going on that I know many readers will Bait came highly recommended to me by my sister-in-law and fellow blogger, Holly @ Words Fueled by Love. So I decided to check it out and join the blog tour. I liked the idea of a series being about Van Helsing's daughter. While there might be a whole heap of books dedicated to all things Van Helsing, I've never actually read any of them, so Bait came off as being an original (or at least, new) concept to me.

Bait does have an insta-love kind of relationship going on that I know many readers will shy against. While I understand instant attraction, I have enjoyed the insta-love theme of a lot of paranormal books less and less lately. Of course this comes double when the relationship is forbidden. Sometimes forbidden love is the best kind to read about, and sometimes it's just annoying. I can't quite decided which way I felt about Bait's forbidden romance. Without getting into to many details, there's this whole prophecy thing. And while I like the idea of everything a character does (fighting against or not) actually brings them closer to the prophecy versus working to break the prophecy, what I don't enjoy about prophecies, curses, and destiny is when it just changes randomly. But that's enough about that.

It's hard to describe the way I feel about these characters. At some points, I really liked them and felt like KC Blake did a good job flushing out their motivations and backgrounds. But at other points I felt like behavior was out of character or left unexplained. And sometimes I felt like perhaps the writing wasn't as deep as I prefer--but only just barely. There were moments that I can't discuss in detail because of spoilers that I just wanted more from. And the questions that I was left with at the end of the book weren't so much about what's to come in the sequel, but more about things within the characters that I didn't understand.

Keisha for instance. I couldn't decide throughout the book if I thought she was good or bad, real or fake. I am still left wondering. For the majority of the book I felt like this was probably good writing...keeping me guessing. Because it's true, I didn't guess the culprit. I was torn between praying that it wasn't the obvious person and not knowing how it could be any other person. After Bait was over, I was left feeling like perhaps Keisha wasn't as flushed out as she should have been. Maybe this will play into future books in the series, but I felt her behavior was often contradictory. Even Bay-Lee and Nick had moments that behavior seemed out of character to me. *shrugs*

I wanted to be hooked. I wanted to blow through this one as quickly as my sister-in-law had. I wanted to be fanning myself from the steamy romance....but I wasn't. It took me longer to read that I wanted. I'd get hooked for periods of time and not want to put the book down. But looking back over the entire book, I feel I was left being more confused than anything else. Bait gets 3.5 Stars from me. Have you read Bait? What did you think? Let me know!

For more reviews, check out Somewhere Only We Know. ...more

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Jun 06, 2013 Marked By Books rated it liked it · review of another edition

I debated very thoroughly with myself about how I was going to rate this book. There were some parts that I was just a little iffy about, and I wasn't so sure how my first impressions would relate to the rest of the book. Sometimes things felt a little out of place or just not developed enough, but then on practically the very next page I would read something that completely set me off laughing. This book and I have a very complicated relationship.

For one thing, I really liked the whole issue of I debated very thoroughly with myself about how I was going to rate this book. There were some parts that I was just a little iffy about, and I wasn't so sure how my first impressions would relate to the rest of the book. Sometimes things felt a little out of place or just not developed enough, but then on practically the very next page I would read something that completely set me off laughing. This book and I have a very complicated relationship.

For one thing, I really liked the whole issue of Bay-Lee having to "find herself." Yeah, I know that sounds really cheesy, and normally I would think that it was too, but here it actually worked. You see, in Bay-Lee's situation, she has to move around a lot. Her main goal is to never attract any sort of attention and be nothing but average in order to prevent anyone from digging deeper into her story. In every new area that she moves to, an entire identity is set up for her. Her clothes, her house, her personality, and even the people she talks to are all predetermined without her having any say.

So when all of that finally goes away, she really doesn't know what to do. She's spent her whole life being told by others how her various aliases would act, so she really doesn't know who Bay-Lee is. The author has a great quote to symbolize that:

"This was new to her, starting school without a script. Connor would tell her to be herself, but she didn't know what that meant. Who was the real Bay-Lee Bishop? Somehow she'd lost herself in other identities over the years."

To me, that was really cool and probably one of my favorite parts of the books. It tended to get more interesting as it went along because in the beginning, Bay-Lee was just as confused as I was. That got better as the story went along, but at times, her flip flopping personality just didn't do it for me.

I'd say that one of the worst examples was when she was in the library for the first time with a certain somebody and decided to.... experiment.... Her sudden change in attitude really surprised me because it was nothing like her. She even admitted it herself!

That whole scene itself just kind of felt weird to me. A little later, another somebody walked in and caught the tail end of said experiment, and was thankfully just as disturbed as I was. They Bay-Lee tried to brush it off, and suddenly everything is all butterflies and rainbows. I don't get it! People aren't that flippant, especially people as smart as they are.

In all, though there were a few places that I had to read back over and still couldn't make sense of, I liked the book in general. And now to leave you, I will share my favorite quote of all, which actually came pretty early in the book.

"'Bertram used a spell to conceal it from the outside world.'
'You mean it's like Hogwarts?'
Van frowned in confusion. 'What does a hog's wart have to do with anything?'"

Taylor

For the original review and more, please visit Marked By Books. ...more

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May 08, 2013 AnnMarie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: my-reviews, http-www-goodreads-com-review-lis, arc-reviews, blog-tour

Definitely made me smile, very YA, a very good read. And that's what I loved, Bait was truly a YA story without bordering on that proverbial crossover line. It was also the story Bay-Lee, Van Helsings daughter, how cool is that! That is what initially drew my attention. Don't think I've ever seen a story line like Bait before. Very original in concept and well written in the visual. You definitely got a sense of Bay-Lee's world right from the start.

The other thing I liked a lot was the author's Definitely made me smile, very YA, a very good read. And that's what I loved, Bait was truly a YA story without bordering on that proverbial crossover line. It was also the story Bay-Lee, Van Helsings daughter, how cool is that! That is what initially drew my attention. Don't think I've ever seen a story line like Bait before. Very original in concept and well written in the visual. You definitely got a sense of Bay-Lee's world right from the start.

The other thing I liked a lot was the author's writing style. Now normally I find it annoying when important information is held back to practically the end of the story. Yes, I understand some authors desire to keep a story suspenseful, but that at times can back fire with frustration and a flounce. In the case of Bait, it was actually OK because again, it was very well written that you were given just enough info and the different angles explained enough to keep going on instead of becoming frustrated.

The characters were also written like teens, which they were and that was a breath of fresh air for a YA. Teens have a tendency to be dramatic but not over the top figuring out adult situations. Bay-Lee had enough to contend with without the dramatics. She was definitely a level headed girl considering her life's lot.

Really just so well written. Flows seamlessly.

Without giving to much away, Bay-Lee needs to live up to her family lineage, considering who she is, that's a tall order. She also needs to be very careful who she can trust and get involved with. There are also all kinds of scary creatures out there making it a point to kill her. The scariest is the reaper. But instead of killing her, offers her a warning, something a reaper never does. Come her birthday, she will be killed. That in itself is creepy and suspenseful with Bay-Lee trying to figure out the puzzle and live to tell about it.

Then there is Nick. A little Romeo and Juliet like but not. Nick hates Bay-Lee and lets her know. But she doesn't understand why and pursues the "why". Nick is also the best warrior and Bay-Lee want to be the best. Nick mentors her under duress and then tries to bail on her. Bay-Lee is having none of that. She is definitely a stubborn and strong minded girl.

K.C Blake is one brave writer I have to mention. There a few starting scenes with key characters that just stunned me. Again, written in a way that you are totally on board.

A story you will want to read for all the twists and turns as well as the suspenseful and flowing story line. Bait is the first in the Order of The Spirit Realm. A series that will be on my watch list.
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Jul 18, 2013 Brandee (un)Conventional Bookworms rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Bait is an excellent introduction to a new YA paranormal series. It has action, suspense, well developed characters, monsters that really do hide in closets, a possibly world-ending prophecy, and a little romance. :)

Bay-Lee is a wonderful heroine. She's outspoken and fierce even though she's always trying to blend into the crowd. To say she's had an non-traditional upbringing is an understatement. She's constantly moving and changing her name because there are monsters who want her dead. All bec Bait is an excellent introduction to a new YA paranormal series. It has action, suspense, well developed characters, monsters that really do hide in closets, a possibly world-ending prophecy, and a little romance. :)

Bay-Lee is a wonderful heroine. She's outspoken and fierce even though she's always trying to blend into the crowd. To say she's had an non-traditional upbringing is an understatement. She's constantly moving and changing her name because there are monsters who want her dead. All because she's Van Helsing's daughter. But everything she does in life is done with a single-minded goal...

Nick Gallos, a.k.a. Tyler Beck, is everything you'd imagine a rock star to be. He's arrogant, attractive, talented and brash. He's been living under an assumed identity as a way of hiding who and what he is. But now he's having to figure out how to be himself. And he blames all his woes on Bay-Lee.

Ms. Blake created an interesting cast of supporting characters as well. I liked what they each added to the story even if I second guessed some of their motives. Keisha, for example, kept me guessing. As a fellow student and roommate to Bay-Lee, I was always wondering if her intentions were altruistic or driven by competition. And Alec, Nick's brother, is another character I liked if only for his adamant dislike of Bay-Lee.

I adored this story built around the legend of Van Helsing. (He's the original vampire hunter, for those of you who haven't read Dracula.) It's original and fun. It has all sorts of monsters but we don't see many of the most common kind. One of the things I liked most about Bait was the mystery and suspense. Ms. Blake managed to maintain the same level of suspense throughout the story and I really never had a clue as to how things were going to play out. Ironically, I found myself vascillating between different theories. And that ending?!? Whoa! Didn't see that coming.

The reason my indecision was ironic is because that tendency was one of the things that annoyed me about some the characters. They didn't seem capable of sticking to a decision once they'd made it. There were also a few places where I felt the story dragged a bit as well as places that gave me whiplash it moved so quickly.

Overall, Bait is very entertaining and novel. I liked all the characters -- well except for Jordan. ;) And Ms. Blake captured and held my interest. I will await Hunter, the second book in the series, with bated breath. ...more

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Mar 15, 2014 Courtney rated it really liked it · review of another edition

*** WARNING may contain SPOILERS***

This book is great. A story about the daughter of Van Helsing is a great idea very unique, the story sets place between two people: Bay-Lee the daughter of Van Helsing and Nick ex-fake rock star with a dark secret.

Bay-Lee had spent her entire life in hiding pretending to be 'Michelle'. As the so called 'pretend' daughter of the worlds greatest hunter she has to be protected - the whole daughter story line was way to complicated- But when her fake/real father Va *** WARNING may contain SPOILERS***

This book is great. A story about the daughter of Van Helsing is a great idea very unique, the story sets place between two people: Bay-Lee the daughter of Van Helsing and Nick ex-fake rock star with a dark secret.

Bay-Lee had spent her entire life in hiding pretending to be 'Michelle'. As the so called 'pretend' daughter of the worlds greatest hunter she has to be protected - the whole daughter story line was way to complicated- But when her fake/real father Van comes back from his hunter life to send her to his elite school for hunters she began to question him. There she becomes the trainee of Nick who blames her for the death of his alter ego rock star. She begins to develop feelings for Nick not knowing there is a curse against hers and Nick's love. This character was very admirable she knew what she wanted and went out of her way to get it. Along the way she even solved a few thrilling mysteries.

Nick has been in Van's care since he was about 10 his parents and many hunters tried to have him killed due to a curse. This curse involved him and the 'daughter' of Van Helsing, it was foretold that when him and the 'daughter' of Van Helsing fall in love he will turn evil and unleash horror and death on the world - scary right but a bit harsh for a 10 year old. So Nick spent most of his time teaching Bay-Lee trying to make her hate him ( this did not work, obviously). I became quite annoyed with the character of Nick he was so needy and angry all the time he constantly moaned about losing his alter ego '*drunk crying* I've lost my life and no body cares' so what you've got bigger things to worry about- like saving the world.

As of the writing itself I loved it but sometimes the story dragged a bit. For example who was setting the wraiths off (incoming oh look it's endless guessing) As well if Bay-Lee was supposed to be 'Michelle' for the first part of the book why was the character still referred to as Bay-Lee by people. I think the author could've developed more on the background of Bay-Lee and Michelle.

Overall this book was very entertaining the characters and the plot were both thrilling and mystifying it deserved every star I gave it so well done to the author K.C Blake. I would recommend this book to pre/mid teens that like the YA sci-fi genre. ...more

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Jun 24, 2013 Stephanie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013

I fully expected to like Bait so going into it I was pretty sure it wouldn't take me long to finish. It didn't. In fact, while at work, I'd find myself thinking about how I couldn't wait to get home to read more.

Here we have Van Helsing's daughter who has just been enrolled in Van Helsing's school in which students train to be hunters. What do they hunt? Monsters. Werewolves, vampires, ghosts (of all sorts), many others, and occasionally each other. Along the way she meets a boy and finds hersel I fully expected to like Bait so going into it I was pretty sure it wouldn't take me long to finish. It didn't. In fact, while at work, I'd find myself thinking about how I couldn't wait to get home to read more.

Here we have Van Helsing's daughter who has just been enrolled in Van Helsing's school in which students train to be hunters. What do they hunt? Monsters. Werewolves, vampires, ghosts (of all sorts), many others, and occasionally each other. Along the way she meets a boy and finds herself unexpectedly attracted to him but, unfortunately, he seems to hate her. Meanwhile, someone is killing students on their birthdays and Bay-Lee races to find out before Nick's and her own birthday arrive.

Bay-Lee (the main character), has spent her whole life running and pretending to be someone she isn't. She's headstrong and tough as nails. Honestly, when I think of her and some other female characters out there, I think she's very close to being the top on my list of not wanting to meet in a dark alley. Bay-Lee has a quick temper and has been trained to fight. A meeting with an angry her would be my death. I didn't mind Bay-Lee at all; I felt like she gave in to Nick too easily there towards the end, especially when she knew exactly what was going on, what, and why he was behaving so cruelly.

Nick is the love interest slash jerk. That's one angry dude. I didn't dislike or love him. I honestly didn't feel a connection with any of the characters. With that said, I still really enjoyed the story. I actually, still don't quite understand why him and Bay-Lee were so drawn to each other. This might be an issue for some but it doesn't bother me that much.

Bait was full of twists and turns up until the very end. Some I could guess, then some I couldn't. But, I'd like to take a moment to say... how could you, Miss Blake! How could you do that to Nick! For those of you who have read it, you can probably guess what I'm talking about (*cough* the ending *cough*). For anyone who hasn't, well I can't tell you because it'd spoil things but when I finished reading Bait I distinctly remember thinking, "I need the next one." ...more

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May 11, 2014 Kristine R. rated it liked it · review of another edition

The beginning of this book is quite absorbing and the passages well-written. I enjoyed it and would have given it three and half stars, if half stars were possible. In the end, I rounded down to three rather than up to four because the story did not keep my interest all the way through. My attention began to lag about two-thirds into the book, after one too many plot twists that didn't make all that much sense to me. A few negative events in the book could have been avoided or prepared for if ou The beginning of this book is quite absorbing and the passages well-written. I enjoyed it and would have given it three and half stars, if half stars were possible. In the end, I rounded down to three rather than up to four because the story did not keep my interest all the way through. My attention began to lag about two-thirds into the book, after one too many plot twists that didn't make all that much sense to me. A few negative events in the book could have been avoided or prepared for if our main character, Bay-Lee, had talked to someone else about her suspicions or before acting. Her character's first impression was sweet and kick-ass, but my end opinion was that Bay-Lee did not excel in critical thinking and wasn't as devoted to being the best hunter as she initially stated.

It would have been nice to be given more details on daily student life and to see Bay-Lee successfully dealing with real-life monsters. Half the time she ran from them in panic or stood by while Nick fought them. Even though she helped solve the wraith mystery (rather unsatisfactorily) and eventually killed a werewolf, her rise in rank felt very abrupt. I really wasn't left with the impression that she had earned the position of second-best Hunter. Our other MC, Nick, gave me a bit of whiplash with his see-sawing of emotions and decisions regarding his relationship with Bay-Lee. Some turbulence adds spice, but I was confused when Nick changed his mind about whether he should pursue his love for Bay-Lee three times in one chapter. This sounds like a negative review, but it's not. The above features are merely my reasons for not giving the book four stars. The plot is quite intriguing and the writing is not riddled with the errors that half of self-published books seem to contain. I plan to continue on with the series and see where the story and character development go. There are already several reviews of Bait with glowing descriptions, so I will simply end by saying that I do recommend giving this a read. ...more

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