The Horrorscape series By Nenia Campbell - Horrorscape starting March 1st, 2014

[Tessa]

Description: "He followed her because he wanted to own her. She trusted him because she wanted excitement. There's a saying that curiosity can kill … but Valerian Kimble is beginning to learn that satisfaction might just be worse.
Fourteen-year-old Valerian lives in an age where antiheroes and bad boys are portrayed as the romantic ideal, and good guys are passe and boring. So when Gavin Mecozzi, the school's brilliant but twisted loner, begins to show an interest in her after a chance meeting in a pet store, Val is intrigued. He's charming and poetic and makes her feel things that she thought were only possible in books--
Fear.
Because somebody is stalking Val. Somebody who wants to hurt her. Own her. Possess her. Maybe even kill her.
As her meetings with Gavin unravel into a more complex and frightening relationship, Val can't help but wonder if the new boy in her life is her depraved and obsessive stalker.
And whether he's capable of murder.
Time is running out.

Me and Rachel will be reading this one, but anyone is welcomed to join us :) .

[Rabbit {Paint me like one of your 19th century gothic heroines!}]

I will join you guys. :)

[Tessa]

Glad to have you with us! :)

[Rachmi]

Tessa, have you started it? Can I join you guys?

[Tessa]

I'll start reading this tonight when I get back from work. Will leave a message to Rachel as well :).
So yes, you can start reading this. I'll join you in a couple of hours :) .

[Rachmi]

I still need to finish 2 books. If I start it on 12th, will you still discuss it with me?

[Tessa]

Yes :).

[Rabbit {Paint me like one of your 19th century gothic heroines!}]

I just finished the first chapter. I like how Nenia sets up the creep factor. Val seems kind of bland to me.

[Rachmi]

Thanks Tessa, I don't quite like reading more than one book at one time :) But I'll try to finish those two books as soon as I can so that I can catch you up with this book.

[Tessa]

I love reading more books at a time, as long as they are not quite the same gender. It's like watching 3 series at a time ^^.

[Rachmi]

While it makes me difficult to focus to each story. It's like I can't concentrate to any of them and make my reading speed slower than if I read one book at one time. Kinda weird, I think :D

[Tessa]

Well, whatever works for you :).

[Tessa]

I've read the first 4 chapters. Couldn't help myself, this book is really good! I wanted just to get a glimpse and check out chapter 1, but if I wouldn't have work tomorrow I probably would have ended up spending the entire night reading this. @.@.
I can't really judge Val from ch 1, but she's growing on me, a lot. She's such a realistic character it brings tears to my eyes. I've been so sick to read about stereotype girls falling for stereotype guys that this is like a breath of fresh air for me.
The creepy factor intertwines pretty good with the sensual/romance one. All that bad boy thing Gavin has going for him almost make me cheer for their "relationship". But my mind tells me I should know better.
Also I love the quote at the beginning of the book: "To all the nice guys. You're underrated." - so true, so true. :) After all, I've never heard of many great marriages in which the father is a mysterious dark guy. XD

[Rachmi]

I'm reading it now. So curious I can't help to wait till my other currently reading which is so boring, finish :D

I only read two chapters so far, couldn't tell much about it but (view spoiler)[ I feel like there is something different with Val from other young female character I usually read. I like her and her mom relationship but I kinda bored with the description about animals. I know that she loves animals but chapter 1 is mostly about cat while chapter 2 is about dog and toyger (hide spoiler)].

Agree with you, I also like the dedication page :D

[Rachmi]

Chapter 9, I think this thread should be under scifi/suspense because I surely get the suspense feeling while reading it. (view spoiler)[Really curious whether Gavin and Val's stalker is the same person. I think so but at the same time I also don't want to. I love how care Val parents for their daughter. I mean in most of YA books I read, the one with mysterious boy, usually the girl only has single parent that rarely at home so she (and they) kinda can do anything. Val's parents are quite different and I Love that (hide spoiler)].

[Tessa]

Read chapter 9 as well.
Yeah, it is suspense, but it's also realistic so...donno, just picked the first gender that matched.
(view spoiler)[Gavin keep telling her he's no good for her and that he's dangerous, but...gosh, love really is blind. At this point I really have no idea where this story is going. Love it! :D (hide spoiler)]

[Rabbit {Paint me like one of your 19th century gothic heroines!}]

I've read this one before, so I'm trying not to give too much away.

[Rachmi]

Tessa wrote: "Read chapter 9 as well.
Yeah, it is suspense, but it's also realistic so...donno, just picked the first gender that matched.
[spoilers removed]"

Hehehe, no worry, realistic is also perfect. I really liked this book, finished it last night but still couldn't make a proper review. I just couldn't write what I actually want to write with my limited English :)

I think (view spoiler)[ this story is like the antithesis, the opposite of stories I often read nowadays. I.just.love.it. and cannot wait to the sequels (hide spoiler)].

[Rachmi]

Rabbit {Slytherin Head Girl} wrote: "I've read this one before, so I'm trying not to give too much away."

How is it feel to reread it? I mean you gave it 3 stars before, does this time make any different to you?

[Rabbit {Paint me like one of your 19th century gothic heroines!}]

Rachmi wrote: "Rabbit {Slytherin Head Girl} wrote: "I've read this one before, so I'm trying not to give too much away."

How is it feel to reread it? I mean you gave it 3 stars before, does this time make any di..."

I am enjoying it, though I find Val bland in the first book of this series. I don't know if I will change my rating, but we will see.

[Tessa]

Wow, you finished it? I'll try to finish this tonight as well. Will be back with an opinion then. I'm still only at chapter 11.

[Rachmi]

Yes, I've finished it last night. Second part of the book is fast-paced I feel like I can't stop reading it.

[Tessa]

I know how you feel, that's why I decided to stop at ch 11. I had a feeling something good was coming and I couldn't skip sleeping since I need to go to work in the morning :p.

[Rachmi]

You better stop reading while you can, otherwise you will end up have sleep deprive like I use to on weekdays. I only sleep 3 hours because of "one more chapter" over and over before I realize that it's already 2 am while I have to wake up at 5 am :D

[Tessa]

So, I finished this book. In the end, I did enjoy it, but it left me asking for more. I do admit that Val is a little bland, but after all, she's 14 years old. Still innocent and inexperienced. She had a sheltered life, how should she know how to deal with a psychotic stalker?
I really liked the intensity of this book, but the ending felt unfinished. And, in a way I understand that the story will continue in the next book, Horrorscape. I will have this next month. Do you want to join me on a read for it as well? :)
I saw it got even higher rankings than Fearscape so I'm having high hopes for it :D .

[Rabbit {Paint me like one of your 19th century gothic heroines!}]

Tessa wrote: "So, I finished this book. In the end, I did enjoy it, but it left me asking for more. I do admit that Val is a little bland, but after all, she's 14 years old. Still innocent and inexperienced. She..."

I found the later books better, but they get even more disturbing. I really need to get motivated. I plan on finishing my re-read today at some point.

[Rachmi]

Tessa wrote: "So, I finished this book. In the end, I did enjoy it, but it left me asking for more. I do admit that Val is a little bland, but after all, she's 14 years old. Still innocent and inexperienced. She..."

I feel the same way about Val but in the end I understand her more and yes...I think it's because she's so young and naive, in a way.

And I would love to buddy read Horrorscape with you :D

[Tessa]

Would you like us to start reading the second book on the 1st of March? :)

[Rachmi]

Sure, I haven't had any plan for buddy read on March.

Should we use this thread too?

[Tessa]

It looks like it ^^.

[Josephine]

Hi, Nenia just posted a link to this on facebook - are y'all still on?

[Rachmi]

Yes, we're supposed to read Horrorscape today but I have to go somewhere and won't be able to read in three days. I think Tessa will read as our schedule, though.

@Tessa, I'm sorry I'll be a little bit late. Just post your progress and I'll catch you up as soon as I can.

[Tessa]

Don't worry Rachimi, I know you're a fast reader and will catch up to me in no time :P.

Chapter 7:
(view spoiler)[OMG! I literally had to force myself to put this book down. It's so suspenseful. It's nothing like the first book: with the slow world building and character development, in this one we're getting right to the action. When they arrived in the house and the other kids were dressed all in white, I was...damn, so he's developing a chest game with her. He's controlling the white kids and she should play well her friends dressed in black. This was a nice touch to the story. Gavin is still fascinating and crazy, maybe even more now that he decided to create a game in which to chase her. I hate James! I really don't understand why she agreed to date him. Also, what happened to her friends from track? Did everyone else besides Lisa and douchebag boyfriend ditched her? If yes, that's so cruel :( .
I also think she should have been more hysterical when James found her. Scream out loud who GM was, scream that she wanted home, have a fit, anything just to get out, but I do understand why she didn't, yet I'm frustrated for her. Poor Val, this author tortures you so much :( . (hide spoiler)]

I don't think you'll have time to feel bored while reading this one. It's really gripping and I can already suspect I'm going to like it much more than the sequel. After 3 bad books it was finally time to stumble on a good one :).

@Josephine feel free to join us in the discussion.

[Rachmi]

Tessa, it's good knowing that you think you like it more than the prequel. I can't wait to read it.

I'm going to take a break from reading challenge this month, so I will read slowly. I don't think I can catch you up, it's okay though, as long as you still want to discuss it with me. Btw how many books do you read now? how can you manage it? I'm going to try reading more than one book at a time because there is one book that I will buddy read only one chapter a day.

[Tessa]

"I'm going to try reading more than one book at a time because there is one book that I will buddy read only one chapter a day."
I don't think you'll manage to read only 1 ch per day for this, trust me, the story is very gripping :) .
I read 2-3 chapters from all the books I start and then go on with the one I like best. For example, yesterday I was reading Rebel Angels. When it started to get annoying I paused it to read this one. I was planning to read The wicked and the just when this one got tiring, but I think I'm going to finish it today. It's just way to addictive! @.@

Chapter 19:
(view spoiler)[Ok, I don't understand why they didn't just turn against him. They are 7 against 1, right? Well, I do understand the white team has ulterior motives, but still, no sum of money is worth risking your life for like that.
I'm also sorry for James, even if he did cheat on Val, he didn't deserve that :( . (hide spoiler)]

I will discuss it with you even if I finish before, don't worry :) .

[Tessa]

Finished it! OMG, what a roller-coaster this story was. But, despite the amazing heart gripping scenes the entire "game" was set on a rather had to accept premise. I don't understood this kids' motivation to go on with this game throughout the book. I was also disappointed in the ending. After I gripped my chair while reading this the ending left me very unsatisfied, as it's an open ending and now I just need to make time to squeeze the next book in sometimes soon, because no way I can wait another month to read the sequel. XD

About the ending:
(view spoiler)[Why has she lost? She managed to save Lisa and Blake. Also, I was annoyed that we never found out what happened with the other kid [that I didn't even remember the name of], the sports enthusiast with the small brain. Is he still in the house trying to find his target? Also, since they drew names from a hat the probability that they would extract a name from their own team or even their own name was very high. I feel this game could have been played out a little better and made to sound a little more plausible. (hide spoiler)]

[Tessa]

@Rachmi: did you start reading this? Give me a pm when you do, so I don't have to follow this topic :) .