Providence

Author: Jamie McGuire

Series: Providence # 1

Genres: Action, Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult

Publisher: Jamie McGuire, LLC

Released: 20 November 2010

Summary: via goodreads.com In the old world shadows of Providence, Rhode Island, Nina Grey finds herself the center of a war between Hell and Earth.

Struggling with her father’s recent death, Nina meets Jared Ryel by chance…or so she believes. Although his stunning good looks and mysterious talents are a welcome distraction, it soon becomes clear that Jared knows more about Nina than even her friends at Brown University. When questions outnumber answers, Jared risks everything to keep the woman he was born to save—by sharing the secret he was sworn to protect.

When her father’s former associates begin following her in the dark, Nina learns that her father is not the man she thought he was, but a thief who stole from demons. Searching for the truth behind her father’s death, Nina stumbles upon something she never expected—something Hell wants—and only she holds the key

My Review: Let me start by saying that one of my goodreads friends (Cindy over at Once Upon a Time Book Reviews – click the link to her site, she’s great!) was really excited about this book, and though my TBR list on my Kindle is hovering somewhere around 110 titles, I knew that this one was going get pushed to the top. I’m so glad that it did! So thank you, Cindy, for getting so excited about such a fun read!

Providence is a really amazing blend that has slight elements of the Twilight novels and the Hush, Hush saga, however it is unique. Here is why:

1. Jared. Jared’s love for Nina has been growing for quite some time. He doesn’t see her across the lunch room, he purposefully inserts himself into her life with every intention of staying there. This isn’t a “hey look at the hot girl over there, I can’t live without her.” It’s built upon things in the past (cue: the diary-reading scene, melt my heart!) Although Jared is overprotective, I felt that he had a legitimate, tried and true, had already taken 1 bullet for this girl, reason to be overprotective. He also wasn’t afraid to admit that his weakness was if anything happened to her. Both literally and figuratively.

2. The Setting: Seriously. This setting works so perfectly for this type of story and I felt like it played really well into helping move the story forward. You know how is Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling is always giving hints about what is to come through the way the weather is acting? That’s kind of what McGuire does in Providence, I love when weather and setting is incorporated into a story. And I love when a story is set on a Uni campus! I feel like it encourages readers to head to University, which I wholeheartedly support.

3. The Story. I will be the first to admit that I am a sucker for the stories that are like this one. Although I haven’t made my way through the Twilight books recently, they do have a very fond place in my heart. Not only because they really propelled me into a wider variety of paranormal books, but because they boosted the YA industry into what it is today. That being said: I love stories about true love! I love stories that have a happy ending! I love stories that are entertaining and fun to read. Providence is that way for me. It was fun, it was light (material wise), and a great one to curl up on the couch and read over an afternoon.

I’ll admit: The only thing I didn’t like about this book was Ryan. Ryan was annoying. I felt like through the entire book he was pushing himself onto Nina, and although I think there was something (on the authors part) to turn Ryan/Nina/Jared into a love-triangle, I honestly never felt like Ryan stood a chance. I mean seriously? He was annoying and so cocky it made me was to hurl. This book with suck you in. I’ve joked before, but this one really felt like I had gone down the rabbit hole and wouldn’t be coming back out for a while. I can’t wait to get started on the sequel! 

  

Requiem

Author: Jamie McGuire

Series: Providence # 2

Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult

Publisher: Jamie McGuire, LLC

Released: 11 June 2011

Summary: via goodreads.com In the old world shadows of Providence, Rhode Island, Nina Grey finds herself the center of a war between Hell and Earth.
Struggling with her father’s recent death, Nina meets Jared Ryel by chance…or so she believes. Although his stunning good looks and mysterious talents are a welcome distraction, it soon becomes clear that Jared knows more about Nina than even her friends at Brown University. When questions outnumber answers, Jared risks everything to keep the woman he was born to save—by sharing the secret he was sworn to protect.
When her father’s former associates begin following her in the dark, Nina learns that her father is not the man she thought he was, but a thief who stole from demons. Searching for the truth behind her father’s death, Nina stumbles upon something she never expected—something Hell wants—and only she holds the key

My Review: Requiem was a really good follow up. Although I’m not a fan of series (especially trilogies, don’t ask why, because I read them all the time.) I felt like Requiem took the perfect spot as the middle book in a trilogy, it wrapped up nearly everything that happened in Providence, while setting up a strong background for what I assume will happen in Eden. So, what I liked about Requiem:

1. Jared. Question: will I ever get over Jared. Answer: No.

2. Claire. I have to admit, I really just love the Ryel family. Jared, Claire, and Bex are all such well rounded characters with such surprising personalities. I really enjoyed Claire stepping forward into the spotlight in this one. Her interactions with Ryan were also so hilarious, and the straightforwardness gives such a breath of fresh air compared to Jared’s drawn out explanations.

3. Beth. Beth is basically the best, best friend a girl could ask for. She just accepts Nina for who she is, and accepts all of her excuses for not being at work (and they are good excuses). She understands Nina’s job probably better than Nina does (like any fantastic assistant/bff) And she is such a great balance for Nina’s personality. Rarely does she have any massive freak out moments.

4. The dreams. They added just what I wanted for this story, a little bit of heart pounding mystery. Anyone who knows me knows that I scare easy, and these night terrors of Nina’s really made my heart go double time. It’s also nice whenever I get to see Gabe. Jared, being one of my favorite characters, seems to take a lot from his dad, so getting to see the way Gabe acted/reacted was pretty awesome. Also, there is another someone that has dreams from Gabe and I found that little tidbit to be cute and heartbreaking all at once. Love.

What I had a hard time with in this one.

1. It still felt like Nina was a little bit hung up on Ryan. I understand that she feels bad about certain choices he makes, but girlfriend, come on. You’re hurting your fiancé over a dude that is kind of a jerk, and also a consenting adult who is old enough to make his own decisions. It’s strange because in Providence, I felt like Ryan didn’t have a chance, however in Requiem the Nina/Ryan relationship somehow seemed stronger (at least in the beginning).

2. Sasha. Sasha felt like a bulk character to me. I kept waiting for her to do something truly heinous (involving Shax or another demon) but she didn’t. As a matter of fact she kind of faded into the background, maybe she’ll have a bigger role in Eden? Who knows, but in this one she was kind of a loose cannon and my mind kept wandering to what she would do next instead of focusing on the story at hand.

All in all, I really enjoyed Requiem, as I mentioned before it fulfills the duty held by most middle books in a trilogy, and reads similar to Providence (though I felt Providence was a sort of whirlwind, and Requiem was a little more peaceful pacing-wise) Although there were some scenes in which I kind of lost some steam (being in the middle east, I just really don’t like Ryan with Nina. Ugh.)

Eden

Author: Jamie McGuire

Series: Providence # 3

Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult

Publisher: CreateSpace

Released: 3 April 2012

Summary: via goodreads.com She had seen the unspeakable.
She would learn the unknowable.
Now, she would fight the invincible.
In the third and final installment of the Providence series, Nina Grey will marry the wrong man, carry the child that was never supposed to be born, and fight a war she can't win.
Faced with the impossible task of protecting his new wife and unborn child against the throes of Hell, Jared Ryel is allowed no mistakes. Pressured to return the Naissance de Demoniac to Jerusalem, he revisits St. Ann's to learn the answers were in front of him all along.
Together, they must survive long enough to let their child save them - and the world

My Review: Wow! Eden perfectly wrapped up this series for me! Such a lovely end to a fun and eventful series! The two minuscule problems I had with Requiem were perfectly accounted for and settled in this one. (Thank heavens for Claire! She and Ryan are perfection.) This series was so much fun to read, and though Jared got progressively over-protective I still felt like it came from a good place, and he didn’t stop Nina from doing what she wanted altogether. The only thing I did have a hard time with was towards the end when Nina has a panic attack. You’ll know what I’m talking about when you get there. It just seemed kind of out of character for her. After everything that happens to her throughout the series, for her to panic and freak out like she does seemed strange. However, she IS pregnant which probably contributes to the strange behavior, and I was kind of waiting for her to crack after everything that had happened to her over the last three years. All in all, this was a great series for summer, fun, fast reads, and I really enjoy McGuire’s writing style, her dialogue and banter is very well thought out and witty, especially the swoon-worthy things that Jared says (cue: the vows holyfreakingcrap) If you liked books that were in the same vein as Twilight and Hush, Hush you will definitely love this series, I know I did.