Book Review: Deal with the Devil

by: Samantha Curtin

Available at Amazon

Synopsis:
Deal with the Devil is a series of four short stories that follows The Family, a group of vampires on their quest to quench their thirst for blood. The series centers on Aer, the seductress and newest member of The Family, and her need to rid the world of the immoral while satisfying her love of carnage.

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I had the pleasure of doing a beta read for this story. Sam is really a talented writer. Her characters can be annoying at times, but it gives them depth. Tell me a single person in your life that doesn't get on your nerves at any point.

It starts off with this young woman...I can't remember her name, but she's so boring! All she does is complain about her boring life and how she wants to get out of town. But stick with it...she does find her destiny and she really comes to life, even as she loses her life.

So Aer becomes a part of this close-knit vampire clan, and they travel the country. The fun thing about these vampires is that they only kill people who they think "deserve it" but their bar is set pretty low.

So even while you are being creeped out by these vampires, it still makes you think about morality and mortality. Good job, Sam!

Book Review: Dark Cell

by: Samantha Curtin

Available at Amazon

Synopsis:
After being wrongly imprisoned for the murder of two Gorgan children, a Crizenian by the name of Ness is broken out by two teenage boys. The boys then embark on a fantastical journey full of magic, suspense and corruption to prove Ness' innocence.

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This is the first published work by my friend Samantha Curtin. I was excited to read this, because I follow her blog and she's a good writer. If you check out her blog, she writes about numerous topics from an Anthropological perspective. She's one smart cookie!

She is a good story teller, and her characters are lively. I really liked the boy whose uncle was housing Ness. He was smart, but more importantly he cared about doing the right thing. That was lacking by everyone else in the world Sam created.

The story captured my imagination and I had to read from beginning to the end. I cared about the boys and Ness, and hated the world he was trapped in. I thought it was a great view of our own modern legal system, where real justice is hard to find.

There is room for improvement. I think Sam needs to slow down and add more details. Especially in the courtroom scene, it moved entirely too fast for the importance of what was going on.

Also, you'll find some typos but not too many considering she published this on her own.

All that being said, I think it was entertaining and I can't wait to read her next story. She has raw talent that I look forward to watching it improve.