Megan Duncan

"Indulge" is book 2 in the Warm Delicacy series by Megan Duncan. There is no doubt that Ms. Duncan is an excellent writer. With this series she has taken the well tread vampire plotline and given it a new twist. The book, like the original installment, is unique and fast paced. There have been several creative surprising twists that I never saw coming and so I was kept engaged throughout the story. Yet for some reason I just can't connect to this series like I have other YA paranormal show more titles.

It comes down to the fact that although I enjoy the plot, the writing, and the supporting characters I simply don't like the main heroine Claire. I realized that I didn't particularly care for her in the first book. She sure didn't seem to miss her mom and best friend even though she made comments occasionally to say she did. With "Indulge" I liked her even less. I wanted to root for her, I truly did. I found Claire to be self-centered and judgemental. Over and again she thinks this exact line "There has never been a vampire like me before." While this may be true, it seemed to give Claire all the reason she needed to justify any behavior or decisions she made without regard to how it would affect anyone else. When anyone else notices Claire's less flattering personality traits they just seem to smile and indulge her like it is cute.

I am undecided on finishing this series at this point. I hate to lose the opportunity to read more of this wonderful world the author has created, but I just don't know if I can root for Claire anymore. I kinda wanted to see her staked to be perfectly honest. show less

***May contain spoilers***

If you are a fan of "Zombieland" and the "Resident Evil" film franchise than you in for a treat with this book! This book combines all of the best elements of both films, plus a few totally swoon-worthy male leads, to make for an enjoyable couple hours of reading (seriously, once you start reading this book you will be unable to put it down until you finish it).

I really, really, really liked Max as a character, he was just such an all around good guy. And I really show more liked his connection with Abby, I always love it when authors choose to match up two characters who have been acquaintances for a long period of time and over time start to develop feelings for one another gradually, as opposed to when authors match characters up based on superficial reasons or the whole undying-love-at-first-sight-which-makes-me-want-to-throw-myself-down-a-set-of-stairs-or-gag.

I must admit that I did have a bit of difficulty adapting to Megan's writing style. I felt that her writing was very concise and to the point, she didn't dilly dally in her writing using overly flowery descriptions and the likes of and therefore I didn't feel all that much of a connection to some scenes because their descriptions were almost over-simplistic (and I know, some people totally are anti-flowery writing and in some occasions I am totally one of those people- ie. when it isn't used successfully, like when an author drones on and on about something pointless or unnecessary to the storyline- but in some instances I really do appreciate it because it allows me to better imagine the scene- and yes, I am totally one of those people who pictures everything that they are reading in their head).

All in all, while it is a bit hard to connect to some scenes in the book, the overall uniqueness of it, coupled with a few really great characters, more than make up for it. I am really looking forward to reading the next installment in this series! show less

Every so often I find a book that sounds amazing for my Kindle for free or for a buck or two. I go ahead and make the purchase with reasonably low expectations...some of these 'deals' can be pretty poor excuses for reading entertainment. I am absolutely thrilled to be able to review "Released" as very worthy of a five star rating. There wasn't a thing I could complain about other than the fact that I felt the story was a little too short. As the norm these days, we are left waiting for the show more next story in the series. Although I immediately wanted to read more as I finished the last page, I still wasn't too disappointed because of where the author left off with the story. The main story arc for this book was resolved...of course that particular resolution leaves off with an entire new set of ideas and promises dangeling before us so we are more than eager for the next book.

The basic premise behind Megan Duncan's "Released" is that a demon apocolypse has killed the majority of the country (or world even?). A few survivors remain, including our main characters, Abby, her brother Carter, and their newly orphaned best friend Max. They hear brief and very sporadic radio transmissions that tell them that there are more people in New Mexico alive and safe on a military base. There is a chance for them if they can make it to this base. So off the three go, leaving their fairly secured home, with few provisions they can scrounge up. They siphon gas from abandoned cars and they eat expired cans of food they stumble upon. This is the story of their road trip to hopefully reach New Mexico. They have quite the series of adventures and meet up with many demonic creatures along the way.

I really related to Abby. The author did a great job of making her seem like any teenage girl stuck in an extraordinary situation. She is tough when she has to be but she is also scared and she tries to hang onto as many 'normal' things as she can. If you took out the demons, this is a very realistic portrayal of what any kind of global disaster could potentially be like. What the group does to stay alive feels right and natural to their particular situations. The book definitely made me root for these characters...it also gave my the creepy crawlies a few times as well. I also want to mention that this book had much better editing than many other cheap Kindle buys I have recently read, and that is always a bonus.

Overall, this is a VERY strong debut from Megan Duncan and I will be waiting for the next installment in this very engaging new series. show less

There were so many elements to Released that appealed to me. For starters, I love an honest-to-goodness strong heroine. Abby is smart, tough, funny, and takes control of her own destiny. No hand wringing with Abby, only gun slinging. But, really, I liked all of the characters in the book. Megan Duncan did such a great job of getting you in the characters' head and letting you feel their fear, desperation, and hope.
Another element that I liked was the pace of the story. Released pulls you show more into the action from the first page. The story speeds along, but not so much that it feels rushed. The suspense creeps up throughout until you're frantically reading, trying to find out if the characters make their destination. The action in the book is great. It is always used to progress the characters to the next point in their story. I almost felt like I was watching a great action movie.
I feel Released is a great book for the reluctant readers out there. In my life, that's men. There's enough action and speed to the story to appeal to them. The characters are smart and likeable. There's a little romance, but not so much that it would turn anyone off to the book. I plan on pushing this book on a few of the reluctant readers in my life.
On a note about the author, I think Megan Duncan has an exciting writing career ahead of her. I, personally, can not wait to see what she has next to offer. show less