Destiny and Deception by Shannon Delany

This is the fourth book in the 13 to Life series by Shannon Delany.

My review of #1: 13 to Life.
My review of #2: Secrets and Shadows.
My review of #3: Bargains and Betrayals.

In book 3, we ended with all of the werewolves in Junction taking the cure after Pietr's mother dies from drinking the cure.

With his mother's death still fresh in his mind, he takes a risk and decides he doesn't want to be a werewolf anymore. Life doesn't seem worth it after all of the planning they went to getting her out of her prison for the past 2 years.

But after he takes the cure, Jess sees a drastic change in him. Instead of being focused on Jess like he used to, he's more interested in school work and video games. It's like Jess isn't even there anymore.

Jess doesn't know what to do. She doesn't want to be needy, but she feels misplaced and unwanted now that the change has happened.

Then, a new pack comes to town. Their leader, Marlaena, is just trying to survive and keep all 13 of them safe. But she finds out that there is a Russian man that can give them the things they've always wanted: warm place to sleep, food, clothing, etc.

She just has to do a few favors for him...

When Marlaena tries to talk to Pietr and the other Rusakova's, they tell her that they are no longer werewolf anymore and that their pack and stay wherever they like, as long as they leave their family and friends alone. But Marlaena doesn't believe them. She can still smell wolf on them, even if they deny it.

Things at the high school aren't getting any better, either. More kids are committing suicide, the food is making the kids to unusual things, and it's more of a ghost school now than a high school. But when one of Jess's friends gets sick from the food, Alexi decides he will help her, even if it means going to another high class, money grabbing authority.

Will things go well for the residents of Junction? Can Jess and Pietr get back what they used to? And what is Marlaena's fascination with the Rusakova's, especially Pietr? Read Destiny and Deception to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
Sigh. I really hoped things would have gone better for Jess and Pietr. I think I was just as disappointed as Jess was when Pietr grew more distant from her.

I really wished that Delany would have wrote a point of view through Pietr. That might have made me understand, even if I wouldn't have liked what I found out. He's definitely a frustrating mystery in this novel which made me frustration and aggravated throughout most of this novel.

This time there are 3 point of view narrations. We still have Jess and Alexi, but now we had Marlaena's point of view and what she thinks when she's with her pack.

So, this was kind of a disappointing, slow, uneventful novel. I think so far it was my least favorite book of the series.

I really, really hope that the end wraps everything up the way I want it to. Unfortunately I have to wait until it comes to the library to figure out the ending to this series. (The book just came out August 7, 2012 so most libraries don't have it yet...)

Overall, I don't have too much to say about this novel. Like I said, there wasn't too much that happened. A lot of whining from Jess, a lot of whining from pack members of Marlaena's pack, and a lot of potential heroic opportunities from Alexi.

And yes, like all of her novels from this series, Delany left us with a cliff hanger. Probably the best one yet and I don't have the book to read it right away!

Even though I'm not having the best time with this series so far, I still think that others will enjoy it, so if you like werewolves and a torturous love cycle, this book would definitely be up your alley!

Bargains and Betrayals by Shannon Delany

This is the third novel in the 13 to Life series by Shannon Delany.

My review of #1: 13 to Life.
My review of #2: Secrets and Shadows.

At the end of the second novel, Jess was forced to go to an asylum because her father thought it was best. After she's been with Pietr, things have gotten a little wild, dangerous, and downright scary. Her father doesn't know that Pietr is a werewolf, so he thinks it's Pietr's bad influence that is causing her distance.

So now Pietr and Jess are separated. She can't leave and he's not allowed to visit, but both are trying hard to get back to each other.

At the asylum (Pecan Place), Jess finds out that the asylum is not what it seems to be. Many of the patients aren't fully...human... and they keep taking Jess's blood, even though they don't take any other patients blood.

Turns out that they are part of the CIA force that is after the Rusakova's for their werewolf gene and found out that Jess's blood is part of the cure. So they devised a plan to get Jess there to have unlimited supply of her blood to use for multiple experiments.

Meanwhile, Pietr is not only trying to find a way to get Jess out of Pecan Place, but also to save their mother, who is trapped underground in a glass cage for the past 2 years.

But with becoming the new alpha and having to make decisions, he has to decide how far he is willing to go in order to save both women that he loves.

It may be too much for Jess to handle when she gets out of Pecan Place and finds a new Pietr standing in front of her.

Will both characters be reunited again? Can Pietr save both women without losing Jess in the process? Or will everything start to crumble between Jess and Pietr? Read Bargains and Betrayals to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
Oh Jess and Pietr. At least in this novel they are trying to get back together instead of pushing each other apart!

I thought this was a great installment to the series so far. The reader got more information and a new place to hate (Pecan Place) but also learned more about the curse and how to cure it.

Also, this book was very unique compared to the first 2 books because there are two point of views!

One is Jess, like the first two novels, but the other is Alexi (Max, Cat and Pietr's older, adoptive brother) so we get more perspectives throughout this novel.

So, yes, we progressed more in this novel with figuring out about the Rusakova family, seeing Pietr became the alpha he was meant to be, and might see some struggles for all characters and new developments start to happen.

I would say that I liked this book better than the second because the characters were trying to get to each other rather than keeping their distance. I'm not sure if there will ever be a book for them where it's all lovey dovey, togetherness, so I'm accepting that fact and enjoying what I'm reading.

Now, off to the 4th novel!

Secrets and Shadows by Shannon Delany

This is the second novel in 13 to Life series by Shannon Delany.

My review of #1: 13 to Life.

Now that Jess knows the Rusakova's secret, she thought she would be even closer to Pietr than before.

Boy did she think wrong. Instead of getting closer, Pietr is pushing her away. He is staying with Sarah instead of leaving her, like they planned, and Jess is really confused as to what went wrong between the two of them.

Without Pietr around, Jess is finding herself around Derek a lot. Maybe it's to make Pietr jealous, or maybe because he makes Jess feel wanted, but there are times when she can't remember the time spent with Derek. Like blank spots in her memory.

But when Jess woke up at Derek's house not knowing what happened, she called Max (Pietr's brother) and he came to get her. That was when Jess realized Derek was not who he seemed he was and she was told to stay away from him, for good.

Even though Jess and Pietr aren't together, she still finds herself in the middle of the Rusakova's affairs - and finds out that she might be the cure to their curse!

Being involved with a werewolf family is not as ideal as it may sound. Especially when the CIA and the Russian Mafia is determined to get the Rusakova family in their grasp.

But when Jess's dad gets in the way...things are not looking good for Jess and Pietr to ever be a normal couple.

Will Pietr and Jess ever get together? What could possibly happen to split them apart, for good? Read Secrets and Shadows to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
Okay. I really like this storyline, I really do. But I despise stories where the main two characters who are so obviously in love decide that the other is safer without them around. Keeping their distance from the one they love in order to protect them? Utter rubbish! It makes no sense!

And yes, that's exactly what happened here. I think Jess got more hurt because Pietr was staying away from her than if he would have been her boyfriend this whole novel. Which is what ALWAYS happens in this types of plots.

Always.

Ahem, enough ranting, back to the story.

So Jess again is a great character. She tried her hardest to get Pietr to stay with her, to no avail, but try she did. She even helped the family with their werewolf problem even though Pietr was being a jerk.

I did cringe every time she was around Derek though. Which shows my knack for knowing who is the right and wrong guy for her ;-)

More answers were revealed in this story about the Rusakova heritage, which is great for the reader. And, again, there is a cliffhanger ended that is bound to bring more readers back to this series to find out what happens to Jess. It was quite a dramatic ending too.

So, I'm off to read the next one and I sincerely hope things get better between Jess and Pietr. I mean, why am I reading this series if not to see these two lovebirds together? :)

13 to Life by Shannon Delany

This is the first novel in the 13 to Life series by Shannon Delany.

Jess hasn't been having a good life the past few months. So when she is called to the guidance office, she's expecting the worse.

When she's told she has to show the new, hot, moody boy around the school for the first few days, let's just say she wasn't all that happy about it.

In fact, she was probably the one girl that wasn't impressed by Pietr Rusakova. Which of course made her very interesting in Pietr's eyes and he wanted to know more.

With the recent events that happened with Jess's mom's death and her friend Sarah's memory loss, Pietr was too much to handle. Then, Sarah became very possessive of Pietr, something that hadn't happened since her accident, so Jess felt it necessary that Pietr and Sarah get together as a couple.

Even though Jess was very, very attracted to Pietr. And sometimes kissed him when she shouldn't have.

Along with this new boy/best friend drama, Jess has been in contact with large animals - larger than she's ever seen before. They are all around her farm and her dogs go crazy when they are around.

Plus, with the wolf situation that happened in a few towns over, things were definitely changing in the town of Junction.

Will Jess figure out what the Rusakova's were keeping secret? Can she stay away from Pietr so Sarah can  have her happily ever after? Or are things about to get very weird and dark? Read 13 to Life to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
Goodreads and LibraryThing have both been suggesting these books to me, and boy am I glad they did! There was so much mystery and romantic suspense in this novel that I couldn't put it down! Finished it in one day and am very glad that I have the next novel in the series in my possession to continue the story!

I love Jess. She is one of those characters who wants to do everything right for her friends before herself. This occurred because of what happened with her mother and her friend Sarah, but now the best interest of her friends is her top concern - no matter how hard it may be for her.

I also really liked the first meeting between Jess and Pietr. It was dislike at first sight, but slowly got more relaxing and friendly, though not as friendly as either character would have wanted it.

And I think that both characters are VERY mature for the age, having been through horrors already in their young age.

One thing I will say is that there wasn't too many answers to this complex story. I know it's because it's part of a series, but it would have been nice to get SOME answers before the end of the novel.

I guess it will just leave the reader in suspense until they can get their hands on the second novel.

For anyone who is interested in supernatural and *ahem, spoiler, spoiler* werewolves (no, no vampires here!) then this book is just for you! I really enjoyed the fast paced reading and I was definitely craving for more at the end of the novel.

Yes, it is a cliffhanger.

Good thing, though, is that the whole series is now out and complete! So no waiting!

Off to the next one! Fingers crossed that it gets better and better :)