Lore: East and Eight by Chad T. Douglas

East and Eight by Chad T. Douglas 5 of 5 stars.

Darkness only darkens when you put out fires...

His dead brother lying in his wake, Thomas Crowe walks into trouble's open arms once again when an Atlantean sorceress comes to him looking for a stolen talisman. When Tom refuses to return it, the consequences are dire. Plagued by two new foes, a demon and a mysterious octet of immortal-hunters simply known as "The Eight", there seems to be nothing the young werewolf can do when the truth about his past life comes to surface and the world tries to eat him alive. Molly Bishop is Thomas Crowe's only hope. Wrought by anger and confusion toward her father, the beautiful and talented gemseeker must wrestle with demons of her own if she hopes to live long enough to keep Thomas from succumbing to his end. Armed with strength and power anew, Molly lights the way as she and Tom make the treacherous journey east, to Romania. (Book blurb)

Thomas Crowe's adventures continue in the latest Lore novel. This time there are new and far more evil dangers to face. Though not without the help of strange new allies and deadly potent powers. Molly and Tom's love story continues, however with a great deal more heartache as we learn more about the past that shaped the two swashbuckling characters. Their world is far from predictable, making East and Eight a pirate book to keep you on the edge of your seat.

East and Eight proved itself to be a wonderful addition to the Lore trilogy of books, standing as yet another testament to its author's incredible talent.

While I adored the characters, both old and new, I found that they had changed a great deal since the last book. Whether from the guilt of killing his brother, or from the curse laid upon him near the beginning of this second book, Tom lost some of his comical side. The very thing that made us fall in love with his craziness in the first book. However, it was interesting to watch how he grew throughout the trilogy so far.

As for new characters, there are several that I completely adored. I thought the descriptions and overall characteristics of Ine to be very well written and developed. The Japanese warrior-woman reminded me a bit of Mulan. (Who is, of course, the all-time best Disney character ever drawn. If you didn't know.) The princely vampire Leon was also an interesting addition, his "honorable" chararacter bringing contrast to the pirates of the story.

The were a few other wonderfully surprising characters that showed up in this second book, but I'm not about to tell you everything! The only one I didn't quite understand was William. Perhaps I'm wrong, but it seems to me he only served to fill up pages.

Other than that the plot went smoothly, though a bit hard to keep up with at times. The imagery was wonderful and the writing exquisite. Definitely a trilogy and an author to follow. The one thing I would like to caution readers about a bit though, is the fact that the second installment was a good bit more racy than the last. I know alot of younger kids read book for older teen, so just be careful about this one. There was a bit more sexual content in it than you find in the majority of the YA books these days. Not to the point that it was terribly over-done. Just a warning.

Other than that, I completely suggest East and Eight to anyone who is a fan of pirates and adventure. Just be sure you read the first book!

Many thanks to the author for sending me a copy to review!
The first book, A Pirate's Charm, has entered into the second round of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards! Congrats!

To order Lore: East and Eight from Amazon.com, please click here.