Review: On Every Street by Karina Halle

Book: On Every Street (The Artists Trilogy #0.5)
By: Karina Halle
Published: March 9, 2013
Published by: Self Published

Description: When young con artist Ellie Watt decides to call herself Eden White and go after the drug lord who ruined her as a child, she never expects to fall for one of his henchmen. But Javier Bernal is no ordinary man. Subtly dangerous and overwhelmingly seductive, Eden finds herself passionately in love with Javier, the very person she's set-up to betray. With her body and heart in a heated battle against her deep need for revenge, no one will walk away from this con a winner.

This 50K word (100+ pages) novella takes place six years before Sins & Needles. It can be read before or after Sins & Needles and may also be read as a standalone.

My Thoughts: Want to know why I love Karina Halle? It's because she puts out book, after book, after book, multiple times in one year (granted some are novellas, not full novels) and you arent left waiting an entire year to see more of the series you are obsessing over, and they're all great. On Every Street is one such novella, released a mere 2 months after it's predecessor, Sins and Needles (though it takes place before the events of Sins and Needles) and it doesnt disappoint.

On Every Street details the events that shaped who Ellie Watt (con name Eden White) is today, why she is so terrified of Javier Bernal, and why she fell in love with him in the first place. It's crazy, we know how the story will end (if you've already read Sins and Needles) but we cant help watching it happen. Some masochistic tendancy inside me allows me to be won over by Javier just in time to have him ruin me. I mean seriously, who wouldnt fall for a man who says things like:

"I once told you to leave and not to love me,” he cried out, muffled. “I’m taking all of that back. Not because I deserve it or because I’m worthy of your love. But because I need it like the air I breathe. I need you. I need you to believe in me. I need your love to make me feel like I can be redeemed.”

“I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone. More than I thought I was capable of. Eden, you’ve taken my heart by surprise from the day I first saw you. It hasn’t been my heart since.”

"I want to stain you, Eden. I want myself imbedded in your skin, in your heart, in your soul."

That last quote alone sends shivers down my spine. OMG, I want to scoop this (seemingly) broken man up in my arms, cradle him on my chest, and show him what love is all about. I want to fix him, and I want him to stain me in all the ways he can (TMI?...I mean seriously, he is an amazing lover...okay back to the point). This love between Eden and Javier is passionate, strong, intense, and all consuming. It's blind and vindictive and tragic. I knew what was going to happen but I couldnt help but be blinded into a false sense of security, only to have my heart ripped out of my chest. I wanted to un-see some of the events of this book, and go back to my blissful ignorance
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This book is so amazing it's terrible. How dare Karina Halle do something like this to me?

If you havent yet read ths series, you need to. Sins and Needles, and On Every Street can be read in any order but just know it's real. Yes, I know it's fiction, but these fictional people have real vulnerabilities, make real mistakes, and are more like real life people than most non-fiction books are (not that I read much non-fiction). I wouldnt be surprised if, at the end of the trilogy, Karina told us that the story was based off the life of a real  person's diary or something. I dont know how she does it.

If you dont listen to anything else I say, listen to this, read something in the Artists Trilogy. It'll have you looking at life in a whole new way. I have no doubt you know my rating.....5 stars.

Oh, and I finally met Karina at the Boston Author Event!!! She's just as amazing in person as I imagine her in my head!

So, why havent you read Sins and Needles yet?

RRT: The Hatred of Ellie Watt (of The Artists Trilogy)

Hey Guys!!! This will be a regular old post for now. I havent decided if I'll be doing a video for my YouTube page but we'll see. If I do, I'll post a link here.
I just got finished reading this post over on The Experiment in Terror Official Site page talking about the backlash from women about the character of Ellie Watt; liar, thief, con-artist, and 100% bad-ass from the Artists trilogy. (See My review for the first book, Sins & Needles, here.) It seems women pretty much hate everything about her, all of her decisions they hate. Even the one bug huge decision at the end they hate; the one that shows that maybe, perhaps, Ellie Watt is attempting to be a better person. To some women readers, her decision is selfish, and in some ways maybe it is. Regardless, the decision is made.

I really dont understand the backlash. As Karina Halle, Author of the Sins & Needles book, said, we love our male characters to be bad boys. They can lie, cheat, steal, kill, rape, abuse, and do pretty much anything else and as long as they have rippling abs and sexy dark eyes and decide not to kill the one damsel in distress, they're officially swoon worthy. Excuse my language, but What the Hell? Seriously. How is Ellie this horrible person because she's made bad decisions whereas the guys are completely sexy and gorgeous? Double Standard anyone?

It's my belief that there are little bits of Ellie in all of us women. Maybe that's why it's so hard for some women to accept her. We all put on these innocent fronts for everyone around us of being good little girls who always do the right thing and only want to fall in love and blah-de-blah-de blah. We act like we would never do anything wrong, like we never lie, or cheat. We spend our time pretending we dont think badly of ourselves as Ellie does, that we dont always deserve the perfect life for our mistakes, and we therefore make even more mistakes. We act like there hasn't been a time when we hear our conscience screaming at us to just do the right thing. That this time you probably shouldn't do that one bad thing you always do, because this time you may just get caught, but you do it anyway, and stupidly you get caught. Sure our actual events may not be as serious as Ellie's or as dangerous and damaging, but still, I think we're more like her than we know. We just grew up in a different situation.

We all have skeletons that not even our closest friends know about. Yet we prefer books where the guy is the bad-boy and women are the good girls because it ensures that no one knows our secret. It ensures that no one knows that women can sometimes be just as bad, if not worse, than all those sexy men we love in the books.

I love Ellie Watt because she shows the good, the bad, and the ugly. She shows our weaknesses, not just as women but as humans in general. She shows our strengths and our ability to go on despite all odds. She show's our innate ability to survive no matter what. Her final decision in book 1 shows the sacrifice we as women make time and time again to protect those we love from getting hurt. No, it may not have been the best decision, but it was the one she could deal with.

I love Ellie Watt, I love Sins and Needles. It's my hope that we as women can see the good in her the same way we can see the good in our male book heros and stop puting her down.

What do you all think about this topic? Do you agree that this may be the reason people put down the character of Ellie Watt or do you think I'm wrong? Could it be that we hold our fellow women to a higher standard than we do men? If so, do you think that's fair?

Message to the Author: (if by some miracle you're actually reading this) Thanks so much for making all your characters as flawed as we as humans really are. It makes your books so much more real and it keeps me hooked!

Review: Into the Hollow by Karina Halle

Book: Into the Hollow (Experiment in Terror #6)
By: Karina Halle
Published: November 15, 2012
Published by: Self Published

Description: Perry Palomino has fought her demons – and won – but the battle is far from over. She’s now left broken and on her own, leaving behind her life and family in Portland to focus on giving Dex Foray – and the Experiment in Terror show – a second chance. But their past mistakes continue to tease and test their relationship, as does the wild and desolate terrain of the Canadian Rockies. The snow-covered peaks and ravenous forests hide an urban legend too unbelievably frightening to be true and the only way the duo has a chance of surviving is if Perry can let in the very man who sent her to hell and back.
Rated 16+ for language, gore and sexual content


My Thoughts: I didn’t want to waste a second after reading this story to write a review of it. I wanted to feel everything I felt and be able to somehow someway show you all how much I absolutely loved it.


We begin with Perry in her home after the fallout from the last book (I’ll try not to give any spoilers). She decides to move out of her parent’s house and in with a certain someone. She decides to think about Experiment in Terror some more and decides that taking on an investigation of a Sasquatch sighting may just be the safest route. After all, Sasquatch doesn’t exist anyway.

Things are strange between her and Dex, as expected and we see the fluctuations in feelings Perry feels. We see the changes they experienced in their lives after the last books events. There’s just so much emotion and I have no way to explain how great it is to see after the terror that was the last book.

I loved Dex so much in this book. I never felt I should love him more but somehow I did. He’s just awesome. I love Perry even more but she also pisses me off, probably because she reminds me of myself and I often piss myself off too. *wink* It’s also because she’s afraid to let Dex in (as always) and for good reason and I so want them together but I completely understand her reasoning. It doesn’t mean I have to like it.

This book had my heart racing in suspense. So many things have been happening and I just love it. The Experiment in Terror series just keeps getting better and better. Yes, it’s terrifying but it’s so much more than that. This series focuses on the intricacies that are our innermost feelings. It’s not about fear for the ghosts or demons or scary man-killing beasts. No, that’s not what it is at all. This series is about facing your fears, all of them, and overcoming them somehow. It’s about understanding that although you’re scared and tired and all hell is literally breaking loose, if you only have the courage to face those fears, you may just be surprised of what you end up with.

I would suggest this series to anyone who likes books that are open, that aren’t all gumdrops and rainbows and daisies. To those of us who understand that love sucks sometimes. It rips your heart open to leave it bleeding onto the street for you to pick up and attempt to assemble into a somewhat decent mess. That after something like that, you can’t and don’t ever want to love again, because how can one heart go on after something like that. How you can face the fear of being hurt time and time again? If you want a story that’s real, I’d suggest you give the Experiment in Terror Series a try. I give it 5 large stars, and I cant wait for the next book in the series, “Come Alive”

Review: The Devil's Metal by Karina Halle

Book: The Devil's Metal
By: Karina Halle
Published: September 21, 2012
Publisher: Metal Blonde Books

Description: It’s the summer of 1974 and 21-year old Dawn Emerson has only three things she wants to do: compete one last time in the Ellensburg Rodeo, win back her ex-boyfriend Ryan, and become the best damn music journalist at Central Washington University. But all her plans are left in the dust when she’s contacted by Creem magazine to go on the road with one of her favorite groups, the up-and-coming metal band, Hybrid.


At first the assignment reads like a dream come true. Not only will Dawn land some much-needed credibility as a female music journalist, but she’ll finally get to experience life from the other side of the stage, and maybe crack the drunken, enigmatic code that is guitarist Sage Knightly. Instead, Dawn finds herself on an aging tour bus filled with ego-maniacs, band politics and a whole lot of sex, drugs and rock n’ roll. When monsters start showing up in dressing rooms and some of Sage’s groupies become increasingly strange and dangerous, Dawn discovers the band is not only going places – they’re going straight to Hell.

And Dawn has a backstage pass.

My Thoughts: First let me start off by saying "OH SHIT, OH SHIT, OH SHIT" (sorry for those of you that don't like profanity but after reading this book, you'll be saying the same thing). Now that that's out of the way, I can get to my review.

The Devil's Metal follows Dawn Emerson alias, Rusty a tall red head on her journey to becoming an amazing journalist by documenting the tour of her favorite band, Hybrid. After receiving the call, Dawn jumped at the opportunity. I mean really, how often does something this monumental happen to a girl, and with their favorite metal band of all bands. She goes to join the tour leaving behind her alcoholic father and her little brother suffering from tourettes. At first, it's amazing. Granted the bands only woman, Noelle, doesn't seem to like her and treats her like a groupie, and the band's drummer, Graham, seems to be a little...er...strange, and the bands leading guitar player, Sage, doesn't want her there but so what. She's on tour darnit and she's making the best out of it.

It's not long though before things start to go downhill. First, there are these 3 groupie women, the GTFO's (Get the F**k Outs...too funny I must admit) that follow the band around and are at every stop. They're creepy, and we know from the beginning that something is not quite right with them. Then there's Graham. He's all dark and satanic and upside down crosses and all that, but is it for real or just a show? Then there's Sage and Jacob who seem as if everything is okay, but is it really? And why do they always seem to be at the middle of things. Eventually we find the answers to our questions, and some big surprises along the way, things we didn't even consider, things that make you fear for these poor characters lives and enforce the ever popular saying, "Be careful what you wish for." This book ends in such a way that I'm still somewhat shaken up and I'd die to get my hands on the second book. (Please, don't take that literally. I'd prefer not to die)Yes, this book was so good and creepy that I'm somewhat worried about the promises, deals, and general statements I may or may not have made in the past, and it's a good thing when a book is so good that it makes you question your own choices.

In terms of the characters, I loved Dawn. She just made sense, she wasn't an idiot and she knew when things got a little fishy. She could have been a real person for all I knew (and I suppose she was since the author took some real life occurrences and added them to the story....I'd like to know which ones were real...hmmm). In terms of Sage. OMG SAGE. He's a sexy mix of Mexican and Caucasian and I'd love to meet him and....oh! I forgot you were still here. Just know that Sage is definitely a man. The secondary characters, Noelle, Jacob, Graham, Robbie, and Mickey were designed in such a way that I loved every last one of them (except Graham) in different ways. I even liked the GTFO's (as far as bad guys go). This book was so well thought out and I loved it.

This book does take place in the 70's, and does follow rock stars so u can expect to hear quite a bit of vulgar language, encounter some very sexual scenes, and read about gratuitous drug use so be advised that you should probably be 18 to read this. For all you scaredy cat's out there, I must say that this book is no more scary than Karina's other series Experiment in Terror. Somewhat less so even. And, to further bring you over to the dark side (pun intended), know that this book isn't like a scary movie. Your mind can skitter over the scary parts and still get by without keeping you up at night. The pictures don't haunt your dreams because you can choose not to completely visualize them. It's a book you MUST read (this means you!) Give it a chance, or checkout Darkhouse (it's free on kindle right now. You have nothing to lose). Trust me, you'll love them, and all things Karina Halle.

Karina Halle is a very talented author. I absolutely love all her work and am now a die hard fan. I'd read anything she put out (and tell me that cover isnt gorgeous. I'm in love). As for this book, I give it 5 stars!