Book Review - Vampirates bk 2-5

Book 2 - Tide of Terror: 

Connor Tempest may only be fourteen but he's taken to the life of a pirate like a duck to water. But his loyalties are divided between his shipmates and his sister. Grace isn't finding the pirate life so appealing. She cannot shake the feeling that all is not well on the vampirate ship she left behind. Sidorio may have been expelled from the vampirate ship but his dark deeds are just beginning...

My Review

This book carries on perfectly from the first, the twins are once again re-united, but this doesn't make them particularly happy, Grace feels she should be back with the Vampirates and doesn't like her brother being a pirate, it's too dangerous, especially when his friend gets killed in a raid, Grace begins to panic and so convinces her brother to take leave to the 'Pirate Academy' where they can learn more about the future in a Safe environment, but things aren't all they seem there either. I loved the plot twists and turns and the pirate academy sounds great, sign me up please. The twins are really starting to grow up, but also become there own person. A great read left me begging for more.

My Rating

I would give this book 9/10, a fabulous read, arrgggh me hearteys!   

And so...

Book 3 - Blood Captain:

For Connor, these are testing times aboard notorious pirate ship, The Diablo - not least when Captain Wrathe's obnoxious nephew Moonshine joins the crew. And, as things reach breaking point, Connor finds himself crossing a line from which there is no return. Meanwhile Grace and Lorcan journey to Sanctuary, a mountain retreat presided over by vampirate guru, Mosh Zu Kamal. If anyone can heal Lorcan's blindness, it's Mosh Zu, but he's more interested in Grace. Combatting danger on all sides, Grace realises her fate is inextricably bound up with the vampirates...

My Review

Things start to get really exciting in this book, Grace travels to the mysterious Sanctuary where they seem more interested in her than in healing Lorcan, Connor is back on board the Diablo but having to put up with Moonshine, and then committing an act he can never go back on, makes him doubt his future as a pirate. Lorcan and Grace get closer, but something is keeping them from saying how they feel, Grace also meets Johnny, another vampire with a great sense of humour, but is he there for her, or just passing through. I love the new characters, Johnny was probably my favourite, but Mosh Zu is great too, and Moonshine is the stroppy teenager we all know. Another great part of a fantastic series.

My Rating

I would give this book 9/10. Keep up the amazing story.

Book 4 - Black Heart:

There's a new ship of vampirates roaming the seas, leaving a trail of fear and devastation in its wake. When a high-profile pirate is slain, the Pirate Federation takes decisive action and begins training up a ship of dedicated vampire hunters. Amongst the dynamic crew is young pirate prodigy Connor Tempest. Meanwhile, Connor's twin sister Grace enjoys a bittersweet reunion with their mother, Sally, who has some important and shocking news for her daughter. As Grace uncovers the truth about her family's past, she realises that she and Connor face a daunting and uncertain future

My Review

This is where things start to get really exciting, Sidorio is taking the seas by storm with his crew of renegade Vampirates, but someone is trying to play him at the game, enter Lady Lola, a high class Vampirate with a ship of all women Vampirates, with their signature Black Hearts that all the ladies have painted over their eye, and the card they leave on the bodies of their victims is a Queen of Hearts playing card, but unlike normal, it is painted red.

Grace meets her mother, and realises it is a short stay only, and so asks all about her past, and as she uncovers her families past, she realises her life is about to get far more complicated. Meanwhile Connor has left Captain Wrathes ship and now joined Cheng Li on her new vessel, but this isn't an ordinary ship, they are now Vampirate Hunters, out to purge the sea of evil. There are so many plot twists in this story i was constanly held on the edge of my seat, guessing what was to come and hardly ever being right. I think this is my favourite of the series so far. A definite must read.

My Rating

I would give this book 9.5/10 absolutely superb.

Book 5: Empire of Night

Sidorio, fuelled by grief and revenge, is intent on becoming King of the Vampirates and building a new empire to bring terror to the oceans. He faces growing opposition from both the Pirate Federation, including Vampirate Assassin Cheng Li, and the Nocturnals - the more benign vampirate realm - led by Mosh Zu and Lorcan Furey. Both the pirates and the Nocturnals are forced to raise their game in response to the new and urgent threat from Sidorio and the renegade Vampirates. Twins Grace and Connor Tempest, still ricocheting from the recent discovery of their true parenthood and its explosive implications, are thrust deep into the heart of the conflict. Old foes and allies are thrown together in unexpected ways and, as the stakes rise higher than ever before, Grace and Connor find their alliances shifting in ways no-one could ever have possibly foreseen...

My Review

After enjoying all the other books so much, i couldn't wait to pick this one up. After discovering who their real parents are the twins face a lot of difficult decisions. They find themselves aboard 'The Blood Captain' and 'The Vagabond' under Sidorio and Lady Lola. This book had a lot of tension, and a few laughs in, but took me a bit longer to get into, i couldn't grasp the whole twins drinking blood and letting themselves become bloodthirsty vampires, i trusted their character more than this, i didn't like what Grace  was becoming, reunited with Johnny, she has to decide if she will stay true to Lorcan or share guilty pleasures with Johnny. Don't get me wrong this book was still a good read, but it also felt a bit like the author was going through thinking 'i haven't killed anyone in a couple of chapters, who's next' or 'no one is miserable at the moment what conflict can i put in'. it seemed a bit forced, and a lot of characters were killed off, some i didn't care about, but one towards the end of the book had me in tears, I won't say who as i don't want to spoil it, but it was one of my favourite characters and i was heartbroken. I still can't wait for the next one, as usual there were many twists and turns and heart-stopping moments. But not his best work

My Rating

I would give this book 6.5/10. Still a good story, but not as good as the others. Too many forced deaths.