Ok, this is not the cover for the book, Final Redemption, obviously, but I love this artwork, and to me, it resembled the way Erin in this series would look, to me anyway. (i only changed one thing, made her eyes lavender, like in the book) (I found this pic on a free fantasy wallpapers website, here is direct link to this one, Fantasy Angel)
Lets start this off first with the interview with the author Christine James, she answers a question on a summary of the series, and what the characters would look like to her. Then, in my review, I say to me, what they looked like. Just having some fun. This is a great series, and I fell in love with these characters, and really connected with them.
So, here is Christine James:
Interview:
1. Where did the ideas come from for the Chosen series, Fallen, Risen, and Final Redemption?
Fallen was never supposed to be a series. I've written so many different genres (mostly historical/pirate romance novels) and it dawned on me that I'd never actually written a paranormal. I liked the challenge it presented, and I LOVE reading them, so I thought why not give it a go...In fact, when I originally wrote Fallen, it was set to be a vampire short story, for a small writing group I have on another media sight called Cafemom. The more I thought about it, the more I really didn't like Angelo for a vampire. I love vampire novels, don't get me wrong, there are so many great ones out there I just didn't feel like i could come up with an original enough idea. I used my knowledge of angels as well as my biblical knowledge ( the bible was a big tool in my research) combined with some cool lore and myths and wham Fallen was born. However, it was still never intended for publication, I am a horrible speller and very grammatically challenged. A friend of mine told me that a local author had published with Amazon so it was something that piqued my interest, but I wasn't going to publish Fallen at all, in fact by this point I'd completely forgotten all about it. It wasn't my favorite piece of work at all. My best friend, and in most cases my muse, pushed me into Fallen. I argued until I was blue in the face and second guessed myself even more. She pushed me until I gave in, though not without arguing. So I opened Fallen and began working on it some more… Adding and subtracting and polishing. Once I finished Fallen, I didn't have that feeling like it was over, I wasn't satisfied with how it ended. There had to be more, i felt like there were more to these people and that their stories weren't so cut and dry. Risen was born and within the first three pages, I knew that there would be another book. Once Final Redemption was finished, I felt like everything was complete. I was satisfied.
2. Can you tell us about the series as a whole, without too much spoilery for hopeful readers?
Wow, ummm, lol. We start in Fallen with a young girl being "Chosen" to save the earth. She's virtually alone in the world, having never known what it was like to be in love. Fallen takes us on a journey with many trials. The characters are all Nephilim, and even though they have specific powers, they are flawed and honestly at times I just wanted to slap one (or all of them). There are situations that are real in life and I wanted the readers to feel that. In Fallen, centuries old friendships are tested, love blossoms, boundaries are pushed, and lies are told. The characters aren't sure who to believe or who to trust. Risen, picks up not too long after Fallen ends. Here, we switch main characters. The main characters of Fallen aren't the main focus, however they still play a vital role. We switch to different members of the little group and literally get inside their heads for a little while. Betrayal plays a massive role in Risen as well as tragedy. There are some really heart wrenching moments in this book and we get a true look at how seriously emotionally damaged some of these poor characters are.Final Redemption literally picks up a few weeks after Risen. Here the characters are completely broken and unsure of everything. They are full of self doubt and hurt caused by each other they can’t connect like they need too. Here they have to repair themselves and the emotional damage they caused to one another in order to do their jobs properly. We also meet another member of the crew!!!!! This one is chock full of emotion and confusion. Though these have romance in them, they are not cookie cutter happily ever after. They are presented with real situations and real confusion. I often felt confused for them.
3. Who is your favorite character in the series?
Throughout the WHOLE SERIES I would have to say Blaze. He’s hot (all pun intended) but Lucy would have to be my fave from Final Redemption. She’s a spark plug and I love it.
4. I love getting inside the authors head, so to give us a visual. If this was to be a movie, which actors could you see play the Chosen 7? Plus Angie? Erin, Angelo, Thad, Blaze, Josh, Sable, and Lucy.
That’s a tough question. When I write I see these people in my head and I mix their features with so many everyday people I see. Let’s see.Thad- Alexis Denisof Pic here (Wesley from Angel)Sable- Michael Clark Duncan Pic Here(even though Sable is white in the book) this is who I have envisioned as Sable.Angie- Megan Fox (we all know what she looks like Here is pic)Angelo- Orlando Bloom (Pirates of the Caribbean style) (pic)Erin- Hayden Panettier (Pic here)Lucy- Jamie Chung (pic) or Bia Ling (Pic)Josh- Leland Chapman (Pic) (though I know he and Megan fox do not look like twins) this is who I had pegged as josh from the beginning.Blaze- a less serious version of Vin Diesel. (pic) Same beautiful body though.
5. Is there a favorite scene that you like the best? Can you share it, without too much spoilers?
There were a lot of scene’s I like. Most of them contained Lucy and her snarky, to the point honesty and sarcasm. But … probably the Football in the rain scene…
6. Is there a part in any of the books that you either cried the most, or laughed the hardest? (I sure can think of some funny parts, with Lucy, lol)
Yes, there is one particular scene in Final Redemption that had me literally sobbing. I had to step away from it for a few days because it was completely raw and hit far too close to home, but I felt I HAD to go there to get that feeling.
Lucy’s whole shirt vs. skin debate on the football game.(Here is that funny part Christine talks about, enjoy the teaser) Lucy’s whole shirt vs. skin debate on the football game.(Here is that funny part Christine talks about, enjoy the teaser)
“’K, boys, it’s shirts against skins. Lose ‘em,” Lucy said, pointing to the guys and ignoring Thad.“I beg your pardon?” Thad said, aghast.“Why do we have to be skins?” Josh complained.Lucy looked at Erin and they both shrugged and grabbed the hems of their shirts, preparing to haul them over their heads.“Whoa!” Sable said, covering his eyes immediately.“Wait,” Josh, Angelo, and Thad said at the same time.“Hell, yeah,” Blaze chimed in.The girls stopped right before they fully exposed their chest. “What? You guys act like none of you have ever seen a pair of boobs in a bra before. Josh saw mine a few hours ago and I know, for a fact, that three of you have seen hers outside the bra.” Lucy looked pointedly at Thad, Blaze, and Angelo.Erin’s head snapped in Josh’s direction. “JOSH!” she screeched, accidentally letting loose a snap of electricity.
7. Is there anything you would like to share with us that we may not know about you?
The day my writing becomes all about the money, will be the day I walk away from writing for good.
I come from and live in rural Missouri. I'm the true country girl, right down to my pink Justin cowboy boots, and love for big, loud, and muddy trucks. My love of writing began when I was in the fifth grade, when my first story was a 'scary' story. I've always been fascinated with books, and rarely without one. My family is the most important thing to me. My parents and their marriage have had the largest influence in my life. They taught me values that I still believe in and firmly rooted in, and if i achieve to be 1/2 of the parent they were to me, that would be amazing. I have three younger brothers that I considers my best friends, and one fantastic sister-in-law, and one soon to be sister-in-law I adore. I have the most INCREDIBLE in-laws any person could ever hope to have. They are truly amazing and inspiring people. There are no dreaded or horrible in-law stories here, nor will there be, because I love them.I have two sons that are the center of my world. I am blessed and fortunate to say I get to stay at home with them... I've been married to my husband for ten and a half years and is proud to call him my biggest fan.The thing I love the most, outside of writing and my family, is making people laugh. People come and go from our lives, touching and changing us in all kinds of ways. I want to be the type of person that touches someone's life, even if it is by writing a book. I believe that if only a quarter of the people in the world would loosen up and smile, the world would be a little bit happier. Never in my dreams did I believe my dreams would come true. I’ve always been a hopeless dreamer, and this goes to show everyone that no dream is impossible.
Find Christine James:
My review:
Wow, this story really captivated my attention. I would dream about it, and think about it when not reading. It took over my life, lol. For those who had not read the first 2 books, I will basically do a summary, but warn you, there could be some spoilers for books 1 ( Fallen) and 2 (Risen).
We start this one where Risen ended. The Chosen Nephlimn still have the battle ahead agains Lilith and her demons. Now the the Chosen have something that Lilith doesn’t know about, that can help them win, I wont say what, as it would be a major spoiler for those who didn’t read the other 2.
I will say we had excitement non-stop, action and some fun sexy times. The war that Erin has going on with her feelings in this one is a major one. I feel so bad for Angeleo, but will say, Thad sounds pretty good to me. I pictured my own hereo for him (Thor) meaning the actor, Chris Hemsworth, who I LOVE.
Make sure to read the interview I did with Christine, she gives us her vision of the main characters. I will give my own too as I write this.
I was really happy with the few new characters that we have acquired, especially Lucy, who is funny, snarky, and just plain fun. I also loved Thad too, but hate the conflicts he causes.
I was sad about the whole Angie deal, if you read the first 2, you will know the path that she is headed, and its sad. But I will say, this book did end with satisfaction. All loose ends were tied up nice, and I was satisfied, but sad to see it end as well.
I want to point out, that this series, and this book especially is really well put together. I really can’t find any flaw in it. Only one thing that I know will but a few people, but I got used to, is the changing from one character to the next without a pagebreak, BUT in saying that, its done in a way, that your not lost. Also, I can’t be sure I have a finished copy, so there is that too. I do enjoy getting inside the different characters heads. It really makes me care about them, I feel they are part of me now.
I connected in a big way to all of them, and that’s not something I always will do. Even Erin, who I took longer to warm up to in the first book, has grown on me, now I love her.
I highly recommend this book, and the previous ones. (you need to read them first, to know what’s going on)
I want to let you all know my own visual I have of some of these characters. Erin, I have an artist pic that shows an angle with the blonde hair, and lavender eyes, this could be Erin. That’s who I pictured. But if to pick an actress, I would have to pick Claire Holt (Rebekah in the Vampire Diaries show)
5 out of 5 stars for me
This book was provided to me by the author for my honest review.
Sources Chris Hemsworth, Kristen Kreuk, Phoebe Tonkin, Steven R. McQueen, Shemar Moore, Ian Somerhalder, The Rock, Claire Holt
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