Release Review & Excerpt- Nicole Hadaway
The old saying goes, “The ends justify the means”…
For vampire Miranda Dandridge, using her supernatural abilities to rescue children from impossible circumstances is her means to be a part of the human world that she loves so much, despite the atrocities of WWII.
For doctor Ben Gongliewski, saving his fellow Jews from the horrific death camps is an end for which he risks his own life every day, hiding his Jewish heritage while feigning loyalty the SS.
Neither Miranda nor Ben expects to find love in World War II Europe, but that is exactly what happens as they work for the Resistance. When the war draws to a close, it seems like the vampire and the doctor are free to start a future together. Yet the two forget just how far the Nazis will go to further their own evil ends.
Desperate times make for ruthless men as loves and lives are threatened, but, Miranda and Ben know that their world cannot go to hell, not by any means…
Release by Nicole Hadaway is full of great writing, interesting characters and intense topics that tug at the heart strings. I was instantly drawn to the writing style. And as a bonus, Release is like nothing I have ever read before. Vampires and Werewolves in the middle of World War II? Yes, please!
The characters in this book are very strong and independent. I really liked Miranda’s character. It might just be that I’m partial to vampires, but I thought that she was wonderful. All of the other main and supporting characters were also well written.
I really loved how this book captured World War II and the Nazi’s and the Holocaust. Those are pretty intense subjects to talk about, especially in a paranormal book, and I thought that Nicole Hadaway did a brilliant job of capturing all of that into one book. I will admit, there were times that it got a little boring, but I don’t think that had anything to do with the writing. Instead, I think it had more to do with my interest level in the topics and the time period. This book is a definite hit for fans of history and/or historical paranormal fiction.
The paranormal aspects of the book were also well thought out and incorporated in an interesting and intriguing way. When you think of the Holocaust, you don’t think of vampires and werewolves rescuing some of the Jews and other victims. This aspect of the book drew me in, and I really enjoyed it.
Overall, I thought that this book was interesting and captivating. I’m not the biggest fan of historical fiction, so there were moments that I got detached from the book, but I was mostly interested throughout the whole thing. It was gritty, heartbreaking and fascinating all rolled into one book. I really enjoyed this one!
Pages: 290
Publisher: Visionary Press
Publication Date: January 4th, 2013
Rating: : 
As a lawyer, Nicole Hadaway knows all about bloodsuckers and deals with the devil. She currently lives in Texas where she pens such tales involving the supernatural, featuring her heroine, the vampire Miranda Dandridge.
Excerpt 1 (Suspenseful, characters in danger):
Ben felt Rose’s tear-stained cheek against his own and thought, That’s how I feel too. Here, what had started out as a foolish lark – having dinner with a pretty girl – was now a full-fledged disaster. Ben didn’t know Rose that well, and now, he would be responsible for her death. The guilt made his stomach turn.
He held on to Rose, whose body trembled with sobs. And choking – the smoke was becoming thicker and it was really getting hard to breathe without coughing profusely. Ben could see that the fire was burning through the door now, bits of orange flames licking the wood.
“On the floor,” he managed to choke out, remembering that heat rose, so the smoke would be thicker above them than at their feet. Rose obediently crouched down, laying next to him, burrowing her body into his for comfort. He could feel that she was drying her tears, in an attempt to meet death bravely.
I must be dying, Ben said to himself. This has to be a hallucination – they can’t really be here. Before Ben’s eyes, blurred with tears, he thought he saw those two other women from the forest, Rose’s friends, the wild-haired brunette and the dangerous-looking blonde. They walked right through the doorway of flames. As if the flames weren’t even there at all.
The brunette had a look of relief on her face as she looked in his direction. Before Ben knew it, the brunette was at his side, gathering Rose in her arms. How did she get over here… but Ben reminded himself, you’re dying, these are just hallucinations before you cross over. Ben was surprised when the blonde one bent down, and, looking into his face, said, “He’s alive – should we take him?”
Ben doubted the blonde’s words – that he was alive. Because he was certainly on his way to Hell, seeing visions of demons – a kind of wolf now stood where the brunette and Rose had been. Yes, he was with a wolf, who held some kind of small, limp animal in its mouth.
Before he could wonder where the wolf had gone, Ben became vaguely aware that the blonde was gathering him in her arms saying, “Hold on bud, this is going to feel strange.”
So this is this is what dying feels like, like you really are on a journey, Ben thought as he saw a white light in front of him, then – darkness as he was being squeezed and forced through a tunnel.
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