Commencement by Paige Cuccaro is a fun introduction to the world of Emma Jane Hellsbane, Nephilim.
We first meet Emma as a senior in college. She's got all the things a senior needs, including a hunky boyfriend. But Emma has one thing a senior can do without, she can feel emotions. When Justin, her boyfriend starts acting strange and she feels a wave of slimy hatred from him, she begins to suspect something is seriously wrong. She discovers that Justin is possessed by a Jinni. And the evil creature will do anything to own Justin's body.

Although the novella is short, there's plenty of action as Emma fights to save Justin's soul. The characters are quirky and well drawn, and I highly recommend this introduction to the Hellsbane universe.

I plan to buy the first novel in the series and I highly recommend that you could too! ( )

3.5

*Book source ~ Many thanks to Entangled Publishing for providing a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Emma Jane Hellsbane is different than her fellow college students. Not only can she sense other people’s emotions, but she experiences them, too. She’s had to work to keep feelings not her own at bay, but sometimes they overwhelm her. When her boyfriend Justin suddenly doesn’t feel right to her, she seeks help from the one person who she can talk to and not expect him to call her a freak. Mihir is a fifteen-year-old genius, a Junior in college and his family believes in all things mystical. So, even though he hates Emma’s boyfriend because he’s lusting after Emma himself, he’s there to help her figure out what is wrong with Justin. What’s wrong with Justin is way creepy and dangerous. It’s up to a skeptical Emma to save the day.

A good start to a new series this short introduces us to Emma and her freaky ability to sense and feel the emotions of others. Even though she has been able to do this since she could remember, she has a hard time believing Mihir when he starts tossing out ideas as to what is wrong with Justin. I was irritated with her at this point. She’s living with some weird ability and yet she completely doesn’t believe anything else weird is out there? Give me a break. I’d be more apt to believe all kinds of stuff rather than bury my head in the sand and pretend the boogeyman isn’t out there. Other than that though I enjoyed the introduction to the Hellsbane series. Oh, and Justin? He’s an idiot that got what he wished for even if it wasn’t quite how he wanted it. ( )

Commencement is a short and interesting intro into a New Adult paranormal/fantasy series. I am very impressed with how well the story was written. It was just enough to leave you wanting more.

Emma Jane Hellsbane is in collage and is going to be graduating soon. Her best friend Mihir is a quirky and super smart teen and he knows her secret. A secret she has not told her almost perfect boyfriend Justin. That secret is that she can feel the emotions of others.

Soon she starts feeling strange emotion coming from Justin. After talking with Mihir she comes to realized that Justin may just be possessed…

This prequel is just the right length to help you get started in what I hope is going to be a fun and entertaining new series. ( )

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy

Like many fans of this genre, Buffy the Vampire Slayer was my gateway drug to the world of urban fantasy. So whenever I come across a book that is reminiscent of Buffy, or pays homage to the series, I get happy, happy, happy. Paige Cucarro’s Hellsbane series does both, and it does them well.

In this prequel novella, set five years before HELLSBANE, the first full length novel in the series, empath Emma Jane is a young college student with a genius best friend Mihir (think Buffy’s Giles combined with Willow–he’s in love with her so add Zander into the mix too). Emma has had to learn to block her empathic abilities, but strong emotions still leak through like when her soccer star boyfriend starts feeling homicidal towards her. A when bodies start pilling up on campus, Emma has to embrace the gift she’s spent her life blocking.

In just 50 pages, Cucarro packed more character development and plot into this novella than many other authors do will full novels. COMMENCEMENT read like a lost episode of Buffy with clever dialog, metaphorical mythology, big bad villains and even bigger heroines. This looks like a series to watch. The first full novel in the Hellsbane series is called HELLSBANE and was just released. It’s already on my kindle.

Sexual Content:
Kissing. References to sex ( )

Emma Jane Hellsbane has a boyfriend named Justin that she loves, she is graduating college in a few days and a best friend named Mihir. Emma can also feel others emotions, not sense them she really feels them.

One night when Emma is with Justin she feels an evil presence. At first, she thinks it’s coming from Justin but Mihir mentions it might be a possession. Emma, with Mihir’s help, must solve the mystery of this menacing spirit effecting Justin.

Commencement is the first in Hellsbane Series. Novella in length but still manages to pack a punch. Action, adventure, mystery and heart ache, Commencement had it all. 5 stars

This copy of Commencement was given to me by Netgalley and Entangled Publishing, LLC in exchange for an honest review. Published October 22, 2012.

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