Knocked off a couple of books recently. I've read SEVEN FOR A SECRET by Mary Reed and Eric Mayer, but I'm going to wait until I finish EIGHT FOR ETERNITY (soon) and then make a post on both of them.

Meanwhile, I also read a couple books by Echelon Press authors. In the past I've noted that the editing of the books I've read was less than stellar. I must say, however, that these latest two have much better editing.

Maybe it's just the authors. The first is Sean Hayden, who is writing a series called Demonkin and Origins is the first of the series. It's "urban fantasy", where magical beings like lycanthropes and vampires live among normal humans, and are more or less accepted. Along with their presence and their extra-human strengths and skills, however, comes the need to police them. Origins tells the story of Ashlynn, a young lady of about 17 whose mother died during childbirth (and was braindead before that) and whose father, as we find out in the prologue, was a powerful demon. Ashlynn doesn't know about her father, and doesn't know exactly what she is. But she is soon forced into the world, and she discovers her own extra-human abilities. She gets on the FBI's radar and is recruited as an agent to help police the extra-human types. Aside from a few typos and such, this was a pretty well written book, and the story was strong enough to carry me (the reader) past any small weaknesses.

Betrayed is a YA novel by Sam Morton, who among other things is an ex-cop. It tells the story of Austin Pierce, who discovers his friend is in the United States illegally. Austin has to deal with the issue of illegal immigration on a very personal level, first with the two boys' peers and with some of Austin's father's clients, and second, on a visit to Mexico, with his friend Rico's beautiful cousin Veronica and with the other side of the story of illegal immigration.

This was a really well plotted and well written story, perhaps not deep enough for an adult treatment of the issues involved, but maybe even a little too deep for any young readers under the junior high age. I will likely purchase Morton's next book in this series, and will consider reading his adult work as well.

SEVEN FOR A SECRET and EIGHT FOR ETERNITY are a cut above these books in content, plotting and writing, in my humble opinion, and I am looking forward to finishing up EIGHT. But as far as Echelon Press novels go, these two speak well to the quality of the material they are putting out.

*****