Completely Series-Us: Asylum by Madeleine Roux and Immortal Empire by Kate Locke

Completely Series-us is a new feature where we post about one series we read that month. 

Ash- 

The series I'm highlighting this month is Asylum by Madeleine Roux. 

Here is my review for Escape From Asylum.

Title: Asylum

Author: Madeleine Roux

Publisher: HarperTeen

Publishing Date: August 20th, 2013

Pages: 317
Audio Length: 6 Hours 43 Minutes

Genre: YA Horror Mystery
TW: Torture/Murder

Series: Asylum #1

Source: Audio

 

Asylum is a thrilling and creepy photo-novel perfect for fans of the New York Times bestseller Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.
For sixteen-year-old Dan Crawford, New Hampshire College Prep is more than a summer program—it's a lifeline. An outcast at his high school, Dan is excited to finally make some friends in his last summer before college. But when he arrives at the program, Dan learns that his dorm for the summer used to be a sanatorium, more commonly known as an asylum. And not just any asylum—a last resort for the criminally insane.
As Dan and his new friends, Abby and Jordan, explore the hidden recesses of their creepy summer home, they soon discover it's no coincidence that the three of them ended up here. Because the asylum holds the key to a terrifying past. And there are some secrets that refuse to stay buried.
Featuring found photos of unsettling history and real abandoned asylums and filled with chilling mystery and page-turning suspense, Madeleine Roux's teen debut, Asylum, is a horror story that treads the line between genius and insanity.

Mini Review:

I absolutely loved this book. This is my second time reading this book. I read it the first time and listened the second. And I feel like it's almost creepier the second time around.The only problem is that you can't see the pictures in the book and I do remember the pictures adding to it. 

The story is really unique, definitely has creep factor. I couldn't sleep the night I read it. 

Title: Sanctum

Publishing Date: August 26th, 2014 

Pages: 347

Audio Length: 7 Hours and 30 Minutes

Genre: YA Horror

TW:Murder

Series: Asylum #2

Source: Audio

 

Mini Review:

I definitely did not enjoy this one as much as I enjoyed the first one. I felt like it was a bit slower than the first one, and didn't have as interesting of a story. This one still felt like it fits in with the first one, but I feel like it wasn't necessary for the story.

Title: Catacomb

Publishing Date: September 1st, 2015

Pages: 352
Audio Length: 6 Hours and 43 Minutes

Genre: YA Horror
TW: Murder

Series: Asylum #2

Source: Audio

 

Mini Review:

This was my least favorite book. I really didn't enjoy it. I enjoyed the writing. The characters were still great. But this one I felt like had nothing to do with the story at all. It didn't make sense.

Overall I feel like they should have just left it at Asylum and had Escape From Asylum be a companion novel. I feel like there was no reason to keep the series going. 

So obviously Escape from Asylum and Asylum were my favorites. I feel like it was a waste of time to read the other two. And I also read all three novellas. 

New York Times Bestselling Author of the ASYLUM series, Allison Hewitt Is Trapped, Sadie Walker Is Stranded and the upcoming House of Furies series.

MADELEINE ROUX received her BA in Creative Writing and Acting from Beloit College in 2008. In the spring of 2009, Madeleine completed an Honors Term at Beloit College, proposing, writing and presenting a full-length historical fiction novel. Shortly after, she began the experimental fiction blog Allison Hewitt Is Trapped. Allison Hewitt Is Trapped quickly spread throughout the blogosphere, bringing a unique serial fiction experience to readers.
Born in Minnesota, she now lives and works in Seattle, Washington.
Website: http://www.madeleine-roux.com
Twitter: Authoroux
Genre: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Young Adult 

From around the web:

Jenn-

I recently finished the series Immortal Empire by Kate Locke. 

There are 3 books in the series.

God Save the Queen Review - 5 Hearts

The Queen is Dead Review- 4 Hearts 

Long Live the Queen Review- 5 Hearts

God Save the Queen by Kate Locke (Immortal Empire #1)

Queen Victoria rules with an immortal fist.
The undead matriarch of a Britain where the Aristocracy is made up of werewolves and vampires, where goblins live underground and mothers know better than to let their children out after dark. A world where being nobility means being infected with the Plague (side-effects include undeath), Hysteria is the popular affliction of the day, and leeches are considered a delicacy. And a world where technology lives side by side with magic. The year is 2012 and Pax Britannia still reigns.Xandra Vardan is a member of the elite Royal Guard, and it is her duty to protect the Aristocracy. But when her sister goes missing, Xandra will set out on a path that undermines everything she believed in and uncover a conspiracy that threatens to topple the empire. And she is the key-the prize in a very dangerous struggle.

Series Review:

As a whole I loved this series. I thought everything was great about it. I think this was first book I read with the steampunk world. It was amazing.... not only was it steampunk it was supernatural steampunk. 

The world building was done very well. I felt I understood how it all worked and it was intricate. I mean the way that the supernaturals started, the way they bred, they way halfsies and goblins were made. It was detailed and well thought out. 

The characters were also very well developed.  I just adore vex. He was quite the old fashioned gentleman in some ways, a real animal in others, and just all around supportive. He was so perfect and Yummy. Xandra was just kick ass and I adored her. Her attitide,  her loyalty, and her crazy was all ideal for me. There were many many secondary charcters in this series, all well developed and all well thought out. I loved them all. Even the ones I hated. 

The romance was secondary in this book but it was still a great part of this read. I enjoyed the romance so so much. I wish I would get more from these two. I have to say that Xandra and Vex... one of my favorite book couples ever. The romance was just perfectly steamy and sassy and full of fun banter. Loved it. 

All three books were great reads and just the right amount of books.... except I had to say goodbye, which I was ready for but really really didn't want to. I would love a spin off from this series. 

Series Rating:

Kate Locke has always enjoyed making things up — a trait that often got her into trouble as a child, but by which she enjoys making a living. Before writing fiction full time she worked as cook, a journalist and in a photo finishing lab where she saw enough pictures of naked people to rival Hugh Hefner. A guy once asked her out after giving her a roll of film that he expressly requested she develop and print. The entire roll was images of him stark naked in the woods. And no, that’s the kind of thing you just don’t make up.

In her late 20s Kate sold her first book and enjoyed a 10 year career writing under a different name. Her love of fantasy and the paranormal refused to leave her alone, and one day, while sitting on the couch thinking of making a very scary career move, she started jotting down notes for a book she wanted to write just for the pure enjoyment of it; a book just for herself. That book became God Save the Queen. Her agent thought they could sell it — Kate wasn’t certain. Then, the day after having her gall bladder removed (again, can’t make this stuff up), Kate got the call that Orbit books — her dream publisher for God Save the Queen — had made an offer. And it’s been more exciting than she ever imagined.

Like Xandra Vardan, the heroine in God Save the Queen, Kate values those she loves above all else, and has hair a color not typically found in nature. Unfortunately, Kate’s comes from a bottle. She’s married to a fabulous man who doesn’t seem to care what she does to her hair, puts up with her occasional* craziness, helps her plot, and treats her like she’s the best thing since lipgloss.

Extras:

I think this would make a great television show. It would be exciting and so much could be done to make the plot continue over a couple of seasons.... so lets see here who would I get to play the characters Phoebe Tonkin and Xandra and Nathan Parsons as Vex. I loved them together in the originals and I think they would be perfect for these parts! 

Fashion:

Let's focus on some steampunk fashion for Xandra and Vex: