Bait

Order of the Spirit Realm Book 1

Young Adult - Paranormal
387 Pages
Reviewed on 03/10/2015
Buy on Amazon

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    Book Review

Reviewed by Anne-Marie Reynolds for Readers' Favorite

Bait (Order of the Spirit Realm Book 1) by Kasi Blake is a paranormal story with a difference. Let me ask you, do you believe in monsters? Bay-lee does. After all, she’s been running from them for eight years, living different lives in different towns. Until one night when she receives two strange visitors. The first one is a rock star – a dead one – who doesn’t seem to like Bay-lee for some reason. His name is Tyler Beck; she didn’t like him when he was alive, and she doesn’t think much of him now. Her second night visitor is a reaper, come to warn her that people die on their birthdays. Bay-Lee is Van Helsing's daughter and, out of the blue, he arrives to take her to his school, a school for hunters. She’s been waiting for this and she’s ready to train. Her mentor? None other than Tyler Beck, or Nick Gallos as he’s really known. Bay-lee faces danger at every turn. Starting life as Bait, she works hard to move up to hunter status but it’s going to take more than she has ever faced before. And, she didn’t bank on falling in love either. Tragedy strikes more than once; can Bay-lee face up to the danger or will she back down and run?

Bait (Order of the Spirit Realm Book 1) by Kasi Blake was a great read. I have to be honest and say I was expecting a Harry Potter type of book but I couldn’t have been more wrong! It’s full of twists and turns, secrets, betrayals, everything you could possibly want in a book that is, quite simply, unputdownable. I did have an idea who I though the killer was halfway through, but I was totally wrong. And I definitely didn’t see the ending coming either, and that to me is the mark of a good storyteller. Kasi has written an excellent, action packed book here, with amazing characters and an even better storyline. I would love to get my hands on the next book in the series and I guarantee any reader will feel the same – so drawn to the characters and to the story that you won’t rest until you read the next instalment.

Michelle Randall

When you have grown up all your life, moving from place to place all the time because there are real monsters hunting you, you sleep with a dagger under your pillow. Bay-Lee Bishop does, but on the night that she is visited by dead rocker Tyler Beck, she doesn't have a chance to reach for it. Good thing because they become the main characters of the story, Bait (Order of the Spirit Realm Book 1). After Tyler's visit, Bay-Lee is visited by a Reaper, and finally it is time for her to follow her father to his famous school for monster hunters, Van Helsing's Academy. Being the head guy's daughter is not easy, and Bay-Lee enters school with a target on her back. She must learn to find and make friends, cope with a prophecy and deal with dead rocker Tyler Beck's alter ego, Nick, who turns out to be her mentor. Kasi Blake creates the story of two realms, the world and the spirit, and between them the monsters, in the forms of werewolves, vampires and more, that cross over to destroy humans. Hunters are here to prevent that from happening.

Bait is a terrific blend of action and adventure, mystery and intrigue, and a little teenage romance tempered with parental conflict. Paranormal or fantasy, it is a compelling story that will keep readers of all ages turning the pages, wanting to see what happens next. Kasi Blake gives the young adult-teen reader set a new world order to follow and find something to look forward to in the next book. Even though there is a bit of a teenage romance, there is no sex, perfect for this age range!

Cheryl Schopen

It’s not easy being the infamous Van Helsing’s daughter. Having to constantly move and hide her identity while on the run from monsters isn’t exactly what a typical teenager has to deal with. In Bait, the first book in the Order of the Spirit Realm series by Kasi Blake, Bay-Lee is finally able to attend her father’s school for hunters. She has wanted to become a hunter to avenge her mother’s death, but she soon learns that something is killing hunters on their birthdays. If that wasn’t bad enough, there is Nick Gallos. He seems to hate her for no reason, but she is quickly finding him irresistible. With ghosts, reapers, a world-ending prophecy, and an unexpected romance, Bay-Lee is going to have quite an adventure during her first year.

This book was a combination of both Harry Potter and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In other words, I absolutely loved it. Discovering this new world of ghosts and monsters right alongside Bay-Lee, while also witnessing her getting closer and closer to becoming the hunter she was meant to be, made reading this story so enjoyable. What really made it difficult to put the book down was the relationship between Bay-Lee and Nick. Their feelings for each other and their impulsive behavior reminded me of a realistic 'first love' story, which made even a world full of supernatural creatures completely relatable. With an exciting, unpredictable plot, characters you will love and hate, and superb writing by Kasi Blake, Bait surely will not disappoint. I am beyond excited for the rest of the books in the series, and I cannot wait to read them. Kasi Blake definitely has a new fan.