Trance by Kelly Meding
Book Stats:
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
Publisher: Pocket Books
Release date: October 25, 2011
Series: MetaWars #1
Source: Personal Shelf
Reviewed by: Tynga
Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository Kelly Meding’s war-ravaged Los Angeles is ground zero for the ultimate Meta human showdown in this sexy, action-packed new series. Fifteen years ago, Teresa “Trance” West was a skilled telepath and a proud member of the Ranger Corps. But ever since the Rangers were inexplicably rendered powerless at the climax of the devastating Meta War, she’s bounced from one dead-end job to another. Now her powers have reappeared just as mysteriously as they vanished— only they’re completely transformed and more potent than ever. And they’re threatening to destroy her. Trance heads to Los Angeles to track down the surviving Rangers and discover who restored her powers—and why—but a phantom enemy is determined to kill them before they can reassemble. As they dodge his deadly attacks and come to terms with their new role as heroes, Trance and the rest of the team set out to annihilate the sinister madman . . . only to discover their own powers are his greatest weapons. Fifteen years ago, a war between the Rangers and the Banes, two supernaturally talented factions, was rapidly destroying the States and the world in its crossfire. When the Banes (the bad guys) were about to win, killing the last Ranger children alive, they all suddenly -and painfully- lost their abilities. The Banes were locked up in a mega prison located on Manhattan island and the Ranger kids were spread across the States into foster families. The last fifteen years have been really hard on Trance, juggling three job to be able to pay rent and eat, her love life’s a real joke and the future seems no better. Everything changes though when her powers, well the wrong ones actually!, comes back to her. Not knowing what to do, she heads back to the old control base, to meet with her new destiny. The MetaWars series really remind me of a mix between Xmen & Heroes (the TV show) and as I enjoyed both, I was right in my element with this novel. Kelly Meding created a post-war world where people grew to fear the supernaturally talented beings, even though the Rangers helped with rescue mission and such in the past. When they all regain their powers and one of the Banes sets on a quest to kill all the remaining Rangers, consequences affecting humans won’t go unnoticed and the big bad needs to be stopped before he kills all the good guys one by one. It was interesting to see the Rangers struggle with their long lost powers and try their best to do the right thing in a battle they barely have any experience of. Trance found herself in leadership position and it’s no an easy task. Worries and insecurities are eating her up, failure after failure doesn’t help her case but this dreadful situation puts her in a position to grow. Gage, Trance’s sidekick and love interest, was extremely interesting. He supports Trance everyway he can, yet he won’t let her get close. The shuts her out, hiding his past and his feelings, and their tug-of-war relationship added to the tension in the novel. True to every superhero story, the plot moved forward in a goal to eliminate the big bad but the long chain of defeat, surprising twist and turns and unlikely allies, made-up for an interesting chase. The end was like a domino chain effect, everything going down in rapid succession with our heroes lagging to catch up, culminating with an extremely surprising reveal of the mysterious bad guy (who’s identity/location was unknown the whole novel). This Superhero story is a nice stray from the traditional Urban Fantasy path and even though it won’t make my top 10 favorite series ever, it is a great debut to a new series and I’m looking forward to the second installment, Changeling. Action-packed with just the right amount of romance, Trance will please the superheroes lovers out there! 
Posted by
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at
10:06
I’m very happy to welcome Kelly Meding with us today to celebrate her recent release Trance and her upcoming Wrong Side of Dead in January. Make sure you read along to discover more about her Meta Wars series and an update on her Dreg city series! --------------------- 1- Trance is the first book in the Meta Wars series, how do you think the Dreg City fans will react? So far, fans seem to be embracing the new series. MetaWars is a very different kind of world from Dreg City, in that all of the "paranormal" aspects are known to the public. The cast is different, and in MetaWars, the narrator of each book will change so we can "meet" all of the different characters. And hopefully readers who first discover me via TRANCE will find my Dreg City books, too. 2- Was it hard for you the create this whole new world? Yes and no. No, in the sense that I've been working on the MetaWars world for years, and developing it over the course of my earliest writing years. Yes, in the sense that the copy of TRANCE that went out into the world is pretty different from the first draft, in terms of back story and the origin of the Meta powers. It took a while to really grasp that and to incorporate it into the story in a way that made sense, and that I could use to my advantage story-wise. But I love having a whole new, non-Dreg City world to play in for a while. 3- Wrong Side of Dead is the last book planned in the Dreg City series, are you hoping to write more books in the series? I would love to write more Dreg City books. I have an ending in mind, and I see the series as ending at book seven. But in the end, it's up to my publisher and whether or not they want more. 4- Can you share with us the top three reason readers should pick up Trance, and no need to convince me I already have my copy *winks*. (time for shameless promotion *g*) One: superpowers, people! Who hasn't dreamed of being able to fly, or to shoot fireballs at people, or to lift a semi over their head with one hand? Two: heart. One of my favorite themes is "the family you make," and my characters are very much a family. They grew up together, they lost each other, and then they found each other again. There is love, there is loss, there is heartache, but they are always a family. Three: sensitive Beta hero. I have an affinity for the Beta hero, and I think Trance's hero, Gage, fits the bill nicely. Now onto some Xmas-y questions. 5- What's your very first memory of Christmas as a kid? Our tree. It was always a big production, putting up the tree. My parents had an artificial one, with lots of little individual branches. My mother would take half a day stringing colorful lights up and down each individual branch. She'd get frustrated and tired, but that tree shined by the time she was done. Then we'd cover it with ornaments, top to bottom, inside and out, and only Mom could hang the really delicate ones on the highest branches. Then we'd douse the entire thing with tinsel/icicles. I'd sit and stare at that tree for hours, it was so beautiful. 6- Where you the kind of kid to cry while sitting on Santa's knees? I don't think so. I only vaguely remember meeting Santa a few times, but I don't recall ever being scared of him. I remember mostly wanting to see him and make sure he was real. *grin* 7- What's a typical Christmas like in the Meding family? Christmas hasn't been typical in a long time, as family members pass and kids get older. But generally we spend Christmas Eve with my mother's extended family, and then Christmas Day just sort of happens. We meet at someone's house, or travel to several houses. I always see my parents and sister/niece, and I try to see my brother and his kids. No matter what, though, there are cookies. It isn't Christmas unless I'm baking up a dozen kinds of cookies/candy. 8- If Teresa could have a perfect Christmas, what would it be like? Peaceful. I think she'd like a day to spend with Gage and her teammates that didn't involve fear or danger. Maybe a morning opening gifts and eating cinnamon rolls, then a long, leisurely home-cooked dinner, with lots of laughter in between. ------------------ If it got you curious, here’s a bit more about Trance & Wrong Side of Dead Kelly Meding’s war-ravaged Los Angeles is ground zero for the ultimate Meta human showdown in this sexy, action-packed new series. Fifteen years ago, Teresa “Trance” West was a skilled telepath and a proud member of the Ranger Corps. But ever since the Rangers were inexplicably rendered powerless at the climax of the devastating Meta War, she’s bounced from one dead-end job to another. Now her powers have reappeared just as mysteriously as they vanished— only they’re completely transformed and more potent than ever. And they’re threatening to destroy her. Trance heads to Los Angeles to track down the surviving Rangers and discover who restored her powers—and why—but a phantom enemy is determined to kill them before they can reassemble. As they dodge his deadly attacks and come to terms with their new role as heroes, Trance and the rest of the team set out to annihilate the sinister madman . . . only to discover their own powers are his greatest weapons. Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository  Monster hunter Evangeline Stone woke up on the wrong side of dead this morning—and now there’s hell to pay.
Barely recovered from her extended torture at the hands of mad scientist Walter Thackery, Evy can use a break. What she gets instead is a war, as the battered Triads that keep Dreg City safe find themselves under attack by half-Blood vampires who have somehow retained their reason, making them twice as lethal. Worse, the Halfies are joined by a breed of were-creature long believed extinct—back and more dangerous than ever. Meanwhile, Evy’s attempts at reconciliation with the man she loves take a hit after Wyatt is viciously assaulted—an attack traced to Thackery, who has not given up his quest to exterminate all vampires . . . even if he has to destroy Dreg City to do it. With Wyatt’s time running out, another threat emerges from the shadows and a staggering betrayal shatters the fragile alliance between the Triads, vampires, and shapeshifters, turning Evy’s world upside down forever. Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository ---------------------------  A native of the Delaware seashore, Kelly Meding lives in Maryland, with a neurotic cat who occasionally meows at ghosts. Kelly received her Bachelor's Degree in Communication in 2002 and she hasn't used it since, preferring instead to wile away her non-writing hours on the sales floor of a national retail chain. After discovering Freddy Krueger at a very young age, Kelly began a lifelong obsession with horror, science fiction, and fantasy, on which she blames her interest in vampires, psychic powers, superheroes, and all things paranormal. When not writing, she can be found crafting jewelry, enjoying a good cup of coffee, or scouring the Internet for gossip on her favorite television shows. She is the author of the Dreg City series from Dell.
You can visit Kelly here More of Kelly Meding‘s books:   
The big majority of these titles have been featured during the Paranormal Summer Fest, but July is so full of awesomeness that I wouldn’t want you to miss any of them! Here are the stars of July! Product description from goodreads.com  Other by Karen Kincy
Release date: July 1st, 2010 Product Description: Seventeen-year-old Gwen hides a dangerous secret: she’s Other. Half-pooka, to be exact, thanks to the father she never met. Most Americans don’t exactly roll out the welcome mat for Others, especially not the small-town folks of Klikamuks, Washington. As if this isn’t bad enough, Gwen’s on the brink of revealing her true identity to her long-time boyfriend, Zack, but she’s scared he’ll lump her with the likes of bloodthirsty vampires and feral werewolves.
When a pack of werewolves chooses the national forest behind Gwen’s home as their new territory, the tensions in Klikamuks escalate-into murder. It soon becomes clear a serial killer is methodically slaying Others. The police turn a blind eye, leaving Gwen to find the killer before the killer finds her. As she hunts for clues, she uncovers more Others living nearby than she ever expected. Like Tavian, a sexy Japanese fox-spirit who rivals Zack and challenges her to embrace her Otherness. Gwen must struggle with her own conflicted identity, learn who she can trust, and-most importantly-stay alive.  Twice Bitten by Chloe Neill
Release Date: July 6th, 2010 Product description: Merit, Chicago’s newest vampire, is learning how to play well with others. Other supernaturals, that is. Shapeshifters from across the country are convening in the Windy City, and as a gesture of peace, Master Vampire Ethan Sullivan has offered their leader a very special bodyguard: Merit. Merit is supposed to protect the Alpha, Gabriel Keene—and to spy for the vamps while she’s at it. Oh, and luckily Ethan’s offering some steamy, one-on-one combat training sessions to help her prepare for the mission.
Merit must accept the assignment, even though she knows that she’ll probably regret it. And she’s not wrong. Someone is gunning for Gabriel Keene, and Merit soon finds herself in the line of fire. She’ll need all the help she can get to track down the would-be assassin, but everywhere she turns, there are rising tensions between supernaturals—not least between her and a certain green-eyed, centuries old master vampire.  Blood Law by Jeannie Holmes
Release Date: July 6th, 2010 Product Description: To stop a vampire killer, she’ll have to slay her own demons first.
A provocative and savvy vampire, Alexandra Sabian moves to the sleepy hamlet of Jefferson, Mississippi—population 6,000, half vampires—to escape the demons lurking in her past. As an enforcer for the Federal Bureau of Preternatural Investigations (FBPI), Alex must maintain the uneasy peace between her kind and humans, including Jefferson’s bigoted sheriff, who’d be happy to see all vampires banished from town. Then really dead vamps start turning up—beheaded, crucified, and defanged, the same gruesome manner in which Alex’s father was murdered decades ago. For Alex, the professional has become way too personal.
Things get even more complicated when the FBPI sends in some unnervingly sexy backup: Alex’s onetime mentor, lover, and fiancé, Varik Baudelaire. Still stinging from the betrayal that ended their short-lived engagement, Alex is determined not to give in to the temptation that soon threatens to short-circuit her investigation. But as the vamp body count grows and the public panic level rises, Varik may be Alex’s only hope to stop a relentless killer who’s got his own score to settle and his own bloody past to put right.  Unchained by Sharon Ashwood
Release date: July 6th, 2010 Product Description: Ashe Carver, monster-killer, has the scars to prove it. But faced with a custody battle, she's hung up her stakes and taken a job at the public library, determined to show the courts and her ten-year-old daughter that she's as good a mother as she is a hunter. Easier said than done. There are lovelorn vampires haunting the library, a slime demon in the shopping mall, and her new-mom sister needs a hand with her ghostbusting biz. Then, after centuries guarding a supernatural prison, Captain Reynard strides into her world like a hero from the library's Must Reads. Smokingly gorgeous, passionate and courageous to a fault, he has only weeks to live unless Ashe finds the thief who took his soul. Ashe picks up her weapons to save the day—but not every problem can be solved with a stake. With so much tragedy in her past, Ashe fears the disaster she sees ahead—and prays she doesn't fail everyone. Again. Memories are the hardest monsters to kill.  Unholy Magic by Stacia Kane
Release Date: July 6th, 2010. Product Description: ENEMIES DON’T NEED TO BE ALIVE TO BE DEADLY.
For Chess Putnam, finding herself near-fatally poisoned by a con psychic and then stopping a murderous ghost is just another day on the job. As an agent of the Church of Real Truth, Chess must expose those looking to profit from the world’s unpleasant little poltergeist problem—humans filing false claims of hauntings—all while staving off any undead who really are looking for a kill. But Chess has been extra busy these days, coping with a new “celebrity” assignment while trying on her own time to help some desperate prostitutes.
Someone’s taking out the hookers of Downside in the most gruesome way, and Chess is sure the rumors that it’s the work of a ghost are way off base. But proving herself right means walking in the path of a maniac, not to mention standing between the two men in her life just as they—along with their ruthless employers—are moving closer to a catastrophic showdown. Someone is dealing in murder, sex, and the supernatural, and once again Chess finds herself right in the crossfire.  Sleepless by Cyn Balog
Release date: July 13th, 2010. Product Description: Eron De Marchelle isn't supposed to feel a connection. He is a Sandman, a supernatural being whose purpose is to seduce human charges to sleep. While he can communicate with his charges in their dreams, he isn't encouraged to--after all, getting too involved in one human's life would prevent him helping his other charges get their needed rest.
But he can't deny that he feels something for Julia. Julia, with her fiery red hair and her sad dreams. Just weeks ago, her boyfriend died in a car accident, and Eron can tell that she feels more alone than ever. Eron was human once too, many years ago, and he remembers how it felt to lose the one he loved. Eron has always felt protective of Julia . . . but now, when she seems to need him more than ever, he can't seem to reach her . . .
Sandmen are forbidden from communicating with humans outside their dreams. But will Eron be willing to risk everything for a chance to be with the person he loves?  Linger by Maggie Stiefvater
Release date: July 20th, 2010. Product Description: In Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. Now, in Linger, they must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping a very dangerous secret about her own well-being. For Sam, this means grappling with his werewolf past...and figuring out a way to survive into the future. Add into the mix a new wolf named Cole, whose own past has the potential to destroy the whole pack. And Isabel, who already lost her brother to the wolves...and is nonetheless drawn to Cole. At turns harrowing and euphoric, Linger is a spellbinding love story that explores both sides of love--the light and the dark, the warm and the cold--in a way you will never forget.  Dark and Stormy Knights – Anthology
Release date: July 20th, 2010. Production Description: They’re the last defenders of humanity, the lone wolf bad boys— and girls—who do dark deeds for the right reasons. Modern day knights who are sexy, funny, mad, bad and dangerous to know because they do what most of us only dream about…and get away with it. In this all-star collection, nine of today’s hottest urban fantasy authors bring us original stories of supernatural, modern day knights that will have readers clamoring for more!  City of Ghosts by Stacia Kane
Release Date: July 27th, 2010. Product description: IT’S A THIN LINE BETWEEN ALIVE AND UNDEAD.
Chess Putnam has a lot on her plate. Mangled human corpses have started to show up on the streets of Downside, and Chess’s bosses at the Church of Real Truth have ordered her to team up with the ultra-powerful Black Squad agency to crack the grisly case.
Chess is under a binding spell that threatens death if she talks about the investigation, but the city’s most notorious crime boss—and Chess’s drug dealer—gets wind of her new assignment and insists on being kept informed. If that isn’t bad enough, a sinister street vendor appears to have information Chess needs. Only he’s not telling what he knows, or what it all has to do with the vast underground City of Eternity.
Now Chess will have to navigate killer wraiths, First Elders, and a lot of seriously nasty magic—all while coping with some not-so-small issues of her own. And the only man Chess can trust to help her through it all has every reason to want her dead.  Shadow Chase by Seressia Glass
Release date: July 27th, 2010 Product Description: In a job like this, one mistake can cost you everything.As a Shadowchaser, Kira Solomon has been trained to serve the Light, dispatch the Fallen, and prevent the spread of chaos. It’s a deadly job, and Kira knows the horror of spilling innocent blood. But now she has a new role, as the Hand of Ma’at, the Egyptian Goddess of Truth and Order, and an assignment that might just redeem her.A fellow Shadowchaser has gone missing, and so has a unique artifact imbued with astonishing magic. Unless the Vessel of Nun is returned, it will cause destruction beyond anything the modern world has seen. Kira’s got a team at her back, including Khefar, a near-immortal Nubian warrior who’s already died for her once. But as complicated as her feelings for him are, they’re nothing compared to the difficulties of the task she faces.And the only way to defeat the enemy is to trust in a powershe can barely control, and put her life—and her soul—on the line.  Bring on the Night by Jeri Smith-Ready
Release date: July 27th, 2010 Product Description: Recovering con artist Ciara Griffin seems to finally have it all. A steady job at WVMP, the Lifeblood of Rock 'n' Roll. A loving relationship with the idiosyncratic but eternally hot DJ Shane McAllister. A vampire dog who never needs shots or a pooper-scooper. And after nine years, it looks as if she might actually finish her bachelor's degree!
But fate has other plans for Ciara. First she must fulfill her Faustian bargain with the Control, the paranormal paramilitary agency that does its best to keep vampires in line. Turns out the Control wants her for something other than her (nonexistent) ability to kick undead ass. Her anti-holy blood, perhaps?
Ciara's suspicions are confirmed when she's assigned to a special-ops division known as the Immanence Corps, run by the Control's oldest vampire and filled with humans who claim to have special powers. To a confirmed skeptic like Ciara, it sounds like a freak fest. But when a mysterious, fatal virus spreads through Sherwood—and corpses begin to rise from their graves—Ciara will not only get a crash course in zombie-killing, but will be forced to put her faith, and her life itself, in the hands of magic.  Eternal Kiss of Darkness by Jeaniene Frost
Release Date: July 27th, 2010 Product description: An immortal war has been brewing in the darkness…and now one woman has stumbled into the shadows.
Chicago private investigator Kira Graceling should have just kept on walking. But her sense of duty refused to let her ignore the moans of pain coming from inside a warehouse just before dawn. Suddenly she finds herself in a world she’s only imagined in her worst nightmares.
At the center is Mencheres, a breathtaking Master Vampire who thought he’d seen it all. Then Kira appears—this fearless, beautiful…human who braved death to rescue him. Though he burns for her, keeping Kira in his world means risking her life, yet sending her away is unthinkable.
But with danger closing in, Mencheres must choose between the woman he craves, or embracing the darkest magic to defeat an enemy bent on his eternal destruction.  As lie the Dead by Kelly Meding
Release date: July 27th, 2010 Product Description: Evangeline Stone, a rogue bounty hunter, never asked for a world divided between darkness and light…
…or the power to die and live again in someone else's borrowed body. After a murder plot meant to take her out leaves an entire race of shapeshifters nearly extinct, Evy is gnawed by guilt. So when one of the few survivors of the slaughter enlists her aid, she feels duty-bound to help—even though protecting a frail, pregnant shifter is the last thing Evy needs, especially with the world going to hell around her.
Amid weres, Halfies, gremlins, vamps—and increasingly outgunned humans—a war for supremacy is brewing. With shifters demanding justice, her superiors desperate to control her, and an assassin on her trail, Evy discovers a horrifying conspiracy. And she may be the only person in the world who can stop it—unless, of course, her own side gets her first.  Wait for Dusk by Jocelynn Drake
Release date: July 27th, 2010 Product Description: There is no sanctuary in the night…
Feared even by her own kind for her mastery of fire, the Nightwalker Mira is summoned by the Coven to take her rightful place as Elder. But with this honor comes grave responsibility—a commitment to the annihilation of the unleashed naturi. For now the foul creatures walk the earth—and neither vampire nor human will survive their horrific onslaught.
A tide of blood is sweeping relentlessly across the European continent, as Mira is dispatched to Budapest for the most devastating test yet of her astonishing powers—and falls into a well-laid trap. With the dark secrets that haunt her growing darker by the hour, she must confront the terrible truth of her past and protect her fragile sanity in the face of unanticipated treachery—a betrayal by her ally, her enemy, her lover…the vampire slayer, Danaus. Happy Reading!
Chloe Neill, Cyn Balog, Jeaniene Frost, Jeannie Holmes, Jeri Smith-Ready, Jocelynn drake, Karen Kincy, Kelly Meding, Maggie Stiefvater, Seressia Glass, Sharon Ashwood, Stacia Kane, Waiting on wednesday
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The talented Kelly Meding is joining us this week for "When I'm not writing"! She's the author of the urban fantasy Dreg City series and the superhero series MetaWars. She's here today to promote the upcoming third MetaWars novel, TEMPEST, which builds on the two previous novels in the series, TRANCE and CHANGELING. Please join me in warmly welcoming Kelly to the blog!
The public doesn’t trust them. The government wants to control them. Being a superhero has never been this hard, especially for Tempest.
Three Days to Read by Kelly Meding
