Release Date: December 27th, 2011
Publisher: Egmont USA
Format: eGalley
Every other day, Kali D'Angelo is a normal sixteen-year-old girl. She goes to public high school. She attends pep rallies. She's human.
And then every day in between . . .She's something else entirely.
Though she still looks like herself, every twenty-four hours predatory instincts take over and Kali becomes a feared demon-hunter with the undeniable urge to hunt, trap, and kill zombies, hellhounds, and other supernatural creatures. Kali has no idea why she is the way she is, but she gives in to instinct anyway. Even though the government considers it environmental terrorism.
When Kali notices a mark on the lower back of a popular girl at school, she knows instantly that the girl is marked for death by one of these creatures. Kali has twenty-four hours to save her and, unfortunately, she'll have to do it as a human. With the help of a few new friends, Kali takes a risk that her human body might not survive. . .and learns the secrets of her mysterious condition in the process.
This book was seriously awesome! The basic plotline, where Kali is human one day and superhuman beastie hunter the next, was cool on it's own. Then all the added twists, turns and other characters made it even more readable. My absolute favorite part of this book was the fact that all the beasties (a.k.a. preternaturals) were a commonly known and accepted part of society. Most stories, tv shows and movies have them being a hidden danger to humans, but here everybody knows about them and the government has even decided to try and protect some of them. Wicked cool! And Ms. Barnes chupacabra's are pretty neat little creatures, too. I also liked that the main focus in this story was not on romance, forbidden or otherwise. Don't get me wrong, I like romance as much as the next girl, but with everything else going on in this one, I'm glad it wasn't overtaking the spotlight.
Kali, our heroine, was a little rough around the edges and hard to get to know at first. As the story progresses and we get to see her open up a bit, we see why. Kali is the type of girl who tells it like it is and doesn't try to make nice so she can have friends. In fact, when Skylar decides to try and befriend Kali one day, she really wants no part of it. As it turns out, Skylar is good for Kali and their friendship helps her
develop as a person. I really liked Skylar, I don't think anyone could resist her friendship for long. She was just too cute and not as naive as she comes off in the beginning. She is one of my favorite characters I have read lately. Poor thing was very well adjusted, considering she'd had five older brothers to contend with growing up. I know the bratty popular girl who comes off irritated, rather than appreciative when someone saves their life should have bothered me, but I found myself taking a liking to Bethany immediately. Similar to Kali, she didn't hold much back, but she might have been a tad more tactless. Reading Kali, Skylar and Bethany together was immensely entertaining. I'd like to talk about Zev, but I really can't without spoiling things. Zev was good, though, you will like Zev.
As far as the story, it has all kind of things going on. I don't want to get to into it, because I'm afraid of giving too much away, but know there are plenty of beasties, creepy laboratories, and secrets to unearth in this one! It was a satisfying ending for the most part and I can't seem to find if this is going to be a series or not, but I will definitely be on board to read more about this group in the future :0)
Ohh this is the first review I've read for this book. Sounds like a definite thumbs up for me. I like that all the 'beasties' are a known part of society. Very cool twist on the supernatural concept. Your review has got me very interested in picking this book up for myself!
ReplyDeleteKristan @ Lost Amongst the Shelves
I loved this book as well! I tweeted Jennifer Lynn barnes Asking if there was a sequel.. I know sequels are over done lately.. but I really felt like it was left open for one! She said there wasn't one planned but that Mellisa Marr is campaigning for one lol. And now I am too! Did you feel that it needs a sequel? I just felt like there was soo much more about the characters I wanted to know!
ReplyDeletemy review is at
http://thepassionatebookworm.blogspot.com
Glad you liked it as much as I did!
This book is pretty much in the top five books I want to read from my wishlist. The synopsis sounds original, and your review endorsed this book even more for me. Plus, there's just something about the cover that I love! =)
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this book too, and my review is forthcoming. But it was an entertaining read!
ReplyDelete