Egmont, 2012
329 pages
YA; Paranormal
4/5 stars
Source: Library
This looked like a very different kind of paranormal, which is what excited me about picking this up. I'm tired of those with the Twilight formula, even if they precede that series or are well-written. Much as I love romance, I do not like it to be mixed with paranormal elements. This book does not have romance as the main focus, leaning more toward suspense as countdowns play a big role.
See Kali is an ordinary human girl...every other day. Every twenty-four hours, she switches, becoming something else. Something not human, that hunts supernatural creatures terrorizing the world. She doesn't know why she's like this and she doesn't know if there's any one else like her. Kali just does the best she can. Until one day when she notices a mark on a popular girl's body, a mark that seems to be condemning her to death. Kali, who has a bit of a savior-complex, takes the mark upon herself, kicking off a series of events.
These events include two very different girls. One is popular girl Bethany, the one whose body bears the mark. The other is Skylar, branded as a slut and ostracized by the popular crowd but nonetheless remains cheerful. Ah, sweet adorable Skylar with her seemingly innumerable brothers and their multi-varied abilities is also psychic although she downplays through the course of the novel. I liked getting to see more of Bethany than a shallow facade but Skylar is the character I really loved. I also loved that the main characters were three girl friends-yay! They have been in and are in romantic relationships but they also work together and are the focus of the book.
The whole plot of this book is a little hard to explain as Kali fighting the mark's power is only the beginning. After that, there are several other plot twists. And due to the countdown of the book, the reader can easily be caught up in the suspense of it all and enjoy a kick-butt story!
Overall: Strong heroine in a story with lots of action sequences and little romance-a welcome addition the YA category!
Cover: I'll admit that this cover makes me think more "vampire" than anything else but it certainly looks creepy!
Totally agree with you ... kick-butt and countdown really amped up the suspense.
ReplyDeleteYes! Skylar was such a great character and probably my favorite of the book. And I loved her interactions with her brothers.
ReplyDeleteI too am glad the main focus wasn't romance.
If not for the cover, vampire wouldn't have been my first thought... Just crazy awesome hunter.
ReplyDeleteThanks for review.
Brandi from Blkosiner’s Book Blog
I loved this book and I've become a big fan of Jennifer Lynn Barnes. If you haven't already done so, you should pick up a copy of Raised By Wolves. She knows how to write YA paranormal fiction without angst ridden romance and her protagonists are realistically flawed.
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