andipants's review against another edition
DNF at 213 pages. I was looking forward to a good creepfest here, but for as scary as the events in this book ought to be, I mostly just found myself yawning. Not to mention it leans much more heavily toward paranormal fantasy than true horror; frickin' everybody has magic powers, or special auras, or is a semi-immortal person with magical blood, or whatever else. Not really my jam.
And the construction left a lot to be desired. The pacing was jumpy; there was a lot of dull, info-dumpy exposition, and then suddenly they're battling a demon. And even that felt less satisfying than I would have expected; I definitely ended up skimming a major action scene, because it mostly felt boring and repetitive. And having the POV split between the different characters meant that just as I found myself getting into one character's head, suddenly they're gone and we're on to someone else. This led to a severe lack of character development.
Normally when I get this far into a book, especially a teen book (which tend to be quicker reads, anyway), I'll power through and finish it, just to see what happens, but picking this one up again was becoming so much of a chore, I really couldn't justify it. Next.
And the construction left a lot to be desired. The pacing was jumpy; there was a lot of dull, info-dumpy exposition, and then suddenly they're battling a demon. And even that felt less satisfying than I would have expected; I definitely ended up skimming a major action scene, because it mostly felt boring and repetitive. And having the POV split between the different characters meant that just as I found myself getting into one character's head, suddenly they're gone and we're on to someone else. This led to a severe lack of character development.
Normally when I get this far into a book, especially a teen book (which tend to be quicker reads, anyway), I'll power through and finish it, just to see what happens, but picking this one up again was becoming so much of a chore, I really couldn't justify it. Next.
michaela95c's review against another edition
5.0
Fantastic book! I was hooked from page 1 and didn't want to put it down. It has a very unique story-line and plot, much different than anything I have ever read before; I think that's what made it so intriguing.
I would love to read another book or maybe a short story involving these characters.
I would love to read another book or maybe a short story involving these characters
Spoiler
and hopefully diving into Levi and Forrest's relationship now that they can touch and are using their powers togethermarpesea's review against another edition
4.0
This book surprised me-- it's not your typical YA paranormal tale.
The prologue is creepy and suspenseful, but then it cuts away to what feels like a predicable plot about a girl working in a creepy asylum... and then it cuts away again. Vaught does an excellent job of developing the story through what feels like a series of novellas. They're all linked by the eerie, haunted asylum and the story eventually works up to a cohesive climax.
I started reading this one on a whim and am certainly glad I did. I'd recommend this for fans of creepy, paranormal, YA stories with a touch of romance (but NO love triangles! or overly obsessive romantic tendencies)-- think Anna Dressed in Blood, not Twilight.
Thanks to NetGalley for sending me the digital ARC.
The prologue is creepy and suspenseful, but then it cuts away to what feels like a predicable plot about a girl working in a creepy asylum... and then it cuts away again. Vaught does an excellent job of developing the story through what feels like a series of novellas. They're all linked by the eerie, haunted asylum and the story eventually works up to a cohesive climax.
I started reading this one on a whim and am certainly glad I did. I'd recommend this for fans of creepy, paranormal, YA stories with a touch of romance (but NO love triangles! or overly obsessive romantic tendencies)-- think Anna Dressed in Blood, not Twilight.
Thanks to NetGalley for sending me the digital ARC.
whorriorr's review against another edition
1.0
This book was too much. Too technical, too quick, too boring. It was a changing POV story, except that it was a 4 section story- each narrated by a different character that's related in some way to the other narrators. But instead of making one big story that comes together, Vaught created 4 mini-stories, that move at such a rapid pace the audience doesn't have any time to get invested- or even understand whats going on. You're supposed to care about these characters- but barely know anything about them. I finished reading what I thought was the climax... then there turned out to be half a book left! Also, this story is mostly about magic, etc. But all of the magical jargon is not given any explanation. Words like Madoc and Shade are thrown around all the time but aren't explained once!
This book is magic for one reason- it drags and it flies by at the same time.
And I don't mean that in a good way.
This book is magic for one reason- it drags and it flies by at the same time.
And I don't mean that in a good way.
sadiecass's review against another edition
4.0
A solid four stars. It wasn't as much horror scary as I expected, but the ghosts/shades, etc. held a certain scary power.
I didn't think I'd be a fan of the changing POV, especially with them all in first person, but I found it necessary to tell the scope of the story. Each POV change happened at a good time to evolve the story enough to bring us to the next POV, and then the next and the next until we return to the first POV we started with.
I enjoyed getting to know each person, from Forest, to Darius, to Trina, and back to Levi. There was a core romance, but it evolved slow and steady under the radar of the true action. It didn't completely take over the story as so many do, which I really appreciated. The last line had me both cheering and worried.
Overall I enjoyed the unique story, and the creepy setting and the colorful cast of characters. As they each came into their own and found their power, we were brought to the next. It seemed fitting that the last to come into his power was the first character we met all-too-briefly.
(P.S. I've read the other reviews that say it's 3 or 4 different stories that don't mesh...but I wholeheartedly disagree, it's one story that evolves based on the characters that come into the realm of Lincoln's power center...both with and without Madoc blood.)
**Disclaimer: I received this book free from netgalley. The review and my opinions are my own.
I didn't think I'd be a fan of the changing POV, especially with them all in first person, but I found it necessary to tell the scope of the story. Each POV change happened at a good time to evolve the story enough to bring us to the next POV, and then the next and the next until we return to the first POV we started with.
I enjoyed getting to know each person, from Forest, to Darius, to Trina, and back to Levi. There was a core romance, but it evolved slow and steady under the radar of the true action. It didn't completely take over the story as so many do, which I really appreciated. The last line had me both cheering and worried.
Overall I enjoyed the unique story, and the creepy setting and the colorful cast of characters. As they each came into their own and found their power, we were brought to the next. It seemed fitting that the last to come into his power was the first character we met all-too-briefly.
(P.S. I've read the other reviews that say it's 3 or 4 different stories that don't mesh...but I wholeheartedly disagree, it's one story that evolves based on the characters that come into the realm of Lincoln's power center...both with and without Madoc blood.)
**Disclaimer: I received this book free from netgalley. The review and my opinions are my own.
blaarrosir's review against another edition
2.0
This book had such potential and fell so flat. The villains were somewhat interesting, though by the end they really seemed to just be a slightly tweaked version of each other. Part I was very interesting, the characters were gripping, and it left me wanting so badly to know what was going on! Part II onward was abysmal. The characters had no personality, each one was perfect and lovely and faultless, and not one of them had any originality. Each part of the story featured a different character's point of view and a different villain. The villains were mildly interesting, but it became cookie cutter and all seemed the same by the end.
biblioghost's review against another edition
5.0
Southern gothic done right. I loved every bit of this one, the atmosphere was perfect, characters well fleshed and lots of creepy bits. In feeling it reminded me a bit of Anna Dresses in Blood, which is one of my favorite YA books.
taylorfennerwrites's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked this book. Its creepy in spots but not overly scary and I love books with old haunted asylums in them. The only thing I wished the author would have done is given the reader more of a timeline; what year Levi initially died up to what year it was at the end of the novel. It was kind of a guessing game trying to figure it out. I loved all of the characters except Trina, but maybe I didn't like her because of her father.
heykellyjensen's review against another edition
I gave this 100 pages, but it wasn't hooking me. I think it's a combination of being a bit of not right for right now AND a bit of not necessarily working story-wise. I'm not sure I'm buying the ghost aspect at the point I quit -- but that could change later on. I may return to this one in the future.
iamsatan666's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25