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belindaclemons_123's review
5.0
I saw this book advertised on FB and liked the cover and title so I had to have it. I bought the book the day it came out and was lucky enough to win the pb from the author herself.
When I was reading the ebook it made me feel so much emotion I was crying, laughing tugging my hair and wanting to throw my kindle, but that's what I love so much about books. Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things has twists, paranormal creatures ranging from witches to shifters.
When I received my book two days after finishing the ebook I had to reread it right then and so I did at work. These characters are so alive. This debut author had me falling in love.
When I was reading the ebook it made me feel so much emotion I was crying, laughing tugging my hair and wanting to throw my kindle, but that's what I love so much about books. Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things has twists, paranormal creatures ranging from witches to shifters.
When I received my book two days after finishing the ebook I had to reread it right then and so I did at work. These characters are so alive. This debut author had me falling in love.
missjustynak's review
3.0
This book started out great. The first hald of the book was untriguing and i couldn't put it down. The characters were great and I couldn't wait to find out what was going on. I think the first thing that started throwing me off was the whole relationship between Ember and Mace. Their whole "thing" just started to bore me, which in turn caused me to lose interest in that whole storyline. I also couldn't help but eyeroll every time Mace called Ember "luv." Then there was a lot of repeating of what was happening and a lot of secrets that really didn't need to be kept. Anyway, by the end I just couldn't wait to finish and get it over with and I found that although I enjoyed the characters and story, I just didn't care anymore.
gen_wolfhailstorm's review
5.0
So whenever it takes me exceptionally long to read a book I tend to class it as a negative because I'm not gravitating towards it, however with this novel, the reason was completely the opposite! I kept putting it off because I honestly didn't want it to end!
The first time I heard of this novel was on Casey Ann reads channel. The book sounded awesome and if I recall correctly she had a link where the author was giving the ebook away for free so I grabbed it up and downloaded it.
It took me ages to decide to pick it up and when I did I didn't expect the long length of it, but looking back, I quickly realised that was a blessing because I was lapping up all I could get!
Children shouldn't play with dead things is the first in the Dead things series, following a young girl called Ember who skips school and spends her time in graveyards, trying to avoid her alcoholic father. When a death close to home happens, her body goes through changes she can't understand and help comes from strange and confusing places, opening up doors to a whole other existence she never thought possible!
I loved it. I BLOODY LOVED IT.
I will say, a few pages in I was totally overwhelmed! I felt like too much was happening, e.g. an early death, Ember's birthday and The Day Of The Dead celebrations. It was just too many events for an opening and I just wasn't sure as to what was happening, plus I was getting Beautiful Creatures vibes, which I really didn't like, but once all that was done, I was hooked!
I loved the array of characters that were featured here. I won't go into all of them though. Ember was such an awesome main character; with Tristan and Kai (and Mace) they made a bigger picture, but on her own she was still very solid and I loved her. She did make some awful decisions but she also grew so much and we got to see a lot of her personality as she came to terms with her true identity! She even showed a weird dominatrix type of character for a small part of the novel which was so uncomfortable it was funny.
The twins, Tristan and Kai, were awesome. Kai, along with Quinn, were totally part of the comic relief but when they needed to be serious they were. Kai is definitely one of my favourites. To quote a really funny part of this book with Kai and Quinn;
Mace... Oh my goodness Mace. I was so conflicted about him the whole time but he did things in this book that made my heart race and left me a little flustered and out of breath haha! He reminded me of ACOTAR's Rhys and my ovaries just couldn't take it when he was around.
I'll quickly mention the rest of the pack as a whole. Together they were so awesome! I felt like Isa made a really strong leader, but at times I found her too big for her boots. I would have loved more time with Neoma and Donovan because I'm left, even now, with questions to their backgrounds.
*Oh, random side note but I wanted to mention that I used word runner for the first time reading this book. I only used it a little but omg, it allowed me to read 5 pages in no time at all! At first, one word quickly appearing made my eye throb and it is a bit jaunty, but it's a great feature and I'd recommend trying it out, if you haven't already!*
There was one part in this story that I loved. It was about boundaries and that even though werewolves are very touchy feely in this world and like everything/one to have their scent, they still shouldn't touch without permission. That was aimed at Ember who was all very new to their ways and didn't like the sudden closeness and comfort of a family.
I couldn't for the life of me figure out why people weren't getting the significance of Ember's powers, what with what happened 12 years ago, but I mean, it was so much more than that, so who am I to talk? I could not predict what eventually came at all!
The only thing I didn't like was the writing at times. For example, the word "spastic" was thrown around way too much. I particularly didn't like the term being used, like another word could easily have given enough effect without potential offense to anybody.
I also found like a few words were missing. There were some times when a sentence didn't make sense and just felt off, but I think that may have been the way it was written as well, because I struggled a lot to see who was being referred to and who was talking. It wasn't clear enough. Ironically, I'm finding it hard to properly explain what I mean!
I was very hesitant at the idea of both Celtic and Egyptian gods being included in the story because I thought with the crossover of the two as well as all the other supernatural stuff concerned, that it would leave a very messy and unnecessary complicated story. I'm happy to say that although this story line calmed down, it came back big time at the end, but I think it was done so well and has left me really intrigued to find out more.
We got so close to the end before someone of significance died! I was in absolute shock when Quinn was murdered. I couldn't believe it and when I read that, I really started avoiding reading any more because I couldn't see how things would ever get better. I know... I was very dramatic! Now he's back in Mace's body and Mace did have a soul?! I just don't know how to feel!
Rhys and Kai's relationship is so cute! I really loved how easy the gay romance was. I mean easy in the sense that everyone just accepted it and didn't make a fuss, not easy in how bloody long it took Rhys to admit his feelings. After all that happened I did think he took so long because of his affiliation with the Grove. So it was cute that he tried to avoid the relationship until the lies were banished, and not because he was scared of feeling that way about another guy.
Overall, I've got to say, I just truly loved this book so much! I feel like it's been ages since I've read something like this and enjoyed it to this extent. I'd totally recommend it if you're looking for a YA supernatural story, with a bit of romance, betrayal and family kinship!
Pick it up, give it a go and enjoy! >(^_^)<
Gén
The first time I heard of this novel was on Casey Ann reads channel. The book sounded awesome and if I recall correctly she had a link where the author was giving the ebook away for free so I grabbed it up and downloaded it.
It took me ages to decide to pick it up and when I did I didn't expect the long length of it, but looking back, I quickly realised that was a blessing because I was lapping up all I could get!
Children shouldn't play with dead things is the first in the Dead things series, following a young girl called Ember who skips school and spends her time in graveyards, trying to avoid her alcoholic father. When a death close to home happens, her body goes through changes she can't understand and help comes from strange and confusing places, opening up doors to a whole other existence she never thought possible!
I loved it. I BLOODY LOVED IT.
I will say, a few pages in I was totally overwhelmed! I felt like too much was happening, e.g. an early death, Ember's birthday and The Day Of The Dead celebrations. It was just too many events for an opening and I just wasn't sure as to what was happening, plus I was getting Beautiful Creatures vibes, which I really didn't like, but once all that was done, I was hooked!
I loved the array of characters that were featured here. I won't go into all of them though. Ember was such an awesome main character; with Tristan and Kai (and Mace) they made a bigger picture, but on her own she was still very solid and I loved her. She did make some awful decisions but she also grew so much and we got to see a lot of her personality as she came to terms with her true identity! She even showed a weird dominatrix type of character for a small part of the novel which was so uncomfortable it was funny.
The twins, Tristan and Kai, were awesome. Kai, along with Quinn, were totally part of the comic relief but when they needed to be serious they were. Kai is definitely one of my favourites. To quote a really funny part of this book with Kai and Quinn;
"show him you're a strong independent reaper who don't need no wolf".I was in hysterics at this and even did the head bob to this line before reading that Quinn did that too. Kai's sister on the other hand, although very bad ass, I just didn't like too much and a lot of her actions throughout the book are testament as to why I felt that way about her.
Mace... Oh my goodness Mace. I was so conflicted about him the whole time but he did things in this book that made my heart race and left me a little flustered and out of breath haha! He reminded me of ACOTAR's Rhys and my ovaries just couldn't take it when he was around.
I'll quickly mention the rest of the pack as a whole. Together they were so awesome! I felt like Isa made a really strong leader, but at times I found her too big for her boots. I would have loved more time with Neoma and Donovan because I'm left, even now, with questions to their backgrounds.
*Oh, random side note but I wanted to mention that I used word runner for the first time reading this book. I only used it a little but omg, it allowed me to read 5 pages in no time at all! At first, one word quickly appearing made my eye throb and it is a bit jaunty, but it's a great feature and I'd recommend trying it out, if you haven't already!*
There was one part in this story that I loved. It was about boundaries and that even though werewolves are very touchy feely in this world and like everything/one to have their scent, they still shouldn't touch without permission. That was aimed at Ember who was all very new to their ways and didn't like the sudden closeness and comfort of a family.
I couldn't for the life of me figure out why people weren't getting the significance of Ember's powers, what with what happened 12 years ago, but I mean, it was so much more than that, so who am I to talk? I could not predict what eventually came at all!
The only thing I didn't like was the writing at times. For example, the word "spastic" was thrown around way too much. I particularly didn't like the term being used, like another word could easily have given enough effect without potential offense to anybody.
I also found like a few words were missing. There were some times when a sentence didn't make sense and just felt off, but I think that may have been the way it was written as well, because I struggled a lot to see who was being referred to and who was talking. It wasn't clear enough. Ironically, I'm finding it hard to properly explain what I mean!
Spoiler
I was very hesitant at the idea of both Celtic and Egyptian gods being included in the story because I thought with the crossover of the two as well as all the other supernatural stuff concerned, that it would leave a very messy and unnecessary complicated story. I'm happy to say that although this story line calmed down, it came back big time at the end, but I think it was done so well and has left me really intrigued to find out more.
We got so close to the end before someone of significance died! I was in absolute shock when Quinn was murdered. I couldn't believe it and when I read that, I really started avoiding reading any more because I couldn't see how things would ever get better. I know... I was very dramatic! Now he's back in Mace's body and Mace did have a soul?! I just don't know how to feel!
Rhys and Kai's relationship is so cute! I really loved how easy the gay romance was. I mean easy in the sense that everyone just accepted it and didn't make a fuss, not easy in how bloody long it took Rhys to admit his feelings. After all that happened I did think he took so long because of his affiliation with the Grove. So it was cute that he tried to avoid the relationship until the lies were banished, and not because he was scared of feeling that way about another guy.
Overall, I've got to say, I just truly loved this book so much! I feel like it's been ages since I've read something like this and enjoyed it to this extent. I'd totally recommend it if you're looking for a YA supernatural story, with a bit of romance, betrayal and family kinship!
Pick it up, give it a go and enjoy! >(^_^)<
Gén
vondav's review
5.0
Ember a young girl who loved being surrounded by the dead, whether it was hanging out at the cemetery or working in the local undertakers. Having a drunk of a dad made her into a bit of a loner, after her dad died she thought she was by herself, how wrong she was. Living in a veiled town are Tristin and Kai, twins with special powers. Rescuing Ember from a mysterious man (Mace) they realise that there is something bigger going on and to get through it, they will need a lot more help.
Even though related, Ember, Kai and Tristin were completely different. Ember was so used to being by herself, she lapped up any interest in her wellbeing. When she was introduced to the people Kai and Tristin lived with, she was really overwhelmed and when she started learning what she was she didn’t know who to trust. Kai was the joker in the family, on the outside he made a joke about most things, but this was more of a defence mechanism. Tristin was completely opposite to her brother, a moody teenager, was happier to punch the stuffing out of a punchbag and had an instant disliking to Ember. Whilst the story revolves around these three, the story relies on other characters as well. Mace, the mysterious man who attacked Ember, with his cocky attitude, and his bad boy image he reminded me of Spike (Buffy) and was the anti-hero of the story. Quinn, a human born to a magical family, he was the only one that understood Tristan and was the brains. Isa the Alpha and Rhys her brother were werewolves had always played an important role in Kai and Tristin’s lives and Isa really showed her authority when she found out about all the deceit in the pack.
This book had a lot going on, however as the author wrote it in 1st person POV and each chapter was clearly labelled with that 1st person, it was not confusing and helped the story flow. There were some great one liners usually from Kai and this just showed how comfortable he was with his family and his sexuality, the scenes between him and Rhys were sweet and you could feel their love for each other, even when they were at each other’s throats. As Ember became more comfortable with her powers, you get to find out more about the history of the town and the tragic circumstances that happened there. With Reapers, Banshees, Witches, Shifters and not just wolves and many more different supernatural beings this book has it all for paranormal lovers. A long book but as this is fast paced it was a quick read. An unexpected ending leads nicely into Dark Dreams and Dead Things.
Even though related, Ember, Kai and Tristin were completely different. Ember was so used to being by herself, she lapped up any interest in her wellbeing. When she was introduced to the people Kai and Tristin lived with, she was really overwhelmed and when she started learning what she was she didn’t know who to trust. Kai was the joker in the family, on the outside he made a joke about most things, but this was more of a defence mechanism. Tristin was completely opposite to her brother, a moody teenager, was happier to punch the stuffing out of a punchbag and had an instant disliking to Ember. Whilst the story revolves around these three, the story relies on other characters as well. Mace, the mysterious man who attacked Ember, with his cocky attitude, and his bad boy image he reminded me of Spike (Buffy) and was the anti-hero of the story. Quinn, a human born to a magical family, he was the only one that understood Tristan and was the brains. Isa the Alpha and Rhys her brother were werewolves had always played an important role in Kai and Tristin’s lives and Isa really showed her authority when she found out about all the deceit in the pack.
This book had a lot going on, however as the author wrote it in 1st person POV and each chapter was clearly labelled with that 1st person, it was not confusing and helped the story flow. There were some great one liners usually from Kai and this just showed how comfortable he was with his family and his sexuality, the scenes between him and Rhys were sweet and you could feel their love for each other, even when they were at each other’s throats. As Ember became more comfortable with her powers, you get to find out more about the history of the town and the tragic circumstances that happened there. With Reapers, Banshees, Witches, Shifters and not just wolves and many more different supernatural beings this book has it all for paranormal lovers. A long book but as this is fast paced it was a quick read. An unexpected ending leads nicely into Dark Dreams and Dead Things.
jennybeautifulbook's review
4.0
Wow
I had no idea I was going to love this book the way I did. I love all the love and hate in this book. My first thought of this book was I was going to be ok with it but when I kept on reading it I was so in love with it. I can't wait for the second book. I need to know what is going to happen to the cousin.
I had no idea I was going to love this book the way I did. I love all the love and hate in this book. My first thought of this book was I was going to be ok with it but when I kept on reading it I was so in love with it. I can't wait for the second book. I need to know what is going to happen to the cousin.
slc333's review
3.0
Oddly compelling given that I didn’t really like most of the characters. For the most part they were kind of bland and morally ambiguous even the supposed good guys – with all their lying and secrets and hormonal teen drama. It says something that the character I liked best was the semi evil soulless killer. Altho I am not sure whether that says more about the other characters or me . I didn’t mind the faery chick but that may have been because we don’t see much of her. I would like to know more about her and her story. Ember was ok, just kind of whiny and pathetic at times but I can also kind of understand why given that EVERYBODY lies to her constatntly and doesn’t give her any relevant info. It did annoy me how she just let psycho Stella taunt & torture her all the time without retaliation seeing a she is supposedly super powerful supernatural. Also there were four POVs which was way too many. Especially as one of those was the unlikable bitch Tristan. I really disliked her. And seeing as our heroine is too much of a wimp someone needs to put a smack down on evil Stella. It annoyed me that Stella & Astrid got what they wanted with no consequences given how evil they were in going about it.
swimminhj's review
5.0
See a full review on my BookTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qf1_hxXW-f4
Oh, there are almost no words to explain how much I love this book! Martina knows just how to take a reader on a trip of all emotions possible! Her character development is full and deep, which I appreciate as a reader. Her world development allows you to picture everything in incredible detail, down to the whole town of Belle Haven.
I love Isa! I think having a strong female character in a book who is not the direct protagonist is rare, yet so needed! I love that there is an LGBT relationship. I love that the males in the novel aren't all strapping young lads with rippling muscles.
The plot kept taking turns that I wasn't expecting and that just makes you want to keep reading. I am beyond excited for the next book to come out! Please, just do yourself a favor and pick up this book now! Just do it!
Oh, there are almost no words to explain how much I love this book! Martina knows just how to take a reader on a trip of all emotions possible! Her character development is full and deep, which I appreciate as a reader. Her world development allows you to picture everything in incredible detail, down to the whole town of Belle Haven.
I love Isa! I think having a strong female character in a book who is not the direct protagonist is rare, yet so needed! I love that there is an LGBT relationship. I love that the males in the novel aren't all strapping young lads with rippling muscles.
The plot kept taking turns that I wasn't expecting and that just makes you want to keep reading. I am beyond excited for the next book to come out! Please, just do yourself a favor and pick up this book now! Just do it!
wayhayman14's review
3.0
I really enjoyed this, I love to read a lot of different genres. This was easy reading and I liked the characters.
beccawithabook's review
2.0
I was sent this book in exchange for an honest review:
First off, I have to say I went into this book with high expectations. I mean, come one, check out that cover. Unfortunately, very early on I knew it was going to be a chore to get through this one. It ended up being one of my least favorite books I read this year.
The writing didn't flow well for me and I was taken out of the story when some paragraphs were basically the same sentence repeated in different wording for 3-4 sentences. I just felt as though there were so many unnecessary details even early on in the book, but I still wanted to give it a chance.
The book is structured with multiple POVs and I don't think it worked well in the beginning at all. Around 2/3 of the way through, the story lines start splitting up enough for a shifting POV to work a bit better, and chapters started ending on semi-cliffhangers, which I liked.
Overall, I just think that the author had too many ideas that she wanted to fit into one story. We have just about any paranormal creature you could think of: werewolves, faeries, witches, reapers, banshees, necromancers, ghosts, zombies, oracles, gods/goddesses and even re-animators. I found it difficult to latch on to any of the characters or the overall story because there was just so much happening it made my head spin.
Honestly, the only reason I gave this book 2 stars instead of one was that there was a slight mysterious undertone to the main plot, however, which kept me invested in the book because I wanted to know what was going to happen next. I honestly didn't entirely see the ending coming and I do think there were many parts when the book could have ended but then something else would happen.
The family dynamics in the story were very reminiscent of the Cullen's in the Twilight Saga, which I actually really enjoyed. I saw a lot of parallels between Twilight and this book and found it a little amusing that vampires were one of the creatures that weren't in the book.
The romances that were in this book were very strange and I don't think that they were well thought out. Overall, this whole world didn't seem very well developed and in turn it made everything feel really jumbled and thrown together.
I wanted to like this book so bad, I really did. I generally really enjoy paranormal books, but I really felt like this book was all over the place. There were parts of it I genuinely enjoyed and found interesting, but I didn't end up enjoying this book as a whole. I might continue on with the series, but I haven't decided yet.
First off, I have to say I went into this book with high expectations. I mean, come one, check out that cover. Unfortunately, very early on I knew it was going to be a chore to get through this one. It ended up being one of my least favorite books I read this year.
The writing didn't flow well for me and I was taken out of the story when some paragraphs were basically the same sentence repeated in different wording for 3-4 sentences. I just felt as though there were so many unnecessary details even early on in the book, but I still wanted to give it a chance.
The book is structured with multiple POVs and I don't think it worked well in the beginning at all. Around 2/3 of the way through, the story lines start splitting up enough for a shifting POV to work a bit better, and chapters started ending on semi-cliffhangers, which I liked.
Overall, I just think that the author had too many ideas that she wanted to fit into one story. We have just about any paranormal creature you could think of: werewolves, faeries, witches, reapers, banshees, necromancers, ghosts, zombies, oracles, gods/goddesses and even re-animators. I found it difficult to latch on to any of the characters or the overall story because there was just so much happening it made my head spin.
Honestly, the only reason I gave this book 2 stars instead of one was that there was a slight mysterious undertone to the main plot, however, which kept me invested in the book because I wanted to know what was going to happen next. I honestly didn't entirely see the ending coming and I do think there were many parts when the book could have ended but then something else would happen.
The family dynamics in the story were very reminiscent of the Cullen's in the Twilight Saga, which I actually really enjoyed. I saw a lot of parallels between Twilight and this book and found it a little amusing that vampires were one of the creatures that weren't in the book.
The romances that were in this book were very strange and I don't think that they were well thought out. Overall, this whole world didn't seem very well developed and in turn it made everything feel really jumbled and thrown together.
I wanted to like this book so bad, I really did. I generally really enjoy paranormal books, but I really felt like this book was all over the place. There were parts of it I genuinely enjoyed and found interesting, but I didn't end up enjoying this book as a whole. I might continue on with the series, but I haven't decided yet.
a_h_haga's review
2.0
Ok, yeah, no.
So, I bought this book when I got the kindle back in 2016, and it's been hanging out in my library since then. I don't know why I haven't picked it up before, so I put it on my 19-to-red-in-2019 list and finally got around to it.
I was rather disappointed.
The story was sooo slow!
Nothing really happened, and for the longest time there didn't seem to be much of a plot. The only thing that could be called a plot was Ember finding out what she was, and that isn't all that interesting in the end.
Even now I'm not sure what the plot of the series is.
Another reason it was so slow, was the writing style. There were a bunch of unnecessary words, not to mention the author said the same thing again and again and again and again. Seriously, there would be a whole paragraph about how someone was feeling, then the character would say they were feeling that way, and then they would rethink how they were feeling and yes, they were actually feeling that way.
There were entire pages about one character's feelings, and if the feelings had changed as they thought them through, it wouldn't have been a problem, but they didn't, it was just the same for pages and pages.
The story was told in multiple MC's, and I will be honest and say I think the book could have skipped one. Telling the whole story through the 3 cousins could have worked, but adding Mace just threw a wrench in it. Sure, adding Mace was a way to ad some possible questions/plot, but I think the book may have been more interesting with the mystery around Mace intact instead of the way it was told. Also, the book would have been shorter and maybe not as boring.
The whole last chapter was just a bunch of questions, probably put there by the author to try and keep the readers move on to book 2 to get those questions answered. I just skimmed them and will be honest and say I don't care.
Then there were the romances.
There were at least 3 romances in this book, none of them resolved and in the middle of drama when the book started. If at least one of them was established, it would be ok, but they were all teenage-drama and annoying and seemed like a lot of fluff. Yes, there was one established relationship, but that wasn't any of the MCs, and so it doesn't really count.
Speaking of the characters, why were there so many?
We were introduced to the pack, which is huge and some of the characters hardly has 5 sentences to them and no active role in the story. Not to mention all the characters introduced at the school that were only there for dramaqueens, or didn't seem to have a reason to be there at all other than for adding another characters. They may be important in a later book, but maybe not introduce so many at a time, making one mix them up and not really care. One of the problems with that many characters is that they all blend into one in the end, and none of them have any personality.
!!!SPOILERS!!!
I think maybe my biggest problem with this book, was the revelation in the third-to-last-chapter - and why wait that long? Why wouldn't Ms. Josephine take a bigger role in the kids lives if she expected so much of them? Why not try to sneak in another member of her pack as a teacher to take the twins under their wing, or actually use her brother to teach Ember some things?
But, my main problem isn't Ms. Josephine, it is the revelation of what the 3 reapers really are.
Reincarnations of the Morrigan.
That could have been cool, I see how that can work really well, but MAYBE NOT MAKE ONE OF THE CHARACTERS MALE! Sure, he was gay, but that mean he's not a man? No, it does not. If he was trans, sure, but not just plain gay. This is so lacking of respect to the culture and the Morrigan.
!!!SPOILER OVER!!!
So, yeah, no. I won't be reading the rest of this series.
So, I bought this book when I got the kindle back in 2016, and it's been hanging out in my library since then. I don't know why I haven't picked it up before, so I put it on my 19-to-red-in-2019 list and finally got around to it.
I was rather disappointed.
The story was sooo slow!
Nothing really happened, and for the longest time there didn't seem to be much of a plot. The only thing that could be called a plot was Ember finding out what she was, and that isn't all that interesting in the end.
Even now I'm not sure what the plot of the series is.
Another reason it was so slow, was the writing style. There were a bunch of unnecessary words, not to mention the author said the same thing again and again and again and again. Seriously, there would be a whole paragraph about how someone was feeling, then the character would say they were feeling that way, and then they would rethink how they were feeling and yes, they were actually feeling that way.
There were entire pages about one character's feelings, and if the feelings had changed as they thought them through, it wouldn't have been a problem, but they didn't, it was just the same for pages and pages.
The story was told in multiple MC's, and I will be honest and say I think the book could have skipped one. Telling the whole story through the 3 cousins could have worked, but adding Mace just threw a wrench in it. Sure, adding Mace was a way to ad some possible questions/plot, but I think the book may have been more interesting with the mystery around Mace intact instead of the way it was told. Also, the book would have been shorter and maybe not as boring.
The whole last chapter was just a bunch of questions, probably put there by the author to try and keep the readers move on to book 2 to get those questions answered. I just skimmed them and will be honest and say I don't care.
Then there were the romances.
There were at least 3 romances in this book, none of them resolved and in the middle of drama when the book started. If at least one of them was established, it would be ok, but they were all teenage-drama and annoying and seemed like a lot of fluff. Yes, there was one established relationship, but that wasn't any of the MCs, and so it doesn't really count.
Speaking of the characters, why were there so many?
We were introduced to the pack, which is huge and some of the characters hardly has 5 sentences to them and no active role in the story. Not to mention all the characters introduced at the school that were only there for dramaqueens, or didn't seem to have a reason to be there at all other than for adding another characters. They may be important in a later book, but maybe not introduce so many at a time, making one mix them up and not really care. One of the problems with that many characters is that they all blend into one in the end, and none of them have any personality.
!!!SPOILERS!!!
I think maybe my biggest problem with this book, was the revelation in the third-to-last-chapter - and why wait that long? Why wouldn't Ms. Josephine take a bigger role in the kids lives if she expected so much of them? Why not try to sneak in another member of her pack as a teacher to take the twins under their wing, or actually use her brother to teach Ember some things?
But, my main problem isn't Ms. Josephine, it is the revelation of what the 3 reapers really are.
Reincarnations of the Morrigan.
That could have been cool, I see how that can work really well, but MAYBE NOT MAKE ONE OF THE CHARACTERS MALE! Sure, he was gay, but that mean he's not a man? No, it does not. If he was trans, sure, but not just plain gay. This is so lacking of respect to the culture and the Morrigan.
!!!SPOILER OVER!!!
So, yeah, no. I won't be reading the rest of this series.