Scan barcode
A review by vondav
Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things by Martina McAtee
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.