This was a good enough book. The story was definitely original; not another teen vampire/faerie/werewolf tale. And that's quite an accomplishment considering how many YA paranormal romances keep coming out these days. However, I think the substance in this book did not justify the length of it (500+ pages!!). I felt like a lot could have been cut down or simplified or sped up. The last 100 or so pages were extremely tiresome. Especially since the end was where the "supernatural" aspects came into play and it completely clashed with the first 400 pages which were more about the drama of high school cliques and jealous jock boyfriends. I just felt like I was reading two different books and there wasn't that much of a connection between them.
I honestly think I enjoyed the realistic aspects of this story more than the creepy supernatural stuff. I loved reading about Isobel standing up to her jerky boyfriend as opposed to her being chased by mysterious shadow people. But after page 400, things just got weirder and weirder and I couldn't keep up with what was going on anymore mostly because I didn't know where we were or why we were there. It was just so frustrating because it was a long series of events but nothing was really HAPPENING. We didn't even really find out what was happening until the VERY end and that was so rushed and unsatisfactory. To be fair, maybe I would've felt differently had I known that this was going to have a sequel. Maybe I wouldn't have expected so much out of it. I still think it's worth reading though. The connections to Edgar Allan Poe are very intriguing and the book is a quick read even with its faults. I'd say definitely buy this if you're a fan of Evermore or Fallen (I think it's better written than both of those). But if you feel like you've been burned by the last couple of YA paranormal books you've read and are now wary of the genre then I suggest getting it from your library.
Random Thoughts:
Even though I actually enjoyed the high school setting, the cliches are too much. Jerky jock boyfriend? Check. Emo-goth silent boy? Check. A school divided by neat lines and cliques? Check. It just irks me.
Isobel's character is...interesting. She's smart but not in a book-smart way. She actually acknowledges that she doesn't read that much but can still keep up which is cool. She's not a dumb blonde so she does seem to break a cliche...while still staying inside it?
It's funny because Isobel's "typical cheerleader" moments will strike at the most random moments. A totally horrible thing just happens--Isobel's first response? "Ohmigod!" I don't know why I found that funny every time she said it but I did.
Varen's character. Ugh. I don't know about anybody else but I just felt like I didn't really know him all that much. He was very closed off. I found it annoying that at the end Isobel describes them getting "closer" but all I felt that happened was them getting attracted to one another. They didn't actually exchange a lot of conversation or got to know each other beyond the surface that much.
Gwen is a really cool character. She bugged me at the end though. Um, hello? Your friend just went through something horrible. Be a little sensitive instead of yelling at her and trying to pump her for information. But, besides that she was funny and cute.
I will probably read the second book. Just to see where the author goes with this.
And...yeah. That's pretty much all I can think of.
3/5 STARS.
