I have a confession to make... here goes. So, anyone who knows me at all on goodreads will know that I have a few friends whose reviews I rely on without question. If they say a book is better than chocolate, orgasms and Melina Marchetta combined, even if I've never heard of it, I will believe them. Except... I didn't. I doubted, it's true, I doubted. I have had this book on my shelf since not long after it's release in April last year and I have been putting if off and putting it off. Everytime I reminded myself that I should probably read it soon I would then talk myself out of it.
Why? Because while my love for dystopias keeps me reading trash in search of that one book that will prove authors still know how to do it well, my love for young adult paranormal novels up and left shortly after the publication of the Twilight series. Okay, so it occasionally makes a rare re-appearance for books that are paranormal with other elements, like Angelfall for example. And yet, Ms Armstrong has somehow successfuly delivered it back to me in a shiny, completely addicted condition. I thought my inability to enjoy Unearthly - another book that all my friends' loved - was proof that I was doomed to dislike young adult paranormal books forever. How wrong I was.
This is a wonderfully enjoyable novel with refreshing Native Canadian mythology. There's also an array of characters that interested me beyond the main character (Maya) and the guy she's hot for (Rafe)... like Daniel - her overprotective best friend, Rafe's mentally-damaged sister - Annie, Sam - the quick-tempered girl who is more than you first expect... even Maya's parents are memorable with all the funny dialogue between the family, especially between Maya and her father. And I want to hug Kelley Armstrong so much for managing to create a sexy love interest without him being a broody, crazy control-freak. A love story where both the guy and the girl have personalities and aren't abusive? I must be dreaming!
This is just so much better written than the majority of young adult paranormal novels. I'm not suggesting that it will blow your mind or give you a new perspective on life, but this is how I felt about YA UF back when they used to be fun and not so repetitive, cliched and annoying. This is how I felt at the start of the Vampire Academy series: excited.
