Marilyn Almodovar

Interred by Marilyn Almodóvar
Book #1: Chronicles of the Interred
Source: Purchase
Rating: 4½/5 stars

The eve of every kid’s sixteenth birthday should be a magical time; there should be nerves about driving solo, excitement over the party and, no cares in the world. Never should a kid on the cusp of such a huge milestone have to be worried about being buried alive and hoping her magical powers will be enough to get her out alive. Yeah, no one should have that crap on their agenda. 

Baxter is a different sort of 16-year-old. Though she didn’t know it until her mother could no longer hide the truth, Baxter is a magical being from a long, long line of magical beings and she has the very unique and coveted ability of Time Bending. She also has a ghost by the name of Declan who is at once hateful, snide, sad, funny, caring and, completely untrustworthy. After being forced to spill the beans about her daughter’s abilities and what comes next, the family packs up and moves to England so Baxter can participate in the Interment – a magical beings rite of passage that every 16-year-old must go through. Essentially, Baxter’s powers will manifest on the night of her 16th birthday and she will be able to work her way out of the coffin with Declan’s (yeah, the untrustworthy one) guidance and her newfound powers. According to everyone, including her lying, deceiving mother the Internment has gone off without a hitch for centuries and Baxter’s will do so as well.

If things were as simple as being buried alive and getting out, Baxter would have no worries at all. Things just aren’t that simple and here’s her list of worries: Declan wants something from Baxter that no one else has ever been able to accomplish, her mother hid not just her powers but an entire family and history from her, as a Time Bender, Baxter is assigned a Healer and hers happens to be way too cute for words and from a rival family, her power is highly coveted and, she is about to be buried alive. I really can’t get past that whole buried alive bit, can I? As you might well expect, the night of the Interment is anything but smooth and in fact, all hell breaks loose. Baxter’s powers are put to the ultimate test, her level of loyalty and trustworthiness is tested beyond reason and, she is forced to act in ways she never thought possible just to stay alive.

The Bottom Line: Holy cats what an intense and exciting read!! Though Interred starts out a bit slowly and does have some slow parts throughout, the action and plot are super intense and the slow moments sort of give everyone – characters and reader alike – a moment to breathe and regroup. There is a lot of information in this read and I often found myself feeling a bit like Baxter, completely overwhelmed by everything but willing to go with the flow. Baxter is the strength of this read and with everything she goes through and has thrown at her, it is often hard to remember that she is just sixteen. The magical world, the abilities of the magical beings and, the crazy twists and turns in the plot made this read not only fascinating but entirely enjoyable.… (altro)

Originally Reviewed At: Mother/Gamer/Writer
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Controllers
Review Source: Blog Tour
Reviewer: Bailey



Interred centers around a typical teenage girl named Baxter. Except, as she approaches the age of sixteen, Baxter finds out that she’s not so typical. When a relative from across the pond visits and informs her of her magical abilities, Baxter is thrust into a world full of those who want to use her time-bending abilities for their own gain. Baxter also learns that as a ‘welcome’ into the magical community, she will have to spend her sixteenth birthday in a not-so-pleasant way. To get through it all, Baxter relies on two equally alluring boys, Declan and Jack. But who can she trust?

Interred was a fabulous novel. Although the characters had magical abilities, the novel was set in our own world, making it very easy to imagine the scene and connect with the characters. The characters were easy to connect with right away, but as layers of the story unfolded, an even deeper understanding of the characters was gained. I liked that the story wasn’t predictable and had a few plot twists. The humorous nature and pop culture references were also aspects that were a big hit with me. I thoroughly enjoyed the plot and am eagerly awaiting the next novel.
… (altro)