Yvonne Woon

Early on, I wasn't sure about the teenage-fixer premise, and it just didn't seem plausible to me. However, about one third into the book I got pulled into the story. The characters, Hana and best friend James, came alive to me, and their repartee works well here. The tension builds, especially when the reader is presented with Hana's and her family's backstory. There are very good, and realistic, supporting characters. And there's also a part of the story that's been in the headlines fairly recently, about cheating and the pressures of being accepted to a college or university, that seems to make this tale relatable. Along with all those plus elements, there's an interesting twist to the tale that makes it, in my humble opinion, a real winner. I can see why this book is a Mystery Writers of America YA Edgar nominee. I highly recommend.… (altro)

A slow-moving book, much like the first one. The mystery unravels itself very very slowly, and there's no obvious plot/no real action until the second half. The mythology of the supernatural elements continues to be revealed but sadly, no elements of classical philosophy here; this one seems more like a straight up mystery. The introduction of a second love interest and potential love triangle irks me-- not necessary at all, but I do like that the author very briefly questions whether relationships should be so difficult. It seems like it's conventional wisdom that you need to work for your relationship, but if there are just so many obstacles that seem impossible to overcome, maybe it just isn't meant to be? At this point I find the whole series rather boring but may pick up the last book just to see how everything is resolved.… (altro)

I only picked this up because I liked the cover and really wasn't expecting much. True to my initial impressions, this book is a fairly typical YA paranormal story. A human girl has some tragic things happen to her, enrolls in a new school, and meets a mysterious and alluring not-quite-human boy. They fall in love and then for whatever reason, discover that they can't be together.

The only interesting twist is the inclusion of classical philosophy in the mythology behind the supernatural elements. Descartes' ideas about life and death form the basis of the mythology, although the book doesn't go into much detail about it and the author clearly takes a lot of artistic liberties in fitting his ideas into her tale. Nonetheless, I thought this was an interesting approach to the YA paranormal genre, and enjoyed reading about it. I'm curious enough to read the next book in the series, and really hoping that the author will continue to use classical philosophy in the storyline.… (altro)

This book was okay for me. There were things that I liked about it and things that didn’t work as well too. I have had this book on my virtual shelves for years and am glad that I decided to finally brush it off and give it a try. I did find it to be a very quick read and it held my attention until the very end. I think that this book was definitely worth a read.

Everything changes for Renée on the day that she turns sixteen. She finds both of her parents dead in the woods from apparent heart attacks and she is soon sent to live with her wealthy grandfather. He seems to be very strict and sends her to an exclusive boarding school. The curriculum at the school is a little different than she is used to but she soon excels and starts making friends. She meets Dante at school and the pair are immediately drawn to each other.

I was able to guess a lot of the big twists in this book which took some of the fun out of the story. There is a bit of a mystery around what is really going on at the school and another mystery centered around Renée’s roommate. I did think that a lot of things in the story were rather convenient. It was an interesting concept and I was invested in the story and the characters enough that I was curious about how things would work out for them.

Caitlin Davies did a great job in narrating this story. I thought that she did a great job in bringing this cast of characters to life. I loved the various character voices that she used in her narration. I found her voice to be very pleasant and had no problem listening to this book for hours at a time. I do think that her narration added to my overall enjoyment of the story.

I would encourage readers who are interested in this trilogy to give it a try. I am glad that I read it and did enjoy my time with it but I don’t have any plans to read any further in the series.

I received a digital review copy of this book from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers via NetGalley and purchased a copy of the audiobook.… (altro)