Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things
Dead Things Series, Book 1
By: Martina McAtee
Narrated by: Kristin Watson Heintz
I liked how this started, mysteries unfolding slowly. The middle of the story has ups and downs, and the ending was good but a little rushed.
I found the plot great! Families of reapers, witches, and shifters, and even a vampire is in here. Family secrets, powers, and intrigue all blend together with characters you hate or love! A good mix of emotions and paranormal override any negative issues. Enjoyable! ( )

LGBTQAI : There is a side m/m relationship and a couple of minor mlm characters.

A lot happened in these 500 pages. I picked it up for nostalgia reasons because it seemed kind of like a "stereotypical" paranormal YA novel with the MC who has special powers, is surrounded by all kinds of supernaturals, but nobody knows what she is.

I actually ended up enjoying (most of) the book more than I expected. I was interested in what was happening with Ember, and I liked the supporting characters, especially Kai (reaper, Ember's cousin) and Quinn (human in a witch family). I also liked Tristin, despite her being an "unlikeable" female character for many. I liked that the werewolf pack in the book also welcomed humans and reapers as family.

But there were also many things I didn't like. For one, there were several minor female characters who seemed to just be there to be mean bullies. I know all bullies are messed up, but the things Stella did still seemed like huge overkill to me. I felt like this was a huge waste of female characters.

I was also lowkey comfortable with the way Kai and Rhys's relationship, and by extension the other minor mlm characters were treated. I can't really explain what my problem was, but their romance was mostly just frustrating to read, and I didn't like that the only other queer characters (Eric and Tate) seemed to be there as props to make Rhys jealous, with a complete lack of queer girls in the entire book.

And then there's Mace. Thing is: I LOVE immortal, morally grey, asshole characters. I liked Mace. But that doesn't mean I wanted him to get together with 17-year-old Ember. I realise this is paranormal YA, but if there's one thing I've seen to have grown out of, it's the "lying, murderous, stalker immortal boyfriend" trope. Fortunately, Mace has some character development by the end of the book, but their romance still didn't grab me at all.

I liked most of the plot, the twists, and the way all the puzzle pieces came together - but I felt like everything went downhill around 70% in. After a certain event happened, nothing really made sense to me. It felt messy, rushed, unnecessary, or a combination of those three.

That being said! There were a couple platonic "I love you"s that I loved. Wish there had been more.

tldr; I really enjoyed around the first 70% of this book, but not the last 30%. The main group of characters are great, though I have some issues with the really minor ones. Also, pretty much none of the main romances grabbed me.

This quote from Tristin about Mace was the best: "Tristin supposed one might think he was good looking if you were into the fallen angel thing and assuming you could overlook the soul slurping evil demon part." ( )

This book suffers from too much information and too little plot. 70 pages in and all that has happened is Ember is moved from her home in New Orleans to her previously unknown cousins' home in Florida. Briefly, Ember is threatened by a mysterious figure while in New Orleans.

The rest of the word count is information about all twenty one (ok eleven) characters that have been introduced through the four separate point of views. Who has a crush on whom (Kai on Rhys, Rhys possibly on Kai, Ember on Mace, Quinn on Tristin). Who has which supernatural ability. Their various unique eye colors. Why did the cousins, Kai and Tristin, leave school to travel to New Orleans? The author will now tell you through their pov chapters that describe their leaving, returning, and sharing the tale with their friends and family members. The tale will drag on as Ember, the newbie, peppers them with questions. And oh my god get on with it!

The details are interesting. Thought has been into the world building and it shows. The characters are fleshed out well. I really enjoy Kai. However, when a premise starts out with a kidnapping, readers will expect some actual plot. Maybe even action. Its pretty thin here. Enough to drive me away from finishing. ( )

Fantastic

This book was great. I feel like most of the books I find lately are rehashes of books I’ve previously read. This book was unique and I loved the characters. I thought the dual POV would get annoying but I ended up falling in love with all the main characters and I love how no one is truly ‘good’ or ‘bad’ but all shades and variations. Truly a great start to a series ( )

It was a bit frustrating

Pros:
very unique take on reapers and some of the lore. Writing was fine, I didn't mind the change if perspectives chapter to chapter (written on 3rd person so it was easier to follow that you were reading so-and-so's POV.)

Cons:
like lots of YA lots of melodrama that shouldn't be drama. I didn't like 80% of the characters, some of them were so annoying I was waiting for them to die or something miraculous to happen to change them. This can be because I'm an adult and I'm reading about teenagers emotions and choices and it frustrated me to read about it.

Final verdict:
I might read the next in series, I'm not sure because one of the main characters I really don't like (because her actions/feelings towards another character is unjustifiable). I really liked these side characters that were only k for 1 or 2 chapters so I'm hoping to see more of them! (I'll definitely be on board for a spin of series on these characters). ( )