I went into this novel not knowing what to expect. I find that going into urban fantasy novels with very little knowledge of the plot often makes me enjoy them more. For this reason, I will keep my synopsis of this brief.

After the death of her sister, Violet and her mother move to the small town in rural New York that her mother grew up in. She then meets some other kids in the area and quickly realizes there is something sinister taking place in the town.

Things I loved: creepy setting, small towns, old houses with weird rooms, unexpected twists, fleshed out characters, the mysterious background of the families of the main characters, old journals, Issac (he was my favorite), that ending!

Things I didn't love: this was on the shorter side, I would've liked more time getting to know the characters

Overall I think this was a really awesome book. The author clearly took the time to come up with really interesting family histories and abilities. There were definitely twists that I didn't see coming so that improved my reading experience. I can see where some people may not enjoy this as much as I did because it does get confusing at times, however, that almost made it more atmospheric, we are just as confused as Violet is and are unraveling the mysteries of this town alongside her and her friends.

I am hoping the second book won't take a long time to come out, because I really want to know what happens next. ( )

I went into this novel not knowing what to expect. I find that going into urban fantasy novels with very little knowledge of the plot often makes me enjoy them more. For this reason, I will keep my synopsis of this brief.

After the death of her sister, Violet and her mother move to the small town in rural New York that her mother grew up in. She then meets some other kids in the area and quickly realizes there is something sinister taking place in the town.

Things I loved: creepy setting, small towns, old houses with weird rooms, unexpected twists, fleshed out characters, the mysterious background of the families of the main characters, old journals, Issac (he was my favorite), that ending!

Things I didn't love: this was on the shorter side, I would've liked more time getting to know the characters

Overall I think this was a really awesome book. The author clearly took the time to come up with really interesting family histories and abilities. There were definitely twists that I didn't see coming so that improved my reading experience. I can see where some people may not enjoy this as much as I did because it does get confusing at times, however, that almost made it more atmospheric, we are just as confused as Violet is and are unraveling the mysteries of this town alongside her and her friends.

I am hoping the second book won't take a long time to come out, because I really want to know what happens next. ( )

3,75stars

First things first: why on god's green earth did I think this was a standalone?! I was not mentally prepared for that cliffhanger.

Second things second: I was really apprehensive about going into this with the comparison to Stranger Things and the Raven Cycle. I think the comparison was very accurate, but at the same time I think it was also a little too accurate, if you know what I mean.

I very much enjoyed the fact that the romantic subplots were very very faint. I'm sure they'll become more prevalent in the future book(s), but that's the way I like the romance in a book that's not of the romance genre. I'm not sure how I feel about the majority of the characters being bisexual, although admittedly that would be a world I would very much like to live in.

The mystery of the beast in the grey was interesting enough, but most of my interest lay in getting to know the individual powers of the families and their members. I'll definitely read the next book in the series, even though this wasn't my favorite book of the year.

I think this book is one of those YA books that are best read when you're actually a member of the target demographic, because I believe I would have absolutely loved this if I read it when I was of an age where I could have better related to the main characters. ( )

Full review at https://booksbeyondbinaries.blog/2019/03/18/the-devouring-gray/ ( )

Oh my god! This is the best thing I've read this year! It reminds me a lot of the later seasons of Teen Wolf with the spooky element while also having so much heart behind it! I'm so excited to read the other book in this duolgy! ( )