Mundie Moms

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Book Review: Other


Published by Flux
Released on September 1st, 2010
Source: bought
3 stars- It was a good read
Purchase from: Amazon| Barnes & Noble

Gwen Williams has been hiding a strange and fantastic secret: she's a shapeshifter. Although society may tolerate vampires, centaurs, and "Others" like Gwen, there are plenty of folks in her small Washington town who don't care for her kind.

When a new werewolf pack moves into the area, tensions rise—and Others start showing up dead, including someone close to Gwen. Despite the methodical murders, the police are ignoring evidence that suggests a serial killer. In the midst of terrible loss and danger, Gwen—along with a mysterious and sexy guy who happens to be a Japanese fox spirit—risks her life to find the murderer. But Gwen is already the killer's next target . . .

An engaging debut with an enticing mythology, romance, action and a murder mystery, Other is an unique paranormal read. With it's wide array of shapeshifting characters known as Others, Karen creates a world where humans, and others co-exist. Who wouldn't want to live in a world where it's normal to see mythological creatures roaming the streets and working in books store, or going grocery shopping with a centaur? It would seem magical right? Vampires, werewolves, and every other type of shapeshifting character you can imagine all live in a quiet little town nestled into the beautiful back drop of the NW in Washington state.

Mixed into a fabulous mythology and a beautiful setting (yes I was hooked on the setting alone), Karen's debut is full of exciting, magical, mythological creatures. She also introduces a fascinating lore with Pookas, something I've not read about before, but was really intrigued with. Than she also mixes in a fabulous romance and a great murder mystery. The romance was exciting. It's different and it wasn't an instant love type of relationship.

Gwen, the story's main character is an Other and after her human boyfriend finds out, things don't go as she plans and that sends her into the arms of someone who can relate, Tavian. I really liked Tavian. He's definitely not your typical love interest and I loved that about him. I loved that he wasn't a jock or all muscled up. He's a shorter that Gwen, he's totally down to earth, secure with his abilities and helps Gwen learn to embrace her's more. While Gwen was a character who annoyed me at times, Tavian is a character I totally loved. He really made the story for me and I love what he's able to turn into, which made the story a little more unique. I do love the fact that Gwen herself is able to turn into a variety of different animals. The shapeshifting abilities in this story are really captivating.

While the shapeshifting elements keep the story line exciting, the murder mystery adds suspense and action to it. Karen did a great job at keeping me hooked on who did it. While I had my assumptions on who it was, the twists she kept throwing into the plot kept me on my toes and had me guessing until the very end. Other is truly an unique paranormal read and it's one I think fans of YA paranormal books will enjoy. It puts a whole new spin on paranormal characters. I'm looking forward to reading more books from this series. There is some mild language and a mild sex scene in the book.

2 comments:

  1. VERY interesting! Looks really deep and dark and I love the suspense element. Pretty different from my usual YA stuff which tends to be pretty light.

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  2. Pam- You summed it up perfectly. It's definitely dark and suspense and not like any of the other paranormal books I've read recently. It's one I'd recommend if you're a fan of paranormal reads.

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