This was a Goodreads YA recommendation, but I don’t read horror genre. But thought I would try it in order to get ready for a Jane Austen meeting on gothic Northanger Abbey. I liked the development of the characters, the town’s history, and early on it felt like a mystery, but got queezy when all of the sorcerer killings started happening. ( )

Love the juxtaposition of a practical, light hearted narrator in a true blue gothic romance. ( )

Oh my Goddess. Really.
As I knew would happen, once I picked up this book I couldn't put it down until I finished it. It is nothing short of brilliant. And that ending! "When is the next one coming?" I asked. How will I endure until then?
The story doesn't falter once. There is love and hate, viciousness and kindness, fear and beautiful moments. One minute I was laughing and the next I was gritting my teeth. At the end I burst into tears. I really can't wait to read more of this story.
And as a side note - a YA novel not in first-person-present-tense!
On all fronts, way to go, Sarah. ( )

Best banter, lovable mains, exciting romances--Brennan writes what I wanna read. So excited for the rest of this series AND her adult debut this summer!!

4.5 ( )

So good need the next one :) ( )

So good need the next one :) ( )

Aspiring journalist and high school student Kami Glass lives in the small town of Sorry-in-the-Vale where she runs the school newspaper, hangs out with her friend Angela and talks to the boy in her head. When the mysterious Lynburn family moves back into their mansion on a hill overlooking the town, dead animals are discovered in the woods surrounding the area. As Kami starts investigating, she is swept up into a world of ancient secrets, which are linked to the history of Sorry-in-the-Vale as well as Jared, the boy in her head who has now become real.

This is an incredibly fun and quirky book in the vein of Diana Wynne Jones as well as Maggie Stiefvater's The Raven Boys. At first, I had reservations about this book, despite seeing all the rave reviews of it, since the constant witty banter between the characters sometimes felt very inauthentic. But as the plot develops, the author slows down with the jokes, and the story becomes a lot more compelling. I was drawn in slowly by the mystery and the relationship between Kami and Jared. The plot is very slow, the mystery only revealing itself bit by bit but in a very compelling way. While the beginning was a bit rough, by about a third of the way into the story, I had difficulty putting the book down.

The characters are difficult to connect with at first, but they grow on you. By the end of the book, I really loved them all, especially the girls. I can't decide who I like more, Angela or Holly, both of whom break the typical stereotypes about hot girls found in many YA novels. I also enjoyed the portrayal of their strong friendships with each other.

I loved the weird relationship between Kami and Jared-- it's an interesting exploration of what happens when you met the person who knows everything about you, and in a way, it kind of skewers the cliches surrounding the idea of soulmates. Kami and Jared are kind of soulmates in a way, but they're also incredibly awkward around each other. I can't predict how the author plans on dealing with their strange connection and what the outcome will be for them. While they are the obvious romantic couple, right now it's difficult to see how they could possibly have an actual relationship with each other.

All in all, this is a solid book, a refreshing standout among the hordes of carbon copy paranormal YA novels. I look forward to the sequel. ( )

so good. like half the book made me want to cry, not because it was sad or anything, just because I was so cranky at everyone for not doing what they should be doing. which is actually a good thing--they had their reasons for not doing things, and they were even good reasons, but I wanted everything to be perfect and happy, and that is not what this book was about. ( )

I loved this book, but I am so angry at the cliffhanger ending that I can't think much about it right now. There better be a second book in the works, because if the author is leaving it at that I will be furious.

Kami is a brilliant young lady and a wonderful female character. I could relate to her a lot and I loved the side characters as well, Angela in particular. I would have liked her to spend a little more time with Angela and Holly rather than Jared, but alas, this is a young adult novel and romance is top priority number one no matter what. It wasn't even that romancey, but still. I kind of didn't like Jared, I really didn't like him at the ending, but I can understand the kid and feel for him.

All in all, this is a quick read with a strong, interesting, intelligent, not boy crazy teenage sleuth as its main character. Well fleshed out (for the most part) side characters, a pretty god mystery, with a little fantasy involved. Great book, better have a sequel. ( )

Kami’s imaginary friend turns out to be a real boy. Problems ensue, with his weird family returning to quiet English village where things are not quite what they seem. There will be sequels. ( )

Enjoyed it - had read it back when it was new and encountered it again. I think it does a good job of balancing the angst that comes with YA books with a sense of humor that doesn't take itself too seriously. ( )

Well, now. That hung together nicely. ( )

I actually liked this story. A hint of the fantastical with characters that are believable and well developed. Though my male students will find it difficult to dive into this story, I found it interesting and an easy read, my girls would like this without a doubt. ( )

The story basically chronicles Kami's realization that her small and boring hometown of Sorry-in-the-Vale...gotta love that name... is a place she thought she knew very well...but has a hidden dimension. She finds evidence of animals being ritually killed in the nearby woods. That little surprise I could well have done without. She realizes that people are keeping secrets and she decides to investigate. Slowly, Kami's ordinary world is revealed to be strange, horrifying, and full of supernatural events and surprises. Sarah Rees Brennan did a phenomenal job with this enticing novel making it complete with mystery and mayhem, ( )

I found this unsatisfying. It didn't really go hard enough in any of the directions it chose, and I found the narrative - and the dialogue in particular - way too glib and facile. (Worst offender: you do not get two and a half lines of sparkling witticism when you're choking having been half-drowned.) Don't get me wrong - I laughed out loud numerous times. But there was too much of it. Too often.

Actually, my biggest problem with the facility of the dialogue is that, for me, most often it hid, rather than showed, the characters. They were all so busy Joss-Whedoning at each other that I never felt like I was getting close to any of them, not even Kami, in whose head we're ostensibly travelling, nor Jared, in whose head she's ostensibly travelling.

This was a big problem because it minimised my emotional involvement in the turmoil of the book. I assume, from the way things shook out, that I'm supposed to believe that Kami is desperately in love with Jared, but I honestly never felt it. Not even a little bit. (Though in the spirit of full disclosure, I admit that may have a tiny bit to do with the fact that Rusty is so very much my favourite sort of male character that I was wanting Kami to hook up with him from approximately five words after he arrived on the page.)

Which is a shame, because I really liked what it was giving us about the ways in which living in each other's heads was actually uncomfortable and unnatural and rather terrifying. That was a really good and sensible element and I am all in favour of that sort of thing. But with that uncertain overlay of Twu Wuv, I felt... well, uncertain. That's what I mean about not going in any of its directions hard enough. The romance wasn't strong enough for me to swoon, but it wasn't committed enough to the platonic path for me to get really into that storyline/relationship either.

And without a hard grasp on that to drive the story, I found it didn't really do anything terribly exciting in its development. There was a lot of teenage stuff which, as I've previously said, eh. (Though I totally called Angela and Holly early on, which does not at all diminish my DELIGHT at the way it all turned out. Though Angela and Rusty had better turn out to be elite witch-hunters, because honestly, two trained martial arts young people abandoned by their parents in this village? It's a little fucking convenient/over-elaborate, innit?)

So this is the bottom line: I liked its vampish gothicky qualities, but it felt more like a flirtatious pass at them than a serious commitment. I liked the romance (it was so frustrating that Kami and Jared wouldn't be fucking honest with each other, if understandable, let alone with me the reader) but it didn't go at it hard enough to satisfy on that front. And I found the rest of it too slick and substanceless to really engage me. It gets three stars only because it does it well; it's very readable. ( )

This is the first book I've read by Sarah but I loved it although I was a little frustrated at the ending as it totally leaves you hanging and not in a good way! Now we have to wait until September for the next installment. I love the characters of Kami and Jared and how they relate in the real world. I started this yesterday morning and finished it today. I couldn't put it down and that hasn't happened in a while. I don't get a lot of time to read but this one I had too. It takes a bit before you figute out what paranormal power is in play but that just helps build the story. Get this and read it! ( )

A fascinating book. Kami's a cool character, and her relationship with her not-so-imaginary-friend is really intriguing. I only gave it three stars though, because it could have used a bit of polish, and the ending really disappointed me. ( )

More of a 3.5...maybeeeee a 4 at times. There were parts of this book that were extremely irritating. BUT, I am very curious as to how to sequel unfolds based on this first book's ending. ( )

Plot: 4/5
Okay, lemme start this off by saying, MAJOR Beautiful Creatures vibe here.
Small town in the country, mystery fueled by a magical history in the town, war between good and evil magic users… yeah, I’ve heard this somewhere before.
Also, the Kami-Jared connection is somewhat reminiscent of the Ethan-Lena connection. Magic user is inexplicably connected to a mortal, but the mortal somehow boosts the magic-users power through this connection, and has some sort of control over the magic-users power
But this book IS very different for Beautiful Creatures, in many ways.
For one, the setting. The setting of this book made it feel more modern, yet with so many more possibilities for the history.
And the pacing. This book goes by quicker than Beautiful Creatures, and the story unfolds differently (obviously. Otherwise I’m sure copyright laws would’ve kicked in). It’s been awhile since I’ve read Beautiful Creatures, but remembering my level of enjoyment while reading that and comparing it to my level of enjoyment reading this… this one was better.
Also, I think Jared and Kami’s connection was structured better than Ethan and Lena’s.
You know, just better.
And, OMIGERHD, I need the next book, because, hello? I’m expecting a WAR between the sorcerer’s to see who gets control of the town Just, ah! Want. Next. One.

Characters: 4.5/5
Kami: is a strong character, and she’s smart. Strong is all well and fine and good, but honestly, it’s characters with the basic smarts that come along with life that do it for me. (Some main characters are just sooo stupid, you know?)
Angie: Omigod, I love her reactions to everything. btw, I saw the whole lesbo thing coming when I was about 50% of the way thought the book, and when Kami was getting all paranoid towards the end about Holly and Angie, I was like, “No, Kami, they’re not sorcerers, they’re just lesbians!
Holly: I really liked her. She added the most normalcy too the group, and then, ironically, out of the three of them (Angie, Kami and her) she was also the one who knew the most about the magical history of the town.
Ash: “I didn’t sleep with our personal trainer! We don’t even have a personal trainer!” Need I say more? I really hope we get to know more about him in book 2, BUT ONLY IF WE’RE CLEAR ON THE FACT THAT THERE SHOULD BE NO SMOOCHIES BETWEEN HIM AND KAMI.
Jared: I love Jared. I want him and Kami to be together forever. (Imagine there is a gif here of someone bursting out into tears).

Romance: 5/5 (plus tears at the end)
Jared and Kami! Oh, my god, Kami, I TOLD you Not. To sever. The connection. Didn’t I? I swear I did. Okay, I know that Rob was there, with a knife, all ready to kill you, but you could’ve stalled for two more seconds, couldn’t you have? And Now look what you’ve done! If you had stalled, Jared would’ve arrived, with the others, he’d have had your special source power boost, they probably would’ve beat Rob, and Jared wouldn’t be such a jerk! (That’s obviously what I’m really upset about here) Speaking of which, WHAT THE HELL, Jared? Please tell me you were acting for the camera’s on those last three pages, cuz if not, I’m—I’m—gonna go cry. And fantasize about Faith handing Connors ass to him (different story) because only that will comfort me.
On that note, I really need to learn how to use gifs.

Overall grade: 13.5/15 ( )

Gah! So good! Kami Glass is a breath of fresh air in a world of self-doubting YA protagonists. She's Veronica Mars with a paranormal gift, and rather than being isolated a la Bella Swan, she's got her own Scooby Gang who help her solve mysteries. Read it! So good! WHERE IS THE SEQUEL?? ( )

I found this book oddly enthralling despite some strong reservations I had about many of the characters. I really liked how everything was handled in the end, though - not that it was a happy ending by any means, or that everything was tied up neatly, but I thought that what did happen made sense for the characters and the plot. I’m really looking forward to reading the sequel and finding out what comes next.

Content warnings: animal harm, minor character death, ritual sacrifice, some really bad parenting, racism ( )

Really enjoyed this book. Not as romance-oriented as so many paranormal YA books seem to be and that was a great relief. There was some romance of course but it wasn't central to the story and I truly loved that. Plenty of action and magic and I just really, really loved the main characters (and many of the secondary ones). Can't wait to see where the author is going to go next with this series! ( )

Kami Glass has always been able to communicate with a mysterious and unknown presence inside her head. Long given up on the puzzle of whether "Jared" is real or merely a figment of her imagination, Kami knows only that he has always been there, exchanging thoughts, emotions, memories and day-to-day minutiae her entire life. Imagine her surprise when the mysterious Lynburn family moves back to town, and while performing research at the local library one day, Kami discovers Jared Lynburn standing before her in corporeal form.

Compelling original premise and a terrific choice and for a summer read! I appreciated the author resisting the temptation of clichéd teenage tropes -- the characters and their voices felt fresh and genuine. Looking forward to the second in the series. ( )

i love this book a lot. it makes me happy and makes me laugh really really hard. its a very clever idea and is a wonderful series. i would be happy to read it again ( )