Review: Awesome first book in a promising series!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 08 11, 2012
4.5 starsI am so glad that I stumbled upon 'The Haze'. This was a wonderful first installment in what promises to be an amazing series. Janine Olsson has a refreshing, great new take on vampires and the supernatural. Her world building and introduction to the story were easily understood and very well developed. In a few other reviews people complained of the first few chapters being slow - I didn't find that at all. I think Olsson took her time being thorough with background and history which is essential to the plot in this book and others to follow. I loved the idea of Hemlee, Tenya, Lucius' work, the Elite, and if I may say so, 'flashing' was my particular favorite skill.The characters are awesome! Natalia, our narrator, is a strong, compassionate leading lady struggling to find and come to terms with her purpose in life... and it's a doozy. She has a sexy hulk of a twin brother, Maddox, who she's able to communicate with telepathically. Finn is a bad-ass warrior who pops into the story and is so hot it's almost unbearable. Oh yeah, and there's also True who is equally as drool-worthy, though I didn't see as much of him as I would've liked in this book. The cast is just so wonderful and as you read, more and more exciting characters help expand the world and move the story along.Aside from the wonderful characters, I really appreciated that there were so many layers to 'The Haze'. It wasn't just a supernatural romance with a killer love triangle (yes, it definitely has that)... it was so much more. It's about love, betrayal, family, destiny, control - or the illusion of it - and personal choice. The book ends with a cliff hanger and I am dying to read the next installment. Hopefully we won't have to wait too long for it!Finally, the reason I couldn't give a full five stars is due to editing. Normally, it wouldn't bother me too much but there were spelling and grammatical mistakes all over the place that really should be fixed (i.e. then vs. than, there, their, they're, to, too). This should not in any way stop you from reading 'The Haze'... believe me, you'd be missing out! If you're a person who loves supernatural literature and is looking for an updated twist on the magical world of vampires, weres, and shifters do yourself a favor and read 'The Haze'.