Review: Fast paced, fantastic story!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 30, 2012
Breed of Innocence is a fantastic young adult novel by Lanie Jordan. But I know lots of adults who read YA and teens who don't stick with young adult fiction... Really, it's all about the story. And this is a good one. I loved this book!  Jade is a very relatable heroine. I enjoyed her thought process and how she looked at situations. I felt that she was very strong and courageous. She's been through a horrible trauma that left her family dead. Yes, she wants revenge for the horror that has changed her life. But she's living in foster care and just trying to survive it till she's 18 and can really try to track down the thing that devastated her life."I'm a sixteen-year-old living in a group home because no one wanted me. I've got `authority issues'--" I used air quotes. "--a bad temper, and an awesome attitude that no one else seems to think is all that awesome."Mr. Greene comes to the house she staying at and in a very fun scene (I vlogged a bit of it) he shows her that monsters are real.  He tells her "This isn't a revenge course, Miss Hall. It's a potential job." He asks her if she wants to come work for the CGE. She has no ties to the foster home and immediate signs up. I liked how upfront Greene was. He didn't claim that she would kill the demon that took her family. And he doesn't say she'll be ready to go hunting tomorrow. He promises that it will take time and hard work to learn how to track and hunt the things that go bump in the night. Jade is determined to learn everything she can to be prepared when the time comes to fight.When she starts her training at the CGE, Jade compares it to "high school for demon hunters.". It IS like high school. There's a bully named Felecia, who I loved to hate. Lanie wrote the secondary characters with dimension and heart. I loved some of them so much. Tasha rocks! And Linc... *sigh* Love him! Mr. Greene has Linc show Jade around the campus and they become friends. They click. I love the interaction between them. I laughed at their dialogue and recognized some of it from my own friendships.  I liked how natural their relationship felt, with their teasing banter and her threatening bodily harm after he woke her up too early one morning. I'd do the same.Linc stood before me, wearing a smile that was entirely too smiley, and I found myself wanting to smack it away like I would an annoying bug buzzing at my head. "Morning." Even his voice was smileyWhen Linc held her hand, without being asked, to distract her from her fear of doctors, I was immediately hooked. I am very excited to see where their relationship goes. There are definitely sparks but it's rooted in a deep friendship.I love Lanie Jordan's world building. I  enjoyed the science and history that's woven into this story to explain the  genetic mutations behind the vampires and demons. The structure of the CGE and how they function and what their purpose is seemed very thought out and developed. Because of that, the story felt grounded, but not too much detail that it felt weighted down. I liked the fight scenes and could visualize most of this story in my head like a movie. (I'd so love a Breed Chronicle movie!) I got a kick reading about the campus and their training program. I loved going with Jade to Demonology on Mondays, Tracking on Tuesdays, Weapons on Wednesdays and Combat Training on Thursdays and seeing her navigate the school life and deal with the challenges that arise as she trains to be a demon hunter.Here are a few more fav lines♦Good, but still odd. I hadn't been this comfortable with anyone in a while. I'd known Linc less than twenty-four hours, but we just...meshed. He was the best friend I'd had in ages and I wasn't sure how I felt about that. Sad, in a way, that someone I'd known less than twenty-four hours could become my best friend.♦"Think of your right hand as the force and your left as the balance.""I feel a Star Wars joke coming on," I murmured.He raised an eyebrow and leaned back slightly. "I'm impressed you even know of Star Wars. They're way, way before our time.""They're classics."♦I couldn't remember reading about any demons that liked blankets. It was possible, wasn't it? "They're covered in a blanket, so I can't tell." Brushing me aside, Felecia looked into the room herself. "Well, I don't see why they'd give a demon a blanket, so I'd say it's a fair guess that's not what's in there."♦I felt like I was watching a horror movie, right before I knew one of the characters was about to die because the viewer could see the killer creeping closer and closer. Except I was the character. But the killer wasn't creeping up on me. It already had me.I would not consider this story a romance, though there's potential for romance in it. It's an urban fantasy that's full of adventure and humor and heart. It's about Jade, a grieving girl, who's lost her family and dreams of vengeance, and her journey to becoming a girl who is empowered to defend others and fight monsters. I am eagerly waiting for the next chapter in Jade's adventures and highly recommend you pick up Breed of Innocence and fall in love with Jade like I did.I will be stalking Lanie for the sequel. She has at least 6 books in this series planned right now! *Kermit flail*(((hugs))) KatThe Queen of Tarts