Review: Fun urban/school fantasy adventure, readable even well past the target (teen) age
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 5, 2014
Positives:* Likable heroine who isn't TSTL, and an equally likable male friend/possible love-interest (NOT some hot jerk)* Good pace, story, and general writing skills, with few typos, grammar goofs, or odd word choices* No relationship angst at all, at least in this first volume, and (Thank God!) not even a hint of a triangle* No cliffhanger, though obviously there's still a lot to be discovered and achieved in later volumesNegatives:* The descriptions, e.g. of characters, and the near-future world-building, could be a bit richer* The creature paradigm is a bit odd. I'm all for creating new types of monsters and ways to fight them, but to say demons of various species only started arising from animal-borne infections within the past century, then still use stakes, UV (i.e. daylight), and even Holy Water among the weapons against vampires... well, where did the half-right old tales come from?* Finally, once again we have an unwanted orphan who discovers her own unique powers and <SPOILERS> secrets about her family's past. <END SPOILER>Overall, though, I would recommend this for a light, enjoyable read. My 3 = okay; 4 = good; 5 = great. This originally seemed to me to be a solid 4 -- but given the fading impression it's left at this point, I guess it's another case where I wish Amazon allowed 3.5's.