Sunday, February 9, 2014

Book Review: Cracked by Eliza Crewe

Cracked (Soul Eater #1)
Author:  Eliza Crewe
Publisher:  Strange Chemistry, 327 pages
Publication Date:  November 5, 2013

From Goodreads:
Meet Meda. She eats people.

Well, technically, she eats their soul. But she totally promises to only go for people who deserve it. She’s special. It’s not her fault she enjoys it. She can’t help being a bad guy. Besides, what else can she do? Her mother was killed and it’s not like there are any other “soul-eaters” around to show her how to be different. That is, until the three men in suits show up.

They can do what she can do. They’re like her. Meda might finally have a chance to figure out what she is. The problem? They kind of want to kill her. Before they get the chance Meda is rescued by crusaders, members of an elite group dedicated to wiping out Meda’s kind. This is her chance! Play along with the “good guys” and she’ll finally figure out what, exactly, her ‘kind’ is.

Be careful what you wish for. Playing capture the flag with her mortal enemies, babysitting a teenage boy with a hero complex, and trying to keep one step ahead of a too-clever girl are bad enough. But the Hunger is gaining on her.

The more she learns, the worse it gets. And when Meda uncovers a shocking secret about her mother, her past, and her destiny… she may finally give into it.


Review:
Fresh and original, the main character is basically the bad person.  She's darkly funny and I appreciated her sense of humor and her snark even when she was thinking about killing the good guys.  

“They fight with a bloodthirstiness I wouldn't expect outside a maximum-security prison or suburban PTA meeting.”

The book definitely doesn't follow the typical YA paranormal, with the normal girl who finds out she's somehow special and then two hot guys are in love with her (and must protect her).  Instead, there's no romance for Meda. I knew that, but I kept expecting it anyway.  I am curious about whether that will stay the case in the next book.  

I loved the dynamics of the group of Crusaders and I especially loved Chi and Jo.  They were both so different, with Chi completely trusting while Jo was constantly suspicious of Meda.  There's a lot of action, and I was quite riveted and surprised by a number of things that happened in the book.  Kick-ass main character...this book was just so much fun and   such a breath of fresh air.  Loved it.  Thank you Rebecca at The Library Canary for recommending it!

Posted by:  Pam 

11 comments:

  1. I really love the sound of this one, and it will be interesting to read a YA book with NO romance at all. This sounds like a really fun read. Thanks for the great review :)

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    1. Yeah, part of me missed the romance (I do love at least a bit), although there is romance with the secondary characters, just not with the MC. But it was such a fun and entertaining read. ~Pam

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  2. Yay!! I'm so happy you enjoyed it! I feel like maybe there will be a romance for Meda in the next book with that one guy. I know that's super vague, but I don't want to spoil anything. Hopefully you know who I'm talking about. Thanks for the shout-out!

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    1. Yes, I know which guy you're talking about and that's who I think too. We'll have to see if we're right when the next one comes out! ~Pam

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  3. This book wasn't my favorite but I agree it was fresh and different. I'm still on the fence about continuing the series but if I read some good reviews I will give it a try =)

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    1. One of the main reasons I liked it was because it was different. Sometimes I feel like I keep reading the same story over and over again, even when I like it, and this one was just such a change of pace. ~Pam

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  4. I am intrigued! I like when the main character is bad, you don't get this often and I don't mind the lack of romance. So glad you loved this, I'll be adding it to the TBR!

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    1. Yeah, it reminded me a bit of Another Little Piece, have you read that one? And I knew there wasn't any romance for the main character after reading Rebecca's review, but I still kept thinking it was going to happen. I didn't miss it too much, I think it wouldn't have made much sense given the character and the story. ~Pam

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    2. no, I still need to read Another Little Piece! And actually thank you for the reminder, that kind of fell of my radar accidentally!

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  5. I haven't heard of this one, but it sounds interesting. The PTA comment was hilarious. I also kind of like it when the main character isn't necessarily the good guy. Have you read Vicious by Schwab? I still need to read Another Little Piece. I've been meaning to read that one. Great review!

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    1. The main character is definitely snarky, so there are so many other funny comments she makes. And yes, I really enjoyed Vicious, it was definitely a different read, where the characters were complex and no one was really good. ~Pam

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