Book Blurb:
Micheline Helsing is a tetrachromat -- a girl who sees the auras of the undead in a prismatic spectrum. As one of the last descendants of the Van Helsing lineage, she has trained since childhood to destroy monsters both corporeal and spiritual: the corporeal undead go down by the bullet, the spiritual undead by the lens. With?an?analog SLR camera as her best weapon, Micheline exorcises ghosts by capturing their spiritual energy on film. She's aided by her crew: Oliver, a techno-whiz and the boy who developed her camera's technology; Jude, who can predict death; and Ryder, the boy Micheline has known and loved forever.
When a routine ghost hunt goes awry, Micheline and the boys are infected with a curse known as a soulchain.?As the ghostly chains spread through their bodies, Micheline learns that if she doesn't exorcise her entity in seven days or less, she and her friends?will die. Now pursued as a renegade agent by her monster-hunting father, Leonard Helsing, she must track and destroy an entity more powerful than anything she's faced before . . . or die trying.
Lock, stock, and lens, she's in for one hell of a week
My Review:
5 Out Of 5 Stars!!!!
Genre: Supernatural, Dystopian, Vampire, Mystery, Zombie
Micheline Helsing comes from a long line of Helsings who have spent their lives destroying evil from the world, be it ghost or monster. She and her team are good at what they do, despite still being in training. When a routine ghost haunting goes awry, Micheline charges in to face the spirit regardless of the consequences. What she doesn’t know is that this is bigger than she could have expected and she may just cost herself and her friends their lives.
I absolutely loved everything about this book! It was so freaking good. I know you are not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but I will admit that I did. I personally think the cover is kind of ugly and I was expecting some blah supernatural cheese story when I decided to read it. But man was I wrong. This book was so good. I know I sound like a parrot, but a fact is a fact.
The world the author created was very interesting. It is modern day but a few things are tweaked. Like the fact monsters roam free and society is aware of it. There are trained fighters who protect everyone from these zombies, vampires and unidentifiable things. There are a few people who are tetrochromats, meaning they can see the energy that comes off ghosts, making them the ghost hunters like Micheline is. The Helsing’s group as well as other organizations across the globe are dispatched when something terrifying comes out. Every aspect of the monsters or the tools used to fight said monsters was explained with some science or theoretical idea. It makes it so much easier to believe when technical specs were being thrown around. And let me mention how incredibly terrifying I found the book. It was a non-stop horror ride that I was helplessly sucked into. There was one part in the story where they are in a battle with the spirit and I was by myself at night reading, and I will admit to being completely freaked out. Somehow this book got to me more than a scary movie can yet I could not put it down. I was really amazed by how seamless the author made the science and the spooky blend together for a well developed story.
Micheline was an interesting character to spend the book with. She has had a very rough life with very little opportunity to be a kid. She grew up being groomed to be a leader, yet with no say in how her life will be. She does foolish reckless things in the name of the greater good, not caring about what happens to herself. I thought it was interesting how she has PTSD from an attack, with no clear memory of the event but painful flashes that show at the most inconvenient times. I rooted for her in every situation, even when I was completely aware she was making a horrible choice trusting someone she shouldn’t out of desperation.
Lets spend a minute talking about the wonderful boys she works with. Together the four of them are an amazing team that always has each other’s back, professionally and personally. Ryder is wonderful, the ideal book boyfriend. He had an abusive childhood and was basically raised by Micheline’s family, pushing himself to become the best at what he does. They have had a tension between the two of them for years, but know that they can’t be together since Micheline’s father is arranging a marriage to strengthen the bloodline. Seeing the two of them together is so bittersweet that I ached for them to get a smidgen of happiness when death is right around the corner. Jude was a great character, the dark snarky boy who is more sensitive than he lets on. I loved the background on his family lineage, how he has been genetically altered to have special gifts. And poor Oliver, who is the brains of the operation and less the fighter, yet he got injured more than anyone. The dynamic of the group was so set, with Micheline in charge, Ryder the muscle, Jude the supernatural and Oliver the tech.
I don't believe that I can fully explain how much I loved this book, but I need to get my hands on a copy so that I can hug it tight to my chest and reread it whenever the mood strikes. The story had a bittersweet yet completely perfect ending, tying up most loose ends so another book is not needed. But man, is it wanted! I can't wait to read more from this author, be it this world or anything else she wants to write. Sorry for the long review/fangirling, but I loved this book.
I received this title from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
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