Book Blurb:
Wren Noble is dead—she was born that way. Vibrant, unlike other dead things, she craves those rare moments when her twin sister allows her to step inside her body and experience the world of the living.
Lark Noble is alive but often feels she belongs in the muted Shadow Lands—the realm of the dead. Known as the crazy girl who talks to her dead sister, she doesn’t exactly fit in with the living, though a recent suicide attempt and time in a psych ward have proved to her she’s not ready to join her sister in the afterlife.
Now the guy who saved Lark’s life needs her to repay the favor. He and his friends have been marked for death by the malevolent spirit of a vicious and long-dead serial killer, and the twins—who should know better than to mess with the dead—may be their only hope of staying alive.
My Review:
4 Out Of 5 Stars
Genre: Another-World, Ghosts, Supernatural, Survival, Teen, Witches--
Lark has been treated as an unwanted freak for her whole life due to the close relationship she has with her sister. Her dead twin sister. Lark can see and communicate with her twin, Wren, as if she was alive, as well as any other ghost around. Wren on the other hand, shuns the ghosts around her and desperately longs to be part of Lark’s living world. The two are both the odd girls out in their respective worlds. When a group of kids make an overture of friendship to Lark, she is instantly suspicious of them. Could these kids really want to be her friends, or do they need something only she can provide?
I have read the entire Girl with the Corset series by this author and I enjoyed them. I was interested to get my hands on this story, which appeared to be so much different from her other books (well in respect to the time line of modern vs. Steampunk, but the supernatural exists in both). The book dealt with a supernatural mystery, gruesome details, scary topics like suicide and mental illness and the bond between sisters. Within a few chapters I was hooked and sped through the book to see what sort of evil supernatural encounter or teen drama would occur next.
Can I just mention that any book that references Bruce Campbell/Evil Dead and Ed and Lorraine Warren and the Conjuring gets big brownie points from me? I was already enjoying the book when these topics came up, but it did not hurt my appreciation for it at all.
The story alternated narration between Lark and Wren, identical twins (for the most part) but with very different personalities. Lark is sarcastic and prickly, not willing to put herself out there because she has been hurt and expects to be again. Lark longs to be with her sister, even if that means death. Wren on the other hand is very friendly and caring (except when mad), but nobody can see it. She desperately wants to join the world of the living to be seen and loved, where as Lark would throw it away to be free. The dynamic between the two was interesting and I look forward to see how things will develop between them in the future.
So, there kinda sorta is a love triangle (or 1. I pick up the vibe for one, 2. I just want Lark with someone else so this is wishful thinking) floating around in this book. I won’t mention names in case that is too spoilery. One character claims to have had a crush on Lark for years but never made a move until now and the other guy has a strong connection to her and understands her better than anyone else. In case it was not clear, I root for second guy, regardless of the fact he has an evil girlfriend (who at times I really thought would be friends with Lark despite it all, but alas I was wrong). I would love for Lark to be with second guy, I think they complement each other even if first guy seems nice and has a family into the supernatural. Sigh, I may just have to live with them being friends (even though the last few pages events gave me hope). The romance that blooms for Wren is just too sad for me to mention.
My one complaint with the story was that it started as if there had been a previous book. Some big events happened pre-book and I felt like I was missing something, like maybe a short story existed to be read before this book 1. There was enough back-story to easily have another book come first so that made it a little hard for me to get into the book because I was convinced I missed something. Overall though I really enjoyed this story and can’t wait to get my hands on the next one in the series. I will gladly read anything by Ms. Cross.
I received this title from the publisher in return for my honest review.
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