The Girl and The Raven by Pauline Gruber - 4 stars

The Girl and The Raven by Pauline Gruber
4 stars

I received this book for free from NetGalley for an honest review. I want to thank NetGalley and their awesomeness.

I really enjoyed this book. I'm very disappointed that I have to wait until December to read The Girl and The Gargoyle which I only found out about by checking out Gruber's website. The best part of this book is the uniqueness of it. Witches, demons, gargoyles, and the struggle between good and evil. It's so much fun. It's not something I've read before so I like the change.

Lucy is our main character and the book is told from her point of view with some chapters being told from other characters. These chapters tell us a little bit more of the world and about some of the things Lucy doesn't know about. It also sheds a little more mystery into the story and grabs your attention. I like Lucy. She's had it rough growing up. Her mother is an addict and that addiction eventually leads to her death. Because she died, Lucy is sent to live with her uncles in her grandmother's house. This house has to be huge or something because other people live upstairs in apartments. Persephone, Henry, Marcus, and Aiden all live up their. Marcus and Aiden in one apartment, Persephone and Henry in another. Persephone, Henry, and Aiden aren't really in the book much. It focuses more on Lucy, Marcus, and Dylan.

I don't know which team I am on. I really like Dylan and I can tell Lucy cares about him. Marcus is also a great character and he loves Lucy. This isn't really a typical love triangle and I found that refreshing. Most love triangles can be taxing. We have a little bit of a plot twist with Dylan which ended up surprising me.

I was extremely curious about Jude, Lucy's father. Jude is a demon and is responsible for making her half demon, half witch. He teaches her to use her demon powers and pushes her. But he does truly love her despite his being evil. This is something that really scares her. I like that little conflict and I'm looking forward to seeing how their relationship develops.

There is another demon who is after Lucy and tries to kill her multiple times. It's a bit of a mystery but not a major plot point until the end. I understand the need of this demon but I also found it out of place with the story. I think it could have been good if it was integrated better.

Overall this is a great book and an easy read. I enjoyed it and I do recommend it for those who wish to get a unique book that doesn't follow the usual cliches.

Recent Reviews

• Beautiful Darkness (#2) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl - 3.5 stars
• Beautiful Creatures (#1) by Kami Garcia and Margarent Stohl - 5 stars
• Onyx (#2) by Jennifer Armentrout - 4.5 stars

Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl - 3.5 stars

Book 2 in the Caster Chronicles

Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
3.5 stars

Previous Caster Chronicles Series Reviews

Beautiful Creatures (#1)

When I first read this book, I found myself getting really annoyed. Mostly because of the actions of Lena. She just frustrated me. I understand the reasons why she acted the way she did but still, I just wanted to shake her and say "Get over it!" This has to be my least favorite book. As I mentioned in my review of Beautiful Creature, the next two books in the series are full of extreme angst. Don't get me wrong, the writing is good. Garcia and Stohl know how to write. I just found some of the plot hard to swallow. 

This book continues not long after Beautiful Creatures. Macon is dead and there is a funeral. His coffin is empty seeing as he in an Incubus and when they die there are no bodies. Obviously Lena is devastated over her uncle's death; especially since she's basically the one who killed him. Now every time she sees Ethan, she sees her uncle and how she killed him. Like I said, understandable. 

Ethan has no idea what is up with Lena. He desperately tries to get her to talk but she just runs away from him. She blocks him out, not allowing him to Kelt with her. Eventually Ethan learns why she is pulling away. Amma tells him what happened the night of Lena's Sixteenth Moon. But he doesn't want to give up on her seeing as he loves her. 

We get a few new characters in this book. Ethan is working in the library for the summer with Marion and he meets Liz. Liz is this crazy smart girl from England. She and Ethan become best friends and it's obvious that Liz really likes him. I really like Liz. She's just cool and she's a great friend to Ethan. Ethan runs across her in the tunnels with Marion. Turns out Liz is training to be a Keeper and she is studying with Marion. Ethan's mother had helped Ethan find his way through the tunnels to get to Liz and Marion. When Ethan told Liz and Marion that, they discovered that he was a Wayward. Wayward's a special mortals who guide Casters through their life. These Casters are important. They just aren't sure which Caster Ethan is supposed to be guiding.

When Ethan was at the graveyard for All Souls Day, Marion gives him a box with a small black sphere inside of it. Ethan's mother gave it to Marion and she decided to give it to Ethan. The stone is called an Arclight. It's the only weapon that can be used against an Incubus. It's basically a prison. Ethan begins
to have visions involving Macon and Abraham, the first Blood Incubus in the family. We learn a lot through the visions and that was one of my favorite parts.

The ending is huge and definitely has major effects. I like that Ridley and Link were included in their little adventures. Despite everything Ridley says, she loves Link just as much as he loves her. Poor Ridley and poor Link. Since the events of Lena's sixteenth moon, Link is now involved in the world of the Casters. He provide much needed comic relief. We also see how much of Gatlin actually is involved in the Caster world. It's shocking but also welcome. My favorite has to be Aunt Prue. I love that old lady.

This book does need to be read and it is still good. I just have a hard time when characters dwell on the same thing the entire time. It's understandable I guess but still, move on with the story already! Anyways, it's a good read but it drags on a bit. Things could have moved forward are little more quickly. Other than that, it was a good addition to the series and the consequences of the actions from the climax are seen in Beautiful Chaos. Exciting stuff right there.

Previous Reviews:

• Beautiful Creatures (#1) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl - 5 stars
• Onyx (#2) by Jennifer Armentrout - 4.5 stars
• Obsidian (#1) by Jennifer Armentrout - 4.5 stars