Publication date: December 27th, 2011
Published by: Egmont USA
Source: NetGalley
Genre: YA Paranormal, Sci Fi, Little bit of everything
Rating: 4,5/5
Every other day, Kali D'Angelo is a normal sixteen-year-old girl. She goes to public high school. She attends pep rallies. She's human.
And then every day in between . . .She's something else entirely.
Though she still looks like herself, every twenty-four hours predatory instincts take over and Kali becomes a feared demon-hunter with the undeniable urge to hunt, trap, and kill zombies, hellhounds, and other supernatural creatures. Kali has no idea why she is the way she is, but she gives in to instinct anyway. Even though the government considers it environmental terrorism.
When Kali notices a mark on the lower back of a popular girl at school, she knows instantly that the girl is marked for death by one of these creatures. Kali has twenty-four hours to save her and, unfortunately, she'll have to do it as a human. With the help of a few new friends, Kali takes a risk that her human body might not survive. . .and learns the secrets of her mysterious condition in the process.
This is the first book I'm reading by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. I've heard great things about the Raised by Wolves series but I never picked it up. I'm so glad I requested Every Other Day from NetGalley though, because it truly was awesome!!
Every Other Day sucked me in from the very first word. It is so eloquently written and with a spot on combination of sarcasm and humor, that I immediately knew we had a winner.
I loved the story and how original it was. First, I liked the idea that paranormal entities were not only known by the populace, but they were also scientifically recognised and accepted. It says at one point that Darwin's evolutionary theory includes, apart from the species known to man today, Homo Mortis, basically dead beings. I liked how she made zombies and vampires who are always so special in other books, seem like "ordinary" beings living on this planet since the beginning of time. Fun fact: hellhounds-endengered species, no hunting allowed. Yeah. It was THAT cool!
I liked Kali's character a lot. She had a little bit of Buffy in her, thankfully without the obnoxious parts! She was feisty, determined and willing to risk her life for others' without having a hero complex. Huge fan of the every other day concept: one day she's this bad ass fighter/killer, and the other she's just a plain mortal.
Her friend Skylar was OK, but to be honest I liked her brothers more, even if they didn't have as much book time as Skylar had.
I think what Barnes did in Every Other Day, was really daring: she added a guy character, Zev, the alleged "love interest", who did not come in contact with the heroine once in the book. He was constantly in her head. And we're talking about a one time deal here, a stand alone novel. It's not like it'll be a series and Barnes will have plenty of books ahead of her to build the relationship between them. And not only that, but till the end, I was not really sure that what they had between them was indeed romance, and not just the natural need to rely on each other even telepathically, in order to assuage the gravity of their situation. Zev was a cold voice in Kali's head throughout the whole book and the surprising thing is that it didn't take away from their incredible connection. I really have to applaud Barnes for doing something like that, because it takes some serious guts.
If you love paranormal adventures with a twist-with several twists, actually- and appreciate awesome writing, then Every Other Day is for you.
Totally recommend it. Read it!
I really enjoyed this book as well. I loved the fresh take on paranormals. She says it's a stand-alone, but the door is wide open for it to become a series, and I hope she decides to continue it.
ReplyDeleteKaris @YA Litwit
Nah I want it to stay a stand alone. They are so rare these days :D
ReplyDelete