Monday, December 24, 2012

REVIEW: "UNDEADLY" (The Reaper Diaries, Book 1) - by Michele Vail


UNDEADLY
(The Reaper Diaries, Book 1)
by Michele Vail

PUBLISHER: Harlequin TEEN

PUBLICATION DATE: November 27, 2012

REVIEWED BY: Books4Tomorrow

OVERVIEW

The day I turned 16, my boyfriend-to-be died. I brought him back to life. Then things got a little weird...

Molly Bartolucci wants to blend in, date hottie Rick and keep her zombie-raising abilities on the down-low. Then the god Anubis chooses her to become a reaper—and she accidentally undoes the work of another reaper, Rath. Within days, she's shipped off to the Nekyia Academy, an elite boarding school that trains the best necromancers in the world. And her personal reaping tutor? Rath. 

Life at Nekyia has its plusses. Molly has her own personal ghoul, for one. Rick follows her there out of the blue, for another...except, there's something a little off about him. When students at the academy start to die and Rath disappears, Molly starts to wonder if anything is as it seems. Only one thing is certain—-Molly's got an undeadly knack for finding trouble....

REVIEW

Who knew reading about Egyptian mythology, reapers, necromancy, ghosts, and zombies could be so much fun! Well, heck, if you haven’t read debut author Michele Vail’s butt-kicking new series, The Reaper Diaries, yet, you wouldn’t know, now would you? Not to be confused with The Vampire Diaries. No, no, no, this is a new kind of awesomeness all on its own. But let me assure you, this is the first book in a splendid new series you don’t want to miss out on. It’s way better than its blurb promises it to be. Imagine having a ghoul as a butler, who obeys your every command (and he can braid your hair like a pro). Got you curious? You haven’t seen anything yet.

I know I’ve said this a million times before, but for those new to my reviews, one of my pet peeves in books are weak, whiny female characters. Luckily, this is not the case and Molly’s character is really great. She’s strong, smart, fun, has a snarky sense of humor, and tackles her fears head-on. It was easy to step into her shoes, as well as those of all the supporting characters – most of them likeable, and a few not so much, and immerse myself in Molly’s utterly fascinating world, which – I might add – changes drastically after the events at her sixteenth birthday party. For those of you who, like me, are attracted to books with bad-boy characters, “Undeadly” has a seriously yummy one who goes by the name of Rath. The chemistry between him and Molly is tangible, and their contemptuous bantering elicited a good chuckle from me every so often.

Two more things I really loved about this book is that, one, there’s no love-triangle (thank goodness!), and two, there are so many twists, secrets and revelations it will make your head spin - but in a good way. It certainly kept me turning the pages in a frenzy to find out what happens next. After the second chapter I simply gave in and lost myself in this wonderful book, and before I knew it, I finished it in the space of a couple of hours. Just so you know, this one has a cliff-hanger ending, but fortunately book two is on its way,   

“The Reaper Diaries” is definitely a series with attitude that is sure to generate a huge following.  It will not surprise me if this is made into a hit tv series. It has so much promise and potential, and the author’s writing style is fresh and unique. I highly recommend this book as a must-read - as in place this right at the top of your to-be-read list, without delay.  “Undeadly” deserves far more than a mere five stars. Yep, it is that good, and makes my list of most unforgettable books read in 2012!

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.





READ more REVIEWS

“Undeadly” by Michele Vail has 201 reviews on Goodreads. Read it here.

EXCERPT

She paused and looked at me. “Is something wrong?”
Not wrong per se. There was a line of ghosts behind Autumn. Six or seven, maybe more, because a few were flickering and it was difficult to actually count. I’d seen ghosts before, because SEERs were popular and lots of places had them—restaurants, clothing stores, ice cream shops. But it kinda creeped me out to see ghosts all loose and floating around, mostly because I shouldn’t be able to see earthbound spirits that weren’t attached to SEERs. This was a totally different heka power, one I’d never had.
“You have…er, company,” I said.
“Oh, them.” She sighed. “I’m ren heka. The thing is, most of the spirits I meet want to stick around. It’s not like I’m a reaper and can escort their poor souls to the afterlife. And they won’t listen to me about moving on.” She smiled. “It’s like having cats, really. So, you’re a ren heka, too?”
“No. Ka heka,” I said.
“And you see the spirits? Ahmazing.” She did look amazed, but not suspicious. I mean, not in a why-she-must-be-a-superreaper-weirdo kind of way. She waved to the spirits behind her. “I’d introduce you, but it’d take too long. Also, I can’t keep ‘em all straight.”
“Are there any SEERs at the Academy?” I asked.
Autumn made a face. “No. Zombies and ghouls are one thing, but trapping a poor spirit to do your laundry? It’s against Nekyia’s policy to have any SEERs on campus.” She offered me a wide smile. “How about I show you where Ms. Chiles’s office is?”
“That’d be awesome. Thanks!”
She turned and walked across the bridge, her cadre of ghost buddies trailing after her. I didn’t fail to notice that most of them were of the teen boy variety. I think Autumn had a bunch of admirers who were not pets at all.

PURCHASE LINKS


ABOUT the AUTHOR


Michele Vail writes young adult paranormal fiction about zombies and reapers. 

She likes reading, dogs, cats, board games, ghost-hunting shows, and Halloween. She believes in magic, in the impossible, and in the restorative powers of chocolate. 

Michele lives happily-ever-after with her Viking and their family.

AUTHOR LINKS

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