Title: Other
Author: Karen Kincy
For: 13+; mild sexual references
Back Cover
When a pack of werewolves chooses the national forest behind Gwen’s home as their new territory, the tensions in Klikamuks escalate-into murder. It soon becomes clear a serial killer is methodically slaying Others. The police turn a blind eye, leaving Gwen to find the killer before the killer finds her. As she hunts for clues, she uncovers more Others living nearby than she ever expected. Like Tavian, a sexy Japanese fox-spirit who rivals Zack and challenges her to embrace her Otherness. Gwen must struggle with her own conflicted identity, learn who she can trust, and-most importantly-stay alive.
My Thoughts
I was lucky enough to receive a review copy of Other, so a huge thanks goes out to the folks at Flux for sending me a copy!
As much as I love the genres of paranormal romance and urban fantasy, I have to admit that, after awhile, the ideas sometimes start to blend together and seem repetitive. I was happy to discover that this is NOT the case with Other.
If there was one word to describe Other, it would be unique. The main character is a half-pooka (which is a Welsh shapeshifting spirit). Other than a brief mention of one in The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa, I haven't heard anything about pookas, so it was nice to see a story from the point of view of a new supernatural character. I also liked that the love interest in Other wasn't the stereotypical tall, dark, handsome, mysterious, and brooding stranger that often appears in paranormal romance. Instead, he was a fun, self-confidant, caring guy who wasn't afraid of showing his true feelings.
Karen Kincy has an absolutely awesome writing style. It's descriptive and at sometimes, almost poetic. She did a great job of describing the scenery and the feelings that the main character, Gwen had to experience throughout the book.
My one complaint with Other is that I found the first half of the book to be difficult to get into. As For some reason, I had a really hard time connecting to the characters right off the bat, so it took me a few trys to really get into it. As I've mentioned in some of my other reviews, this often happens with books that are the first in a series, as it's necessary for the author to establish the background and introduce the reader to the story world.
The second half was a lot better, and I flew through it. The pace picked up, I was starting to like the characters more, and I was eager to see how it ended. I found the ending to be a little bit predictable, but it wrapped things up nicely.
I checked out the author's website, and apparently there's a sequel/spin-off of sorts that's in the works! I'm really excited, because it's going to be told through the point of view of one of the minor characters that appears in Other, so it will be interesting to see what Kincy does with him. You can find out more information on the second book, Bloodborn, by clicking here. But you might want to wait until you've read Other, because the description does include some minor spoilers!
Overall, I enjoyed Other, and Karen Kincy is an author that I will be looking out for in the future!
Though a little slow at the beginning, Other provides an overall fun read with a fresh perspective on the supernatural.
Links
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Rating
Oooh heard so much buzz around this book will have to keep my eyes open for it's release. Awesome review XD
ReplyDeleteGreat review. I have been excited about this book for a while now and cannot wait to read it. I am glad you liked the story and the writing style. Thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review. I've just starting hearing about this book.
ReplyDeleteI have been finding that problem with a lot of books lately. They start slow and you have to stick it through to get to the good stuff. But I am glad you enjoyed it in the end! Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteGreat review! I'm really looking forward to reading this one and I'm glad it's not the same as all the other paranormal books out there.
ReplyDeleteI've heard a lot about this book too and it's also different than other paranormal books out there. This is one I'd like to check out too!
ReplyDeleteOoh, I'm really getting into descriptive writing so I feel that I'll enjoy this book. :)
BTW, I came here from the Comments exchange program!
I really like this review! Know why? Because it makes me 10x more excited to read MY copy! Don't you love when that happens.
ReplyDeleteHave seen this book on other sites. Your review has convinced me it is a must read.
ReplyDeleteGood to know it's worth sticking with it. Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteI'm still on fence with this one. I'm way more inclined to try it knowing that you liked it.
ReplyDeleteI think I'll see if I can get it from the library that way I'm not using up my book budget :)
What a great review. I like the idea of reading about a "new" type of character. You are right that some paranormals all start to sound alike after a while!
ReplyDeleteGreat review. Other has been on my wish list for some time now. As much as I hate books that start off slow, I'm still looking forward to reading this. :)
ReplyDeleteHi! CEP here!
ReplyDeleteGreat review! I'm not sure what a pooka is, but finally it's time we talked about some different creatures! I can't wait for this one to come out. I have noticed the repetitiveness in YA paranormal as well.
I read about four sentences of your review, but great review! I would read the whole thing, of course, but I'm reviewing Other soon and don't want to feel like I'm stealing your content or anything. What I did read was that you thought the beginning was slow and hard to get into - and I COMPLETELY agree. That's EXACTLY what I was going to bring up. It was really frustrating, gah. But I also agree on the unique! Pooka love! :)
ReplyDelete