Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Date Published: August 31st, 2010
ISBN 978-0-373-21022-0
Paranormal Young Adult
Hardcover
Reviewed by Dawn
Obtained by Publisher
Aden Stone finally found a place to belong in Crossroads, Oklahoma. He is going to a public school, has friends and is finally able to focus on living his life…even if it includes vampires, werewolves and other paranormal creatures all who want Aden in some way or form. Aden is also the de facto King of the Vampires and oh yeah…he is still human. Life is about to get even more chaotic as war is brewing and somehow Aden finds himself center stage within it all. Can Aden try to stop this war from happening before he loses everything including his life?
I have to admit, UNRAVELED just didn’t do it for me like the first book, INTERTWINED, did. It was longer, had more sub-plots than ever and a few new characters to keep the reader interested. Too bad it felt like I needed a score card half the time to figure out who were the bad guys, the good guys and the ones that were neutral. I’m not sure if it was the mood I was in or what but this next chapter in Aden’s story was quite jumbled. Between all the different sub-plots and characters, after reading half way through, I had to put the book down and give myself a break for a few days. It was quite hard to figure out who was what, and why they were there to begin with. I normally love this authors work and though UNRAVELED didn’t hit all my buttons; it was still a satisfying read.
Aden still has three souls inside him and he is dealing with the after effects of being bitten, not once but twice by two different vampires. The witches have placed a curse on him and his friends and everyone, it seems, wants apiece of him. Aden figures life can not get any worse until it does…in spades. I loved Aden in INTERTWINED. He was smart, likable and had vulnerabilities that had me melting on the spot. It doesn’t change in this latest adventure at all. The one thing I have to admit is that this author knows how to create some intriguing characters. Aden, Mary Ann, Riley and Victoria are a quartet of friends and though one is a vampire Princess, a werewolf protector and a magic dampener, all are connected in some shape or form to one another. Ms. Showalter delivers complex characters that resonate with the reader. They are fallible, have vulnerabilities that come across the pages and completely captivate the reader. That is what saved the book in my eyes, even though it was quite confusing at times with all the characters running around.
UNRAVELED is an interesting story and one that started out great but ended in a mystery that had me gasping in disbelief. Ms. Showalter is normally a great storyteller who missed the mark slightly in this latest installment of her young adult series. UNRAVELED is a good second story, but I’m making sure to have a score card handy for all the sub-plots and characters. I look forward to more from this author and hope the next book in the series, is not as jumbled or confusing.
This is an objective review and not an endorsement of the book.
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