Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Goodreads Summary:
Weird as it is working for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, Evie’s always thought of herself as normal. Sure, her best friend is a mermaid, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she's falling for a shape-shifter, and she's the only person who can see through paranormals' glamours, but still. Normal.
Only now paranormals are dying, and Evie's dreams are filled with haunting voices and mysterious prophecies. She soon realizes that there may be a link between her abilities and the sudden rash of deaths. Not only that, but she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.
So much for normal.
My Review:
Okay, so I'll admit it: I actually had zero interest in reading this book simply because it had vampires (so over them), werewolves (really?), shape-shifters (blah), faeries (...), and mermaids (I know they're all the rage; I just can't get into them). But thanks to a Friday Fives blog post on great first lines by my lovely writerly friend Alicia Gregoire, I was totally hooked. The opening line is ha-larious! I mean, come on:
"Wait--did you--you just yawned!" The vampire's arms, raised over his head in the classic Dracula pose, dropped to his sides.
That right there told me this book was going to be something different. Kiersten White put a very humorous spin on a variety of characters that have seen their time in the spotlight (at least until they become popular again, twenty years from now).
On more than one occasion, I went into silent laugh mode - especially when the main character Evie would censor herself by saying, "oh, bleep." or when I pictured the funny way she'd say goodbye to her friend Lish (she's the mermaid) by blowing up her cheeks on the glass of her tank. I loved the interaction between she and Lend (the shape-shifter), but wish there had been more between she and Reth (the Faerie); but I'm sure that's coming in the next book...at least I hope so!
Just an overall super fun read and wasn't at all what I was expecting - okay, maybe just a little bit. But still, I really, really enjoyed this one! And to make it all better? I won an autographed copy of the sequel, SUPERNATURALLY (thanks to the wonderful Jessica Kim!), which I just received - and so can't wait to read.
Fun read - definitely recommend.
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