Every Other Day by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Book Stats:
Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 329 pages
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Release date: December 27, 2011
Series: n/a
Source: Won
Reviewed by: Lili
Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository
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 byone 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.
This book has a little bit of everything! Demon-hunters, murderous mythical beasts, villains, psychics, zombies, love, mystery, and plot twists galore. If you weren’t a fan of Jennifer Lynn Barnes before, you certainly will be now. And while this book wasn’t completely mind-blowing like some of her other books, it’s definitely an enjoyable read that can be finished in one sitting.
Kali is a really interesting character. We’re able to experience both her demon-hunting personality and her human personality within the first two chapters. The change between them was smooth and she still retained aspects of the other personality when she made the switch between them. You can easily tell it’s the same girl, except while one likes to hide the other likes to hunt. While Kali’s characterization was strong, what bothered me was that she’s an incredibly impulsive character, though part of this could be contributed to her ever-growing hero complex. Half the time you practically want to beg her to step back and think things through for a few minutes, just as her friends do, but she’s simply not that type of girl.
For the most part, the characterization in the other characters was strong. The only one I had a little trouble with was Elliot. At first I thought he was supposed to be some type of love interest despite the fact that he had a girlfriend, but after the fourth or fifth time that I was reminded that he had an attitude and amazingly high and sharp cheekbones, I realized he’s just a secondary character that always pops in and out at the weirdest times while being chock full of opinions that tend to go against everyone else’s. On a positive note, I found Zev’s character to be fascinating, as the same with pretty much everyone else.
It shocked me that this book spanned over the course of only several days. I didn’t count the days throughout the book, but I think the main portion of the book spanned for about a week and then there was the epilogue portion after the final showdown months later. For such a short period of time, a lot of huge events occurred and the plot progression made it seem well taken care of. I never once felt rushed because of the time constraints. The plot was extremely fast-paced and full of action and it held my attention with ease. At times I wish there was more detail, but I was never over-informed and every point in the story had a clear purpose.
All in all, I have to admit that this was a really enjoyable read, sprinkled with some awesome laughs. It’s one of those books that is better than “good,” but falls just short of being “great.” Either way, I do recommend this book to anyone in need of a unique story with a strong heroine at the center of it all. Barnes will not disappoint.
I really enjoyed this read. Glad you did too :).
ReplyDeleteHmmm... This sounds super fabulous! And I spy zombies!!!! ;)
ReplyDeleteI liked this book a lot-I especially appreciated that it wasn't heavy on romance nor was it obviously setting up a series (although there is possibly a second book coming?)
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