Publishing Date: September 22nd, 2015
Page Count: 352
Source: BEA 2015
Format: Paperback ARC
Description from Goodreads.com:
Romeo and Juliet meets Children of the Corn in this one-of-a-kind romantic horror.
“When you fall in love, you will carve out your heart and throw it into the deepest ocean. You will be all in—blood and salt.”
These are the last words Ash Larkin hears before her mother returns to the spiritual commune she escaped long ago. But when Ash follows her to Quivira, Kansas, something sinister and ancient waits among the rustling cornstalks of this village lost to time.
Ash is plagued by memories of her ancestor, Katia, which harken back to the town’s history of unrequited love and murder, alchemy and immortality. Charming traditions soon give way to a string of gruesome deaths, and Ash feels drawn to Dane, a forbidden boy with secrets of his own.
As the community prepares for a ceremony five hundred years in the making, Ash must fight not only to save her mother, but herself—and discover the truth about Quivira before it’s too late. Before she’s all in—blood and salt.
Review:
I feel that I have mixed feelings with this one. I will admit that I did put a lot of hype behind it, and it didn't live up to it. I thought it was going to be way scarier than it was and have a lot more romance. I think I would have liked it more if my expectations weren't so high. It was creepy, it was intriguing, and it kept me reading till the end, but it just wasn't what I thought it was going to be.
The romance was cute, but it wasn't swoon-worthy for me. There is an insta-love connection and sometimes that works for me and others it doesn't. It works for me if I really get to know the guy, and he has a really winning personality (usually cocky bad boys). Dane was too withdrawn to win me over. I was fine with there being an instant connection, but I just wasn't falling in love with Dane too. Maybe if I stick with the series and read more about him I'll end up loving him too, but right now I'm still on the fence.
Like I mentioned before, it didn't meet my expectations for creep factor. It was definitely spooky, gory, but I could still sleep afterwards. On one hand it is a YA so, sometimes they are a little tame, but I have read some pretty scary YA. It had it's moments (the dead girl she sees, the corn field, and her visions), but I just wasn't overwhelmingly scared like I wanted to.
What I did really like, and what kept me reading, was the characters and the storyline. It keeps you wondering, questioning, and guessing and that makes for a good story. It makes the reader keep reading to find the answers to their questions. That is how Kim Liggett wrote it. She made sure to keep the reader searching. The characters were all very well done too. They were very well-developed and had their own distinct and unique personalities. I really enjoyed getting to know them.
Overall:
I'm really glad I checked this one out. Paranormal is always my go to, not so much actual horror so, I like to check it out every now and then. This one didn't live up to my expectations of how scary it was actually going to be, but I was still creeped out at times. Leave the light on to sleep? No, but look around every now and again, yes. Kim Liggett wrote this very, very well using well-developed, complex characters and always keeping the reader guessing. I will more than likely check out the next book in the series, and look forward to reading more from Kim Liggett.
Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 4/5
**The books cover, description, and info was all found on Goodreads. A link back has been provided. All other work and ideas are of my own creation. This book was sent to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.**
