Savannah Grey (e-book) by Cliff McNish

Savannah has moved around a lot between foster homes, never caring to get to close to someone.  Then she meets Reece and they realize that they have something in common: something in their throats that they wish to protect, a weapon.  As Savannah's power grows and her relationship with Reece progresses, she realizes that the weapon was created to fight a monster of epic proportions.

"Does it feel like you want to take care of what's inside?" he said in a hushed tone  "To guard whatever's in there?  Shield it?"
I sat there, stunned.  p.62 e-ARC

Though this is listed as horror, it is horror-light.  And that is fine by me because I am a scaredy-cat.  I think the alternate chapters on the monster made it less frightening for me.  I am always one to be more afraid of the monsters I can't see and so understanding more of the monster made it easier.  In fact, the monster's story was as intriguing as Savannah's plot if not more so. 

Savannah, as a character, is sort of season one Buffy.  She has plenty of superpowers and plenty of angst though is surprisingly accepting of what is going on in her body.  It is only when her friends are threatened that she freaks out.  I liked her as a character in general though for some reason all the human characters felt a little flat next to the monster.  And the whole "love" relationship is something that will continue to bother me in every book that does the instant falling in love thing.  I realize that there is a generally sound reason behind it in this book, but still, it bothers me.  I was much more interested in Savannah's relationship with her friend Nina and I feel like that could have been something more.  But it is what it is and I liked how Nina was such a loyal friend.

But honestly, it was the ending that made this book for me.  I love it when I am surprised by a book.  It happens so rarely that an author will fall out of line and do something more original and that is what happened in the end.  I was really and truly shocked.  And so that was so awesome.

Provided by NetGalley
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