Began reading: 29.6.2016
Completed reading: 4.7.2016
Overall rating: 3.5 stars
She knows what he is. But she can't be sure what he's done.
The only thing Avery Hood can recall about the night her parents died is that she saw silver - deadly silver, moving inhumanly fast. As much as she wants to remember who killed her parents, she can't, and there's nothing left to do but try to piece her life back together.
Then Avery meets the new boy at school. Ben is mysterious and beautiful, and Avery feels a connection with him like nothing she's ever experienced. Ben is also a werewolf, but Avery trusts him - at first. Then she sees that sometimes his eyes flash an inhuman silver. And she learns that she's not the only one who can't remember the night her parents died...
Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin is a young adult paranormal fantasy with a hint of romance. I found this book at a local discount shop for $2 and I couldn’t resist. The cover was gorgeous, and contained positive reviews from one of my favourite authors: Melissa de la Cruz, as well as Claudia Gray – whose Spellcaster series I have previously reviewed. I had high hopes for this book, especially after reading the blurb and author reviews; however, I was rather disappointed.
One thing that I wasn’t disappointed about was the amount of quotes that I considered to be impressive. These include:
…I’d tried to put what was left of them back together… all the blood on me came from me trying to make them whole when they were broken (p. 2).
Mom said that loving art was just as important as being able to create it (p. 12).
When I was little, I was scared of only one thing. I was scared I would be taken into the sky, that somehow I’d be pulled up there, that all the bright stars Dad and Mom showed me would want to take me away from home and the woods that held me tight.
Now I wished the stars would take me away. I wanted to be absorbed by them. To be pulled away by them, to see –
To see Mom and Dad again (p. 38).
I’d thought I understood longing. I’d read about it and even thought I’d felt it back when I wanted to have friends the first week or so I started at Woodlake High. I’d hoped for it, for friends, until I realized it wasn’t going to happen.
But now I realized I hadn’t understood longing at all. It wasn’t about hope. It was about want, pure and simple (p. 68).
I looked at the trees, so constant, forever standing tall, forever standing watch, and wished I had their strength (p. 124).
Sometimes you could get so turned around that even breathing became complicated (p. 161).
More quotes from the book can be found here.
Devlin used literary techniques, such as imagery, in a way that was beneficial for readers. I was able to imagine Avery in school, especially art class, or wandering among the trees in the forest. Similarly, I was able to picture Avery and Ben together in that dark alley next to Bessie’s, making out then getting caught by Renee. So, I must commend Devlin for doing a really good job of making the plot easier to imagine. It kept me interested in the story and the characters, which is always a good thing!
I think many readers who have read this book might agree with me when I say that this book had a really strong introduction, and quickly went downhill after Avery moved in with Renee. The plot begins with Avery discovering her parents’ bodies, covered in their blood and screaming: “I was covered in blood when the police found me” (p.1). This line could have been the introduction to a really awesome novel; however, it didn’t have much of an influence within the plot, so this was disappointing.
I cannot repeat this enough: the dialogue in this book was EXTREMELY frustrating! I couldn’t stand reading the dialogue because I wanted to scratch my eyes out. It was HORRIBLE! The characters were constantly interrupting each other, or breaking off their sentences without finishing. The conversations were broken, and this made me want to scream.
Similarly, the plot and dialogue seemed to resemble Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series. For example, this quote reminded me of Bella and Edward in Twilight, and made me cringe:
For some reason, I didn’t believe him. I don’t know why, but I knew he had felt my sadness out here in the woods and had come over. Come to see me (p. 44).
Like this quote, the insta-love thing felt cheesy and unrealistic. I’m sorry, but how can a girl who has just lost her parents in a gruesome manner fall in love with a strange boy who is a new arrival in town?
Some of the plot twists within this book were predictable, while others weren’t so foreseeable. Either way, I had a feeling that a plot twist was about to happen – it was just a matter of guessing whether it was predictable or not. The ultimate plot twist was unpredictable, but it was still a let-down.
I thought that the conclusion was a little rushed, which made it rather confusing. As I mentioned above, the conclusion held the ultimate plot twist but didn’t create that surprising climax that an ultimate plot twist should have. Following that twist, the whole hospital scene kind of felt rushed and strange. Avery, after experiencing an intense and life-threatening situation, acted like everything was normal. I’m pretty sure that 99.99% of people would be traumatised after experiencing what she went through. It just seemed unrealistic, which affected my overall rating.
I didn’t decide upon a favourite character, as they were all bland and seemed to speak in monotone in my head. But if I had to choose someone, I’d say Renee would be a notable figure. She was the sanest character, and held a secret past that I found rather mysterious and intriguing.
There were some characters that just seemed a bit pointless, including Kirsta and Steve. I don’t know why Devlin emphasised Avery’s desire for friendship when they never end up forming a bond, nor does Avery spend much time at school. It felt like Devlin wanted to do something with this friendship, only to give halfway through and forget to remove everything associated with Avery’s ‘friendship’ with Kirsta. Similarly, I understand why Devlin put Steve’s character in the novel, but he didn’t seem to have much of a role besides being a suspect. In the end, I just found characters like these two to be unnecessary distractions.
My favourite part of the book would have to be the introduction. As I mentioned previously, I thought it was a really strong start to the story, but it slowly deteriorated. I thought that it could have taken the plot in numerous directions, yet somehow the author weakened narrative, leaving me and many other readers disappointed.
Happy reading!
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