ARC Review: Cracked by Eliza Crewe

 

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Author: Eliza Crewe
Pages: 653 pages
Release Date: November 5th, 2013
Publisher: Strange Chemistry
Recieved From: NetGalley
Status: Ebook, Soul Eaters #1

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Meet Meda. She eats people.

Well, technically, she eats their soul. But she totally promises to only go for people who deserve it. She’s special. It’s not her fault she enjoys it. She can’t help being a bad guy. Besides, what else can she do? Her mother was killed and it’s not like there are any other “soul-eaters” around to show her how to be different. That is, until the three men in suits show up.

They can do what she can do. They’re like her. Meda might finally have a chance to figure out what she is. The problem? They kind of want to kill her. Before they get the chance Meda is rescued by crusaders, members of an elite group dedicated to wiping out Meda’s kind. This is her chance! Play along with the “good guys” and she’ll finally figure out what, exactly, her ‘kind’ is.

Be careful what you wish for. Playing capture the flag with her mortal enemies, babysitting a teenage boy with a hero complex, and trying to keep one step ahead of a too-clever girl are bad enough. But the Hunger is gaining on her.

The more she learns, the worse it gets. And when Meda uncovers a shocking secret about her mother, her past, and her destiny… she may finally give into it

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Review:

This book was really an enjoyable read! Instead of giving us endless pages of back story and making us go through the patterns of hating the heroine, loving the heroine, seeing her being completely useless then all of a sudden- wham!- she gets a personality, Eliza Crewe delivers by giving us an action packed, totally sarcastic and humorous debut novel with an edgy side!

 

Meda was an enjoyable character for me; I actually had a hard time getting used to her narrating, but I got over it quickly. She always had something witty or sarcastic to say (whether it be in her head or out loud), and I love how she is able to take care of herself, and knows how to play her 'part' well while living in the school. She totally reminded me of Rose Hathaway from the Vampire Academy series!

 

Another thing I loved about this book is its plot and backstory- the whole Crusader/Templar thing was hard to wrap my head around at first, but once I got used to the terms, it made more sense and fed into the goodness of the story!

 

The concept of eating souls, not being totally human then having your life recorded like an experiment, and having characters being brought up as soliders to erradicate demons is not something you would have in one book. Especially in a debut. But Eliza wraps it all together nicely, and makes the story totally enjoyable!

 

There were times when I thought parts were too slow or uneeded for (but I always had to remind myself that I was reading an ARC), but it was still a good story overall. I even got teary when I read that part about Uri. Another thing I like about this story is the fact that it doesn't have a conventional love story or love triangle! This story was really good, and I really can't wait for the next books!

 

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Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

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