“Sucking in air, Heather said, “Fluffy—Mrs. Allen’s ferocious dog—chased me all the way down Pine Street trying to tear me to shreds with his razor fangs. I barely got away.”
Scarlet scrunched her face. “Isn’t Fluffy a Chihuahua?”
“Yes. A demon-possessed, human-eating Chihuahua.”
“Sure.”

I can't believe I didn't read this book before. I just can't get enough. I love it and, I'm definitely in LOVE with TRISTAN. This book has everything I love: an awesome plot, love, fun, curses, BFF with a fashion sense, weapons and BOYS! ( )

I’m beginning to think Chelsea Fine is becoming one of my favorite authors. She never fails to make you connect with her characters. You also know most of what’s going on in her characters’ minds since she writes from all of the main characters’ points of view.

This novel is about a girl named Scarlet. She wakes up in the middle of the woods, alone. She can’t remember anything except her name and that she’s 15.

Two years later she is attending the Annual Kissing Festival with her BFF, Heather. When she was put in Laura’s care Heather was the only one that didn’t see her as a freak, and openly accepted her. She is approached by Gabriel, who has a voice she recognizes. But she doesn’t remember from where. She becomes a part of his life, and finds out he has a brother named Tristan.

Anytime she is near Tristan her heat beats faster and harder. She tries to figure out why, and learns a few things about herself from the Archer brothers.

I cannot recommend this book enough. I loved it, and it had me enthralled from the very first page. You see how things unfold from the viewpoints of Scarlet, Gabriel and Tristan. It’s also very refreshing. There are no vampires, werewolves, or anything of that sort. It was nice to have something to read that didn’t contain mythical creatures. But there are other mythical entities in this novel. If you don't’ have it yet, I highly suggest you get it! I cannot wait for the sequel Awry coming out this summer!!!! ( )

I don't know where things went wrong for me here. Maybe the main character was to whiny or way to angsty for my taste. I tried to give her a break, but only made it half way

I take in the fact that this was a YA novel, but that didn't change anything about my opinion. Oh well ( )

Anew by Chelsea Fine is the first book in a new YA paranormal series about two brothers and the girl they both love. I happened to come across this book while researching another one and thought I would give it a try. It grabbed me from the first page and never let me go.

Anew jumps right in with a mystery – Scarlet Jacobs wakes up in the middle of a forest with no recollection of anything but her name and age. Two years later, she has settled into the little town of Avalon and is attending the annual kissing festival with her best friend Heather. There she meets a young stranger named Gabriel Archer, who has a very familiar voice. Soon they are dating, but things become more complicated when Scarlet meets Gabriel’s twin brother Tristan – and finds herself even more drawn to him! The brothers, however, have a problem they are trying to solve and are looking at two very different solutions – while Scarlet’s life hangs in the balance.

Fine is very quick to set up the problem, but she takes her time to build up the history surrounding the three leads. I thought the pacing of the reveals was handled nicely – just enough given to keep me intrigued, but not drawn out so much that I lost interest. Helping matters was the way the story is told from all three leads’ points of view. Scarlet would have a chapter or two from her perspective, and then we would switch to Tristan, back to Scarlet, over to Gabriel…etc. The shifting points of view sped the story along, gave additional insight into each character’s motivations, and highlighted the different ways Gabriel and Tristan were approaching the same problem. I was surprised at the solution Tristan was working on, and found myself really hoping he would not succeed. It turned out, however, to lead to one heck of a cliffhanger!

I liked all three main characters enormously. Love triangles can get pretty tired, but this one was so well done I can’t complain. I was a little surprised to find myself more drawn to Tristan’s character than Gabriel’s, but I guess I shouldn’t have been since Scarlet felt the way I did. The Archer twins were both strong characters with distinct personalities, but after Chapter 2 I knew Tristan would be the one I’d be rooting for. Gorgeous, tortured and harboring a heart of gold – what’s not to like? The slightly darker tone to Tristan’s character gave him the edge I love in a romantic hero. Meanwhile, Scarlet was spirited, had a sense of humor and could hold her own with both boys. Once she learned what was going on (and finally believed it), she jumped right in to help find a solution. I liked her character from the start, from the way she looked at the world to the love she had for her best friend Heather.

Speaking of Heather, secondary characters were just as interesting as the primaries. Heather could be slightly annoying with her boy craziness and love of fashion, but she was also fiercely protective of Scarlet and very suspicious of Gabriel. I liked how Scarlet came first for her – she wanted Scarlet to meet a great guy, but she wanted that guy to be worthy of her. If only we all had a best friend like Heather! On the male side of things, we had Nate – a video game fiend and friend to Gabriel and Tristan. He was the most knowledgeable about their problem, and did everything he could to help them find a solution. And he was just as opposed to Tristan’s solution as I was! Lastly, Scarlet’s young female guardian Laura bears mentioning. While she is not featured in the story as much as Heather and Nate, I get the feeling that there is more to her than we see here. There are definite hints that she knows a lot more than she is letting on.

With a nicely paced mystery, a well-done love triangle, and one of the most stunning cliffhangers I’ve seen in a while, Chelsea Fine’s Anew is an extremely promising start to what looks to be an entertaining new YA paranormal series. I am extremely anxious to see what happens next. ( )

THAT ENDING WAS MURDER !!!!!!! ( )