I've been putting off this book for awhile mainly because the cover creeps me out. I can't even watch commercials for scary movies let alone read an entire book. The stuff I can imagine is way worse than anything I can see on the big screen!

Luckily, my extensive library fines prevented me from checking out new, less frightening books so I picked up this one. It was very fun and not scary at all!

It kind of reminded me of the TV show Supernatural. Snarky humor, two brothers against the world, an assortment of evil beings...what's not to love?

I can't wait to read the next one! ( )

What I do like so far
Brothers. I always like stories about brothers, and this book does remind me a bit of Supernatural in terms of them travelling together and protecting each other from any threat. They aren't always together, but live together and keep tabs on each other, instantly suspicious of anyone that gets close to either of them. The older brother Niko's loyalty and sense of duty to protect his younger brother Cal is pretty intense, almost to the extent that he gives up his own lifestyle to revolve around him. Brotherly banter is almost a constant, which is a plus for me no matter how juvenile the writing is.
The mystery surrounding Cal's origins/interaction with the Grendles/age-skip, and the underlying threat of him becoming a "monster" does intrigue me enough to want to find out how it goes.

What I don't like so far
The writing is a bit too keen on veering off into a convoluted adjective/metaphor-fest at random intervals. The chronology is slightly confusing when flashbacks appear (without italics/distinct text style) in the middle of a conversation.
The dialog isn't particularly stimulating, sometimes tries too hard to insert a joke in every breath, but there's the rare amusing phrase here and there.
The narrator is a bit too fixated on his own woes and takes every few paragraphs to reaffirm again that, yes, he is a monster, but I suppose that's expected of a teenager. I hope Niko gets some good character development too even if Cal is the narrator. ( )

I can't make up my mind about this book. It's well-crafted and definitely well-written and I certainly stuck it out to the end and have started the second book, but I don't think I'm really enjoying the story. The characters are interesting, for sure, but there's something missing that gives a story that extra oomph. Worth a read if you're at a loose end though.

Very interesting, took me a little while to get into but then it drew me in and I had difficulties putting it down. Alot of action and the love of brothers tells this tale of Grendels (aka Auphe), A vampire, A human and a puck as well as a few others in there. Niko and Cal really fight for each other as a family. Great story can't wait to read the next installment. ( )

I was a bit underwhelmed by this one at first. Two brothers on the run from what they call Grendels, which basically are the creepiest and scariest elves I've ever read about. Cal, our main character, is half elf, which makes him valuable and is why, as a young teen, he was stolen and held captive by these creepy elves for two years.

He *somehow* escaped (he and his brother are both unable to find out how), and the two have been running and/or hiding ever since.

They are somewhat comfortably hidden in New York City - hidden, that is, until the employees at the bar where Cal works are murdered and Cal is once again actively being hunted.

Cal is an intriguing character, and the freaky twist (Cal is possessed by a male banshee who is now hunting Cal's brother) catapults this one into the pretty exciting category of supernatural books. Enjoy! ( )