Book Review: Strange Angels

Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow

Release Date: May 14, 2009

Publisher: Razorbill

Pages: 304

Series: Strange Angels #1

Rating: 4 stars

Dru Anderson has been “strange” for as long as she can remember. She travels from town to town with her father, hunting the things that go bump in the night and eat the unwary. It’s a weird life, but a good one–until it all explodes and a zombie busts into her new house.

Alone, terrified, and trapped in an icy town, Dru’s going to need every inch of her wit and training to stay alive. Can she trust the boy who is just a little too adult–and just happens to get bit by a werwulf? Or the strange blue-eyed boy who tells her she’s heir to a long-forgotten power? Can she even trust her own instincts?

Because Dru is not the first in her family to be killed by the darkness of the Real World. The monsters have decided to hunt back–and now Dru has to figure out who totrust, who to fight, and when to run. And not incidentally, she has to figure
out how she’s going to get out of this alive.

And she has to do it by sundown, or it’s all over…

Dru and her father travel from town to town, hunting ghosts, suckers, and wulfen. But when her father goes missing and suddenly reappears one night as a zombie, Dru has no choice but to use all her sixteen years of training to keep her self alive. However, losing her father is just the beginning. There are a lot of mysteries in Dru’s life. The primary being what happened to her mother all those years ago, and how she got to be chosen as a hunter who chases the dark things in the night.

Instead of being the hunter, Dru ends up as the hunted. Evil comes knocking and the last think she expects is help from Graves, a shaggy-haired goth guy. But the favor is returned when she saves his life from a werwulf attack. Dru and Graves make a pack to stick together and then… Enter Christophe, with looks that kill including those ice-cold blue eyes, and experienced fighting skills. Oh and can’t forget about those fangs. The things he knows about Dru could change her life.

Forever…

From the beginning, I was hooked. Dru is tough and smart – she would have to be to stay alive in the world she lives in – but Lili St. Crow keeps it real by showing readers glimpses of Dru’s vulnerability. From the details we get of Dru’s background, Dru and her father’s relationship seemed rock solid, but I felt as though I was missing out on something.

Lili St. Crow did a good job putting this story together. It has a great plot, with twists and turns that keep you turning the page just to find out more. I like how she spiced up some of her words, like “sucker” – for vampire – and “wulfen” – for werewolves. Plus, her characters are well developed, or left a little mysterious like Christophe. I think he has just as many secrets as Dru has – although she might not know about them yet. I can’t wait to read the next addition to the series, Betrayals, coming this November.