Book Review: The Naturals (Jennifer Lynn Barnes)

Seventeen-year-old Cassie is a natural at reading people. Piecing together the tiniest details, she can tell you who you are and what you want. But it’s not a skill that she’s ever taken seriously. That is, until the FBI come knocking: they’ve begun a classified program that uses exceptional teenagers to crack infamous cold cases, and they need Cassie.

What Cassie doesn’t realise is that there’s more at risk than a few unsolved homicides— especially when she’s sent to live with a group of teens whose gifts are as unusual as her own.

Sarcastic, privileged Michael has a knack for reading emotions, which he uses to get inside Cassie’s head—and under her skin. Brooding Dean shares Cassie’s gift for profiling, but keeps her at arm’s length.

Soon, it becomes clear that no one in the Naturals program is what they seem. And when a new killer strikes, danger looms closer than Cassie could ever have imagined. Caught in a lethal game of cat and mouse with a killer, the Naturals are going to have to use all of their gifts just to survive.

I've read a few books by Jennifer Lynn Barnes before and most were pretty good, so for me, it didn't come as a surprise that I quite liked this one too. When I got hold of this book, my excitement could not - no matter how hard I tried - be contained; I simply wanted to be drawn in the world of the FBI and the Naturals. And I did.

Cassandra Hobbes - Cassie - is a Natural Profiler, able to distinguish what type of person you are with just one glance, kind of like a super power. I liked Cassie. She has kept a strong personality through most of the book and proved herself worthy to the rest of the team. At times, she played heroine and it suited her brave personality well. Her only weakness was the two guys at the base, Dean and Michael and it mostly irritated me - no matter how cute they were (and believe me, they were adorable) . So no matter how strong or brave Cassie can be, her shield falls apart whenever those two are around.

What I found creepy yet interesting was the serial killer's monologue, appearing every now and then before each chapter. Disturbing as it may sound, I quite like it. It was thrilling and a body is usually discovered a few page turns later. Jennifer Lynn Barnes provided the readers a detailed description of serial killers and their psychological state. I found it truly fascinating.

However, as much as I tried, there was something that I just something in the book I couldn't connect with. Whether it was the psychological thriller mixing with YA romance that didn't seem to fit or the way that only the second part of the book that was getting all the mystery in. Or maybe it's something else entirely. Whatever it is, it did not let me connect to the book as fully as I hoped it would.

This book had me asking questions all the way. I remained clueless as to who the serial killer was until the very end. The twist was just as awesome. So for those crime-teen novel fans out there: this book might be for you; there is enough dose of romance and mystery in The Naturals to get lost in.

Three Stars.

*Thank you to Quercus for sending us this cool review copy!

Trial by Fire Chapter Trail!

Jennifer Lynn Barnes' Trial by Fire is out in the UK tomorrow and Quercus has a very special treat for you to celebrate! Below is the second part to the much awaited first chapter of Trial by Fire which I'm sure many of you are looking forward to read this evening. Follow the trail and check out the third and penultimate part on Bloggers Hearts Books! Don't forget to grab your respective copies in store or online tomorrow and wait no more. Enjoy! :)

…contd

“Bronwyn, please, you’re making me blush.” Dev–who could read me like a book, with or without whatever I was projecting through the pack-bond–adopted a scandalized tone and brought a hand to his chest, like he was seconds away from demanding smelling salts and going faint. But I sensed his wolf stirring beneath the surface and knew that it was hard for Devon on a day like today to be reminded that I wasn’t his to protect in the same way anymore.

That I was alpha.

That Chase and I were . . . whatever Chase and I were.

“Fine,” I said, flicking a French fry in Devon’s general direction. “Have it your way. No more school, no more books . . .”

Dev made an attempt at harmonizing with me, but given my complete lack of vocal chops, it did not go well, and a horrified silence descended over our entire table.

After several seconds, Devon regarded the rest of us with mock solemnity. “We shall never speak of this moment again.”

“In your dreams, Broadway boy.” Shaking out her long blonde hair–a motion laden with excess adrenaline–Lake stood and stretched her mile-long legs. If the girls in school were all secretly pining for Devon, the boys were absolutely smitten with Lake. Clearly, they’d never met the business end of her shotgun or had their butts whipped at pool.

Soon. Soon. Soon.

Across the table, Maddy sighed, and Devon bumped her shoulder with his, a comforting gesture meant to communicate that he understood. Soon, our entire pack would be gathered in the woods. Soon, the Weres would Shift and I would let their power flow through me, until I forgot I was human and the difference between four legs and two virtually disappeared.

Soon–but not soon enough.

“So,” I said, my voice low and soothing, intent on keeping my pack-mates focused, however briefly, on the here and now. “Hamlet. What do I need to know?”

“New girl.” I balked at Lake’s answer. “I was thinking more along the lines of Guildencrantz and Frankenstein.”

“Rosencrantz and Guildenstern,” Devon corrected absent­mindedly as he followed Lake’s gaze to the double archway at the front of the cafeteria. I turned to look, too, and the rest of the student body took their cue from us, until everyone was eyeballing the girl who stood there.

She was small–the word tiny wouldn’t have been a misnomer–and her eyes seemed to take up a disproportionate amount of her face. Her skin was very pale, and she was dressed almost entirely in black, save for a pair of white leather gloves that covered her arms from the elbows down.

She looked like a porcelain doll, and she felt like a threat. Given that I could tell, even from a distance, that she wasn’t a Were, I had no idea why something inside me insisted I track her every move.

“The natives are getting kind of restless,” Devon commented offhand. Weston wasn’t a big school, and mid-semester transfers were practically unheard of, so White Leather Gloves was garnering more than her fair share of murmurs and stares.

Including mine.

“Mayhaps I should go play the white knight, divert the spotlight a little?”

Devon’s suggestion was enough to make me switch my gaze from the new girl to him.

“No.”

I wasn’t sure who was more shocked by the sharpness with which that word exited my mouth–Devon or me. Our pack didn’t do orders. Given the way I felt about people get­ting dictatorial with me, I wasn’t prone to pulling rank on anyone else. Besides, Devon and I had spent so much time together growing up that even if he hadn’t been my second-in­command, I still wouldn’t have been able to force my will on him. The closest I could come to ordering him to do anything was threatening to decapitate him if he didn’t stop singing The Best of ABBA at the top of his lungs, and even that was mostly futile.

With a lightly inquisitive noise, Devon caught my gaze and held it. “Something you’d like to share with the class there, Bryn?” he asked, arching one eyebrow to ridiculous heights while keeping the other perfectly in place.

I debated answering, but it was probably nothing–just that time of the month, with emotions running high and my heart beating with the power of the impending full moon. Still, I hadn’t spent my entire life growing up around people capable of snapping my neck like a Popsicle stick without learning to pay attention when my instincts put me on high alert.

If my gut said someone was a threat, I had to at least con­sider the possibility that it was true–even if the someone in question was five foot nothing and human down to the tips of her leather-clad fingers.

Instead of mentioning any of this to Devon and opening that can of worms, I threw another French fry in his general direction, and the tension between us melted away as he reached for his plate and armed himself. “You know, of course,” he said, pitching his voice low, “that this means war.”

I couldn’t help glancing back toward the archway and the new girl who’d been standing there a moment before, but she was already gone.

Pack. Pack. Pack.

Protect. Protect. Protect.

I let the feeling wash over me, absorbed it, and then relegated it to the back of my head, with the promise of soon, soon, soon and the desire to run. At the moment, I had more immediate concerns–like my retention of Hamlet definitely leaving something to be desired and the incoming French fry flying directly at my face.

Raised by Wolves: Chapter One audio + Giveaway!

Quercus blog has some special treat for you lot - the first chapter of Jennifer Lynn Barnes' Raised by Wolves! It's a fantastic book with really special characters and you do not want to skip this book. So head over to http://www.quercusbooks.co.uk/blog/raised-by-wolves-audio-sample/ to listen to the first chapter!

As a bonus, Quercus is also giving away a signed copy of Raised by Wolves, to one lucky UK entrant. Fill in the form below to enter!

Rules.

• Open to UK entrants only.
• You do not have to be a follower to enter.
• Deadline for entries will be on 11 October, 12MN BST.
• Winners will be drawn through random.org
• Winners will be contacted via e-mail, and will be given 48 hours to response. Otherwise, a new winner will be drawn.
• Any details will be deleted after use and will not be passed on to any third party.