The Devouring Gray by Christine Lynn Herman [BOOK REVIEW]

The Devouring Gray has a very gripping introduction. I love a trope when a new person comes to town. And add to this a small town with founding families that all keep secrets. Very creepy small town setting and danger looming. I loved this book and can’t wait for the next one.

About The Book:

★★★★

Synopsis:

Branches and stones, daggers and bones,
They locked the Beast away.

After the death of her sister, seventeen-year-old Violet Saunders finds herself dragged to Four Paths, New York. Violet may be a newcomer, but she soon learns her mother isn’t: They belong to one of the revered founding families of the town, where stone bells hang above every doorway and danger lurks in the depths of the woods.

Justin Hawthorne’s bloodline has protected Four Paths for generations from the Gray—a lifeless dimension that imprisons a brutal monster. After Justin fails to inherit his family’s powers, his mother is determined to keep this humiliation a secret. But Justin can’t let go of the future he was promised and the town he swore to protect.

Ever since Harper Carlisle lost her hand to an accident that left her stranded in the Gray for days, she has vowed revenge on the person who abandoned her: Justin Hawthorne. There are ripples of dissent in Four Paths, and Harper seizes an opportunity to take down the Hawthornes and change her destiny-to what extent, even she doesn’t yet know.

The Gray is growing stronger every day, and its victims are piling up. When Violet accidentally unleashes the monster, all three must band together with the other Founders to unearth the dark truths behind their families’ abilities—before the Gray devours them all.

My Thoughts:

It was so easy for me to get sucked into the story. Even though we have four founding families with a lot of characters and different histories, it wasn’t too hard to understand how they all fit into the story as a whole. If you have read “We Were Liars” by E. Lockhart, you can feel the same vibe from this book too. The adventures of the group, their personal stories, secrets and battles. Their eagerness to defeat the status quo and the Gray.

“She thought about heroes, and villains, and legends, and monsters. And decided that whoever told the story was more powerful than all of them.”

Without spoiling anything, the danger that looms over this town is unique. There is a strangeness and an eeriness. The spookiness that an episode of “Stranger Things” can bring. And in this whole world, where things are very real, but they seem very unreal, we have our main characters. They make this fictional town seem very real. They make us readers believe this is the normal, and I believed them throughout the book. The family roots and history tales, the power and responsibility they carry. Their bravery to fight something they know is very dangerous.

Violet was my first favourite character. But very shortly after she arrived, Harper because the queen in my eyes. And then all of them, every single one of them. Now, I am most intrigued by Isaac. But maybe because his story is not told in full. He’s yet to share the full tale and when he does, I’ll be here for it.

“People could hurt each other without being monsters. And they could love each other without being saints.”

The Devouring Gray is that YA fantasy thriller that you’ve been waiting for. It will give you the chills and the feels. New girl comes in town with a mystery town eerie twist is something that should intrigue anyone. I will be eagerly waiting for book 2.

About The Author:

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