Abandoned about a quarter of the way through. There isn't really anything wrong with it - in fact, the prose is often very deftly turned and there's a lot going on - but for me right now it's too glib, too Thieves-Guild-fantasy, too jumping around the place with its episodes and too ostentatiously raising questions. There's nothing strong and unique about it, for me, and it wasn't holding my interest. (And, to be quite honest, in a story that starts with a room full of brutally dismembered corpses, I don't expect the heroine to be having a cutesy pet-name bantery relationship with the god in her head. Either is great. Both together just doesn't work for me.) ( )

fairly well done but I am not fully connecting with main character ( )

have read other books by Marmell, and even though this one is YA it's still bloody, but not that violent. How to explain, people die, a lot, but it's not shown as it would be in an adult book. Still, poor Widdershins.

At first I was not sure if I would like how it jumped in time, but it worked perfectly. Because each flashback showed me something new. First we got Widdershins as she is now, a young thief with few friends. Then there is poor Adrienne, alone on the streets, a pick-pocket among others. Then there is Adrienne, a young woman of means (and it sure made me wonder how she got there, but I found out.) Things that happened two years ago made Adrienne stop being Adrienne, and Widdershins was born. I liked her, she was tough and she has the best sidekick. A God who she can hear, but that the reader can't hear. But I could still see him in my mind and he was too funny.

The story is about a lot of people hunting Widdershins, for different reasons. But it is all connected, even if I will not say how and why. The story worked so well and there was even a surprise gasp from me, oh I loved that surprise. Bravo. But I am being tease now since I will not tell you what that was.

Being the girl I am I am hoping for a romance to blossom, how it would work I do not know, but it is there ;) I am looking forward to book 2 to see if anything happens.

Conclusion:
The ever so cool Widdershins made this my fav Marmell book to date. I liked that the book was dark, yet light and it did not end with a cliffie either which is always appreciated. But still I do want to know what happens next, because things are far from over. I would recommend this one to fantasy lovers, young and old. ( )

Really great YA fantasy/horror. Marmell is quite good at this stuff. I loved that the event of the first couple pages aren't fully explained until about 70% of the way through. ( )

Not sure how "YA" this book is, but thoroughly enjoyed the witty descriptions scattered through the story. I did wish it had a 'cast of characters' page to help me keep all the players straight for the first half or more of the book, but very solid overall. ( )