This was kind of a mess. There's stuff happening all over the place but none of it really gets fleshed out. The pacing is fast and it was an easy enough read, but the world building was lacking.

So Alex is a weaver - she sees the future but doesn't seem to have any other powers or such. A weaver gets paired with an igniter - someone who can light things on fire. And together they protect humanity? from the Xorda soul sucking monsters who are super strong, have incubus like pheromones and steal a soul with a kiss.

Her mother, Aisling, is part of the Wells Society - a group that have and look to find the best genetic material to reproduce with in order to create weavers or igniters. Sometimes things go wrong and they have Rejects - kids who end up with other mutant powers.

There's a lot of ideas - but it's all lacking. None of it ever really gets explained. How did they come to fight these Xorda's? Why are the Wells Society responsible? Are the Xorda's feeding on every Tom, Dick and Harry?

Plus Alex is affected by Lucian's (the Xorda) pheromones and agrees to go on a date. Shouldn't she be resistant or something? Then the whole date and WTF!? The reaction to Lucian's supposed death was just so underwhelming. It was like oh well, I may have just killed someone. La di da. It was just weird. Actually this whole book was just weird. The relationship between Aisling and Alex was strange. The reaction to Aisling experimenting with mutant genes or whatever on Alex was bizarre. Tyler's death? what the hell was up with the reaction to that? It seemed like it was just glossed over and barely thought of again? How did they even cover it up or report it to the cops? I mean Lucian disintegrated but Tyler was still dead on the ground? And Aisling didn't even blink? Shouldn't they have had to write a report or something? I mean Tyler had parents...?

Then we move to the whole Reject society which explained all of nothing. Apparently they only bothered to discuss things "offscreen" so the reader has no clue what Alex has or hasn't learnt about what the hell is going on. And then oh, we're off to kill your mother. I just spent 90% of this book feeling baffled by the events and the reactions to the events.

Then there's the whole detour into Moira's love life which didn't really clear anything up - if anything I ended up more baffled. Xorda - evil or not? Her partner was one? What? Why? So they can love...? A minor argument with her new partners, Alex's dad James and Alex herself who need proof to take on her mother for custody? Why not just report her as killing Tyler - problem solved. Or I dunno, get Alex to talk to her and tell her she doesn't feel comfortable or safe living with her? Maybe try logical responses first and then see how you go. And we end with a break and enter, a download of blackmail and some daughter/father bonding.

I could've maybe liked Alex if I learnt more about her and I didn't hate her relationship with her dad or her friendship with Tyler, but none of the characters are particularly memorable and I didn't really like any of them. 1.5 stars. ( )

Book Info: Genre: Urban Fantasy
Reading Level: Young Adult
Recommended for: Fans of YA urban fantasy
Trigger Warnings: assault, murder

My Thoughts: After reading the first two books in the Hunter Gamble series by this author, I just had to read this other book I had by him.

This is a really good book of its type. I don't always like YA and this has a few of the faults that keep me from fully enjoying YA novels, like teenagers that do sort of stupid things. It's mitigated in this book (view spoiler), so it's fairly bearable, but it's there. Thus the loss of a star.

But overall, I enjoyed the book a great deal. There were a couple of moments that surprised me a lot, things I absolutely did not see coming, and I would like to continue this series. Another book is available in this series, The Void, but I do not yet have it. Anyway, if you like young adult urban fantasies, definitely give this one a try.

Disclosure: I picked up a copy of this e-book from Amazon when it was on a KDP promotion. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis: Fifteen-year old Alex Cronlord just met the boy of her dreams. Literally. Unfortunately, the dream involved him killing her. When she encounters him at her school the next morning, Alex understandably freaks out–and her mother’s bizarre behavior only makes it worse. What Alex doesn’t realize is that she can see the future–which will get her into a whole lot of trouble.

Across town, FBI Agent Moira McBain and her partner Andy Hall investigate a series of house burnings in Dallas, Texas. When a clue leads them to the Cronlords, Moira discovers a disturbing link between Alex’s family and her own–which opens an old wound Moira has spent years trying to ignore.

Something is rotten in Dallas, Texas–something involving a secret society, children with extraordinary powers, and human-looking creatures who might literally be out of this world ….

Welcome to a different kind of world-wide web. ( )