Book Review: Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston

Wondrous Strange is just what Kelley's life is about to become.  She is trying to make it as an actress in New York when she meets handsome and mysterious Sonny, who seems determined to protect her.  She's never needed protection before, but all kinds of strange creatures seem to be hunting her.  It is only when Kelley learns who she really is that she begins to understand just what danger she is in. 

Things I Liked:
I thought this was a pretty fun faery book, despite its rather predictable story.  The faery details were intriguing and some of the descriptions quite beautiful.  I found myself enjoying the story, even if I was certain just where it was going.  There were a few surprises, but not that many.  Kelley was a lot of fun, at least during the first part of the book - she was independent and not willing to be pushed around by anyone.  Later on, she became a little less interesting, but still a good heroine.  I liked the way this quote sounded:

The music drifted over to where they stood, coiling through the late October night like a slow, lazy serpent. Beautiful, a little disturbing.  Sonny closed his eyes for a brief second and shivered, opening them again before the sinewy melody had a chance to take a firm hold. p145

Things I Didn't Like:
Aside from predictability, I was rather nauseated by the romantic details.  It almost seemed like one minute Kelley was telling Sonny off and the next, they were cuddling and he was calling her "my heart."  The romance was very cheesy and cliche, but somehow I still managed to enjoy the book.  

Read-alikes:
Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr
Lament by Maggie Stiefvater
Wings by Aprilynne Pike
Need by Carrie Jones 

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: !@
scattered throughout

mrg-factor: none

v-factor: ->
there appears to be a lot of blood!

Overall rating: ***

Anybody got a favorite not-so-predictable faery story?

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