Seventeen-year-old Cera Marlowe wants a normal life; one where she and her mom can stop skipping town every time a disturbing vision strikes. But when a girl she knows is murdered by a monster she can’t explain, Cera’s world turns upside down.
Suddenly thrown into an ancient supernatural battle, Cera discovers she’s not alone in her gifting and vows to use her visions to save lives. But why does John Milton’s poem Paradise Lost keep interrupting her thoughts?
In a race against time and a war against unearthly creatures, will decoding messages embedded in the works of classic literature be enough to stop the bloodshed and protect those she loves?
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
I flew through the majority of this book in two days. I’m not usually that fast of a reader but the writing itself isn’t overly complicated. There’s no over flowing prose or flowery descriptions here. I do have to say though, I’m not used to such a casual writing style so there were times that I was a little annoyed. I like the main character. She has flaws, she’s fairly relatable and she’s fierce. The only concern I had for her was her treatment of females her own age, mainly Harper. The rivalry was not needed and only took away from the story.
That leads into the side characters. I was having trouble pinning their age. At some moments, they seemed much older only to find out they’re all around Cera’s age. The only exceptions were Harper (who acted like a brat for the majority of the book) and Juniper who genuinely acted young. I liked the majority of them though (although I’m having some difficulty seeing why so many girls fight over Maddox he doesn’t strike me as that impressive).
My main grievance with the novel is how Harper and Cera acted together. Their relationship in the beginning felt petty and incredibly unnecessary, especially considering it was over a guy. This novel was not the time and the place for a stereotypical mean girl (not to mention one who’s blonde seriously?). If I wasn’t so annoyed by their squabbles, I feel I would’ve enjoyed the main plot and book more.