REVIEW: Strange Angels and Betrayals by Lili St Crow

Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow - Dru Anderson: Night Hunter. Knife Wielder. Heart Breaker. Dru can sense evil, which helps when she and her Dad are tracking down ghosts, suckers, wulfen, and the occasional reanimated corpse. It's a dangerous life, but it's the only one she knows. Then Dru's dad turns up dead and she suddenly finds herself in the middle of a deadly game where every move she makes could be her last. Dru is more special than she realizes - and whatever killed her dad could be coming for her next. Can Dru stay alive long enough to fall for one - or both - of the guys hungry for her affections? Find out in the heart-stopping first book in a thrilling series.

I was immensely surprised with how much I enjoyed reading Strange Angels! And now that I've read the book, I can't remember the reservations I had before reading it. It's fantastic with the action and the pace is set at break-neck speed. The characters are interesting and likeable and I love all the information regarding the Real World with the suckers, demons, and wulfen.

First, the action. We're thrown into it right from the beginning, with Dru leaving for school. She has a bad feeling about leaving, but doesn't say anything. Her dad goes off on one of his missions to battle the bad things but comes home a zombie to attack poor Dru. And that's just where it starts. It kicks off from there with wulfen attacks and meetings with suckers, and Dru is a pretty kick-ass character.

Dru is sarcastic and independent. Her dad has trained her to know things most teenage girls don't know about, keeping her gun clean and safe, knowing the exit routes. But she's in uncomfortable territory as her dad did all the fighting before and you can see her vulnerable side. Especially when it comes to the goth half-Asian kid, Graves, that she picks up. Graves is by far my favourite character. I really just want to give him a hug.

It's an interesting storyline anyway. I like this idea of the 'Real World' where suckers and wulfen and ghosts and dream stealers exist. And there's Dru and her dad circling around it and suddenly lands herself deeper than ever and way above her head. When I finished Strange Angels I was really pretty desperate to read the next one...

(SPOILERS)

Betrayals by Lili St. Crow - The second novel in the Strange Angels series picks up with Dru neatly tucked away in a Schola that's more like a prison than a secret training facility. Except for one tiny detail ...she's the only girl in the place and is totally surrounded by tons of cute boys. But a traitor in the Order wants Dru dead and she can't trust anyone except for Graves. Too bad he's being kept busy with a new crew of wulfen teens and doesn't have time for her. As she learns the truth about who she can and can't trust, Dru's only hope may be to save herself - although the one gift that makes her special is draining away, and she doesn't know how to get it back. Will Dru survive long enough to find out who is really after her? Or is she destined for the same fate as her murdered parents? Lili's characters come alive on the page in a way that's visually stunning and she creates the same terrific pace, danger and teen romance as in Strange Angels.

Like I said, I was pretty desperate to read the next book in the series once I finished Strange Angels. And Betrayals is still fast-paced and filled with lots of action, but there's a different layer to this book. Dru is really struggling with the loss of her father, this new information about her mother, her memories of the day her mom died, her new and special role in the whole scheme of things. It's a lot to adjust to. Thankfully, we do learn more about the dhjampir and her mother, but it still doesn't seem enough.

And things are definitely wrong in the Schola Dru and Graves have been taken to. Nobody's educating Dru, they let her sit around and get away with things. The close bond between Graves and Dru is a bit strained as he's finally accepted amongst the wulfen. And Dru still doesn't know who she can trust. She even starts doubting Christophe.

It's an interesting sequel, but I would have liked more answers. And while I'm not keen on where the Graves-Dru-Christophe triangle is headed, it has been hurtling towards the inevitable since the first book. Myself, there's no doubt that I'm on Team Graves.

Bring on the next book, Jealousy, out in July!