review: Every Other Day by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

pub date: December 27, 2011
publisher: EgmontUSA 
pages: 352
source: NetGalley
format: digital
appeals: vampires
content: a lot of good stuff

thoughts:
Loved it!

I wasn't sure about this book when I first read the summary. I thought it sounded somewhat interesting, but mostly odd. I'm not sure why I decided to request it from NetGalley, except that I enjoy Jennifer Lynn Barnes' other novels.

Whatever the reason behind requesting the book, I was amazed just how wonderful this book was. I loved it!

I definitely wasn't wrong about the oddness of the story, but that was one of the things I loved so much. It's odd in the oddest, coolest, funnest way imaginable. It takes place in the alternate existence of our world in 2011 (or there abouts) where all the creatures, and then some, that exist in our imaginations are real. That cool guy Darwin discovered their existence and since then scientists have been fascinated by them. The plot was surprising and oh-so-much fun.

All the characters were great, but I especially loved Kali. Her growth as a "human" and as a "predator" was believable (in the paranormal way such things are believable), and I really cared about what she did and how she did it.

Things I loved:
all the creatures Kali hunts.
interesting people Kali meets in school and outside of school.twists and turns in Kali's story that I was not expecting at all.
world building!
the excitement.
Kali's romantic entanglement.

I usually dislike romance in books where the relationship is instant. I want development! The (slight) romance in this novel was quick, but it was so artfully done. Even though their attraction went deep fast, it was done in such a way that it was believable and it made sense. And it was fun.

Another book I can't recommend highly enough.

summary:
Every other day, Kali D'Angelo is a normal sixteen-year-old girl. She goes to public high school. She attends pep rallies. She's human.

And then every day in between . . .She's something else entirely.

Though she still looks like herself, every twenty-four hours predatory instincts take over and Kali becomes a feared demon-hunter with the undeniable urge to hunt, trap, and kill zombies, hellhounds, and other supernatural creatures. Kali has no idea why she is the way she is, but she gives in to instinct anyway. Even though the government considers it environmental terrorism.

When Kali notices a mark on the lower back of a popular girl at school, she knows instantly that the girl is marked for death by one of these creatures. Kali has twenty-four hours to save her and, unfortunately, she'll have to do it as a human. With the help of a few new friends, Kali takes a risk that her human body might not survive. . .and learns the secrets of her mysterious condition in the process