Review – Cracked (Soul Eaters, Book 1) by Eliza Crewe (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 336 pages
Publisher: Strange Chemistry
Release Date: November 5, 2013
ISBN: 978-1908844675
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Soul Eaters series
Source: eGalley from NetGalley.com
Rating: 4/5 stars

I got a copy of this book to review through NetGalley(dot)com. I really enjoyed this book. It’s a paranormal young adult book that is very dark in tone and has a bit of an urban fantasy flare to it.

Meda Melange has been on her own ever since her mother was murdered. Oh, and she is also half demon with an urge to feed off of human souls. She tries to stay off people’s radar and she tries to stick to eating souls of bad people, but she just enjoys tearing people apart so much…that it’s hard, you know?

Then her life becomes incredibly complicated (yes, more complicated), when she is rescued by a group of Templars who think she is a Beacon. A Beacon is someone destined to make life a better place for humanity. When the demons come hunting Meda, she ends up running for her life with some Templars to back her up. The Templars think the mission is to find out Meda’s cause as a Beacon, but Meda just wants to know what the heck is going on.

I really enjoyed this book. It’s paranormal young adult with more of an urban fantasy taste to it. The main character is half-demon and has trouble controlling her urges to eat people’s souls; she is a very dark character. The whole story is told from Meda’s point of view. Meda is funny and very snarky and sarcastic. She has a lot to say about everything and at times the sarcasm gets a bit over the top; but most of the time it’s well done and funny.

Meda is definitely an anti-hero of sorts. She loves ripping people to pieces and eating both their flesh and soul, she really really enjoys it. But she tries to keep it under control. The fact that the Templars think she is a Beacon is very ironic. As Meda spends time with the Templars she begins to actually enjoy having friends

Meda finds herself traveling with the Templars Jo, Chi, and Uri. They are a bit stereotypical but do have a lot of depth and are fun to read about. Jo is your typical girl who’s been wounded in the past and struggling to try and redefine her life in a way that includes her new disability. Chi is your all around golden boy. Chi and Jo had a thing going on in the past, but right now their relationship is on the rocks. Uri is the high energy youngster who is new to a lot of things.

There isn’t a ton of romance in this book. What romance there is focuses on Chi and Jo and their problems.

This is a very dark and violent book and definitely not mainstream young adult. The story is mainly propelled by Meda tracking down the truth about her mother and father and solving the mystery as to why the demons are after her. Meda swears…a lot. There is a lot of well done action scenes and they are very violent. Characters are tortured and face very harsh emotional and physical turmoil. So just be aware of that going in.

The story is wrapped up nicely and I am curious to see what future books in this series hold. There were times where the pacing was a bit off and portions where I got a bit bored. In general though this was a well written book.

Overall I enjoyed the story. This is one of the more unique young adult paranormal books I have read in some time. Meda’s voice is truly unique and absolutely entertaining. The world is an interesting one and the side characters are all well done. I will definitely read future books in this series. Recommended to those who enjoy edgy urban fantasy adult or young adult reads.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– 100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge
– 150+ Reading Challenge