UKYA Review: Skulk by Rosie Best

Published by: Strange Chemistry
Release date: 1st October 2013
Series: n/a
I got it from: NetGalley
 
Goodreads summary:
When Meg witnesses the dying moments of a shapeshifting fox and is given a beautiful and powerful stone, her life changes forever. She is plunged into the dark world of the Skulk, a group of shapeshifting foxes.

As she learns about the other groups of shapeshifters that lurk around London – the Rabble, the Horde, the Cluster and the Conspiracy – she becomes aware of a deadly threat against all the shapeshifters. They must put aside all their enmity and hostility and fight together to defeat it.

My review:
I've had a run of mediocre books from NetGalley recently, but as soon as I started reading Skulk, I knew I'd stumbled across something special. For one thing, it's British, which immediately brings it up in my estimation. I can't help it, there's something kind of amazing about reading a great Brit book after trawling through mountains of US stuff. But that's not all Skulk has going for it - not by a long shot...

It's shapeshifters, but not as we know them. Somehow, Best has come up with a really original way of using shifters. I didn't think there were any left, but Best's groups of shifters are new and appealing. The history and origins of these shifters are interesting, and the way that Meg becomes one is very different. No infected bites here! The description of Meg's first shift, and all that comes with it, is brilliantly-written. In fact, the whole book is. Best brings her characters to life wonderfully - not just Meg, though her voice is very real, honest and likeable - but the rest of the skulk group who Meg meets, and other shifters that she comes across later, are all well-formed, interesting characters. Meg's parents, while lacking in parental skills, are beautifully evil as characters! Meg herself is a multi-faceted girl, on one level a rich, priveladged girl with a crappy home life, on another she's a talented grafitti artist with a mission. Then the skulk comes along and everything changes, and she becomes a reluctant heroine.

There's a lot of action, and it's well-paced. Best isn't afraid to let bad things happen, to show us a bit of blood and gore, and there's none of the 'talking down' effect that you come across in some YA books. Best treats her readers as intelligent people, and she hits exactly the right point between giving enough description to bring her world to life, while leaving just enough to the imagination of the reader. There's a hint of romance towards the end that I think will be built on in subsequent books, but it's not the be-all and end-all of the story, there's no inappropriate swooning at crucial moments and everybody isn't gorgeous! There are a lot of levels to this book if you start pulling it apart - a lot of different issues are brought up, but it's done in a subtle way so that taken as a whole it's just a really good read.

Review: Dark Child by Adina West

Published by: Momentum
Release date: 1st June 2013
Series: Dark Child #1-5
I got it from: NetGalley
Goodreads summary:
Perfect for fans of The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare, this intriguing urban fantasy follows the story of Kat Chanter, who discovers that the world she knows is controlled by ancient creatures who feed on blood. And she might just be one of them ...

Lately things have been getting weird for pathology technician Kat Chanter. She's been craving raw meat, and having dreams so realistic they're scary. When she accepts a job offer from the prestigious Hema Castus Research Institute, she hopes she'll have the chance to discover what's wrong with her, but instead, her move to New York thrusts her headlong into a treacherous hidden world, where the wrong move could be fatal . . .
Tarot, witchcraft and astrology all take on a frightening resonance in Dark Child's richly imagined alternative reality where vampiric beings live among us, hidden by magic. Dark romance tangles with paranormal fantasy and page-turning suspense in this enthralling tale of 'dark child' Kat Chanter, half-human and half-vampire, who has woken an ancient prophecy and must face a formidable destiny. 

My review:
The premise of this book was very interesting, but when I started reading I found it took a long time to get going. Once it did get going a bit more, I did get into it, but not really into it. It didn't have that addictive, page-turner, must-reach-the-end-now feeling to it. It felt a bit cliched if I'm honest, a bit too similar to lots of other paranormal books out there. There are a couple of nice touches, such as the different types of beings and their various talents, but the whole 'big health corporation being a front for a load of bloodsuckers'? It seemed a bit jaded.

I liked Kat well enough but I didn't feel we really got to know her well enough. Her voice just didn't feel all that strong to me. She was very quick to accept the whole 'vampires exist' situation, but then I guess her cravings for raw meat, the weirdness of her blood sample and her experience at the club must have aided her acceptance.

I was surprised that there wasn't more romance involved actually. The lack of it totally made sense with what was going on at the time, and the amount of time that the characters had known one another, but I actually felt a bit lost without it. Dark Child reads like an adult paranormal romance, but the fact that there's barely any romance left me wanting somewhat. The two shapeshifters who are interested in Kat are your typical brooding, dark characters - one with a hero complex, the other a bit of a bastard just to make sure there's something for everyone. They're undeniably hot, but the lack of action made them a bit superfluous.

Considering it was originally released in serial form, the book holds together well. There are no obvious breaks, and if I didn't know it was a serial then I wouldn't have guessed it. I have no idea why it's touted as 'perfect for fans of The Mortal Instruments' - as far as I can see there are no similarities, and as a fan of The Mortal Instruments I wasn't won over by Dark Child as much as I wanted to be. There are some aspects of it that I really like - the different types of vampires and their legends mainly - but there were too many characters in my opinion, making it overly complex. I would read the next book, as I have a feeling that it might be better than the first, with more action, now that the scene has been set.