Reviewed by Christel:
Aden is a young man with troubles. Some believe that he is a schizophrenic, but the truth of the matter is he has 4 other peoples souls trapped inside his head. (yeah, I know, still sounds like a schizophrenic, but trust me, he’s not) Aden has been shuffled between foster homes to mental institutions his whole life. His parents abandoned him when he was young, and he has been alone (except for the souls in his head) ever since. Each soul has a special supernatural power. Eve, the only female soul can time travel. Elijah can see the future, Julian can raise the dead and Caleb can possess another’s body. Since Aden’s body houses all of these souls, he possesses their powers too.
Being new in town, Aden is pretty much a loner, until he meets Mary Ann. When Mary Ann is around all the voices in his head are quiet. Somehow, Mary Ann’s presence negates all of Aden’s powers and gives him a bit of peace. And Mary Ann feels oddly drawn to this new kid. She has an overwhelming urge to be near him and just hug him. Like one would hug a brother.
Aden is putting off a strong supernatural signal. Something like a homing beacon, calling all kids of supernatural creatures to him. His supernatural magnetism brings Witches, Fairies, Goblins and even Vampires to town. Heck, Vlad the Impaler himself shows up (actually, I thought this part to be a bit over the top). This is how Aden finds his love, Victoria. She is Vlad’s daughter and has come to town with him to discover what this magnetic pull is that has brought them here. With her she brings her body guard, Riley, a shifter.
All of these new creatures come to town searching for the being that called them here with the signal. But meanwhile, they are wreaking havoc and Aden, Mary Ann, Victoria and Riley are determined to stop them. And probably fall in love while doing it.
As I read this book the very first chapter hooked me, but I quickly became bored. It wasn’t bad, it was just kind of blah. Until the last third of the book, which I managed to fly though. So I quickly went from wanting to say “Ms. Showalter should stick to what she does best” (Paranormal Romance, like the Lords of the Underworld series) to “wait a minute…this book is actually quite good!” I really liked it. Despite the part where the vampire heroine’s dad is actually Vlad the Impaler, it wasn’t too terribly cheesy and I really enjoyed reading about what happened to these kids and I liked how the plot worked itself out. The book ended with a cliff hanger and I know Gena is working on the next installment Unraveled already, so I am looking forward to reading more about these supernatural kids and how their story will end. I am glad I stuck with it and in the end I was pleasantly surprised.
