Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Release Date: Available Now
371 Pages
Synopsis: “We all hold a beast inside. The only difference is what form it takes when freed.”
Rain Ryland has never belonged anywhere. He’s used to people judging him for his rough background, his intimidating size, and now, his orphan status. He’s always been on the outside, looking, in, and he’s fine with that. Until he moves to New Wurzburg and meets Friederike Burkhart.
Freddie isn’t like normal teen girls, though. And someone wants her dead for it. Freddie warns he’d better stay far away if he wants to stay alive, but Rain’s never been good at running from trouble. For the first time, Rain has something worth fighting for, worth living for. Worth dying for.
Haven is definitely going down as one of my favorite YA novels of 2017! It’s a unique and refreshing take on werewolf, witches and vampire lore, that hands down, beats anything else out there. I was hooked from the very first page and while I finished it in one sitting, I was sad when the ending came.
The relationship between Rain and Freddie is so gorgeously written. They’re strong personalities that both have dark pasts, and watching them learn to trust each other and then fall in love is both beautiful and heartbreaking. Their courtship is not a smooth one as they have many things stacked against them, but there is no doubt that these two are destined to be together.
There is a large cast of secondary characters and they’re all just as fantastically written as Rain and Freddie. There’s two in particular that I loved. Rain’s Aunt Ruby, who lovingly welcomes him into her home after his mother died, and Petra, a Weaver and so-called “freak” who is quirky and surprisingly strong given the way she’s treated by the rest of the community and her own family.
The world-building and backstories of the Weavers (magic users) and Watchers ( werewolves) is dark, dense and gritty, and it amazed me how much the author was able to pack in a book that was slightly less than 400 pages. The whole story plays out as almost a Grimm’s fairytale only it’s set in a small Texas town.
Honestly, I could keep gushing about Haven all day, but I’m going to sum it up in two words: sheer perfection. This is one of the best YA paranormal romance/urban fantasies I’ve come across and in my humble opinion it even eclipses Stephenie Meyers Twilight. I do have one word of caution. There are some fairly graphic sexual scenes as well as some gory ones, so I’d recommend this for ages 16 and up. I’m hoping this is only the first book in a future series, because I want MORE!
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