Beneath Blood and Bone
There are so many things I like about this series. The reader never knows what to expect. The storylines follow no patterns, and the books thus far are very different. Even though it's fiction, it's real. The decay and stench of life at it lowest are in vivid technicolor and jumping off the page at the reader's senses. At the same time, sparks of humanity that can't be snuffed out always shine through.
In the first book, E was not the hero, and he still isn't. He's the antihero. He's been through hell (the reader learns of this in flashbacks) and came out the other side. Life has no meaning for him anymore. Full of hate, he's only a shell surviving out of habit.
We don't really know anything about Autumn going into Beneath Blood and Bone. She pretty much appears to be cuckoo for cocoa puffs. Full of fear, she's regressed to a snarling animal surviving on instinct.
Most of the plot in this book takes place in the camp called Purgatory (so many things can be read into that name). It's a place without joy. Day to day survival is how it breaks down. The bold lord over the meek. Liv is the queen bitch. She wants to control everything with E being at the top of the list. It doesn't go over well when he takes an interest in Autumn.
I didn't hate E in the first book. He wasn't a good guy at all, but I still couldn't raise up feelings to hate level for him. Although E compares his likeness to Liv's more than once in this book, I was prepared to slit her throat myself.
Overall, it's a story about the human condition. When is enough, enough? What is the point of living? How far gone can someone come back from? I loved it, muy mucho, and I'm looking forward to more from these authors.
P.S. E did win me over. I don't excuse him for the bad things, but I still can't help loving him either. And that's the way love goes.
