Well, Madhuri Blaylock sure knows how to start a book off with a bang and end with a doozie of a cliffhanger. 'The Girl' is about several young paranormals running amok in New York. These teenagers, however, are not young. They have been running from or for the all-powerful Sanctum. At 16 you are already a warrior, and the characters reflect the maturity that goes with dispensing justice on behalf of the governing body. I would classify this as New Adult except the characters are technically in their teens.
The Sanctum is the governing force that controls the population of magicals be it angel, vampire, troll, werewolf, faerie, etc. It also ensures humankind isn't let in on the secret. If magicals step out of line, a warrior is sent to take it out for the common good. This started happening a bit more freely once the ranking Sanctum family became the Breslin's. One must question if the motives of The Sanctum are as pure and just as they should be.
When Carter Breslin sends out a decree to exterminate a hybrid, half Angel/half Demon, everyone is sent searching for a holy terror the likes of which no one has seen before. Wyatt Clayworth and his best friend Ryker, class A Sanctum warriors, are the ones who find her, specifically Wyatt. Until this point, Wyatt had been the perfect warrior and Sanctum member. He follows orders, but when he finds the hybrid is broken girl rather than an apocalyptic monster, he becomes uncertain. She turns his life, and the lives of those he cares about upside down. In the process they may alter the entire Sanctum. The definition of a holy terror may have to be redefined.
The book is fun. It sucked me in from the beginning. It was nice to decide I wanted to finish the book after 5 pages instead of needing to wait fifty. There is romance, romance that is categorized better as fated rather than instant love. It is a device rather than a failure of the author's capability to develop a believable love story. First and foremost, this is the story of warriors bent on revenge.
Every character is good-looking, and I do mean every character. I rolled my eyes for a minute, in my head telling myself this isn't believable, and then I remembered I was reading a fantasy about creatures that don't exist. I decided I could suspend my disbelief and started to enjoy myself again. My only other concern came in when I realized these teenagers acted like thirty year olds. For the most part their interactions are far to mature. In my head, I once again said this isn't believable, remembered its fantasy, stopped being ridiculous, and went back to enjoying a good story. It certainly isn't going to hurt anyone to have a little maturity role modeled. It is good fun light urban fantasy, and provided some much needed escapism for me.
The next book, 'The Boy,' is out and I purchased it about 10 seconds after I finished 'The Girl.' Ms. Blaylock leaves you with a serious cliffhanger, and anyone who reads my blog knows I'm not known for literary patience.