The Buzz: Review of STRENGTH by Carrie Butler

I'm a picky picky reader. If you know me, you know that. So, when I tell you a book is good...It's GOOD. Strength is one of those you-can't-put-down books. I posted a semi-review when I was halfway through. I couldn't wait to talk about its awesomeness, because I was literally carrying the book around with me everywhere. To my delight, it just kept getting better and better.

I'm going to skip the part where I summarize what the book is about in this review (I'm posting the blurb below). Instead, I want to tell you why I loved the book so much--the characters.

First, Rena. Is. Awesome. I can't think of another YA/New adult book that has such a funny yet bad-ass main character. Seriously, when is a female lead character ever funny? I mean, laugh out loud when you're reading alone in your bed kind of funny. She's one of a kind. Carrie Butler has an amazingly unique voice as a writer that reads so naturally you forget your reading. She sucks you in, and the next thing you know you're drooling over the sexy main man--Wallace. Another reason I liked the book *wink wink* Because this book is New Adult, you get a little more of the sexiness than in YA books. *Teehee*

Of course, one of my favorite characters was Wallace's dark and cocky twin brother, Cole. Why are we girls always such suckers for the bad-boy? I really wanted to hate him...but he's so dang snarky. Is it bad of me that I'm kind of hoping for a love-triangle in the next installment? The two brothers reminded me a lot of Stephan and Damon in The Vampire Diaries, and who doesn't love them? Both hot. One naughty, one nice...just saying.

Okay, okay. Enough gushing over the hotties. What also sets this book apart is its paranormal storyline. Butler doesn't try and put a new spin on Vampires or Werewolves. She invents her own world of secrets and superpowers. It's refreshing to read something with a new and creative plot in the Paranormal Romance genre. Thankfully the plot is only going to thicken. The conflict is just beginning to brew by the end of the book, and I can't wait to see what happens next.      

When college student Rena Collins finds herself nose-to-chest with the campus outcast, her rumor-laced notions are shattered. Handsome, considerate, and seemingly sane, Wallace Blake doesn’t look like he spends his nights alone, screaming and banging on the walls of his dorm room. Hell, he doesn’t look like he spends his nights alone, period.

Too curious for her own good, Rena vows to uncover the truth behind Wallace’s madman reputation--and how two seconds of contact had left her with bruises. Of course, there are a few setbacks along the way: guilt, admiration, feelings of the warm and fuzzy variety…

Not to mention the unwanted attention of Wallace's powerful, supernaturally-gifted family.

They’re a bloodline divided by opposing ideals, two soon-to-be warring factions that live in secret among us. When Rena ends up caught in their crossfire, Wallace has no choice but to save her by using his powers. Now they’re really in trouble. With war on the horizon and Rena’s life in the balance, he needs to put some distance between them. But Rena won’t let go. If fighting is what it takes to prove her own strength and keep Wallace in her life, then that’s what she’ll do--even if it means risking a whole lot more than her heart.