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rebeccazh's review
4.0
This is very fun. I read the whole thing in one go. In signature Gingell style, a lot of things are implied, which hooks me even more because I'm dying to know all the secrets. Anyway, I'm moving on to the next few books. I'm so curious about Pet, her parents' deaths and the house.
janchamp's review
5.0
I don't know why, but this is a super fun book. However, it becomes a 14 book series or something, and we all know how things go to crap around book 6. So I may stop here.
another_bookgirly's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
khadijareads's review
3.0
I like the premise, the characters are interesting as is the world created by the author. The use of Hangul in this book is jarring and annoying. Will read book 2, interested to see what’s next
kenzee06's review against another edition
1.0
Um...did I read the same book as everyone else?
On the one hand, I hated it. This might go up there as the most confusing book I've ever read. It made almost zero sense. I'm a little confused as to how this got published at all. We were just thrown in with no intro to the world at all. It kind of felt like maybe a few chapters were missing? The main character was obnoxious and also made zero sense. Not the adolescent logic where you think wow that's dumb either. I mean, literally I couldn't follow a single thought she had. She accepted vampires and fae immediately. And somehow decided she's okay with them being killers right away. Of course I'll continue staying in the house hiding here with them. They're just murderers after all! Eh? I think there might be a story there but it was never explained. Oh, and the main male good guys (?) referred to her as "it" the entire book. No. I'm sorry, that's not how people refer to their pets. It was disgusting, especially how she's all tee hee that's my pyschos. WTF?
On the other hand, I feel weirdly compelled to find out what happens - even though I know I will probably hate myself for it later.
Curiosity killed the cat and all that.
On the one hand, I hated it. This might go up there as the most confusing book I've ever read. It made almost zero sense. I'm a little confused as to how this got published at all. We were just thrown in with no intro to the world at all. It kind of felt like maybe a few chapters were missing? The main character was obnoxious and also made zero sense. Not the adolescent logic where you think wow that's dumb either. I mean, literally I couldn't follow a single thought she had. She accepted vampires and fae immediately. And somehow decided she's okay with them being killers right away. Of course I'll continue staying in the house hiding here with them. They're just murderers after all! Eh? I think there might be a story there but it was never explained. Oh, and the main male good guys (?) referred to her as "it" the entire book. No. I'm sorry, that's not how people refer to their pets. It was disgusting, especially how she's all tee hee that's my pyschos. WTF?
On the other hand, I feel weirdly compelled to find out what happens - even though I know I will probably hate myself for it later.
Curiosity killed the cat and all that.
sshrimpyyy's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I loved it the moment I opened it up
rgyger's review against another edition
5.0
This book is pretty great. I was honestly hooked from the first page where she describes herself as a pet, and that idea carried me through to staying up late at night even thought it meant I only had a couple hours of sleep before work.
The story is imaginative and bright, while still holding quiet a bit of the macabre. Though I definitely would not recommend it to anyone who might be a bit more squeamish (there is a reason that a few of the characters vomit at the sight of some of the murders in this book), I found that those darker descriptions played well with the Wonderland-esc Between and Behind.
Probably my favorite part of the story however, was the main character's role as "Pet". I loved that we never learned her name, didn't really even know her gender until part way through, and didn't even blink when the fae declared her their pet. That distinction adds a unique element to the characters' relationships that was a blast to read.
While there is no real moral lesson to be learned (something that I usually appreciate) I found this book well worth it just for the amount of fun I got out of reading it.
The story is imaginative and bright, while still holding quiet a bit of the macabre. Though I definitely would not recommend it to anyone who might be a bit more squeamish (there is a reason that a few of the characters vomit at the sight of some of the murders in this book), I found that those darker descriptions played well with the Wonderland-esc Between and Behind.
Probably my favorite part of the story however, was the main character's role as "Pet". I loved that we never learned her name, didn't really even know her gender until part way through, and didn't even blink when the fae declared her their pet. That distinction adds a unique element to the characters' relationships that was a blast to read.
While there is no real moral lesson to be learned (something that I usually appreciate) I found this book well worth it just for the amount of fun I got out of reading it.
greystory's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Short, fun, quirky little urban fantasy involving a murder mystery, three unlikely supernatural allies investigating the murder, and a street smart orphan who becomes their "human pet." It was weirdly wholesome despite the murder and gore. Pet is very humorous and lends a lot of lightheartedness to the serious fae and vampire. Already queued up the rest of the series so I'll be ripping through it this week.
UPDATE 02/16/2024
Finished the whole 10 book series. Once I started reading, I burned through the whole series in 11 days. I couldn't put it down!
Here's a non-exhaustive list of some of the things I enjoyed about the series without giving away spoilers:
* Mystery plot specific to each book
* Overarching mysteries and questions that span multiple books or the whole series
* Usually these were paranormal murder mysteries with political machinations
* Found family trope
* Emotional support vampire
* Emotionally stunted character learns to Deal with Feelings (tm)
* Excellent character development
* Excellent worldbuilding
* Unusual use of some common paranormal races (e.g. zombie that doesn't want to eat brains, pouty skeleton, wheelchair-bound techie merman)
* Some surprises I expected all along but had been thrown off a bit
* Some surprises I didn't see coming
* Slowest of slow burn romances, very cute
* Humor threaded in with the gravity of the grisly situations they were often dealing with
* Furiously knitting to avoid problems
I listened to the audiobooks and I really enjoyed the narration by Zehra Jane Naqvi. The way she did the audio for some characters, like Pet and JinYeong, really fed into my appreciation of the characters. Occasionally some minor side characters sounded too similar to others and it would be a tad confusing to hear at first, but I was willing to let it go because it usually made sense in context and this has a decent sized cast (like over a dozen characters) that she voiced herself.
I've never wanted to drink coffee so much in my life as I did while listening to this.
UPDATE 02/16/2024
Finished the whole 10 book series. Once I started reading, I burned through the whole series in 11 days. I couldn't put it down!
Here's a non-exhaustive list of some of the things I enjoyed about the series without giving away spoilers:
* Mystery plot specific to each book
* Overarching mysteries and questions that span multiple books or the whole series
* Usually these were paranormal murder mysteries with political machinations
* Found family trope
* Emotional support vampire
* Emotionally stunted character learns to Deal with Feelings (tm)
* Excellent character development
* Excellent worldbuilding
* Unusual use of some common paranormal races (e.g. zombie that doesn't want to eat brains, pouty skeleton, wheelchair-bound techie merman)
* Some surprises I expected all along but had been thrown off a bit
* Some surprises I didn't see coming
* Slowest of slow burn romances, very cute
* Humor threaded in with the gravity of the grisly situations they were often dealing with
* Furiously knitting to avoid problems
I listened to the audiobooks and I really enjoyed the narration by Zehra Jane Naqvi. The way she did the audio for some characters, like Pet and JinYeong, really fed into my appreciation of the characters. Occasionally some minor side characters sounded too similar to others and it would be a tad confusing to hear at first, but I was willing to let it go because it usually made sense in context and this has a decent sized cast (like over a dozen characters) that she voiced herself.
I've never wanted to drink coffee so much in my life as I did while listening to this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Blood
Moderate: Gore, Murder, Violence, and Vomit
Minor: Gaslighting and Stalking
ameenah_94's review against another edition
3.0
3.75★
Interesting book. I really liked it. I almost gave it four stars but felt something missing.
This book was a bit bizarre, but in a good way. It had all the cliche species usually found in a paranormal book, but that’s where the resemblance ended. It was a original and refreshing read. Although, the MC’s speech pattern was highly annoying and even by the end of the book the way she spoke still bugged me a little.
I can’t wait to read the rest of the series I’m very excited.
Interesting book. I really liked it. I almost gave it four stars but felt something missing.
This book was a bit bizarre, but in a good way. It had all the cliche species usually found in a paranormal book, but that’s where the resemblance ended. It was a original and refreshing read. Although, the MC’s speech pattern was highly annoying and even by the end of the book the way she spoke still bugged me a little.
I can’t wait to read the rest of the series I’m very excited.