Undeadly by Michelle Vail

Tuesday 22 January 2013.

Undeadly (The Reaper Diaries, #1)Undeadly by Michele Vail
Published: 20th November 2012
By: Harlequin Teen
Source: Netgalley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've read a lot of mixed reviews of this book, most of the negative ones seemed to have a similar quarrel, Molly. So, needless to say, I went into this with extremely low expectations. And lo and behold, I really enjoyed it.

Molly is a reaper in training, and even with making the mistake of bringing her "almost" boyfriend back to life missing some of his soul, she's still picked out by Anubis to be given special powers and sent to Nekyia Academy, where she can train to be Anubis' champion.

I did like Molly. A lot of reviews claimed her to be too immature but I thought she was okay for a 16 year old. I would find in a lot of YA novels that the main character comes across quite mature for their age. So, I was able to enjoy Molly's voice. I could have done without the diary entries though, and after the first couple, I stopped reading them.

I also liked Rick and felt it a pity that we got to see so little of the real him. He felt quite promising. And the way things turned out for him was just so sad.

Rath, the hot bad boy who I couldn't not enjoy. He was probably my favourite. His interactions with Molly entertained me and I'm interested in seeing if any romance between the two of them in future books.

While I was intrigued by the world that Michelle created, I did find it a lot to take in. I still don't really know the different parts of the soul and the different kinds of people who deal with each. And with reading on my kindle, I wasn't going to keep flipping back to remind myself like I might have done with a paperback.

I was quite annoyed about the way Molly reacted to her dad after the "bombshell" was dropped. And while I've never been in her situation, and I don't normally like to judge actions unless I've lived them myself, I just felt she went overboard and didn't see the bigger picture here. This could have been one of the reasons that other readers would have thought her to be immature.

This was a book I had been highly anticipating so when the negative reviews started flowing, I was really disappointed. I started reading with a lot of trepidation and hesitation but was happy that, after a small amount of info dumping, I found myself really enjoying it. I'm now really looking forward to the next instalment.

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11 Comments:

Rachel said...

Sometimes it's better to lower your expectations, that way you're pleasantly surprised. I've read quite a few mixed reviews as well, but it does sound like a fun read. Wonderful review Suzanne. :)

Maja (The Nocturnal Library) said...

Sometimes, going in with low expectations is the best thing you can do. I'm glad this was such a pleasant surprise for you, Suzanne, and even though you minded some of Molly's reactions, I'm glad she wasn't terrible overall. Do I smell a love triangle?
Fabulous review, my friend!

Emma said...

I have found that with incredibly hyped books you have higher expectations, however if you lower them you appreciate and enjoy the book more. This is a perfect example of this and I can't wait to read it! Lovely review! :)

brandileigh2003 said...

Molly sounds great, and I am glad you ended up enjoying. I have also read a lot of reviews and still not sure if I am picking it up, but you are making me think yes.
Happy reading,
Brandi @ Blkosiner’s Book Blog

LoveOfBooks said...

Yay, glad you liked it. I was one of the few who did too. I really enjoyed the diary entries though. The first couple of entries were a little too much, but I found the information in the rest interesting and helpful.

Jasprit said...

Oh I'm glad you enjoyed this book Suzanne, I had my doubts about this book too as the initial reviews that came in weren't that promising, but your enthusiasm for this book has me intrigued. Great review! :)

Heidi@Rainy Day Ramblings said...

I am one of those who didn't enjoy Molly, I found her particularly annoying and I thought this book had so much promise but the plot was all over the place and it could have been so much better. Glad you found the silver lining in it!

Sam (Realm of Fiction) said...

Funnily enough, it was the world and details of the soul that interested me here! I didn't care much for the characters, in all honesty, but I'm glad you had better luck with Molly. And I agree with Maja - going in with low expectations can be better sometimes. I know mine were unfairly high.

Lovely review, Suzanne! :)

A Canadian Girl said...

I've seen mixed reviews for this one so I'm hoping my expectations will be more realistic when reading it since I have it in my TBR pile. I'm really curious to know what this "bombshell" is.

Unknown said...

Molly didn't bother me too much either. I think sometimes it is hard to remember how truly immature we all were back in our teenage days. But I thought it was a fun book and interesting world although it was a bit overwhelming at times. I did feel really bad about Rick. He seemed like a great guy. Rath is fun too though and I look forward to learning more about him.

Book Passion for Life said...

Ummm...I so need to find out who this Rath is. He sounds H.O.T!!! It sounds an interesting storyline so glad to see you thought so highly of it. x

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