Spring break’s coming up–the perfect time to catch up on some reading. If you’re looking for reviews on books you’re interested in reading over the break, you’ve come to the right place!
1. The Naturals series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (4.5/5)
Genre: Mystery
Completed: No
Books in the main series: 4 (5th coming out soon)
The Naturals follows Cassie Hobbes as she’s recruited to a special FBI program with other special teenagers. Cassie and fellow ‘Natural’ Dean are profilers–people with a special talent for getting into the minds of others–but alongside them is Michael, emotion-reader, Lia, lie detector, and Sloane, numbers expert. When a new killer strikes, closer to the new home Cassie’s made with the other Naturals than anyone expected, they’re forced to use everything at their disposal to survive.
My biggest criticism of The Naturals was the characters and their development. They’re all set up initially as stereotypes with minimal development in the first two books, and it’s only in the third book that the characters start feeling deeper. In my opinion, in a quartet, there should be a little development before the halfway point. Still, that didn’t mean these were unlikeable characters–in fact they were very likeable–and what little development we got in those beginning stages was delicious.
Compared to Jennifer Lynn Barnes’s other popular series, The Inheritance Games, The Naturals had more interesting characters, mysteries, and well-fleshed out romance. Both series have a love triangle, and while I disliked the The Inheritance Games love triangle, I actually didn’t mind the The Naturals one. About the two series, Jasmine Moawad (10) said, “The Naturals is focused more on the mystery than the love triangle in the story. It’s created in a way that even when you look deep into the evidence, you’ll always guess the culprit wrong.”
2. Circe by Madeline Miller – Standalone (4.75/5)
Genre: Fantasy
Circe, written by Song of Achilles author Madeline Miller, is another Greek mythology retelling centered on witch Circe, daughter of the sun Titan Helios. Circe is outcast even among her own; she is peculiar, mortal where her Titan heritage should have come through. When she is banished to the island of Aiaia because of her god-threatening witch powers, Circe finds solace in her herbs–and the many mortals that visit her lands over thousands of years, including the inventor Daedalus, the wily witch Medea, and the warrior Odysseus.
Circe was a very character-driven story. There was little to no actual plot until 75% into the novel; before that, readers are given time to familiarize themselves with Circe and the events that shaped her, along with a few romantic trysts. The writing was absolutely phenomenal, delivering so much impact in so few words (this book is only 393 pages, according to Goodreads). The character descriptions, especially, made me feel like I was meeting real people and having the same reactions to them as Circe was.
The one thing I’ll warn readers about is that this is Greek mythology, and Circe is thousands of years old. Some of the romantic relationships, therefore, may seem a little odd, given the age difference.
3. The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni (3/5)
Genre: Fantasy
Completed: Yes
Books in main series: 3
The titular prison healer we follow in the novel is Kiva Meridan, a seventeen-year-old girl trapped in infamous death prison Zalindov. When Kiva receives a note instructing her to keep the recently-arrived and terminally ill Rebel Queen alive for the Trial by Ordeal, a challenge given to only the worst of criminals, she knows her only choice is to volunteer herself to take the Queen’s place. If she wins, she’ll earn her freedom and the Rebel Queen’s. But the problem is that no one has survived before.
This review will only be for book 1 of The Prisoner Healer trilogy, since I did not finish the series.
The Prison Healer wasn’t a bad book. I liked the concept–you don’t usually see books taking place inside prison unless a character is breaking in/out of them. However, many of the characters felt bland or similar to main characters from other books. The plot twists that this book is known for, in my opinion, also felt very predictable, but that may be because I read a very similar book that I do not recommend right before this one. Brooke Holmer (10) certainly did not agree with my take on the plot twists, stating, “I loved the plot twists in the first book. While reading them, I was literally stunned.”
Ultimately, I wasn’t compelled to read the rest of the series. That’s not to say The Prisoner Healer won’t find a home in your heart, though!
