Devour (The Devoured Series Book 1)

AS much, as this book intrigued, ive read the same plot over and over. In the Twilight, the authority doesn't like them together. In Vampire Diaries they meet fall in love and are faced with obstacles. Even with all those things, this book was fabulous. I really liked it. I just wish it could have been MORE original.

I really loves this book. Its a great love story. Eli is so sweet to Clara. Clara defenitly needed some like Eli. Heck, ever girl deserves a guy like Eli. Shelly Crane, thank you for writting a great book so I could eacape into it.

I was very excited to read another novel by Shelley, but unfortunately I was rather disappointed. I kept waiting for the story to really start, but before i knew it the book was over with no real plot. I felt as if it was a set up for the sequel. I don't know if I'll read the next one.

This single star is mostay because the story was a little more juvenile than what I had expected. I have read other young adult novels by Crane and enjoyed them a little more than this particular one.

Or in this case blatant coattails riding to capitalize on a financially lucrative trend... To bad it's a really bad trend. This is the first book in the "Hidden Worlds" anthology; a collection of teen and young adult novels. "Devour" is imitation "Twilight." The Twilight series was really bad literature, Devour is worse... The cliche characters were flat and I couldn't waste time caring about them. The cliche plot was weak. And the storyline was predictably boring. The lovey dovey dialogue went on and on and on and on...NOBODY talks about love the way the hero went on and on about... the ubiquitous love triangle reared its boring head with the 300 year old vampire googly eyed over the 17 year old high school senior... What is this trendy fascination with creepy centenarian pedophiles! Gross!!! Come on children; a 300 year old being is going to be bored into a coma with a teeny bopper lover. After a few romps in the sheets he'll get tired of babysitting and she'll become a meal.

After falling in love with the Significance Series, I had to read more Shelly Crane, so I moved on to Devour. This book did not let me down. It was just as sweet as Significance, but it was also much darker. The characters are a bit edgier and are not so innocent. It also touches on high school life and how cruel teenagers can really be. Please excuse the pun, but I have to say it: I devoured this book.

I really love how strong Crane makes her couples. There is no whiny break-up make-up nonsense. The couple is a team and handles the situation together. The author sums up my feelings on this with this quote: "`I hate this part,' I sighed in aggravation and jerked the sunglasses from my eyes, setting them atop my head into my hair. `What?' he said in a voice that clearly didn't understand where I could be leading things. `This is where the leading man tries to save the girl from herself. She is willing to give up everything for him and he, in his misguided attempt to save her, tells her he's skipping for the hills and she has to beg him to stay and convince him that her love is real and that she is sound of mind.'" The paranormal twist to the relationship is quite intriguing. I don't want to give it away, but it is pretty cool.

The characters in Devour are still in high school and Crane does a good job of showing that high school is not all fun and games for a lot of teens. Teenagers can be very mean. She also shows that sitting by and doing nothing while your friends bully someone is just as bad as doing the bullying yourself. High school doesn't last forever and being on top in high school means nothing. Crane shows that you shouldn't have to be cruel to be popular, and that being popular really isn't everything. There are things that are much more important. Throughout the book, Eli helps Clara realize this.

Clara is a great lead, because she is relatable and believable. She hangs with the popular crowd, but doesn't really know why or particularly like to do what they do. She feels bad when her friends are mean to others, but never has the courage to say anything about it. She has a boyfriend, but she only dates him because it is comfortable and not because she really likes him. She seems ordinary and flawed, and this makes her realistic. If she were perfect, she wouldn't be nearly as likable as she is. I enjoyed seeing Clara grow into a much stronger person throughout this book.

Eli is also a great character to read about. He has the perfect bad boy persona combined with a good streak. He is what every girl wants. He is a bad boy without being a jerk. He is the a bad boy, that it is perfectly okay to date. However, he is not perfect. He has a lot of skeletons in his closet that do end up coming back to haunt him. Clara and Eli's relationship is not going to be easy, but it just might be worth it.

Devour has become my new favorite Shelly Crane book. I just love how she can depict some very dark events and still make the book incredibly sweet. Anyone who is a fan of pararomance will devour this book.

Devour is absolutely amazing and unique book! Author tried to avoid most of those YA-paranormal clichés which accompany this genre these days and created one original story and I absolutely and totally loved it. Story was fast-paced and author never wasted time with over-describing things so I really enjoyed it. Even though there were times when style of writing seemed to be a little bit simple, story was so good that I did not mind at all and I was completely smitten with this book.

At the beginning, Eli, the new guy, was very mysterious. I could see that he was different and strange sometimes but I had no idea why or if he was a good or a bad guy. And when the supernatural stuff was revealed? OMG, I definitely did not expect something like that. It was such a fascinating thing to read about. Kudos to author for this unique idea.

And now to Clare. As a main heroine and narrator, I had hard time to like her at the beginning. She wasn't annoying or something like that. She just played the role and was a person that other poeple excpected her to be. She was not happy about such a life but had no intentions to change it at the beginning. She associated with terrible people (bullies and aggressors) and I just could not like her for that. BUT, as the story progressed, she changed and really grew on me. So overall, I have to admit that she was a likeable character and I respected her by the end of the book.

Devour is awesome book and I would recommend it to all lovers of paranormal stories!

Shelly Crane amazes me! Honestly, as an author she definitely knows how to hit the right spots and writes another fantastic novel. Her other series Significance I thought, was completely unique but Devour seriously smashes Significance out of the water for its uniqueness.

Devour follows the life of Clara, a young girl who is living with a foster home after her parents are murdered. Clara attends the local high school where she sits with the popular crowd and has a popular boyfriend, who is a star wrestler and even though Clara is surrounded by people, she's not really happy and mostly she feels alone. When new boy Eli starts her school, she feels an undeniable attraction to him and suddenly she's thrown into Eli's world.....one that is very dangerous and Clara seems to be right in the middle of it.

If you didn't already guess, I loved this book. There is actually nothing to dislike about it because it's pure awesomeness and the story line is thrilling, loving and fresh and once again UNIQUE! I've never read anything like it. I don't want to tell you too much about the story because I don't want to ruin the surprise but the mystery surrounding Eli and what he really is, really leaves you guessing. I even got to one point of the book and thought "What the hell is he?" but I was completely blown away when I found out and it truly makes me think "why hasn't this book been picked up by a publisher?" It is seriously awesome.

One of the key points of this book were the characters and I adored all of them. Even the bad guys, there's just something about them that you like. Clara and Eli, were a fantastic couple and even with all their obstacles they overcome so much. They are bound to one other that is really touching and loving and it that makes it slightly magical. It was a real joy to read about and I want more. Now Enoch; Eli's brother, really reminded me of Damon from The Vampire Diaries with his snarky comments and bad boy attitude. I really enjoyed him as a character and I can not wait to see more from him.

Overall, Shelly Crane has blown me away yet again and I can not wait to dive in another one of her books. Devour is a must read!

Let me start this review by saying that Shelly Crane is a gift to the world of young adult fiction.

I really liked Devour, the first novel in Shelly Crane's latest young adult paranormal romance series. It's a great novel, and I recommend it to young adults. However, I must admit that I enjoyed the first novel in Shelly Crane's other paranormal romance series, Significance, a tab bit more.

Devour is about ...wait for it... Devourers - demons that emit negative feeling in humans (terror, anger, sorrow, lust) and then feed from their negative emotions. It was a fresh and interesting concept, made even more interesting by Clara.

Clara, for the most part, was a likeable and entertaining heroine. She's quirky, comical, and relatable.

*Spoiler*
However, the way she handled the Tate situation was extremely disappointing. She should have put her foot down sooner and outted his addiction and his behavior. The way she handled things made me think less of her.
*End Spoiler*

Eli is an interesting hero because he is a "bad guy" who is trying to change his ways. He talks about his past and how he is a "bad guy", but the only Eli that we see is a sweet and caring person - a "good guy".

I will definitely read the next novel in this series; Consume comes out in the Spring of 2012. This is an interesting romance and an enjoyable paranormal storyline that I look forward to finishing in the future.

I gave Devour by Shelly Crane 4 STARS (3.5 STARS). I recommend this novel. Shelly Crane is an extremely talented author. She knows how to write a hell of a good young adult paranormal romance novel.

-XOXO

Reading, Eating & Dreaming

FOR MORE REVIEWS CHECK OUT MY BLOG ON BLOGSPOT: READING, EATING & DREAMING I WAS BLAIR WALDORF

Summary:
Clara Hopkins has recently lost her parents tragically. Despite the fact that she has a wonderful family that's taken her in, popularity, and the school hunk as a boyfriend, she feels utterly alone. Then she meets Eli Thames. There is something about Eli that pulls Clara to him. Clara starts having problems with her boyfriend which make it much easier to turn to Eli. She soon learns that Eli not only wants her, but he needs her. Clara is introduced to an amazing supernatural world that she may for the first time, feel like she fits in.

My Take:
If you can't tell already, I've become a Shelly Crane fan! She has such an easy writing style and it's so easy to follow along through her stories. In Devour, I loved ELI!, loved the idea of a different supernatural species, and loved that Clara has the potential to be a really great heroine. I also loved the supporting characters and hope to see more of Enoch and Patrick in the next book! Clara and Eli have a great connection and their characters develop nicely through out the book. I hope to see more kisses between them in the next one! *fans self*
[...]

It is a paranormal fantasy series and deals with a human falling in love with someone that is not human. It really is similar to Twilight but without the Vampires. Since I am a die hard Twilight fan, I have a feeling that I’m going to love this series.

Warning: This book will devour you!

My Rating: 10 of 10!

My Cover Thoughts: I love the cover! Shelly has done it again with an amazing cover! It is of a girl and a guy just lying in the grass just staring up into the sky looking at something. They are looking at something that makes them happy because they are smiling.

My Thoughts/Review: Shelly Crane has done it again. This series will have you on the edge of your seat. She sets the background in a world where hurt and devastation is all around. People will have to make choices and stand by the decision they make. Some people will gain friends and others will lose friends. Love is always there but is it real or fake?

Would you be able to stand against your friends? Would you stand up for someone you never hung out with? Would you hurt someone's feelings just because everyone else did? Standing up to the school bullies is never easy enough but will you be devoured or will you be doing the devouring?

What happens when Clara falls for Eli? Will she love him or will he love her? Is he right for her or wrong for her? Will they be together? Clara already has a boyfriend she loves but will he be enough. Read on to find out what happens and see if you too will be devoured?

Memorable Quotes: ¯I`ve been called a tease before, I muttered thinking about Tate and then regretting it.
¯You are not a tease. I asked for it didn`t I? I won`t get the wrong idea, I`m glad to spend any time with you I can get. Sometimes...a kiss is just that.
I pulled him back to me and let him ravish my mouth furiously, turning in my seat to reach him better. His breaths were huffing like we were running a marathon and he groaned several times as my skin heated and he absorbed the want I felt for him and my happiness at the situation for the moment. It was odd to think that I was essentially feeding him what he needed to survive. When I ran my hand through his hair his grip tightened on me and he pulled me closer and I let him kiss me deeper.
I let him devour me.

Advice: Devour this book before it Devours You!

I "devoured" this book!! Not going to lie, the first few chapters very slow paced, but they are important, and if you can make it through those, the story goes from zero to 60 and you will be hooked!! Off to buy the next one!!

Could Eli be any more mysterious?

The moment that i read about Eli's description and how Clara looked up to see him, I was hooked. I started reading this last night and finished reading it this afternoon!

I loved this book to the point of rereading it again today! I can't wait to read book two!

I Highly Recommended this book!

I have nothing to say except that i absolutely loved it. Clara is a nice girl who had everything, lost it, and found out who she it. Eli is a monster who doesn't want to be and is running away from his past. When Clara finds everything she wants, Eli, and Eli finds all that he needs, Clara, all they have to do is stay away from Eli's family and the wanna-be-devourer-council-that's-not-suppose-to-exist.

Not as good as Shelly Crane's Significance series, but it was OK. I decided to try this book because I liked Crane's other books, but I'm not going to read the rest of the Devour series. Caleb is better than Eli! Read the Significance series if you haven't already, cause it's better!

I have been "Devoured"! This book was amazing from beginning to end. The characters grab your attention and keep it until the very last sentence is read. Up until a week ago I had never read anything written by Shelly Crane, but after quickly catching up in the Significance series and having the opportunity to read the arc of Devour, I won't think twice to read anything written by her in the future.

Another, impressive book by written Shelly Crane. If you are a fan of Significance and Accordance, you will be a fan of The Devoured Series. Just like the other books written, it is a page turner with a delightful love story developing between Eli and Clara with moral values as a added bonus. Now again, I will be consumed in counting down the days until Consume the next book in the Devoured Series comes out.