BOOK REVIEW: MY SISTER'S REAPER by Dorothy Dreyer

My Sister's Reaper, by Dorothy Dreyer

Published by Month9Books, May 2013

About the Book (From Goodreads):

Sixteen-year-old Zadie’s first mistake was telling the boy she liked she could bring her dead sister back to life. Her second mistake was actually doing it.

When Zadie accidentally messes with the Reaper’s Rite that should have claimed her sister Mara, things go horribly wrong. Mara isn’t the same anymore—Zadie isn’t even sure she’s completely human, and to top it off, a Reaper is determined to collect Mara’s soul no matter what. Now Zadie must figure out how to defeat her sister’s Reaper, or let Mara die … this time for good.

 MY TAKE:

In short, I loved this book. Totally recommend it.  Go read it now.

Oh wait, you want a review too? Okay, here goes.

Zadie is kind of a young 16, still scarred by her mother's incarceration in a mental hospital when Zadie was young. At the start of the book, she's also dealing with the fact that her older sister Mara is currently at the hospital on life support, having been run over by a bus. That's a lot to deal with on top of all the normal high school stuff, like class assignments, boy crushes, and mean girls.

She has a huge crush on this older boy named Gavin, with chocolate hair and indigo eyes, and as she says, "one dash of eyeliner shy of being goth." Swoon. Her BFF Naomie drags her to a party where she actually gets to talk to Gavin and makes a crazy bet about using magic to wake her sister from the coma. Only, Zadie has a weird thing with magic. Like, sometimes she can make things happen. She can't quite control it, but boy. Do things go wrong fast.

I loved the author's unique take on magical beings, introducing the reader to a new-to-YA category known as "Vila" who are a cross between witches and fairies. It's a forbidden mix passed down through a mother's bloodline, and long ago the queen of the fae made a deal with the Grim Reaper himself that all offspring of this forbidden union would be forfeit at the age of seventeen.

The same age as Zadie's sister, Mara.

This well-written fast-paced tale is full of teen angst, suspense, and a surprising amount of humor. I loved every twist and turn of Zadie's relationships with all of the other characters, including the hunky Gavin and the mysterious new kid on the block, Chase.

I'm a sucker for a new storyline and a new twist on a romantic paranormal tale and MY SISTER'S REAPER delivers it all. Action, adventure, magic, and romance, all rolled up into a high school drama that will keep you turning pages until the satisfying ending.

And even better, I already know that Book Two, MY TETHERED SOUL, will be coming out sometime this year! Zadie's going to turn 17 soon - can't wait to see what happens next!

Buy MY SISTER'S REAPER on Amazon. 

About the Author:

Dorothy Dreyer is Philippine-born American living in Germany with her husband and two teens.

She writes young adult books that usually have some element of magic or the supernatural in them. She also likes to read those kinds of books. Aside from reading, she likes movies, chocolate, take-out, coffee, traveling, and having fun with friends and family. She's also been known to make a pretty sweet cupcake.

She tends to sing sometimes, too, so keep her away from Karaoke bars.