BOOK REVIEW: UNDERTOW by K.R. Conway

Undertow, by K.R. Conway
Published 2013 (paranormal YA)

About the Book from Goodreads: 

Luckless Eila is unknowingly the last of her kind: Rare. Gifted. Breakable.  

Stunning Raef is her kind's historic enemy: Soulless. Lethal. Lost.

A legendary death 160 years before would set their lives to collide, forcing a beautiful killer to become a savior, a simple wallflower to become a warrior, and ruthless destiny to become a death sentence.

About the Book from Amazon:

Eila Walker knows luck is not a friend, so she is downright shocked to inherit a million-dollar Cape Cod home. And yeah, her new town isn't perfect: the cheerleaders are heinous clones, the local undertow can kill ya, and her Great Grams was supposedly fried by lightning in the harbor square. Still, Eila is hopeful her luckless days are in the past...until history decides to repeat itself. 

When drool-worthy Raef O'Reilly becomes her friendly, yet weirdly protective shadow, Eila thinks life is pretty darn perfect - until she is hauled beneath the waves by an unnatural undertow. Revealing coal-black eyes and iron-like strength as he rescues her, Raef can no longer hide what he is...or what she can do. Eila, last of her kind, can supposedly channel the power of human souls, while Raef is more adept at stealing them. Even worse, the legend about her ancestor isn't such a myth, since Eila's grandmother was one kick-butt warrior until her lightning-like power backfired. A power that is written all over Eila's DNA.
 
Determined to stay one step ahead of a dangerous clan that is hunting her, Raef, along with three unlikely allies, will do all they can to protect her. But as hidden pieces of their brutal histories unravel, Eila begins to understand just what went down in the harbor square and that she may be forced to follow in her grandmother's fearless footsteps to save those she loves.

MY TAKE:

When Eila Walker inherits an old Victorian house on Cape Cod, she thinks maybe her luck has finally changed. Orphaned at a young age, she's been living with her guardian Mae in Kansas, and had no idea that her family's roots stretched all the way back to the Atlantic.

She also had no idea about who or what she truly is. She thought she was just an awkward 17-year-old. Boy, was she wrong.

Told with a fresh, engaging first-person voice, Eila's story unfolds slowly as she navigates the tricky waters of Cape Cod teens. Moving to a new town, a new high school, and making new friends are all hard enough, but there is more simmering just below the surface. When Raef, the hot new boy in school, takes a decided interest in Eila, she's not sure whether she should be running toward him -- or away as fast as she can.

Kate Conway gives us a whole new realm of paranormal beings to contemplate and explore, as well as authentic teen voices. I don't want to give away any of the complicated plot line, except to say it kept me interested and turning pages until my iPad overheated and I was forced to put it down long enough to cool and reset!

I loved her world building and her vivid descriptions of Cape Cod, with its many faces and facades. I'm eagerly looking forward to the second book in this series, coming out later this summer!

Buy your own copy on AMAZON now!  

About the Author:

Kate Conway has been a journalist for 15 years and serves on the Board of Directors for the Cape Cod Writers Center. She also drives a 16-ton school bus because, she says, "I am ENTIRELY NUTS."

In addition to working jobs that should come with a warning label, she holds a BA in Psychos (Forensic Psych), torments the tourists about Jaws, and occasionally jumps from the Town Neck bridge in an attempt to reclaim her youth.

Kate lives on Cape Cod with two smallish humans who apparently are her kids, a fishing-obsessed husband, two canines (adept at both flatulence and snoring), and a cage-defiant lovebird that sleeps in a miniature tent. Nope - that's not a type-o. The bird is quite the indoor camper.