Aug 19, 2011

{Review} of Possess by Gretchen McNeil

PossessPossess by Gretchen McNeil
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

GENRE: YA Paranormal Romance/Horror
THEME: Demons/Angels
RECEIVED: Review Request by Balzer + Bray
AUTHORS BLOG: Gretchen McNeil

PURCHASE Possess by Gretchen McNeil:

BLURB:
Fifteen-year-old Bridget Liu just wants to be left alone: by her mom, by the cute son of a local police sergeant, and by the eerie voices she can suddenly and inexplicably hear. Unfortunately for Bridget, it turns out the voices are demons – and Bridget has the rare ability to banish them back to whatever hell they came from. 

Terrified to tell people about her new power, Bridget confides in a local priest who enlists her help in increasingly dangerous cases of demonic possession. But just as she is starting to come to terms with her new power, Bridget receives a startling message from one of the demons. Now Bridget must unlock the secret to the demons' plan before someone close to her winds up dead – or worse, the human vessel of a demon king.

REVIEW:
Possess is a book that I would recommend to read with the light on, but since I love books that have a creepy element to the plot I read most of it at night to get in the mood. Gretchen McNeil wrote a story with paranormal, horror, romance and fantastic characters that I can’t wait to read more about in future books.

Bridget Lui, a teenager whose life was tragically altered with the death of her father.  But her life doesn’t get any better when voices of demons follow her everywhere and she hold the power to banish them. While she helps the local priest with the demon problems in the town, she is trying to keep the secret from her mom, friends and the local sergeant of polices’ cute son who keeps trying to mend their past friendship. She just doesn’t seem to be getting a break and now with a possible rise of a demon king, she has to prepare for the worst and protect those around her.

Bridget was fantastic, a girl who doesn’t care what people think and grows a lot of backbone through out the story. Her three friends were entertaining, especially her best friend Hector whose flamboyant personality and hilarious comments always left me giggling. I really liked her relationship with her younger brother Sammy who seemed to be her strength and someone who understood her most.  After losing her father in the worst way, I don’t blame Bridget for being distant with a lot of people and how she acts distant from her mother. Her mother I felt was very childish and Bridget step up a lot to her, and I felt was more mature at times.

Matt, the local police sergeant’s son was a close friend with Bridget when they were younger. I loved his personality and how he really wanted to mend their relationship. He balanced Bridget’s character and I enjoyed their fun moments and mystery solving that they do together.

Possess of course carries a lot of religious historical facts and demonic elements. McNeil I could tell did a lot of research that gave the story that realistic feel and such a strong plot. I was completely sucked into the story and the mystery behind the demons presences and the connection to Bridget’s family.  The plot was beautifully written and characters that were memorable. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes a story with a bit of a scare, romance, and a great plot.

RECOMMENDATION:
This is a young adult book with a horror element that may be a bit scary for some readers. Fans of Kiersten Whites Paranormalacy and Tessa Gratton’s Blood Magic will love Gretchen McNeil’s Possess



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