Publish Date: January 31, 2017
368 pages [Kindle edition]
#1 in Untitled Series
Bloombury USA Childrens
Synopsis:
It's been a shattering year for seventeen-year-old Zoe, who's still reeling from her father's shockingly sudden death in a caving accident and her neighbors' mysterious disappearance from their own home. Then on a terrifying sub-zero, blizzardy night in Montana, she and her brother are brutally attacked in a cabin in the woods--only to be rescued by a mysterious bounty hunter they call X.
X is no ordinary bounty hunter. He is from a hell called the Lowlands, sent to claim the soul of Zoe's evil attacker and others like him. Forbidden to reveal himself to anyone other than his victims, X casts aside the Lowlands' rules for Zoe. As X and Zoe learn more about their different worlds, they begin to question the past, their fate, and their future. But escaping the Lowlands and the ties that bind X might mean the ultimate sacrifice for both of them.
My Thoughts:
I was gifted this book via Netgalley.
When I saw this book on Netgalley, it caught my eye because of the cover...because I am 100% a shameless cover judger. I read the synopsis and it sounded pretty interesting and I added it to my wishlist - not knowing when or if I would be approved to read it. Then I was. I randomly chose it from my queue because the title made me think it was a contemporary romance. So I was a little surprised when the fantasy/supernatural aspect started.
This story follows 17 year old Zoe who is "watching" her little brother when he disappears from her sight. She eventually finds him in the woods with their two dogs, but he is very cold and she is too, so she decides to go to their neighbors' house because it is closer than theirs. Their neighbors were an elderly couple that went missing in a very suspicious manner, so there is no one home. A hostile man shows up and tries to attack the dogs, Zoe, and her little brother before a mystery younger man shows up. He is a bounty hunter and is going to take the man's soul to the Lowlands (pretty much Hell) until Zoe asks him to spare his life. The nameless younger man, dubbed X by Zoe, has broken many Lowlands' laws by revealing himself and speaking of the Lowlands.
The rest of the novel basically follows the aftermath of X's decision to not bring back his bounty and him falling in love with Zoe. It was a very good read. I really enjoyed all of the story from X's perspective. Zoe was harder to read from because she was making a lot of really poor and selfish decisions - out of grief from losing her father and the various issues in her family that loss has caused for each person. I really really loved Banger and Ripper, X's two nearby cellmates in the Lowlands. They were both very rich characters. I am finding that when I read stories with characters around 8 or 9 that they are being written in a younger voice, in my opinion, and should be closer to 5 or 6. My two oldest kids are currently 8 and 9. Just a little BEC :)
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