Review - Strange Angels / Lili St. Crow

Summary - Dru Anderson has what her grandmother called “the touch.” (Comes in handy when you’re traveling from town to town with your dad, hunting ghosts, suckers, wulfen, and the occasional zombie. Then her dad turns up dead—but still walking—and Dru knows she’s next. Even worse, she’s got two guys hungry for her affections, and they’re not about to let the fiercely independent Dru go it alone. Will Dru discover just how special she really is before coming face-to-fang with whatever—or whoever- is hunting her?

Review - Strange Angels is a novel that you find yourself reading but not becoming all that involved in. The characters are interesting enough but you can't help but wonder if information is being held back just to make the successive novels more interesting. While Dru and Graves are similarly orphans and "gifted", personality wise their interactions are quite repetitive. How many times can one hear about beautiful skin, lovely eyes and the 'first one's free'? The focus on Graves race also was concerning with the term half-breed (and other variations) being used.

Though Dru's back story is well established, a reader might wish that we'd seen more of the father before his untimely demise. Christophe's introduction was welcomed as the solitary existence of the other two was beginning to tire. The use of supernatural creatures differentiated from other fantasy novels, establishing a unique vision and mythology. It was one of the more interesting facets of the novel, along with the birthrights of specific characters.

St. Crow has created a universe with a strong character at it's core. That being said, Dru is a character who's alone for such a time that the self-introspection can become a little old hat. Dru's witty, resourceful and a bit of a curmudgeon but she's a real teddy bear underneath it all, Graves is proof of that.

Many readers have really gravitated towards Graves, as he's clearly a lovely kid with a bad case of unrequited interest. But Christophe is a character that really called to me - his ancestry, his charm and his superb fighting ability could lead to many interesting tangents in the next title. However, St. Crow's over reliance on the description of the environment becomes a little cloying after awhile. It does create a strong visual of the world but the repetitiveness does begin to irk.

A great concept that could lead to a bigger and better Dru Anderson adventure.

Published: June 2009

Format: Paperback, 304 pages

Publisher: Penguin Australia

Origin: USA

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