Crux by Julie Reece
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
In the immortal words of current YAs everywhere…OMG!
I had the pleasure of reading Crux by Julie Reece as a beta and I thought it was fantastic. The ARC of the final version blew me away.
From the moment the man with the mystery bag appears until the very last word, Reece held me spellbound, jumping seamlessly between Birdie’s real world on the streets of Atlanta, to a land overrun with menacing Vikings. Her quest, not one for the timid, is real in every sense of the word, and I found myself on the edge of my seat more than once. The story is unique and unfolds quickly, dragging the reader along effortlessly.
Reece’s descriptions are amazing, giving us clear pictures with few words. Her characters are alive and they have a way of embedding in your heart and mind. Like Karou in Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Katniss Everdeen in the Hunger Games and Jace and Clary in the City of Lost Souls, you will never forget Birdie or Grey.
This novel has everything a YA urban fantasy should have: action, snooty, lovable friends/family, thugs, a hot love interest and kick-butt pacing. The love story unfolds gently over time and it’s not without its problems. Grey is to die for gorgeous, charming, kind, and will even make adult women salivate and swoon.
Reece pulls off some twists and turns that I didn’t see coming even though the clues were there all along. Thank you, Ms. Reece, for making sure I was so invested in Birdie and her mission I didn’t see the signs until she did. Brilliant writing!
CRUX is one of the best YA novels I’ve read in a long time. If you are a fan of Cassandra Clare, Laini Taylor, Rae Carson, Patrick Ness, or Veronica Rossi, you’re going to fall in love with this novel.
Keep your eye on this author, folks. She’s destined for the NY Times Best-seller list!
Related articles
- Book Trailer: Crux by Julie Reece (bookarooju.wordpress.com)
- A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness (rumpelstiltskinandco.wordpress.com)
Wonderful review, Jenny! Sounds like an awesome book! 🙂
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This does sound like an excellent read. I love that there are Vikings as Norsemen have always interested me. I live near a town that was settled by Icelandic settlers, lived in Grand Forks while attending college which has a large Norwegian population, and I have Danish ancestors so this sounds like it’s ‘right up my street’! 🙂
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No fair! How’d you get an arc? I’ll just have to wait for this one to come out.
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Trust me, I was surprised to find I’d received it. Julie’s appearing on my blog on July 9 – RELEASE DAY!!! Right around the corner. This one is a must read. Check out the reviews on Goodreads. They’ve been fantastic!
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Should be good!
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Hello J. Keller Ford
Thank you for sharing your gift with us. You have done a good job, so thank you again! 🙂
I would like to thank you for following my blog. I hope my blog doesn’t disappoint you and that your visits in my blog have been and will always be a joyful ride.
Thank you again and I wish you a lovely day! 🙂
Subhan Zein
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I do love your blog. I am especially fond of God’s Secret. I’ve even nudged a few people to read it. I have a feeling I will need to purchase Malula for my daughter. I think she would enjoy it very much. Thank you for reading my blog, too, and for stopping by often. May you have a glorious day.
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I’ll have to keep my eye out for this one. I love when writers use few words to paint setting. If they get too bogged down in it, it pulls me out of the book. 🙂
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Sounds like a great read. Thanks, Jenny.
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