The Beautiful and the Damned by Jessica Verday
♦publisher: Simon & Schuster
♦released: October 1, 2013
♦hardcover, 272 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦rating: ♥♥♥♥
Review: Cyn is constantly on the run, between her nighttime job as a waitress, her numerous wigs that she uses for disguises, to the tiny sparse room that she rents, life can’t get any worse. Torn between the visions and scant memories of the night her boyfriend Hunter was murdered, Cyn can’t let her guard down for even a moment, lost in the fact that she doesn’t have full memories of the night her boyfriend was killed. Is she responsible for killing Hunter, or can someone else be blamed for his murder? All Cyn knows is that she woke that night, covered in his blood and that she’s in constant danger of being discovered by Hunter’s brother who is trying to solve the case.
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Living in constant fear, doesn’t leave Cyn open to trusting anyone. However, she soon finds herself in a situation where help is desperately needed, forcing her to fall right in the path of the scorned, evasive, and often abrasive, Avian. Not wanting, or looking for his help, she finds that he shows up at the most unlikeliest of times, fortunately for her, it’s the times when trouble seems to find her. Through the unlikeness of events, and the kindness of Father Montgomery, they soon realize that the secrets that threaten them both , just might just be the key to unlock the truth in each other’s life. Compelling them to try and regretfully work through their differences.
With the many secrets they both hold, Avian knows the truth behind Cyn's memory lapses and why she feels convinced that she is Hunter’s killer.
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Being the thirteenth Revenant, Avian has been cast out of both Heaven and Hell, and is doomed to walk the earth searching for his purpose. Making him able to recognize the evil that resides in others, like Cyn an Echo, who is partly possessed by the souls of the dead, leaving her to see reflections of others when she looks in the mirror. What’s even harder than knowing, is Avian deciding if he should tell Cyn the truth about who she is.
With a relationship that can only be described as one filled with tension and angst, these two must find a way to conquer the demons within, or let those very demons kill them in the process.
With gentle resonation of the Hollow Series, Cyn and Avian’s story is a fresh new take on revenants , demons and the evils that can take over one’s life.
Jessica Verday quickly captivates her reading audience, as she so delicately weaves a tale of love, heartache, belonging, and finding help in the most unlikeness of cases. Only reminding fans of her endearing quality as a writer.