The Replacement, by Brenna Yovanoff

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Mackie Doyle is not one of us. Though he lives in the small town of Gentry, he comes from a world of tunnels and black murky water, a world of living dead girls ruled by a little tattooed princess. He is a Replacement, left in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago. Now, because of fatal allergies to iron, blood, and consecrated ground, Mackie is fighting to survive in the human world.

Mackie would give anything to live among us, to practice on his bass or spend time with his crush, Tate. But when Tate's baby sister goes missing, Mackie is drawn irrevocably into the underworld of Gentry, known as Mayhem. He must face the dark creatures of the Slag Heaps and find his rightful place, in our world, or theirs.

Well, this was a disappointment. This book has been high on my TBR list for the past several months. I mean, how can you (read: me) not love the cover and the description?

Sadly, the book falls flat. Much like the characters. I felt no emotional attachment to any of them, nor could I understand their motivations for certain actions. There were continuity issues, making me wonder if the editors spent enough time reviewing the book before publication. And some of the descriptions were just weird. Does anyone know what "bright ozone" smells like? Please educate me!

Most importantly, I'm just not a fan of books where you're told what the characters are doing, thinking, and feeling, rather than being shown. If this hadn't been an easy read, I would have given up halfway through. Since I didn't dislike it enough to stop reading, I'm giving it two stars.

I will keep Yovanoff on my list of authors to read in the future, though. This was a great premise, and description of her forthcoming book, Paper Valentine, makes me want to read it as soon as it's published.