The Crescent

The Crescent by Jordan Deen

Publisher: Black Rose Writing

Genre: Paranormal, Sci-fi/Fantasy

Age Recommendation: 16+

Length: Full Length(188 pages)

Rating: 3 suns

Review By: Dogwood

Lacie thought her biggest problem was her parents, she has no idea just how big of a problem they were! Lacie's parents constantly fought. Her father liked to get drunk, and her mom just argued back. They were both dragging Lacie into it all the time, so she spent a lot of her time wandering around her neighborhood, or sitting in her play house. One night while sitting outside she met a new friend. Grant, a larger than life dog, who kept her company, and made everything alright. Lacie had spent most of her summer hanging at the mall or the beach with her best friend Jillian. She was about to start her senior year, but she didn't expect things to be much different. Boy was she wrong. Not accustomed to dating at all, she met a handsome new transfer in the office on the first day of school. She flubbed it, at least she thought she did. Crazy as it seemed, this hottie was interested in Lacie, and only Lacie. She was instantly mad about him, but with some trepidations, she blamed it on her lack of knowledge on how a relationship is even supposed to work. A few days later she meets Brandon in the office. That's when she realized what it means to instantly fall in love. She had no idea she could have feelings even stronger than the ones she had for Alex. And so begins Lacie's dilemma.

Lacie starts having these vivid fantasies of Brandon, of their future together. But at this point she can't make out what's a dream and what's reality. To be honest, I had a hard time even understanding what was supposed to be the dream, and what was real. So I felt for the girl. The book definitely keeps you interested. You want to know what's going on and why. There is a point you just start getting suspicious of everyone. I don't want to give too much away, but obviously Lacie has to choose, between the two handsome men. Is Brandon telling her the truth, which is so hard to believe, and goes against everything she knows? Or is Alex really right for her? Her head and her heart are battling it out on every page. Your mind changes about as much as hers. You want to believe Brandon when you are with him, but then again, Alex is just so great. That was one of my favorite parts of the books. It wasn't predictable in the sense, you never really knew who she was going to choose, and you never knew who was telling the truth. Even though the author gave several clues throughout the book, it wasn't enough to give the ending away. So you just keep reading, without a clue of how much time has passed, or what's going on in the world around you.

The author had a great way of getting you attached to the characters. So that you would be battling with the same decision Lacie was. What do you want Lacie to do? I found myself asking myself a few times, what would you do? Only to respond with, I have no idea, thank goodness she is the one who has to decide, not me. I felt like this was a common coming of age metaphor for a lot of women her age. We all at some point, have to decide, what's right for me, and what's right at the moment. Usually, someone will always get hurt. It doesn't matter how you slice the cake. It's wonderful how the author is able to just pull you into the story like that, so much so, you feel as though you are actually the main character.

Aside from the fact that I thought this was a great plot, and an entertaining story, I gave it 3 suns. Why you ask? There were a few issues, that I just couldn't get over. I found it a bit strange how in the beginning the books main focus was on the fact that Lacie's parents were a tornado, fighting pretty aggressively. Then suddenly, it just all stops with no explanation at all. There were just parts of the book, that needed more explaining. I was also troubled by the foul language. There were several times that bad words were used, and it's just not my style. Also, the book focused heavily on Lacie losing her virginity and needing to sleep with Alex. I felt this could have been avoided. It didn't seem natural for her parents to be so encouraging of her physical relationship with Alex. It seemed strange. I also am not a fan of cliffhangers, but that didn't take away from the book for me. Especially, since I saw there is a sequel coming out. That just guaranteed I will be reading it.

Basically, this was a really good book. Not like your typical werewolf story. Almost like a modern day werewolf Romeo and Juliet. I would recommend this book to just about anyone, anyone over 16 that is. I don't feel it is right for the youngest of young adults. I am not a big fan of fantasy and paranormal books, and I thoroughly enjoyed this one, so I know it can be enjoyed by anyone. So if you enjoy reading period, just pick this one up and try it, you might find you have a new favorite author on your hands.