Looking For a Good Book

Val is a young assassin-for-hire who is known, quite ominously, as “The Butcher.” She has secret teleportation abilities and hides her identity to protect not only herself but her younger sisters, as well. The world of the privileged, those who live in the sky, is brutal to those who live more earth-bound and constantly fight for control of water. But the problem with having a secret as dark as being The Butcher, is keeping the secret. When someone uncovers Val’s other identity and uses her sisters as a blackmail tool, Val has to seek out an old friend – a thief whose heart Val once broke – for help.

I had high hopes for this book and the opening third or so were really exciting and a great introduction to the characters and Val’s abilities, but the rest of the book really slowed down and became overly complicated in a world that was not being well-defined.

Val as The Butcher is a pretty cool, kick-ass character. But I’m not sure we ever get any background on how or why she is the way she is. Val’s work as The Butcher feels disconnected from Val the sister. Of course this is intentional, but the sense is that we’re dealing with different stories rather than one connected story. In part this comes from the fact that The Butcher is ruthless and violent (hence the nickname) and Val is clumsy and scattered and the two don’t go well together.

I wasn’t really clear on what/where this world was. While it’s not a story about this world, it’s been set here for a reason and our understanding of this world just isn’t strong enough for the story. What we do get tends to come in info-dump moments.

That said, I think this will do well with the intended YA market. It’s got all the hallmarks of a strong YA book: bad-ass female main character who is misunderstood and who has a lot of responsibilities on her plate. There’s an enemies-to-(lovers)friends type of romance, and some bad people get karma.

Ultimately, while this may do well with a select audience, this just wasn’t for me, and I really wanted to like it.

Looking for a good book? There are plenty of dystopian YA books on the market and The Bloody and the Damned by Becca Coffindaffer fits nicely into the mold, but doesn’t stand out. 

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars

* * * * * *

The Bloody and the Damned

author: Becca Coffindaffer

publisher:  Roaring Brook Press

ISBN: 9781250344670

hardcover, 400 pages