My Rating- 4 STARS
Synopsis- When college student Rena Collins finds herself nose-to-chest with the campus outcast, her rumor-laced notions are shattered. Handsome, considerate, and seemingly sane, Wallace Blake doesn’t look like he spends his nights alone, screaming and banging on the walls of his dorm room. Hell, he doesn’t look like he spends his nights alone, period.
Too curious for her own good, Rena vows to uncover the truth behind Wallace’s madman reputation--and how two seconds of contact had left her with bruises. Of course, there are a few setbacks along the way: guilt, admiration, feelings of the warm
and fuzzy variety…
Not to mention the unwanted attention of Wallace's powerful, supernaturally-gifted family.
They’re a bloodline divided by opposing ideals, two soon-to-be warring factions that live in secret among us. When Rena ends up caught in their crossfire, Wallace has no choice but to save her by using his powers. Now they’re really in trouble. With war on the horizon and Rena’s life in the balance, he needs to put some distance between them. But Rena won’t let go. If fighting is what it takes to prove her own strength and keep Wallace in her life, then that’s what she’ll do--even if it means risking a whole lot more than her heart.
My Review- Rena, the protagonist of this novel, is definitely a fighter, is passionate and gossips as any typical young girl would. She is also a person that, once proven wrong, finds a way to fix her mistakes
and doesn't stop until she has achieved what she wants. Wallace, referred to as the Madman by the student body because of nasty rumours Rena helped start, turns out to be a nice guy.
Quiet, intense and gorgeous, Wallace has secrets he tries to keep Rena away from. Besides the Cluster Headaches he gets (an intense pain in his head that drives him to near insanity and drains him of all his strength in short bursts) he is also part of the supernatural. The Dynari are separate to humans in many ways, they have gifts and abilities superior to regular people, but they are dangerous people and some of them have other ideas about their existence and believe they should be above humans, that perhaps they can experiment on humans to make them better, not as weak. Wallace doesn't want to be a part of that world anymore, but when his twin brother Cole, who barely has a conscience, kidnaps Rena in an attempt to get Wallace to cooperate, he has no choice. Rena, despite being captured and terrified, proves she has strength and fights along side the supernatural beings, discovering something about herself along the way.
I will admit I found the first several chapters hard to engage with. Rena has a sassy, Mexican roommate who is...well...easy and I didn't like her and struggled to connect with Rena too. The other friend Aiden, the geeky misfit they befriended out of sympathy, is a bit bland though I think he might come to life later in the series. After the beginning, I really got in to the flow of the story, enjoyed the plotline and the characters. I adored Wallce and his brother Cole (personally I would get with Cole for his personality and cocky ways but he isn't the nicest guy)and Rena has skills and a mouth on her. The ending lost me a bit but I am looking forward to reading the second book in hopes it explains more about the last few chapters.
All in all, a good, fun read.