I never know quite what to think when I read Robin McKinley. I loved the story and the characters! That was great! And that goes a long way with me, but her style of writing gives me a headache. It's all over the place, almost a stream of consciousness writing, so that I can't get into my normal book-pace. As I said before, at least the characters are intriguing, and the story is original and suspenseful toward the end.

I needed a good book; it's been a while since I've ravenously read through one. Thank goodness for Johannes Cabal and his brother. Let's face it, his brother Horst is the best character in there. All the characters are written nicely and develop wonderfully (for better or worse). And the humor in this book had me chuckling out loud many times. The large words may intimidate the younger readers, and there is some dark stuff ( I mean, Johannes has made a deal with the Devil), but I think even older teens would enjoy reading it. It's rare that I am glad something is a series. I can't wait to read more!

A pretty good page turner. Nice ol' Independence Day-type action and alien takeover. It all flows really well, but I can't say I'm in love with any of the characters. Plus, only 4 stars because I love Yancy's Monstrumologist series much better, so I know he can write better. Maybe I'll read book two someday.