Review: Other (Other, #1) By: Karen Kincy

Title: Other (Other, #1)
Author: Karen Kincy
Publisher: Flux, 336 Pages (July 1st 2010)
From: the Publisher, Thank You!

Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Gwen hides a dangerous secret: she’s Other. Half-pooka, to be exact, thanks to the father she never met. Most Americans don’t exactly roll out the welcome mat for Others, especially not the small-town folks of Klikamuks, Washington. As if this isn’t bad enough, Gwen’s on the brink of revealing her true identity to her long-time boyfriend, Zack, but she’s scared he’ll lump her with the likes of bloodthirsty vampires and feral werewolves.

When a pack of werewolves chooses the national forest behind Gwen’s home as their new territory, the tensions in Klikamuks escalate-into murder. It soon becomes clear a serial killer is methodically slaying Others. The police turn a blind eye, leaving Gwen to find the killer before the killer finds her. As she hunts for clues, she uncovers more Others living nearby than she ever expected. Like Tavian, a sexy Japanese fox-spirit who rivals Zack and challenges her to embrace her Otherness. Gwen must struggle with her own conflicted identity, learn who she can trust, and-most importantly-stay alive.

Review: 3 Stars - Other is a great new supernatural novel from debut author Karen Kincy. The world that she has created is one where everyone knows there are people out there who aren’t all that they seem. They are Other. For instance, take Gwen the main character; she’s half Pooka, half human. What’s a Pooka you ask? I didn’t know either and was more then excited to find out. Pooka is a Welsh shape shifting spirit who’s other form can be any animal, however they are drawn to the spirit of a horse. It’s really interesting to read a story about another type of paranormal creature out there, one that was very different from the usual Vampires and werewolves, etc.

With such an array of characters – Supernatural and human I couldn’t wait to read and to learn more about how humans would reacted to all who are Other out in the world. In the end it was the reaction of Other to Other and the stereotypes that were present that were stuck in my head long after reading.

Gwen was intriguing in more ways then one – mainly because she was a creature I’d never heard of. I’ll admit that sometimes she frustrated me in the choices she made yet other times she was strong and levelheaded. For me, without a doubt a shining light in the book was – Taivan. He totally had me from beginning to end with his honestly and let’s face it - his non cookie cutter hot boy-ness. I felt that the addition to this character was a pivotal part in Gwen’s growth. Another point that I enjoyed was that because humans knew about the supernatural beings out there, there was a chance seeing a centaur shopping for apples right next to you – which might be shocking, but was plausible in day to day life within Kincy’s world.

A little slow here and there, but never enough that I didn’t want to finish the book. Sometimes that happens when there’s a lot of back story to cover on human and non human characters and myths. Even more so when it’s the beginning of a brand new series – as this book turns out to be.

In the end I found Other full of mystery and suspense, never knowing just where the plot would twist and turn next - interlaced with myth and a love story; Kincy has created a new world with great writing, characters and creatures that I’m excited to learn more and see where she takes everyone within her world next. Enjoy!

FTC Disclaimer: I did not pay for this book, nor have I been compensated at all in any way or means for reading and writing this review.