Review: Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin

Title: Low Red Moon
Author: Ivy Devlin
Genre: Young Adult
Release Date: 09/14/10
Summary:

The only thing Avery Hood can remember about the night her parents died is that she saw silver -- deadly silver, moving inhumanly fast. As much as she wants to remember who killed them, she can't, and there's nothing left to do but try to piece her life back together. Then Avery meets the new boy in school -- Ben, mysterious and beautiful, with whom she feels a connection like nothing she's ever experienced. When Ben reveals he's a werewolf, Avery still trusts him -- at first. Then she sees that sometimes his eyes flash inhuman silver. And she learns that she's not the only one who can't remember the night her parents died.

Plot: 3 Stars
I really love shapeshifters, so this novel is right up my alley. But for all of the werewolf talk, we never really learn much about the lore or the creatures. Avery learns they exist, and accepts it as fact a bit quickly. She barely denied it for a day before accepting it as normal. But with that easy acceptance, there was ample opportunity for her to learn all about them, and that just didn't happen. All we learn is a few details about the change. Although I was disappointed about that aspect, I did enjoy Avery's struggle with memory loss and moving on from her parents' deaths. The ups and downs she experiences seemed genuine and realistic for a teenager.

Pace: 3.5 Stars
This novel was a quick read, but not as quick as it seemed like it should be. It's a pretty short novel, but it read more like a 350 page novel that was a quick read. The story starts out strong, and grabs you right away. Somewhere in the middle though, it seems like Avery keeps repeating herself (both in thought and in action). There is a point around two-thirds of the way through in which I wondered if the plot had stalled. But then it picks right back up and slaps you upside the head. Although there weren't too many twists and turns throughout, the ending and the events leading up to it were definitely a surprise.

Characters: 2 Stars
I wanted to enjoy these characters as I read, but I feel like we don't learn too much about anyone. We learn the most about Avery, as she is the main character, but it just doesn't seem like enough. We get bit and pieces about her past and her parents, but not a lot of detail. Instead, she's too engrossed in trying to remember the murder. I wish we could've learned a bit more why her father and grandmother stopped speaking, because that played a big part considering Avery goes to live with her grandmother. Ben was a complete mystery. I normally like mysterious characters, but Ben was mostly a mystery because we didn't really learn anything about him. We find out what he is, but never much about his past or personality.

Cover: 3.5 Stars
The cover was a little simple, but really gets the feel of the novel across. The forest was such an important aspect of the story, that I can't imagine the cover not including the trees and branches. The red chosen for the novel was a good choice when mixed with the shine from the foil. I think a darker, more blood-like red wouldn't show up quite as well. The font choice for the cover isn't my favorite, but it does stand out against the branches. My favorite aspect of the cover is the moon that takes the place of the second "o" in moon. Although it's not a part of the cover, every time the word "moon" came up in the novel, it was in red, while the rest of the text was black. Normally little touches like this really make a novel for me, it was a bit disconcerting at first, but I did eventually get used to it.

Overall: 3 Stars

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from Abigail of All Things Urban Fantasy.