Book Review: Runes by Ednah Walters

Title: Runes (Runes #1)
Author: Ednah Walters
Release Date: May 20th 2013
Publisher: Firetrail Publishing
Source: Received from the publisher via NetGalley

Seventeen-year-old Raine Cooper has enough on her plate dealing with her father’s disappearance, her mother’s erratic behavior and the possibility of her boyfriend relocating. The last thing she needs is Torin St. James—a mysterious new neighbor with a wicked smile and uncanny way of reading her.

Raine is drawn to Torin’s dark sexiness against her better judgment, until he saves her life with weird marks and she realizes he is different. But by healing her, Torin changes something inside Raine. Now she can’t stop thinking about him. Half the time, she’s not sure whether to fall into his arms or run.

Scared, she sets out to find out what Torin is. But the closer she gets to the truth the more she uncovers something sinister about Torin. What Torin is goes back to an ancient mythology and Raine is somehow part of it. Not only are she and her friends in danger, she must choose a side, but the wrong choice will cost Raine her life.

My Thoughts

I thought that Runes was a pretty good start for a new YA series involving Norse mythology, even with a love triangle storyline (Gah - I’m kind of over the love triangle thing!).

I did find the writing to be a bit jumpy in places and I often felt mixed up, having to re-read portions in case I’d missed something; but for the most part Runes is well written with some interesting characters and ideas.

I thought Torin was a bit of a hottie, all that self absorbed brooding suited him well; but with the inconsistent writing flow I found it difficult to connect to the characters, most especially Raine.

The ending for me was a little rushed and almost too easy; I was expecting more from a bunch of angry ancient Norse Gods! But I am interested enough to want to find out what comes next.

Runes was a little bit wobbly for me, but gets a solid 3.5 stars :]