{ Review } Origins by Jessa L. Gilbert

Origins by Jessa L. Gilbert
Genre: YA, Paranormal
Series: Black 01
* ARC was provided by author

Red pain, Red desire, Red need, Red hunger…

I have been plagued by the same dream for months now. A nightmare filled with red, dripping with death, where I am the hunter. There is no escape, no end in sight…. The nightmare has become a reality and I am forced with a choice – I can become one with the darkness that lives within that is clamoring, clawing to escape, or I can bury the demon, and the nightmares, once and for all.

It may seem like an easy choice, but not when I also have to choose between the father who has raised me or a mother whom I have thought was dead. Not when the choice is my humanity or Immortality….

Aided by a dark mysterious stranger, a hidden world is opened up to Adelin - a world full of bloodlust and death - the Black world of Immortals. Torn between the two, she faces the hardest decision she's ever had to make. Will she choose the safe, familiar life she has always known? Or will she let the darkness consume her?

When I first received the ARC by the author, I was surprised and a little worried about the length. I'm going to say it: I am not a fan of short stories & novels. Remember, short is relative - anything less than 300 pages is short to me. Most of the time, the short length of the novel(s) doesn't allow me to really lose myself in the story nor does it allow me to fall in love with the characters. Everything is just so rushed. Well, I mean, of course it is. It is a short story/novel. I have trouble with that concept so that's why I was initially worried about this book length. And yes, it is a part of a trilogy so I knew there was more to come, but still my worry wouldn't dissipate. Well, my worry was for naught.

You see, the length is just right. Would I have loved it if it was a bit longer so certain parts were more drawn out and detailed? Yes, I personally would, but the story is damn good being the length that it is. Everything that needed to be included was included. Nothing was rushed; I still fell in love with the story and the characters. At least it wasn't overly drawn out and it was riveting from beginning to end. I read it in one sitting.

{ Character } Awesome characters. Adelin is such a unique name. I like her. I'm not totally in love with her yet, but I could be in the future installments because she's not a weak or ditzy character. She has a good head on her shoulders. I like where she is going. Like I said, the story could've been a bit longer so I would've liked her experience of leaving her dad and re-connecting with her mother be more in depth. That way I can connect with her more, but maybe it's not all-important in the grand scheme of things. Who knows what's going to happen in throughout the series?! What I did get from her throughout the book though - I'm satisfied with.

Her relationship with Vraiden was really nice. And hallelujah, it wasn't insta-love. It was believable, it wasn't rushed, and I really liked the hate/like relationship they had in the beginning. Luc... ah, what can I say about Luc? He's exactly what he's supposed to be: charismatic, loveable, and hotness embodied. I love that he is Vraiden's brother because what is more hot than two boys who are hot? Oh yeah, two hot boys who happens to be two hot brothers.

We didn't get much insight to Adelin's dad, but I'm sure we'll be seeing more of her mother and ... the evil one.

{ Story } When you read a lot of paranormal books, the story changes, but it seems like the world never does. What Jessa did was original. I loved the fact that there was a dark side to this story; loved the grittiness of it all. You have murderers that kill for the pleasure, who love the chase, who lures innocent, beautiful girls to their death and laugh in their face while these girls are begging and crying. It's not all sunshine, rainbows, perfect loves and perkiness.

I love the aspects of what their immortality means, what they do to gain it, how they gain it, the difference in being born and made, etc. It's a nice twist to things and like I said, when you read a lot of the same genre, no matter how small the twists are, it make a big difference. It excites me as a reader because it's bringing a new aspect into this paranormal world.

The story had a nice pace from beginning to end. I never felt like it was getting slow or boring at some parts. It was engaging and it was interesting.

{ Overall } I really enjoyed the book. I really liked the book. I am really proud of Jessa. Okay, so I didn't give it 5/5. I wished it was a bit longer. I wish things were more detailed and in-depth. There could've been more to the re-connection with her mother, more heartbreak & drama from when she had to leave her dad, more time to build a commitment between her and Vraiden. That's just all my personal preference. When you take away my personal preferences, it's still a damn good book! It's definitely worth it for me to go out and buy a paperback copy or two. And I think it's definitely worth your time reading! So flock out and buy it guys.

E-book is now released & available here. Paperback copies will be available at the end of July 2012.

Do check back because sometime in the future, I will be doing a giveaway for a copy of Origins!