I don't really know where to start with this one. It's classed as young adult but it's more on the younger side of young adult, bordering on middle grade in a lot of ways. That said, not every way there are some references to nakedness and blood and gore but overall, it's a pretty tame read. It's also referenced as being like Buffy and Angel. It is. All the best parts of Buffy are included in this book. There's lots of wit and spunkiness and some of the plot lines. For instance a lot of this is like the Tabula Rasa episode. Or a lot of first season Buffy. Miles is pretty Giles like. Indy has Xander moments. Scarlet's dad embodies Joyce. Etc, etc. Parts of this had me feeling like I was reading a Buffy novelisation or an extra episode or fanfiction. It was original enough in it's own way but it also incorporated echoes of all my favourite Buffy elements. But I'm a Buffy fan and I can't quite imagine how this would be for someone who is not - I mean I liked it because of the Buffy reminders - I don't know if the plot works without that background. There's not really any romance in this, just a tiny bit if you squint - most of Scarlet and Sorrow's relationship is simply friendship. There's also not enough character depth. There is lots of humour and I was busy chuckling as I read. However, the humour disguised the fact that there wasn't a lot of action - the characters kept going from disaster to disaster but there wasn't much actual fighting or solving them. That said, I was distracted enough while reading not to particularly notice that until after the fact. It's a shame the author hasn't written a sequel because I would be interested to read it and see where the plot goes. The ending sets up a second novel and I would definitely read it if available.
