Jealousy by Lili St. Crow

Published: 2/08/2010

Format: Paperback,324 pages

ISBN-13: 9781921518874

Imprint: Razorbill

Publisher: Penguin Aus.

Love is a battlefield.

Just when Dru thought she was safe, everything exploded in her face. Her mom and dad are long gone, her protectors Graves and Christophe kinda want to rip each other's throats out, and a four-hundred-year-old nosferat named Sergej won't stop hunting her until his bloodthirsty army of suckers has torn her to shreds.

Dru's finally made it to the Schola Prima - the Real Deal djamphir training facility and home of the Order - and life is about to get even more Real World. There's a brand new svetocha in town - a readheaded vixen named Anna who's got the Order wrapped around her pretty little finger, and who'd rather kill Dru than share the spotlight. Turns out Dru's got something Anna wants. And his name just happens to be Christophe Reynard.

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Lili St. Crow aka Lilith Saintcrow is such a fabulous author. I love her Dante Valentine and Jill Kismet Urban Fantasy series. When I heard she was releasing a YA Urban Fantasy series I knew I had to read it. She sure does not disappoint.

All Lilith's characters are strong, brave and slightly damaged. Dru is a younger version. Her mother's been dead for over ten years and her father came down with a serious case of Zombie-itis. Dru has suffered through a lot, and always somehow manages to go on. She's insecure, afraid, and is on constant guard. She has finally reached he supposed safety of the Schola Prima. But Dru doesn't feel safe and feels it's just a matter of time before the illusion of safety is shattered. She's trying to figure out her relationship with Graves-do they have one or not? Then there's Anna, another svetocha, who seems to have in for her. She doesn't understand Anna's animosity, or where it comes from. She is also trying to figure out who she can trust. Whose on Anna's side and whose on hers. Once again, her life hangs in the balance and Christophe shows up to save her. Dru isn't sure of her feelings for him, and is scared he will once again leave her, like everyone else in her life seems to have done. The ending goes boom! with Dru finding out a shocking secret, and Graves is missing.

 Lili St. Crow has delivered an action and drama filled third installment of the Strange Angels series. It's grittier, darker, and more action-packed than most YA Urban Fantasy reads. The story is sharp and vivid, and her characters enjoyable. Defiance can not come soon enough.