Review: Velveteen by Daniel Marks

Title: Velveteen
Author: Daniel Marks
Series: Book One in the Velveteen Series
Published By: Delacorte Books (Oct. 9, 2012)
Source: ARC Provided by the Publisher (in exchange for an honest review)
Genre: YA Paranormal
My Rating: 4 Stars!

Goodreads Description:
 Velveteen Monroe is dead. At 16, she was kidnapped and murdered by a madman named Bonesaw. But that’s not the problem.

The problem is she landed in purgatory. And while it’s not a fiery inferno, it’s certainly no heaven. It’s gray, ashen, and crumbling more and more by the day, and everyone has a job to do. Which doesn’t leave Velveteen much time to do anything about what’s really on her mind.

Bonesaw.
Velveteen aches to deliver the bloody punishment her killer deserves. And she’s figured out just how to do it. She’ll haunt him for the rest of his days.

It’ll be brutal... and awesome.

But crossing the divide between the living and the dead has devastating consequences. Velveteen’s obsessive haunting cracks the foundations of purgatory and jeopardizes her very soul. A risk she’s willing to take—except fate has just given her reason to stick around: an unreasonably hot and completely off-limits coworker.

Velveteen can’t help herself when it comes to breaking rules... or getting revenge. And she just might be angry enough to take everyone down with her.

My Review: 
 

The description of this one really intrigued me and the cover drew me in. Something about it just piques your interest and makes you want to pick the book up and give it a try. I absolutely love the sepia tones to it.

Thankfully not only the cover was interesting but the story was as well, even if the synopsis was a little deceiving. This story is so much more than a teenage girl that wants revenge on the man that murdered her.

There is a complex world in the afterlife and those that have been sent to purgatory do not get to rest and play all day. Instead they are sent on missions doing various things to help others and to help build and maintain the City of the Dead. However purgatory has its own things to deal with. There is a war going on and once again it is good versus evil and Velveteen and her friends are caught right in the middle of it.

Marks managed to describe Velvet's world in lush detail so much so that I felt like at times I was there walking right along with Velvet sweeping through the ash on the road and seeing the dank rundown dreariness that is purgatory.

I really enjoyed Velvet's character. She was feisty and sarcastic and for whatever reason I am always draw to that type. I just love the spunk they seem to have and the independence they exude.

Velvet had a violent death and it left its marks on her soul. She had some serious demons and trust issues she needed to battle through and in walk Nick. Someone that drives her crazy and makes her think and feel things that she doesn't want to. He shakes up her world.

Logan, Quentin, Luisa, Nick, Kipper were all great characters in their own right as well. All a little dark and all had secrets of their own, yet they made up not only a team but had a bond of friendship that was pretty unbreakable.

There was a lot of character and world building going on, rightfully so, but the author handled it brilliantly. It was never dull or boring and everything flowed very nicely.

Overall I think this was a great first book in a promising series.