Review: Enthralled: Paranormal Diversions by Melissa Marr

Series: Standalone
Publisher: Harper Collins
Source: Local library
Goodreads//Amazon                                                               
"Enthralled" is a collection of 14 original teen paranormal short stories from some of today's bestselling YA talent, united with the common theme of road trips.

Enthralled: Paranormal Diversions was a book I picked up from the library in a rush.  We were running late to attend a lunch with family friends and I had plans to go to the library so I sprinted in to return my books and pick up a few books in the 'New Releases' section.  I absolutely loved the cover so I picked it up and left without even reading the blurb, which was pretty reckless.  I'm pretty glad I picked it up though, because it didn't really disappoint me.


This book is a collection of short stories put together by sixteen different authors writing on one main theme: journeying.  Each paranormal tale was roughly 30 pages long, which was great because it meant you could easily finish one story in a short time period and not need to worry about 'what happens next' while you're trying to fall asleep or whatnot. It also meant that if you got really bored of one story, you could just flip back to the contents page and skip to another story.  Just a note that I read the whole book and didn't skip any parts, so it wasn't horrible.


Each writer had their own different style and it was pretty interesting reading a collection of stories one after another.  I need to point out this one thing that aroused my curiosity a bit- apart from all writing about a common theme of 'journeying', almost every story contains the f-word.  Something worth an eyebrow raise if you read the whole book in one go and it just kept reoccurring.  I've got nothing against the characters swearing and such, but it was something that was obviously pointed out.  Most of the books I have read in my experience don't contain swear words at all, and here they're all sort of grouped together in one, which was interesting.  That's just the book overall though, so let's look at each story separately!


Giovanni's Farewell by Claudia Gray: The first story in the entire book, it was a pretty good starter.  I remember when I first started reading I thought it would be each author building on to the first plot so that we'd get a long story made up by different authors, but no, it didn't work that way.  It was a good story to begin with since it warmed me up and got me ready to keep on going. Four out of five stars.


Scenic Route by Carrie Ryan:  When I got up to reading Scenic Route, I thought it was linked to the previous story and so I was a bit confused.  I took some time out to take a look closely at what I was reading, and realised it wasn't related at all.  I was pretty distracted and confused throughout the story so I didn't really get it.  Three out of five stars.


Red Run by Kami Garcia: This one was really interesting and I liked it a lot more than the first two.  It really got me absorbed as soon as I started reading, and it was more action packed which made it fast moving.  The main character was quite a risk-taker, which made it more interesting.  Four and a half out of five stars.


Things About Love by Jackson Pearce: It was quite different to Red Run, which was before it.  More peaceful and calming in a way, so it was quite a contrast to a fast-paced story.  Being a more romance-y book it got a bit cheesy, but it's alright overall.  Three out of five stars.


Niederwald by Rachel Vincent: This was really different too, bu in a good way.  Like Red Run, it got me really absorbed and ready to keep page flipping.  Four out of five stars.


Merely Mortal by Melissa Marr: The romance in this got slightly cheesy at times too, but I really liked the plot and the language used.  Three and a half out of five stars.


Facing Facts by Kelley Armstrong: Yet another fast paced story, it really got 'dangerous' at times.  It started off in an interesting manner, and ended interesting too.  The paranormal part of it was a bit different to the others so far, so it was a nice change.  Four of five stars.


Let's Get This Undead Show On The Road by Sarah Rees Brennan: Well i'll be honest, I didn't really like this one much.  I think it was the first vampire story in the book, but I may be wrong.  I don't have anything against vampires, but I didn't like the plot much and it was slow moving for me.  Even in the 'peak' I didn't feel much.  Two out of five stars.


Bridge by Jeri Smith-Ready: The one and only 'verse novel' in the book, it immediately stood out.  It was really fast to read because of the way it was set out and I maintained my interest well.  It was also a little moving at the end, which made it a good ending.  Four out of five stars.


Skin Contact by Kimberly Derting: Yet another capturing book, although some may find it a bit cheesy. It begun a little shaky but as I progressed I got to like it.  Four of five stars.


Leaving by Ally Condie: Around this time in the book we see lots of variation in the different paranormal powers each character has that ranges from the authors.  This one was cool and I loved the ending, that's all i'll say.  Four and a half out of five stars.


At The Late Night, Double Feature, Picture Show by Jessica Verday: It started interesting, but I lost my enthusiasm and interest pretty soon, not far into the book.  I especially disliked the ending.  Two and a half out of five stars.


IV League by Margaret Stohl: I didn't understand what was going on in this one, from beginning to end. Some parts I got, but for the majority I was pretty confused and not interested. One and a half out of five stars.


Gargouille by Mary E. Pearson: Wounds.  The first thing we read about are the character's wounds and then her recovery.  This brought us straight into the plot, but I lost track about halfway through.  Three out of five stars.


The Third Kind by Jennifer Lynn Barnes: I really liked this one.  I could really feel the intrigue that was occurring all throughout and I really wanted to find out more when I got to the end.  Four and a half out of five stars.


Automatic by Rachel Caine: I didn't really like this one at first, but slowly I got to really like it.  The ending was a little cheesy too, but what can you expect from a paranormal story? Four out of five stars.


So, that's the 'in-depth' look.  Overall, I'd rate the book about three and a half out of five stars.  I'm thinking that if you do an average of all the ratings you might not get this result but this is what I think of the book as a whole.  Not bad.

~Alvie~