Review Detail

"Black Bird of the Gallows" is a truly unique and enthralling YA paranormal romance. Angie has had a tough life. She spent the first part of it living with her drug-addicted mother in a van without a stable home and came to live with her father right before her mother overdosed. It's a past she is unable to live down, as people at school won't let her forget. She carries the weight of it with her always. Aside from her kind father, she enjoys making music with her friends and DJs at THE hang-out spot in Cadence, The Strip Mall, as her alter-ego Sparo.

Her life begins to change when a new boy moves in next door, and she finds herself undeniably attracted to him. Although Reece seems to fit into a different crowd (the popular, athletic one), he seems to have taken an interest in Angie as well. As the book develops, we learn there is so much more at play with the harbingers of death and beekeepers. Although mildly scary, I think it is tempered by the YA category and appropriate for all teens- this is definitely not a horror although there is significant death as suggested by the summary.

The romance between Angie and Reece was just about perfect with the right amount of build-up plus context that makes it believable and not just insta-love. The paranormal aspects of the book are where this novel really shines, as it is incredibly creative/clever with a whole new context for the paranormal category. I don't think I have read anything like it before, and it was enthralling! I don't want to say too much about it, because I think it's better if the readers get to experience the reveals for themselves. It did honestly surprise me in the end (I had all sorts of predictions about what would happen/how it would resolve), and I love that I couldn't figure it out. Although it appears that there will be more books in this series, it absolutely reads as a stand-alone (good for people who like closure!).

Fans of Stiefvater will delight in this engaging and clever YA paranormal romance. I found it impossible to put down and enjoyed every twist and turn in this enthralling novel. Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are my own.