Review: Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin

I took this picture - not the final cover - sorry @ the glare spot :-(

The only thing Avery Hood can remember about the night her parents died is that she saw silver—deadly silver, moving inhumanly fast. As much as she wants to remember who killed them, she can't, and there's nothing left to do but try to piece her life back together. Then Avery meets the new boy in school—Ben, mysterious and beautiful, with whom she feels a connection like nothing she's ever experienced. When Ben reveals he's a werewolf, Avery still trusts him—at first. Then she sees that sometimes his eyes flash inhuman silver. And she learns that she's not the only one who can't remember the night her parents died.Part murder mystery, part grief narrative, and part heart-stopping, headlong romance, Low Red Moon is a must-read for teen paranormal fans. YA, Paranormal/Mystery/Romance
Disclosure: I recieved my ARC review copy from Ivy Devlin - Thank you Ivy!

Review:

“I was covered in blood when the police found me.
Head to toe: in my hair , on my eyelashes, in the skin between my toes. Dried so deep into my clothes they were taken away and I never saw the again.”

Low Red Moon opens with an emotional wallop. Avery finds her parents brutally murdered at their home in the forest. Even though she was there – she remembers nothing. In the aftermath she is sent to live with her grandmother Renee whom she doesn’t really know very well and who tries to keep her away from her beloved forest even as she feels the pull to draw her back in.
When she is undeniably drawn to the new boy at school with silver eyes, Ben, she has to struggle to remember the details of her parents murders and decide if Ben is someone she can trust to help her .
The book is part mystery, part paranormal with a dash of romance. People who live in the forest are being murdered and while most of the townspeople suspect animals, Avery can feel that a stronger force is involved and she also senses a growing connection between herself and the forest. Whenever a person is killed she gets a blood red streak in her hair – she is almost an emotional extension of the forests' pain.
Low Red moon is a quiet book with a lot of introspection. Normally I don’t like that but I found that I rather enjoyed being in Avery’s head as she struggled to find out who murdered her parents, the mystery of the forest and her unusual bond with Ben.
The romance was pretty sudden and intense but it made sense to me within the context of the story. I do wish there was more development in their relationship but it was a nice set up for the next book.
I thought of Low Red Moon as a novella or an introduction to this unique world. At 195 pages (mine was an ARC copy so it may change somewhat at the time of final printing) it was a very quick read. It felt like a teaser rather than a full novel but it was just enough to get me interested. I’m looking forward to a deepening of the relationships and more revelations about the forest in the next book from the series.
Loved: There are really only three main characters, Avery, her Grandmother Renee, and Ben and I appreciated that there weren’t a lot of unnecessary side characters and sub plots going on.
Nitpick: Devlin used the word “feel” a lot – to try to pull you into the moment and to give you a better sense of Ben & Avery’s strong emotional connection but I felt it was overused and slightly distracting. Too short - it felt like more like a novella or an introduction to the world that Ivy Devlin created.

Rating: 3 out 4! A very quick read…..a little bit of everything – mystery/ werewolves /a little romance! I will definitely read the next one in the series.

Author's website: http://www.ivydevlin.com/
Buy the book! Low Red Moon