Review - The Orphans by Martina McAtee

Title: The Orphans
Author: Martina McAtee
Series: Dead Things #1
Pages: 198
Release Date: May 1^st 2020
Format: Kindle
Buy it: Amazon
Add it: Goodreads

Synopsis: Welcome to Belle Haven where the paranormal is normal and being human is a liability.

Kai Lonergan is struggling through math class when he gets a new charge to cross over. It's just another day for a reaper until he sees the name. November Lonergan. Before he can question how he's supposed to cross over a soul who's been dead for years, his twin sister, Tristin, screams. No big deal, that's what banshees do. Except, Tristin lost her scream the day November died.

Mace is a mercenary monster who hunts other monsters, so when he's hired to trail one ordinary girl, it seems like overkill. Until Mace witnesses her powers firsthand and he realizes there's nothing ordinary about Ember Denning. He finds himself unnaturally drawn to her, which might be a problem since he just threatened to kill her.

Ember Denning prefers the dead. She spends her days skipping school in the cemetery and her nights working at a funeral home to avoid her alcoholic father. But that won't be a problem anymore. He's dead, and Ember is about to learn her life until now has just been a series of carefully crafted lies and her real life...well, it's a lot stranger than she'd ever imagined.

Reapers, witches, shifters, and fae all converge in a town in the middle of the Florida panhandle where Ember must learn a hard to swallow, terrifying truth. She's not a human, but a supernatural ticking time-bomb, and figuring out how to disarm her means reconnecting with people she can't remember, trusting a family she never knew existed, and accepting that the only person who can save her is the beautiful boy who just tried to kill her.
 
My Review: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
 
This book was by a new to me author and I really enjoyed the story.
 
I liked that all of the characters, they all have different personalities which is great as it gives the story diversity. My favourite character so far is Quinn, he’s the only human amongst the group but he's every ones friend. I also liked Tristin she seems to be the only one worried about Ember being there and she is worried for her brother who didn’t complete his job like he was supposed to.
 
Although I’m not a fan of shifter books I did enjoy this story, maybe because it focused more on the powers of the Reapers than on the shifters.
 
I’m curious as to how Mace managed to find out where Kai and Tristin took Ember and how he managed to get into Bell Haven with it having a magical barrier so to speak to keep people out. I am looking forward to the next book so I can find out if this is answered.
 
If you’re a fan of Magic, Witches and Shifters then this is one I recommend.
 
Currently Reading: Dreamland by Alyson Noel
Read in 2020: 35/35