Cracked | Eliza Crewe

Meet Meda. She eats people.

Well, technically, she eats their soul. But she totally promises to only go for people who deserve it. She’s special. It’s not her fault she enjoys it. She can’t help being a bad guy. Besides, what else can she do? Her mother was killed and it’s not like there are any other “soul-eaters” around to show her how to be different. That is, until the three men in suits show up.

They can do what she can do. They’re like her. Meda might finally have a chance to figure out what she is. The problem? They kind of want to kill her. Before they get the chance Meda is rescued by crusaders, members of an elite group dedicated to wiping out Meda’s kind. This is her chance! Play along with the “good guys” and she’ll finally figure out what, exactly, her ‘kind’ is.

Be careful what you wish for. Playing capture the flag with her mortal enemies, babysitting a teenage boy with a hero complex, and trying to keep one step ahead of a too-clever girl are bad enough. But the Hunger is gaining on her.

The more she learns, the worse it gets. And when Meda uncovers a shocking secret about her mother, her past, and her destiny… she may finally give into it.

Book 1 of the Soul Eaters Series

Publisher: Strange Chemistry

Date Published: November 5, 2013

Pages: 336          

Genres: Young adult, urban fantasy

I can easily say I have never read a book quite like this.

Andromeda Melange eats souls. Only the promise to her mother was keeping her from eating any innocent bystander. She sticks to people that do evil deeds. While killing off a murdering nurse at a mental health facility, Meda unknowingly runs into three beings that are akin to her. She finds herself scared for the first time, when she normally feels invincible. She is then saved by a boy, a crusader-in-training and finds herself in midst of a group that would normally kill things like her. Playing the role of the sweet innocent girl in need of help, she tries to discover more about herself and at the same time her enemies.

The plot of Cracked discussed the nurture versus nature topic. Could a soul eater ever be human or at least have human sentiments and morals. Meda does go through a lot in the short span of the book. Not only does she make friends but after her mother passed she had no true guidance. So what wins nurture or nature? There is romance in Crushed but it’s understated than I had anticipated. It was a lot more discreet and I suppose raw.

This book is full of characters that are imperfect yet they are still endearing, but let’s just be real the most interesting character is hands down Meda. Don’t get me wrong the ice queen Jo with her veiled passion to keep everyone safe, Chi the naïve hero and Uri the kid who follows his hero around, are interesting, but it’s Meda who’s in the driver’s seat. Meda was raised as a human but she has this hunger from her father’s side that cannot be denied. She has such an inherent evil within her that I couldn’t help but accept, simply because the author made it that convincing.

  

Eliza Crewe writes crisp prose; the dialogue is all teenage-like with amusing insight in Meda’s mind but still well-expressed. “The Hunger has been very patient, wailing quietly for weeks while I laid my trap, but now it yawns and stretches, tingling out to my fingers and gnawing on my soul.” I’m very curious as to where the second book will lead. This is a plot driven book with writing that has put me on Eliza Crewe’s trail. I will most definitely be looking out for more.

Rating: ★★★★☆

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Check out my book review for book 2 of the Soul Eaters series: Crushed