Customer Reviews

Devoured

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Despite the fact that I was a bit disappointed in Devoured, I have to give Ms. Marrone credit for the story line-- there's no doubt about it, it was definitely very unique! A modern (and slightly twisted) remake of the childhood tale "Snow White", Devoured is sure to grab your attention from page one. Hold on to your seat-- this is one fast-paced, quick read that you will no doubt devour in one sitting (no pun intended, of course! ;-))

I picked up the book under the false assumption that it was about vampires-- and I think this is one of the reasons why I wasn't completely enthralled by the story. It was no one's fault but my own, but it did ruin the rest of the book for me. The back blurb doesn't really give a lot away, so when someone online told me it was about vampires, I just believed them-- I didn't have the book yet, so how would I know they were wrong?

So to help clarify a bit, here's a quick explanation of the book plot (as it relates to the original Snow White): The owners of the park are suppose to be the equivalent to the Evil Witch from Snow White, trying to steal the girls' beauty and youth by cutting out their hearts and, well, eating them. And the talking mirror is also brought in, though it's a bit different, and it can grant wishes, not just show you things. When girls start coming up missing from the amusement park, and Megan starts wondering about all of this, she soon finds herself falling into weird situations that one usually only finds in nightmares and scary stories.

Moving on to the real analysis: The characters. They were... interesting, to say the least, but I do wish Marrone would have developed them a bit more, allowed them to connect more with each other. The whole story seemed a bit rushed in fact, which isn't a good thing in a book. Maybe it was just me, but for a story such as this, I think the 250 some-odd pages could have been stretched out a bit without dragging on.

However, I can't say that the whole book was entirely flawed-- it simply didn't grab my attention and hold it like her last novel (and my favorite of her works so far) managed to. I can't say what it was exactly, but whatever was in the last one that gave it such spark, seemed to be missing from this one.

And I want it to be clear that my rating for this book is a happy medium-- it wasn't terrible, but it wasn't a 'Wow!' moment for me either. It's neutral, and my over all opinion on it could go either way in the future. Maybe I'll come back to it at another time and find myself going 'Why didn't I fall in love with it the first time around?'. It happens, rarely, but it has happened.

3.5/5 stars! Again, this is just personal preference, and if you think this book sounds good, go for it! I hate discouraging people to not try a book just because it wasn't my favorite one, especially when I have no concrete reasons to back up my negative opinion. Marrone does do a good job at taking a story that we've all grown up listening to, and turning it into a modern, creative novel. I'll tell you one thing-- I'm definitely going to be weary around amusement parks like the one described in this book! ;)

This book was a fun read. When I started it, I thought wow, finally a YA supernatural romance that doesn't take itself so seriously. Some of the elements she was introducing were really fun connections to the snow white story. I enjoyed the characters- it was a nice "ensemble cast". The story does turn really dark at the end and I think the author did an excellent job in switching from a light hearted fairy tale to a grim one. The biggest surprise is that this book, aside from having the fairy tale thing going on, and a charming romance, also has a really good ghost story. The character of Remy will tug at your heart and I think it was this part of the story that was the most effective. I have read other books by this author and felt that this was by far her best effort. I probably won't recommend it to younger teens, but older ones should really enjoy it.

As a side note, this edition contains alot of typos and misspellings. This book and its author get a heartfelt 4.5 stars but the editor gets 1.

Devoured proved to be quite a delectable little morsel, tangy and crispy like a freshly bitten apple, it was a bit different than standard YA fare, it had a bit of magic to it but it was realistic enough to be believable. The story is supposed to be a spin on the Snow White fairy tale but with modern twists and I have to say I was very curious how that was going to work, especially since the title is so raw and bold, you sort of aren't sure what to expect, but the story is fun, scary, spicy and interesting at the same time.

Megan has lost her twin sister Remy in a car accident, the same accident that has left her father in a comma. That one moment has flipping her life upside down, mostly because her sister's ghost seems to follow her everywhere, but things take on a bizarre turn when her new summer job at the Land of Enchantment stirs the ghost crazy and makes Megan unsure if it's as safe as it seems. Her reasons to work there are simple, her mother doesn't seem to have time for her and Megan's boyfriend works there too, with his best female friend who gives Megan an upset stomach from worrying about their unnatural closeness. Her relationship being threatened forces her to take the job to keep an eye on them, but when fore warnings of pain and death seem too bizarre to accept she lets go and joins the park, taking a step in a very dark direction. Pretty soon she makes some new friends, and a few enemies and awakens something that as crazy as it sounds, hungers for flesh, her flesh.

The author did a great job of making this fun and modern and something that I got so engrossed in that I read it in a very few sittings, this book was a breeze and hard to put down at the same time, I can't wait to read more from Amanda Marrone. I liked the teen voice she uses, it was perfect, just what I would want from YA fiction.

- Kasia S.

Megan Sones originally applies for a job to keep an eye on her boyfriend and his clingy best friend, but then she meets someone else who can see and interact with Megan's twin Remy - who died aged seven. Meanwhile, there's something very disturbing about the family that owns and manages the amusement park.

This stand-alone novel works a treat. The blend of Brothers Grimm, "Gossip Girl", and V. C. Andrews creates a shadowy atmosphere with genuinely creepy moments and some truly effed-up characters. Land of Enchantment is suitably spooky with its over-the-top cheese and vicious underbelly. A definite page-turner!

Devoured is dark, edgy remake of the fairy tale Snow White. The main character, Megan Sones, lost her sister, Remy, in a car accident that also put her father in a coma 10 years ago. She has had various sightings of her sister's ghost but none so much as lately when she starts work at an amusement park to keep an eye one her boyfriend and his "friend". Megan meets the park owner's daughter and forms an unstable friendship with her. She also meets the talented and mysterious Luke who to her surprise can also see her dead sister.

This book is not the sweet little fairy tale you might originally think it is. There is some parts are, honestly, a little freaky and other that are shocking and other that are..well...sad. It has a love triangle that completes itself nicely in the end. The book is a pretty quick read and interesting enough to make you not want to put it down. I recommend this book if you like fairy tale remakes that are modernized, loosely-based and twisted into a dark, edgy tales.

I was in the bookstore one day, looking for some sort of inspiration for a screenplay. I found "Devoured" by Amanda Marrone and was intrigued by just the description on the back cover. I bought it and read it an hour later, thinking I would get bored and hide it away like I've done with other novels.

That's not what happened.

As I read I got more and more interested and before I knew it I was on chapter four. I didn't stop there. All the drama and the imagery was forcing me to turn all those pages. I felt like I was watching a movie as I was reading!

Bottom line; this book is awesome. A must read for mystery/love triangle lovers.

I didn't think this book was going to be so intense! I understood it as a retelling of Snow White but it was so much more. It was twisted and dark, with a splash of romance to make my heart pound and flutter. I really enjoyed it.

Megan has to deal with her sister haunting her. She doesn't just make the room chill; Megan's sister also shows her disturbing images of people getting their hearts cut out of their chests. Talk about creepy! Throw in a cute boy who can see ghosts, too, and you've got a great paranormal romance story.

The writing style kept the story moving, and there wasn't ever a dull moment. I had to stop myself from flipping ahead to figure out what was going to happen next. The suspense and mystery was intriguing, and I have to admit, the book was a little heartbreaking. The ending was a little too sudden and I wish the story lingered a little more. Overall, it was a thrilling read.

This book was amazing!! I really liked it :) Especially with the modern fairy tale twist (that would be Snow White, if you care to know).

Megan has no idea what to do with her twin sister. Ever since the car accident, which killed her sister Remy, she has been able to see her ghost. But it's been getting worse. Then she gets a job at Land of Enchantment (its kinda like Disney Land). One little problem: she hates that place!

Then why the hell would she get a job there? You might be asking.

Because Megan's boyfriend, Ryan, works there along with his "best friend" Samantha. Megan just wants to keep an eye on him.

Then she meets Luke, a guy who works there and just happens to be able to see Remy as well. Megan is excited by this discovery! She needs help with Remy...she is just getting worse and worse throwing tantrums at the most unpredictable times. She keeps saying totally random things about someone being in trouble, but she never clearly states who. It's quite frustrating -_- But Luke helps her :)

But things don't go easy for Luke and Megan. You see, Ari is the daughter of the owners of the park, and she has this major crush on Luke, who may be developing feelings for Megan, who already has a boyfriend (Ryan), whose best friend (Sam) has feelings for him. Ahh, headache! Lol

Throughout the book, I felt really bad for Megan. On the on hand, she has Ryan who is really nice and totally worthy of being a boyfriend (well, except for the part where Sam is always where he is =/). On the other hand she has Luke who is totally sweet and he's been helping Megan with Remy. She seriously had a tough choice there...though I like Luke a little better ;)

And Ari...boy did she need mental help! I swear, she is bipolar or something! One moment she is totally nice to Megan and the next she is telling Megan to say away from Luke...as if she owned him!! And she calls herself Megan's friend *rolls eyes*

(spoiler #1)

Overall, great book!!! I love a book that keeps twisting until it looks like a pretzel, lol :P
A must-read for anyone who likes fairy tale retellings :)

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Spoiler Alert

spoiler #1- I suspected Ari was crazy...but whoa!! I didn't expect her whole family to be a bunch of sky goddesses!!! (Nut is the name of the Egyptian sky goddesses...I'm going through this phase where instead of saying "you're nuts!" I say "you're sky goddess!!" So, sorry about that, lol) It turns out the Ari's family has the original mirrors that the Queen who tried to kill Snow white had back in the day...and yes, I said mirrors with and s at the end. The mirror can show you anything you want, and well...its evil.

And it turns out that Remy was right the whole time! Megan was in a lot of trouble. Ari tried to kill Megan so she could eat her heart so Luke would love her instead of Megan. Some friend she turned out to be -_- Anyway, the whole eating the heart thing would work. I mean, Ari had already done it with Luke's sister.

What?!

Yep. Ari killed Luke's sister because she thought that if she ate her heart Luke would love her. And he did...but only as a sister. But that's not what Ari wanted.

When I began reading this book, I didn't know what to expect. However, I was definitely not disappointed. The story is unique and capturing. When I got into it, I didn't want to put it down. It's a whole new take on an old fairytale. I'm positive that anyone who reads this book will love it.

Everyone loves a Fairytale, it's what we grew up on...stories of Cinderella and her glass slipper, tales of Little Red Ridding Hood and her fight to save her grandmother's life. We relish in the details, little girls spend hours pretending that their handsome prince is right around the corner, but what happens when there is no happy ending? Well, if you have read the original "Brothers Grimm Tales" then you already know, but for the rest of you...just imagine if the handsome prince wasn't so handsome...imagine that after 5 months in the castle Cinderella concluded her new husband was a whack job...imagine if someone decided to twist the stories we grew up loving.

"Amanda Marrone" did exactly that in "Devoured" twisting and turning the story of Snow White in to a whole new tale of desperation and greed.

Megan has a little problem...her sister Remy is a ghost. A very small, very wet, very cranky ghost, who follows "Meggy" everywhere showing her glimpses of dead girls and throwing epic tantrums that cause light bulbs to shatter. Her father is in a coma, her mother spends every waking hour training a dog to dance, and there's a new boy in the mix that turns out to be a "Ghost Whisperer."

After deciding her boyfriend has a little too much freedom, Megan takes a job playing the part of Snow White, in the "Land of Enchantment" amusement park, and while she's ok with fake smiles and dads who tend to grope she's not ok with hiding from approaching death in an oven in the Hansel and Gretel ride.

The writing was fluid and the plot was intriguing, like I said before..."Marrone" took a story we all know and love and flipped it into a full out battle of psycho ancestors and a magic mirror with a warped sense of humor. The ending was a little bit abrupt, but by no means did it affect the story.

There were creepy moments inside a dark tunnel, a drunk mother who loves pink velour, haywire nursing home equipment, bad apples, a very dedicated father willing to do anything for his deranged daughter, hidden graves, and 1 very good reason to never loose your keys.

Overall I liked it... it was nice to see things from a different angle.

Get it, live it, love it...pass it on.

Happy reading my fellow Fairytale lovers and remember: never waste your 3rd wish.