#BookReview Revengers by @dvgtweets #TuesdayBookBlog #RBRT

Title: Revengers

Author: David Valdes Greenwood

Category: Horror

My Rating: 4 Star

My Review:

As a lover of supernatural and horror stories, I was drawn to this book by the mention of Salem and the Furies – or lone Fury in this case. Exacting revenge was the purpose of the Furies, and in Revengers it falls to three teenagers to carry out an ancient act of vengeance.

Ama, Mark, and Justin have never met, and yet they have each been touched by death and are hounded by grief. By witnessing the murders of their loved ones, they have been left broken and alone. Ama was sent to an all-girls’ school because her aunt couldn’t handle her, Mark dropped out of Harvard because he couldn’t cope with his heartache, and Justin has jumped from bedsit to squat over the years, never settling, never living.

The three main characters are so different and yet they share a common bond. I loved their diversity and how their friendship developed in the face of such horror. Ama is feisty and cold but learns to open her heart and let down her walls. Mark is smart and excitable but loyal to his new found friends. Justin is broken but allows himself to feel alive for the first time in years. They are an unlikely threesome, and yet the dynamics work well.

After witnessing the deaths of their loved ones, the three main characters are plagued with nightmares where they relive the event over and over. However, there is an addition to their usual dreams when the Fury, Rebecca, invades their minds and leaves them a trail to follow; a journal, the letter R, the word Salem. All three independently decide to investigate what it all means and eventually meet outside Salem’s Witch Museum. They are whisked away by the tour guide, Betty, for a speedy low down on the rules of the game. Revenge the death of their loved ones by killing the people responsible.

The story unfolds as the three teens take on the challenge, but it’s not as simple, or as straight forward, as Betty made it out to be.

The story is perfectly paced but picks up towards the end as a series of unexpected twists keep you hooked. Told in the third person, the book switches between all the characters point of view, changing angles but never losing its momentum. The horror aspect isn’t too gory and so would appeal to the more squeamish reader. Although the characters are teenagers, this book could be thoroughly enjoyed by teens and adults alike.

An enjoyable read.

My thanks to the author/publisher for an ARC copy of Revengers which I reviewed as part of Rosie Amber’s Book Review Team.

Book Blurb:

How far would you go to make things right? Ama, Mark, and Justin are about to find out. All three have each witnessed a murder that went unpunished, and they’ve lived broken lives ever since. In recent months, their dreams have been haunted by someone who understands their pain: a Fury who survived the witch hunts of Old Salem. Three days before Halloween, she enters their dreams and summons them to be Revengers, just as she has done for a new trio of teens every year for centuries. If they abide by her seemingly simple set of rules, she promises supernatural protection while they avenge their losses. One catch: exacting revenge means becoming killers themselves. And they don’t have much time to wrestle with the moral dilemma, as the Fury’s protection will end on the Day of the Dead. When they agree—setting in motion three bloody acts of vengeance—things begin to spiral out of control and they come to understand they are pawns in ancient game. As the Fury toys with them, they race against the clock, hoping to live more than just a few more days…

BUY a copy of Revengers from Amazon UK or Amazon US.

Author Bio:

David Valdes Greenwood is the author of Revengers, The Rhinestone Sisterhood, Homo Domesticus and A Little Fruitcake. As an award-winning playwright, his work has been staged coast to coast and in the UK. A former freelance journalist, Valdes Greenwood is best known for his Boston Globe columns. Currently, he details life as a parent as a Huffington Post blogger, and may be followed at https://www.facebook.com/davidvaldesgreenwoodauthor and on Twitter @dvgtweets.