The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

The Naturals
By Jennifer Lynne Barnes

Series: The Naturals #1

Genre: Young Adult, mystery, thriller
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Goodreads Summary:

Seventeen-year-old Cassie is a natural at reading people. Piecing together the tiniest details, she can tell you who you are and what you want. But it’s not a skill that she’s ever taken seriously. That is, until the FBI come knocking: they’ve begun a classified program that uses exceptional teenagers to crack infamous cold cases, and they need Cassie.

What Cassie doesn’t realize is that there’s more at risk than a few unsolved homicides – especially when she’s sent to live with a group of teens whose gifts are as unusual as her own. Sarcastic, privileged Michael has a knack for reading emotions, which he uses to get inside Cassie’s head – and under her skin. Brooding Dean shares Cassie’s gift for profiling, but keeps her at arm’s length.

Soon, it becomes clear that no one in the Naturals program is what they seem. And when a new killer strikes, danger looms closer than Cassie could ever imagined. Caught in a lethal game of cat and mouse with a killer, the Naturals are going to have to use all of their gifts just to survive.

Book Links:

The Naturals on Goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble

Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ Website

My Thoughts:

This book was like coming home for me. Before I read young adult, paranormal, urban fantasy, dystopian, contemporary romance, post-apocalyptic, before any of those I read murder mysteries. I blew through book after book after book. James Patterson, John Sandford, Robin Cook, Michael Palmer, Jack Ketchum I loved them all. It’s hard to believe that was 10-12 years ago.

On and off for the past couple years I have been trying to find a YA thriller or YA murder mystery that would live up to the bill of those adult writers that I loved for so long. Whatever it was I was looking for I found it in The Naturals.

This book jumped into my head and jingled things around and I loved every second. It kept me on the edge of my seat to the point where I'm sure whatever intense look on my face had to have been comical to any passerby's. This book made me over analyze things, strangers, myself and my actions, and the actions of a close friend * looks sheepish * Woops sorry about that one Krista. :-P

Anyway, back to the point. If you like thrillers, mysteries, whodunit’s that keep you guessing, getting into the head of killers, and overall awesomeness then I highly recommend giving this one a go!!

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5

Raised by Wolves (Raised by Wolves #1) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Goodreads Summary:

Adopted by the Alpha of a werewolf pack after a rogue wolf brutally killed her parents right before her eyes, fifteen-year-old Bryn knows only pack life, and the rigid social hierarchy that controls it.  That doesn't mean that she's averse to breaking a rule or two. 

But when her curiosity gets the better of her and she discovers Chase, a new teen locked in a cage in her guardian's basement, and witnesses him turn into a wolf before her eyes, the horrific memories of her parents' murders return. Bryn becomes obsessed with getting her questions answered, and Chase is the only one who can provide the information she needs.

But in her drive to find the truth, will Bryn push too far beyond the constraints of the pack, forcing her to leave behind her friends, her family, and the identity that she's shaped.

My Review:

Raised by Wolves is yet another reason why I love werewolf books! It’s a great book with werewolves (of course), an unruly teenager, and the bonds between them. There are a lot of power struggles which makes for an exciting story line.

Bryn has literally been raised by wolves after a traumatic event takes her parent’s lives. She has managed to stay out of the deep seeded werewolf politics…until now. She has something in her sights and in order to obtain it she has to open herself up to everything she has been so careful to avoid. Can she handle the pressure or will she pay the price for stepping out of line?

An arc of this book was given to me by Tirzah from The Compulsive Reader but that in no way effected my review. She was overloaded with review books and decided to pass some along to others. Thank you again Tirzah!