Crushed

Soul Eaters #2

by Eliza Crewe

Meda Melange has officially hung up her monstrous mantle and planted her feet firmly on the holy and righteous path of a Crusader-in-training. Or, at least, she’s willing to give it a shot. It helps that the Crusaders are the only thing standing between her and the demon hordes who want her dead.

The problem is, the only people less convinced than Meda of her new-found role as Good Girl are the very Crusaders she’s trying to join. So when a devilishly handsome half-demon boy offers escape, how’s a girl supposed to say “no?”

After all, everyone knows a good girl’s greatest weakness is a bad boy.

Cover Art: Dominic Harman

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Demons, Romance, Magic

271 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 5, 2014

About the author

My Ratings:

5 stars = If I weren't taken, I'd marry this book and have its delightful little book babies.

4 stars = goin' steady (or whatever you crazy kids call it these days). So good I'd read it again.

3 stars = A great, one-time fling. I enjoyed it but it probably won't be a reread.

2 stars and below = The pretty thing didn't make it past the pick-up line. I don't rate these because I don't finish them.

Bio

Eliza Crewe always thought she’d be a lawyer, and even went so far as to complete law school. But as they say, you are what you eat, and considering the number of books Eliza has devoured since childhood, it was inevitable she’d end up in the literary world. She abandoned the lawyer-plan to instead become a librarian and now a writer.

While she’s been filling notebooks with random scenes for years, Eliza didn’t seriously commit to writing an entire novel until the spring of 2011, when she and her husband bought a house. With that house came a half-hour commute, during which Eliza decided she needed something to think about other than her road-rage. Is it any surprise she wrote a book about a blood-thirsty, people-eating monster?

Eliza has lived in Illinois, Edinburgh, and Las Vegas, and now lives in North Carolina with her husband, her hens, her angry, talking, stuffed dwarf giraffe, and a sweet, mute, pantomiming bear. She likes to partially-complete craft projects, free-range her hens, and take long walks. Cracked is her first novel.

Reviews

[Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies · Rating 5 out of 5]

EDIT: IT'S RELEASED!!!!!!

I am not sick, or crazy, or broken.

I am Meda Melange, demon-saint monster girl. I make full-grown men scream in terror. I break bones and drain blood. I turn nightmares into reality.

I am the most powerful creature on earth.

I stand, near-giggling over the destroyed corpse, surrounded by the sweet scent of blood and revenge.

I am what I am and I am not ashamed.

It is so rare that a second installment is better than the first, and it has happened.

Do you like female demonic assassins who actually kill? Do you like snarky, irreverent humor? Do you like blood and death? Do you hate insta-love and starry-eyed romance? Do you want a character who might seduce her lover one night and then kill him the next morning?

Why am I lying? Never say it’s to impress this boy-man-monster? That’s both embarrassing and probably pointless, as I’ll most likely kill him before morning.

Well, come on in!

To sum it up, this book:

- Has a blood-thirsty soul-eating demon girl who kills bad people and eat their souls.

- Takes your love triangle and your insta-love and your *sigh* romance and laughs in its face before spitting into said face, stomping on it, and ripping it off (not necessarily in that order)

- Has a genuine, complex friendship between two females, furthermore, said female is a disabled and missing a leg, but is far from helpless.

- Has a wonderful cast of characters who are not one-dimensional in their purity, evilness, or righteousness.

I have to confess, I have a special bias for this book. I love the main character in this series so much that I'm suffering from the mild delusion that the delightful Ms. Crewe based Meda after me. Her real name: Andromeda. Yeah, her fictional parents suck at naming, much like mine after me. See? So much in common already.

I mean, it's really not a far stretch of the imagination at all to turn a grown-ass Asian woman who's afraid of clowns, hates any type of physical activity that doesn't start with "stair" and end in "master," with a day job as a suit-clad, pantyhose-wearing analyst, who's searching for love on an internet dating website into a half-demon soul-eater who kills bad guys, leaving them in bloody pieces all over the wall, whose reaction to a hot French-accented demon boy is "Oh, you're pretty hot! Get out of my way NOW, BITCH. Things need to die. You're still cute, though ^_^"

See? We're practically the same person. Also, my exes did say that I had a glare that could destroy the soul. I wonder why my relationships never worked...

**minor spoilers for the first book**

The Summary:

Stupid Crusaders with their stupid rules. For a homicidal group, they’re appallingly restrictive.

No, Meda, you can’t leave campus.

No, Meda, you know we have a curfew.

No, Meda, you can’t eat that guy.

Meda is a half-demon who eats souls for a living, so it's the most fucking ironic thing in the world that she's now with the Crusaders. Yeah, those Crusaders and those Templars, like the red-pointy-cross-wearing descendants of the dudes back in the Middle Ages who went to Jerusalem on a holy journey to find Monty Python's Holy Grail and protect the pilgrims spread Christianity to ALL THE PLACES and ended up going back to England with battle scars with their tails between their legs, cause, well, lol, English dudes don't exactly know their way around a desert, plus, Saladin, that bad-ass motherfucker! Yeah, those dudes.

And now the half-demon Meda is one of them. Yay! Not really. More like ugh. But it's not like she has a choice. Meda is a Beacon, and the Crusaders kind of have to protect her, whether she wants them to or not. Meda is sorta, maybe special because she's a Beacon, but it's not for sure, yet. All they know is that Beacons are special somehow, and they have to keep an eye on her, just in case. Most Beacons are duds, so Meda might not be special at all. Her fate is undetermined. But right now, the Crusaders are imprisoning her jailors keeping her grounded protecting her. Yeah, right. Protecting her. *rolls eyes*

Meda is not happy about this (no shit). Her group of stick-up-their-ass Crusaders trying to "protect" her are bad enough, but now there's a new group of Crusaders in town, and they have very cryptic ways of proving authenticity to one another.

She walks toward our guest, but stops with five feet still separating them. “On Tuesday morning, what did I tell you I would be having for lunch?” she asks him.

“Tuna on wheat. With relish,” Art answers, promptly.

The Sarge smiles and strides forward to shake his hand. Apparently it was a test to make sure he wasn’t a demon in disguise.

But yeah, they ain't in town for vacation. Apparently...

“War is coming.”

As brave and bad-ass Meda is, she kind of craps her pants. This is HELL we're talking about. She can kill bad dudes, but facing down an army of demons who want to kill her? Nuh uh!

Meda's not exactly the most liked person in the Crusader compound. Crusaders tend to hate demons -> Meda is half-demon -> Crusaders hate Meda. Logic. With this new shit popping up, Meda REALLY has to keep her demon in check, and kind of blend in, in all sorts of horrifying ways.

She shakes her head. “You need to try harder. Try to look…” she fumbles for the word, “cheerful.”
“Like this.”
It appears to be a T-shirt, but…“Jo,” I say in dawning horror. “That’s pink.”

And not just pink!!

“I’ve always thought you’d look good in yellow. A bright, sunshiny yellow.”

At the thought, I turn faintly green. “Yellow, Jo?” My voice is a tiny thing.

“Everyone looks happy and harmless in bright yellow.”

Apparently, someone forgot to tell 6-year old Khanh that. Don't I just look so fucking happy and harmless?



The new Crusader dudes are here to prepare for a fight, and in order to prepare Meda for the upcoming battle, they're going to cross some unforgiveable boundaries of privacy. Like possess her body without her consent.

You don’t have a choice. I hear footsteps close in behind me. You don’t have a choice. We will slip in your mind, take over your body. We will steal your freewill; we could plunder your thoughts, your memories, your every private moment if we wanted.

But this is motherfucking Meda we're talking about. She is a half-demon. She is a monster. She constantly suppressed her darker urges every moment of every day, and she's not going to fucking go down without a fight. Despite how much she loves her friends, Meda has a demonic side that won't be suppressed and pounded down.

Jo wants me to be someone else. Someone who kisses ass and follows rules – a tamed tiger who sits and purrs until she shouts “attack” at her enemies. But I am not a pet.

And I won’t be locked in a cage.

Will the Crusaders push her too far? Will Meda realize her internal goodness and join the fight against evil, or will she be tempted to the dark side to wreak havoc and destruction by the one person who is capable of understanding who she really is?

I’m at a crossroads. One path is a slow, painful, righteous trudge uphill to a place where my nemeses see the light. The other is easy and fun, downhill and dark. Armand takes my hand.

I won’t walk this path alone.

The grin that dances across his face finds a partner on mine.

Meda:

A real monster is too clever for that. A real monster shakes the hands of elderly couples as he invests their life’s savings in his Ponzi scheme; she kisses babies and runs for political office; he waits until she’s in love. A real monster knows that an attack hurts; but a betrayal scars.

I fucking love Meda. She's special, but she's not a special snowflake. Yeah, of course she's going to be special. Why would we be reading a book about a character who's completely normal and powerless? But there's a difference between a well-drawn character and a Mary Sue. While both may have special destinies, I don't feel like Meda is a Mary Sue because:

1. She has no fucks to give. Her nature is killing, and it literally pains her to suppress it. She needs food, she eats souls. She kills in the book, and she is unashamed of doing so. I love me an assassin who is willing AND able to kill.

2. Her future is yet undetermined. There are lots of Beacons in the world, she is but one of them. She only has the potential to be awesome, it's not a sure thing yet. Meda's special destiny is not a sure thing, and it's probably not going to save the world.

One day I will have the opportunity to do some great good, a good so great as to change the course of human history. But the potential to do good and choosing to actually do it, are two very different things. Apparently a lot Beacons turn out to be duds.

Beacons are protected for their potential, but Meda could just as easily save the world just as she could invent a new special sauce for Chicken McNuggets.

3. She doesn't suffer from insta-love, and she doesn't give a fuck about romance. If you've read the first book, you will have been as shocked (and pleased) as I was. Meda wants her freedom.

4. She still has a conscience and a deep sense of friendship and loyalty.

5. She is not perfect. She is contrary, she is often bitchy, she has major trust issues, and she sometimes can't see anyone's point of view but her own.

“You treat living here like a joke.” She hasn’t turned back to me. “You float along, barely civil, and act like they owe you. You act like they should be grateful the Great Meda Melange didn’t kill them today. You want them to treat you like a Crusader?” Now she does look at me. “Then stop acting like a demon.”

I understand her frustration, because Meda tries to behave, but the Crusaders are unwilling to trust a half-demon. Gee, I wonder why they can't trust someone who kills people and eats their souls. I really wonder.

The Romance:

I allow myself a sway in his direction, an inhale of spicy boy scent, a minute in demon dark eyes.

Then I shut the door in his face.

This book has a hint of romance, I would hesitate to call it "romance," because it's more of a "the couple that slays together stays together" kind of case. The boy is a demon. Meda is a demon. She's stuck in a compound full of people who are:

1. Scared of her
2. Hates her guts
3. Wants to kill her
4. Wants to USE her, and THEN kill her

So really, when this gorgeous fucking demonic Adonis (with a French accent, AW HAW HAW) appears and gives her a wink that nobody else can see (he is a demon, after all), can you blame her for checking the dude out? They are alike, Armand and Meda. They are demons. They understand each other's darkness, and their flirting and banter are absolutely delightful. She is a monster. So is he.

“I give a girl something she thinks she wants more than anything else in the world.” There’s another pause. “Then I take it away.”

And there is no question that despite their friendship, they are on the opposite sides.

We’ll face each other in battle, and when that day comes, we will do our utmost to reduce the other to bloody pieces. And we will do it unapologetically.

We know what we are.

Thank you to Angry Robot for providing me with a copy for review. All quotes were taken from an uncorrected proof subject to change in the final edition.

[Navessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dear Everyone Who Hasn’t Read This Series Yet,

WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH YOUR LIFE?!

Seriously. You have no excuse. These books aren’t expensive, they’re three bucks a piece. They aren’t 700 pages long, but are relatively quick reads (because of how un-put-downable they are). They aren’t filled with your typical YA angstapalooza, but with well-rounded characters. There’s no slut shaming, but rather strong yet subtle feminist themes fill these pages. And this female lead isn’t your standard washed-out doormat.

SHE’S MEDA FUCKING MELANGE! AND SHE WILL RIP YOUR HEAD OFF AND BATHE IN YOUR BLOOD AS SHE DEVOURS YOUR SOUL!

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Ahem.

I’m fine.

No really.

You know how some books make you feel nothing? And how some make you feel some things? And others make you feel everything? Well, there’s another caveat. There are books like this one, which don’t just pull anger from you, or sadness, or happiness, but extremes of each. While reading this I experienced blind rage, heartbreak, and the type of euphoria you usually have to pay good money for.

I honestly can’t say enough about this series. I think what speaks for itself is how much I’m pushing it. I don’t usually do this. Because of how picky I am, I’m not one to recommend books to others unless I know them fairly well. But I recommend this book to any and everyone, because I feel that strongly that there’s a really good chance you’ll love it as much as I do.

Even Khanh lurves them. Just saying.

-_-

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[Aj the Ravenous Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Be witness to how the most infamous half-demon heroine called Meda as her

soul gets CRUSHED…

her selfish intentions get CRUMBLED…

and

her wall of pride TRAMPLED!

all in the name of

Lo…lo…lo…

Loyalty to friendship!

And well yes, love! Love for a best friend.

"What is it about love, whether it be motherly love, or friendly love that has the ability to devastate and uplift all at the same time?"

This is one of the most surprisingly touching story of friendship presented in the most unconventional manner possible.

"How did I ever get a friend like her? Not because I deserve her. I’m like a lazy man who won the lottery; completely and utterly undeserving and yet without the grace to give the prize back."

* Pretty much my same thought about many of my GR friends who I’m sure clearly know who they are. I don’t need to enumerate your names here anymore. <3 <3 <3

I have so much love for the same adorably and insanely hilarious characters, especially Meda, who will entertain you from start to finish.

"You can love a monster, it can even love you back, but that doesn’t change its nature. This isn’t Beauty and the Beast where my kiss would transform the monster to a prince. If anything, it’s Shrek, and his kiss brings out the ogre in me.”

Lol!

Never was there a dull moment especially with the presence of the handsome, sexy, French half-demon guy to add a delightful twist to the plot. I enjoyed every dialogue and like the first book, this completely cracked me up and therefore, I’m going to give you the same warning:

DO NOT READ THE BOOK IN PUBLIC OR ELSE SUFFER DIRE HUMILIATION!







Eliza Crewe, I ADORE YOU!!! <3 <3 <3

[Alienor ✘ French Frowner ✘ · Rating 3 out of 5]

☠ BR with Armand's biggest fangirl, Chelsea ;) (click to read her review) ☠

► I'm the black sheep of the crowd on this one , and to be frank, it's the first time I pondered if I would post a review or not, because at first I felt like I wouldn't be able to explain my feelings. But it was without counting my complete inability to shut up. Hey, everyone has his own flaws, right?

Just - hear me out : I can't deny that Eliza Crewe does an INCREDIBLE job at ruining all the stereotypes we can expect in a PNR, and for that, really, BRAVO. As you will see, I developed more my reproaches because let's face it : most of readers agree with what I loved. No need to explain again why Meda is amazing.

▒ Awesome facts about Crushed ▒

▧ No TSTL heroine, but Meda, basically the most powerful weapon living on earth and a believable selfish person by the way (believable because really? How many selfless people do you think there are on Earth? Huh? Am I pessimistic? I am pessimistic). Not to mention her sarcastic thoughts and her craving for freedom. Favorite scene? Her coloring-bonding with little children. PRECIOUS.

▧ No instalove, but characters who struggle to trust each others, and WITH REASONS, because duh, war it is.

▧ No girl hate, but FRIENDSHIP GUYS!! Woot woot! (I missed Chi, though)

▧ Armand is quite stereotypical but then, his puppy sexy eyes won. Well this and the fact that he doesn't hide behind false pretences : you want a demon? You got a demon. Bad, bad me. Oh, and for ONCE here's a French character who doesn't annoy me (even if the French accent has no effect on me, of course). I even giggled a little at his "mademoiselle" -



Mademoiselle. Do you know that officially this word isn't meant to be used anymore in France? YES BECAUSE WE'RE ALL MADAMES NOW (yes, it's in the law, for the official papers anyway). And I fucking love it. It's no one business if I'm married or not, and I don't need to be married to get the "adult word" that "madame" always was. Not to mention that men never had this kind of "young word". But I digress, sorry.

"You arranged a murder?" Awww, that's so sweet.
"Nothing elaborate, of course." He grins slyly. "Didn't want to overdo it on a first date."
And he ruins it."

▧ Feminists vibes, which if subtle, were definitely here. My favorite of the bunch is ...

"Some might call me a 'tease', but I don't believe it. 'Tease' implies that I owe him something, that I should feel guilty. As if my flirtation is forced on him and he merely tolerates it for an eventual pay-out. That's bullshit. We both have goals in our little game; why should his goal (sex) take priority over mine (to mess with his head)? Is it because he's a man?"

YOU GO GIRL. *thumbs up*

▒ Let me down facts about Crushed ▒

▧ In my opinion the story dragged in the first half, and if I always loved Meda, the plot never captivated me. Look, I see what makes this book a favorite for a lot of my friends, I really do. This is a complete case of "It's not the book but me", because I have to admit that I wasn't enthralled as I thought I would be. To be frank, I think that I'm not a PNR reader anymore - Plots involving demons and all that stuff just rub me the wrong way and that's the same thing with Urban Fantasy : It's not for me, not for now, anyway.

▧ We don't know enough things about the demons AT ALL. Maybe that's just me, but I like to make my opinion by myself and as it is, I don't know them enough. One might argue that DUH, demons are demons for fuck sake (!!!) but isn't it the whole point of the series? If Meda gets to catch our attention and love because nothing is as simple as it seems, why couldn't we learn more about the demons and their possible complex nature? I did enjoy the part with her dad, though Because tell me, if the demons are bad and the crusaders are the good ones, what's new to this? Let's face it, we already know that the crusaders aren't perfect, and I LOVE THAT. I only want for the demons to not be Manichean either, but perhaps am I asking for too much.

▧ Miscommunications between Meda and Jo. Hey, don't look at me. I never hid that it IS one of my peeves. I can't wrap my head around situations where people only had to TALK to each others for the story to change.

▧ Was I supposed to not guess one of the end's major twist? Huh? While it didn't prevent me from liking the story, I can't say that I didn't see it coming. And frankly, I didn't feel a lot of things. I don't know. Oh, well. I can't force myself to feel invested.

► Here I am - while I liked following Meda again, sadly the story didn't hold my interest the whole time I was reading and yeah, I'm disappointed. But then, I'm clearly in the minority on this one, so don't let my opinion stop you from meeting Meda, because the girl ROCKS.

For more of my reviews, please visit:

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meda is back, and STILL a badass!



I loved Cracked so much that I doubt anything could've compared to it. And, yeah, this one was less...something. But not bad! Just not as good. Ugh. I'm botching this. What I'm trying (but failing) to say, is that while it wasn't quite as epic as the first book, it was still an excellent read.
My biggest fear was that Crushed was going to be a huge letdown. I mean, not only is Second Book Syndrome running rampant these days, but Meda was officially trying to be a good guy, so I wasn't sure if she was going to have some neutered version of her original personality on display.
Thank fuck that wasn't the case, and our girl still had her shit (mostly) together!



Ok, Meda is now living with the Crusaders, but the vast majority still either a) distrust her or b) outright hate her guts. Other than Jo & Chi nobody much wants her there.
Some of the adults prove to be extremely untrustworthy, but she manages to let them know that she's nobody's pawn...



And then, of course, there's the love interest in this one. Remember the half-demon cutie from the 1st book? Awwww, yeah! I was hoping he'd show up again.
However, I was a bit nervous that Meda + Boy = Stupidity.
Fortunately for all of us?



I just want to stop for a minute, and say Thank You to Eliza Crewe. Thank you, for writing a female character that doesn't follow in the footsteps of all those obnoxiously self-sacrificing Mary Sues that seem to dominate young adult literature. It's not that she doesn't have a heart , it's just that she isn't willing to blindly follow it off a cliff, like some vastly stupid Lemming.



And speaking of heart, Meda's doesn't beat for everyone. In fact, one of the few people who has won a place in it? Her best friend, Jo.
Yeah, for once we see a friendship between females that isn't catty or superficial. Even when she's angry, confused, and believes the worst about Jo, she still loves her too much to do anything to hurt her permanently. These two make a fantastic pair! Mainly, because they're both too prickly for anyone else to bother with. In fact, Jo may be the one person who's even harder to get along with than Meda. It's a match made in...well, considering Meda's origins, probably not Heaven, but you know what I mean!



Anyway, the gist of the story is that our sweet little soul eater is getting a bit sick of being looked down on by the Crusaders. And when she meets up with that cute little demon boy again, he offers her the opportunity to blow off some much needed steam. It looks like she might be able to have her cake and eat it too!
Then some things happen at the Crusader's compound that make Meda wonder if she's chosen wisely. It becomes apparent the Crusaders are willing to sink to new lows to win the war, and they don't seem to care if they hurt her in the process. And when it looks like Jo has betrayed their friendship, she starts to rethink her options. So, what side is Meda really on?
Well, what side do you think? HER OWN!



Crushed had more than I dared hope for in a second book, and I had a blast reading it!
If you're sick to death of reading about stupid heroines, and would like to find a girl worth reading about, you should give this series a try.

Thank you for scrounging this up for me, Dan 2.0. You're a bit of alright.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

How is this series not freaking famous?!

Seriously, how come a lot of other crappy books squeeze the life out of advertising and yet this doesn't make a dent? I don't even know...

You know, I have a shelf for second book syndrome and trust me when I say there are few second books out there that don't make that list. I mean I usually stack them there one after another, after another, after another, after-you get the point. It's more often than not that a series usually disappoints after the first gem...but this one? Guys!

This was unbelievably awesome!

I can't even begin to express how much I enjoyed this. Seriously. No words. You guy just have to read this series. Dear Lord, you will now regret it.

This book was able to make me feel everything it meant to. I went from blind rage, to trepidation, to heartbreak, to excitement, to shock. And the fucking feelings came in spades. It was freaking overwhelming, that's what it was!

Look man, Meda was the epitome of awesome. Her sarcasm is a gift from the gods. Armand made my panties melt. Seriously. They're goo. Jo...damn girl, you pissed me the hell off but their friendship is gold. This book is gold. Why in the world are you not reading this yet?!

But what made me fall hard was how everyone is grey. Their end goal might be good or evil but how they get there is murky as hell. Our heroes and villains are not black and white. Their actions are not to be balanced on a scale of right and wrong because both sides are somewhat capable of both. And I love how ambivalent that is. Freaking LOVE.

I can't even write a coherent review because all I could think right now is that as I write this, I'm wasting time that I could be using to read Crossed. I'm wasting time that could be spent uncovering what that ending meant. I'm wasting time that could be used figuring out how in the living feck it could ever end in a HEA. But screw that.

I'm off to Crossed!

Pre Review:
HOLY CRAP ON A CRACKER!!!!!!

This was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!1



Review later....more like gushing and fangirling and shit

[Shelby *trains flying monkeys* · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't even know how to begin reviewing this book. Meda is beyond kick ass. She realizes the Crusaders are using her. Keeping her behind lock and key. The Demons want to use her. So she decides hell with them all.
She will do it her way or no way.



I do hope this series gets the praise it deserves. Meda shows girls that they are strong. Can have a mind of their own. She stands up for herself and her beliefs.

My kindle battery was dying right as I was finishing this and I swear I think I would have thrown it across the room if I hadn't been able to finish it.

Now this is me...


And for the Love of Oprah Winfrey when is the next book coming out??!!!

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and Angry Robot in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much!!

[Eliza Crewe]

UPDATE 10/29/2015: Canadians, CreateSpace now distributes to Canada, so if you've been waiting for the print edition, wait no more! http://amzn.to/1kVA7jM

Print Edition (US):
https://www.createspace.com/5065931

E-versions:
Kindle: http://amzn.to/1uxcCw2
B&N: http://bit.ly/1E8UoYd
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1BDouiq

If I'm missing a store you like (other than ibooks--I'm still working on it), or you're in a territory where you're having trouble getting it, let me know in the comments and I'll see what I can do.

[shady boots · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm furious. Completely furious.

Why? Because this series is so mind-blowingly incredible. It breaks the mold of YA in so many ways.

But I'm furious because it doesn't nearly have as much success or recognition as it deserves. There is no reason--no fucking reason--why this book is less successful than the cliched, pandering bullshit that dominates the YA world. It's not fucking fair.

This series dares. It dares to stand out. It dares to create an anti-hero heroine who is so loveable that if I had boobs I would cut my left one just to meet her--although she may end up eating my soul. This series also dares to truly love its characters and give them depth. It dares to be dark and violent but at the same time hilarious and charming.

YA will never grow if the same old shit keeps being spotlighted over the gems. Those books are mere cashgrabs, pandering to a certain audience, with authors who are too scared to break the mold, perfectly comfortable with raking in the dough from cliched love triangles and brooding bad boys shallower than kiddie pools or puddles.

Eliza Crewe is fearless, and I admire her for that. This series is wonderful, absolutely wonderful, and deserves far more attention than most YA out there, in my honest opinion.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go on a quote liking spree. Every fucking page of this book was so quotable, I felt like I was watching Mean Girls.

[Chelsea ✨Arielle’s Nebular Ally and Team Acrux✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buddy read with my favorite French Frowner.... Anna :P


"It's illegal, you know," he murmurs. "Stealing."
I clear my throat. "Stealing?"
"My heart. I could have you arrested."




Holy Shit. Holy freakin' (SEVERELY HOLDING IN STRONG CURSING) cow. This book. This. Fucking (whoops, I tried). Book. I liked book one, okay? I really did. Meda is a bona fide badass and the story (felt) unique and original. Now, to be fair, I don't really read many demon books. I don't. Really. So to say it's original? I might be off base here. But, to me, everything about it was a breath of fresh air. The plot, the characters, the voice. Just altogether a great book, if you ask me. But nothing, I really mean nothing, could have prepared me for how much I loved this second installment.


We'll face each other in battle, and when that day comes, we will do our utmost to reduce the other to bloody pieces. And we will do it unapologetically.
We know what we are.


Epic. Gripping. Harsh. As. Fuck. Oh, heyo, did I mention that my insides are literally ripped to shreds? No, you say? Well...yeah. They might be a heaping pile of mush at the moment. And I can't quite decide whether they are a good 'oooooh, how about that amazing Chelsea peril right there??? That was some good shit!' or a 'Noooo. Nononononononononono this can't be, this can't beeee' kind of thing. There are one of two ways my heart can be crushed (tee-hee) and while one is still painful (3), the other is unbearable (2).

Options:

1. Armand is dead.
2. Armand and she will be unflinching enemies if he didn't die-no romance. End of story. End of Chelsea's beating heart as we know it.
3. They will be bitter. They will have a ton of shit to work through (namely betrayal from Armand-yikes, ow). But they will end up together. The end. What does everyone think??? I HAVE NO IDEA! And what did that final line of the book mean and who was it referring to?!



And wah wah wah, call the wah-mbulance. I know I knooooow, I focus on romance waaaaay too much, but I don't care!!!! I don't give a heaping pile of Ellie's dog poo! To me, while the story was more than enough to stand on its own, romance only adds to the story.


I laugh. "How exactly do you see this..." I wave between the two of us, unable to come up with a descriptor.
"Beautiful friendship?" he supplies with a devilish grin.
"...going?" I finish, ignoring him. "Us being mortal enemies and all."
"I prefer the term 'star-crossed lovers.'"


And we all know I'm a sucker for bad boys with dark hair and dark eyes and long eyelashes and...Hmm. You didn't know? Lol. Well you do now. And I wants to tells ya....oh boy oh boy was he bad. Now, this is speculative, he was more of a quiet, doing it behind the scenes guy. But it doesn't make it any less of a certainty-The sky is blue. The grass is green. Armand isn't a sweet or reformed demon. Duh. But I loved him, guys. I luhhh-huuhhh-huuuuuvveeeeddddd himmmmmmmm *whiney voice*.



Every time I saw his name I got giddy, excited, breathless. He and Meda-together-made this story something I craved when I couldn't be near it. I literally ached for it. It was this deep, visceral longing. A lot of it had to do with Meda's voice-she's hilarious. But add a sexy boy to an already badass story? Meda+Armand+more snark+great story+ sexy sexy sexy=happy happy happy Chelsea. It's simple MATH, really ;).

"That's what I get for playing with fire, he grumbles, rubbing his head. It can't hurt too badly-his head is far too hard.
"And here I always thought I was the one playing with fire. You being the bad boy."
"Nope," he says, dropping down beside me. "The one playing with fire is the one most likely to get burned."
"Ah, well, that settles it. You were only bumped not burned."
A pause. "Maybe today."


This second story, to me, was a favorite because we got past all the introductory stuff, for the most part. Jo and Chi and Meda are besties and Meda is a beacon who hangs with the demon hunting crusaders. 90% of the crusaders don't want her to be at the camp, seeing as she eats souls and all... but Jo and Chi are always at her side and on her side (though it's not always clear), and would do anything to keep her there/save her-especially Jo. I adored their friendship. I know I tout about the romance blah blah but another layer to this intricate story was the friendship. For real. It was so beautiful to see two total opposites (and old enemies, really) become so close and to see what has became of their unlikely friendship and what's still to come. I loved it. Not only did it add to the book, it was another key component to making it irresistible.


What a thing, to have your best friend also be your worst enemy.


So, yeah, I could fangirl all day but eh, I think I made my point. I enjoyed this one immensely, and the only thing I can say is that I must love torture. I must love pain. Because my heart? It's pretty well ripped to shreds, due to recent developments and what's most likely to come. And, before anyone asks, YES I figured things out and YES I guessed. I won't elaborate. It changes nothing, ya hear? Nada. So back off on that front, anyone who has anything to say about it. lol. I'm thinking people need to read this. Stat. It's pretty epic....and I can't wait to see what happens (maybe...maybe-I might possibly die a slow and painful death, too...who knows? *shrugs).


For more of my reviews, please visit:

[Natalie Monroe · Rating 4 out of 5]

EDIT 29/9/2014: Eliza finally got the rights back and it's out!

Welcome, my GR buddies and other random strangers.


Yes, I opened with an Aladdin gif. Fear not, my sweet, I will explain.

When I first found out there would be a sequel to Cracked, I admit I squealed a bit.



I was also a bit wary because the first book had ended on such a lovely note. It didn't help that the blurb sounds exactly like The Liberator. You know, recently-reformed-bad-girl meets bad boy and struggles with her morality once more. Dante Walker and Aspen, anyone?



But Crewe was all like, "Relax, babe. You want bad Meda? You will get bad Meda. In spades."

And she was right. Right off the bat in chapter one, we get Meda sneaking out of the Crusaders' Institution and playing cat-and-mouse, which is a nice way of saying murder, with a guy who raped and killed his stepdaughter. So yeah, he deserved it.



Unfortunately, Jo, Meda's best friend/Crusader catches her before she's finished playing punishing the man and drags her back. Back to her prison of stifling rules and having to resist punching people in the face.



Meda, like Jasmine, wants her freedom. She tries to be good, she does, for her friends, but inside her Hunger and monstrous nature sings. It doesn't help that everyone thinks she's not to be trusted because she's a half-demon. The final straw comes when Jo, the fuddy sultan to her Jasmine, 'betrays her' by putting a lock on her door.

With all that going on, can you really blame Meda for going with Aladdin Armand, a teenage half-demon with a French accent, when he pops up at her window to show her a good time?

Armand eases open the door and holds out his hand. "Come on," he whispers.

I hesitate.

"We won't do anything bad," he say piously. "I promise."

I slide my hand into his... His smile escapes, spreading full across his face. "But we won't do anything good, either."

Good. I'm awfully tired of good.

Sadly, Armand doesn't have a magic carpet so they just sit on the roof talking. And play a few pranks.



The only way I can describe this romance is that it's smart and not very overt despite the fact that it plays a huge role in the plot. Meda and Armand compliment each other, dark to dark, demon to demon. Meda has no qualms that Armand is a demon and has selfish motives of his own even though she doesn't know what they are yet. There's no swooning or twitterpated looks. It's all for fun.

"You arranged a murder?" Awwww, that's so sweet.

But the relationship that captured me the most was Jo and Meda's. They're as contrary as Agatha and Sophie from The School for Good and Evil in this installment. Jo wants Meda to be good and Meda's like, "No way, bitch." As a result, it drives a huge spike between them.

She knocks again. "Meda," she says softly. "Meda, please talk to me." She presses her forehead and hands against the door.

Part of the reason is that they're incredibly stubborn and equally badass in their own right. Sometimes I think authors are too afraid to create tough side characters as to not take the spotlight off the kickass, feminist heroine. So the heroine's BFF are often left as gossipy, boy-obsessed creatures in slutty clothes and an innate sense of fashion.

Not this girl though.

“I’ve always thought you’d look good in yellow. A bright, sunshiny yellow.”

At the thought, I turn faintly green. “Yellow, Jo?” My voice is a tiny thing.

“Everyone looks happy and harmless in bright yellow.”

She isn't afraid to call Meda out on her bullshit either. Just like last time, except this time she's doing it for Meda's own good.

"You treat living here as a joke." She hasn't turned back to me. "You float along, barely civil, and act like they owe you. You act like they should be grateful the great Meda Melange didn't kill them today. You want them to treat you like a Crusader?" Now she does look at me. "Then stop acting like a demon."

The only complaint I have is one I suspect will only matter to me and other disabled folk. If you remember, Jo kicked some serious demon butt in the previous book despite her prosthetic leg and limp. I accepted that because she wasn't entirely invincible in her Wonder Woman role, she walked slower than others and couldn't be a field soldier because her leg would hinder her. Yay for authenticity, right?

I thought this book would carry on in this fashion. I was especially glad when we reach a scene in which Jo is struggling to climb a rope, but can't because of her handicap. In the end, she gives up even with Meda cheering her on and her status as a soldier riding on it. At first, I was thrilled with this development. How many times have I done my physical therapy half-assedly because I was just so fucking tired? Yes, I know it's good for me the way carrots are good for my eyes, but I'll still meticulously pick them out when my mom tries to sneakily mix them in with my spaghetti.

Then I find out that it was all a ruse to spy on the Sarge to help Meda. The girl can freaking scale buildings! The reason for this miracle: she did a lot of physical therapy.



Yeah, that made me mad. Repeat after me: physical therapy is not a miracle pill. Yes, it can help, a lot, but don't expect to reach the level of fitness as a normal person and certainly not the fighting machine level of a Crusader. I have friends who have been in car accidents and did years of physical therapy, and even now, they walk slower than normal person and with a slight limp. A regular person would be hard-pressed to scale a building, let alone a disabled one. For once, I'd like to read about a handicapped character that won't shake off his/her disability like a cold when it's convenient for the plot. I want them to save the world while struggling with their disability.

But like I said, this is something that matters to me personally and most likely won't affect your enjoyment of the book. And Jo is pretty awesome.

On whole, Crushed is a fantastic sequel to the already fabulous Cracked and will appeal to all who enjoy their paranormal books with a side of sarcasm (me). Highly recommended.

Thank you Strange Chemistry for giving me this ARC!

Pre-review: OMGOMGOMGOMG. I GOT AN ARC OF THIS!!

[Nasom · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I am Meda Melange… I make full-grown men scream in terror. I break bones and drain blood. I turn nightmares into reality”

This book is more character driven than plot which was fine because Meda is a badass and I can read about her all day. Crushed is mostly about Meda trying to be good especially since she’s amongst people that judge her for being half monster. She had to constantly prove that she would not give into her monster instinct.

What I liked
- I loved the introduction or shall I say the reintroduction of Armand who is also half human/half monster. Although Armand was briefly introduced in Cracked, he became a main character in this. Armand is the only person that encourages Meda to embrace her monstrosity. Unlike Meda that was raised by a human, Armand was raised by monsters so he is more monster than human (which I loved!!). Armand was a character that I was sceptical about. I didn’t know whether to trust him or not and that actually made his character more intriguing. I would like a slice of Armand pie, please 😋

- I loved the “adventures” that Meda and Armand went on. They took it upon themselves to rid society of serial killers, rapists and other terrible people. They pretty much became vigilantes. They were like the little less evil version of Harley Quinn and the Joker, more crazy than romantic.

“But he turned long-lashes eyes on me, full of entreaty, as if he were saying: please let me come murder the molester with you. How do you say ‘no’ to eyes like those? They are a magical combination of sex and puppy”

- Jo + Meda’s friendship. A major theme in this book is the friendship between those two. Jo is the person that tries making Meda into a good person and even though sometimes she goes overboard, her intentions are good. At the end of the day, she just wants the best for Meda.

- I loved the talk about being ‘good’. Just because someone does something good doesn’t mean they are good. Their reasons for doing the good thing is what matters.

“Goodness is a choice, not an action”.

What I didn’t like
- Like most second books of a trilogy, Nothing really happened until towards the end of the book.

- Somethings were predictable and nothing really shocked me I guessed Armand took the map (although I also thought it might have been the crusaders) and wanted Meda to join the demons but I didn’t guess that she would find out on her own so that was a good surprise

- I wished Chi was in this more. I just love him and his positive personality.

“It takes more than the threat of an invading army to dim his sunshine”

Can’t wait to see how the story concludes. Hopefully all of them make it out alive 😫

[Vanessa J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't think I would say this, but this book is better than three important things:

1) Cracked, the first book in the series. Very few sequels are an improvement over the first book. Nay, very few middle books are better than the first book in a series. And this freaking book managed to do so.

2) This:



3) This:



Yes, people. I'm telling you this book is better than the first installment in the series and better than ice cream, unicorns and Batman together. How is that even possible? You should be asking Eliza Crewe, not me.

Cracked was more of a 4 stars book for me, but because of Meda, I made my rating be 5. This book, nonetheless was 5 stars all over the way. If I could rate it more stars, I would, trust me.

Saying that might make you think that this is a perfect book, but the fact is, it is not. It's just that its flaws are overshadowed by all its awesomeness.

First, there's the amazing cast of characters. Meda being my favorite by far. Her story follows where it was left in Cracked. She's now under the care of the Crusaders and is living by their rules.

"Stupid Crusaders with their stupid rules. For a homicidal group, they’re appallingly restrictive.

No, Meda, you can’t leave campus.

No, Meda, you know we have a curfew.

No, Meda, you can’t eat that guy."

So of course, when a half-demon guy offers Meda some fun and freedom, what can she do besides feel tempted? Besides, she's a trying really hard to be good, so this obviously makes her feel like this:



I tell you, Meda is the best possible MC you can have in YA fiction.

"I am Meda Melange, demon-saint monster girl. I make full-grown men scream in terror. I break bones and drain blood. I turn nightmares into reality.

I am the most powerful creature on earth. I do not wear a leash.

The darkness seethes under my skin. I blink and the world is a new place."

She's no Mary Sue, she's kick-ass, a bad girl, funny, sarcastic, she doesn't let herself be overpowered by hormones... and she's like me! I'm not joking. I'm so happy I finally found the literary me in a book. And in a book I loved! Actually, I'm more of a combination of Jo and Meda and many unlikable characters... but who cares? Meda is still so me!

Continuing with why I love the characters so much, we have Jo. The same from the previous book. I like her because she's also kick-ass and really intelligent, and she has many layers. Neither of the characters are one-sided. They all have their faults and their pros. Jo cares about Meda, but “taking care” of her may seem treacherous to her, so they have their fights... which are realistic.

And last but not least, we have a new character introduced! Armand Delacroix. We got to know him at the end of Cracked. He's another amazing and well-crafted character. He's the half-demon guy the synopsis talks about. In a typical YA book, he would be the abusive guy causing the MC's brain to stop functioning, but this is no typical YA book! He's literally evil, so how could I not love him?

This book also made me feel a lot of things. There's that feeling of not knowing who to trust, of not distiguishing between who's “good�� and who's “bad”; there are also parts that warmed my heart... there were others that made me burn with rage, or with joy... but the thing is, I felt, which I adore when it comes to books.

But I cannot finish this review without ranting about one little thing. Before I start, read this. Do you have an idea why I am angry? You see, this is not the first series I love that has suffered a similar fate. Some years ago, something like this happened to a series I love with all my soul before the last book in it was published. I'm not joking when I say that the series was almost not finished. Thanks to the fans and the author's efforts, it was saved.

Years later, the same thing happens to this series. Why are there a lot of crappy books that get all the popularity when the real masterpieces are left to be forgotten in the shadows? Why does the world work this way? It's such a shame to see books like these left unknown.



Finally, you should know that the effect this books leaves in me is extremely euphoric—orgasmic, for lack of a better word. (Haha! You guess where I took that quote from!) Seriously, they're so much fun! I don't remember the last time I enjoyed a book this much. Points for that, Eliza. Now you've made it to the list of my favorite authors.

Anyway, if you haven't read this, what are you waiting for? You have no excuse for not doing so. And do you know what else? I added this book to my all-time-favorites shelf. In that shelf, there are only books that I love with all my soul, that have influenced my life, that destroyed my soul, etc., so that should tell you something... And it should tell you something else that I don't like books about angels and demons, so...

HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION.

[Brigid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Euphoria should have been the title of this book. Seriously, I had an incurable state of euphoria. There was no end. It still lingers.

I’m going to steal this phrase from the Aussies:

This is my jam. This book is completely my jam.

I would’ve rather jammed a giant poker in my eye than admit that this book is better than the first. I would’ve done it. No way that Crushed could be better than Cracked. YOU LIE KHANH, YOU LIE!!!!

*she says while pointing her nose up in defiance*



Ass handed.

But now, having read this brilliant and Napoleonic epic-ness of great Young Adult literature, I can fairly say I was wrong.

Our darling Meda suffers greatly after the events of Cracked. They tell her what to do all the time. She’s seen as a monster. Given, she is one. Not such a shocker, truly. However a certain fella we met in book one shows up. As the plot moves along, Meda and Jo’s complex relationship falls into chaos. Meda soon comes to realize things about her self. She grows so much in this one book. Character growth always becomes a hard sell for readers, but this book lies amongst one of those books with excellent character development.

Meda does confidence right: she’s smart, interesting, kickass, and sure of herself. But, she does it without being vain and annoying. I don’t know how. Eliza Crewe must have some magic curse where she’s able to figure these things out.

Crewe is a magician. I’m almost sure of it.

Meda's a killer. There’s no questioning it. Straight up, she’s a bloody chick. And…she doesn’t do a guilt trip about it either. She’s sick of being controlled by the Crusaders. She’s wants freedom. She wants to eat junk food and be able to hand people’s Asses up front and center. Preferably on a pedestal.

She may or may not have ended herself in a kindergarten glass. She’s a class act, this chick.

So you’ve probably read many other reviews by now and you may have been wondering “is there romance in the second?”

Yes, yes there is. While there may be romance, Meda doesn’t become the foolish girl who falls in love with the bad boy. Oh you can bet there’s drooling. Because the great thing about Meda is that she doesn’t shy away from her feelings when she’s attracted to someone. She appreciated the male specimen. She thinks first, though. She’s always sure he’s up to something, mainly plotting to get into her pants. Smart girl.

You can love a monster, it can even love you back, but that doesn't change its nature. This isn't Beauty and the Beast where my kiss would transform the monster into a prince. If anything, it's Shrek, and his kiss brings out the ogre in me.

Do not be afraid that there’s a slight romantic relationship in this novel. It’s a slow burn and it builds gradually. Meda can kick his ass any day, he knows it and more importantly she knows it.

"Hero?" I roll my eyes. "You're an agent..."
"...of evil," he finishes. "I know, I know. But we're all the heroes in our own little dramas," he says smoothly.
I laugh. "And what role do I play in your little drama?"
"Unwitting dupe."
"Hm. Looks like I'm gonna kill you sooner than I thought."

But oh the tingly emotions I felt while reading this. I kept sending messages to my friend Kat involving lots of these !!!!!!!!

I laughed so much in this book. It doesn’t happen often where I’ll laugh out loud while reading. The quotes in this book? They kept building up in greatness. I don’t know which ones to choose. But here are a few that I loved more than most.

Get him! My hormones scream.
Don't fall for it, my brain cautions.
Pretty! They whine. Stupid hormones.
Calm down, hormones. We are just pumping him-(really brain, you chose the word pumping?)-for information. He is literally evil. We need to keep our distance.
A pause.
Get him!

Not things that bump. Bumps are clumsy and inelegant. They are sounds made by creatures not at home in the darkness. I don't bump. I crunch in the night. I crack;I splatter;I splash. But I never, ever bump.
 

I'm utterly surprised that I actually liked the romantic parts in this book. But Meda is just so smart. She knows what she's getting herself into. It doesn't dominate the book, either. I want to read everything by this woman now. I want to know what happened with that ending. I'm internally screaming right now. I will be stalking book three's release date, most respectively.

[Kathe L · Rating 4 out of 5]

So... the third book isn't out yet?



I didn't think I would do a review for this but then I just needed to do it. LOL

- Starting with Armand. Hey, bad boy! You surprised me. I mean, I liked, liked you. Since book one, I was mesmerized by you. And while I always forbid me to do it, I always try to guess what a character is thinking. So yeah, I knew you were selfish, greedy, and yes, I knew you wanted what you wanted and still, I didn't like you less because of it. Crazy, huh? I guess when you are suspicious of a character, you don't get surprised on what he does, being it good and bad things. I think it only means you like a character so much that you know there's no turning back.



- MEDA, MEDA, MEDA. I love you still. I love how you're not perfect. I love how you were so mean, especially at the first half of the book. I don't know what that says about me, but I looooved your mean side. Kick-ass Meda is sure a favorite on my book. What disappointed me a bit about you, though, was the indecision. IT WAS KILLING ME. I never liked the Crusaders, as well. Of course, I love Chi and Jo. But the rest of them? How can they do what they do? How can they be the 'good' ones when they were... horrible? I understood perfectly the what-to-do moments, but that doesn't mean they didn't frustrated me. I was almost shouting to you join the demons already. Almost, I'm not crazy.

- Jo! I like you. Especially because you're so loyal. Doesn't mean I didn't judge you before I knew what you were doing, though. And I still think you could have handled things differently at the beginning. But when I tried to guess what would I have done in your place, or in Meda's place, I was incredibly... empty-minded. I would have tried to follow the way the people I love followed, so I think that's a plus since you did the same thing. You are incredibly bold.



(You're about to have your ass kicked by Jo. LOL)

- I missed Chi on this. I really, really did. And that end really disappointed me.

- I loved the Meda and Armand moments. I should have loved the actions, and the twists, and Meda's indecision on what to do. But I think the major part of the numbers of stars I gave was seeing this two. Because, while is hard to understand Meda at times, she could be herself with him. Because they are so very alike, at least the dark part. And if I loved dark-Meda, why wouldn't I love Armand? Their sneak outs were fun, their conversations nice, and I had to agree with him at points, although Meda's loyalty is a thing I was certain of since book one, even when she wasn't sure.

All in all, I think I liked book one more because I loved everything about it. And while there are things I liked more in this one, there are things that frustrated me in this that weren't there in book one. You know? Still, I can't deny this is very good. A fantasy series definitely worth reading, people!

[JAIME · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm too bloody busy to review this properly, so you will get unimaginative bullet points.

- The Templars are dicks.

- I want Armand to be my boyfriend forever.

- Meda will be my spirit animal for life.

- Meda should join the Demons already, cos fuck the Templars.

- This book is awesome.

You're welcome.

[Robin (Bridge Four) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Soul Drunk Stars Read this Series!!!

Were you looking for a book about a good nice girl who falls in love with the bad boy just in need of a good girl, captain of (insert favorite sport here) and they have fabulous friends and happy dates with a dance of some sort thrown in somewhere? THIS IS NOT THAT BOOK!!! Put this book down and step away slowly. Better yet turn and run.

Meda is a monster, well at least half of her is and the monster half eats people. Think of her as the Dexter of the monster world, she only eats bad people…mostly. The other half of Meda is Crusader, the good guys who kill demons. Meda is town between her two halves and two people. Her best friend Jo and the Crusaders are full of rules and discipline while the ultimate bad boy half demon Armand comes with fun, games and freedom. Which should Meda pick, who will win?

No, I should kill him. He said himself he would eventually go back to the demons. But he turns long-lashed eyes on me, full of entreaty, as if he were saying: please, please let me come murder the molester with you. How do you say “no” to eyes like those? They are a magical combination of sex and puppy.
Better than it sounds, I promise.

MEDA, MEDA, MEDA, MEDA I love this character.

She totally struggles with what is right and what feels right. Just because it feels right to punch the loud mouth behind you in class, doesn’t mean it is right. Living with the Crusaders is difficult for her. No one seems to trust her and even her best friend Jo seems like she is in on a secret plot to make Meda miserable.

Stupid Crusaders with their stupid rules. For a homicidal group, they’re appallingly restrictive.
No, Meda, you can’t leave campus.
No, Meda, you know we have a curfew.
No, Meda, you can’t eat that guy.

She is really trying but it seems the cards and everyone else is stacked against her. Meda always marches on and she takes a lot of it in stride. I love the inner commentary she has running as it is often hilarious. For someone so dark she has a great sense of humor.

Armand wants to save her from some dreadfully boring life living with the crusaders. He offers fun, flirtation and murder. HEY!!! Don’t judge a girl’s got to eat. Plus he knows the demon side of Meda and doesn’t ask her to hide it. They have an interesting something, I’m not sure you can call it a romance exactly, but it is interesting whatever it is. Armand is tempting and always the unapologetic bad boy, he cannot be saved or changed he is who he is.

You can love a monster, it can even love you back, but that doesn’t change its nature. This isn’t Beauty and the Beast where my kiss would transform the monster to a prince. If anything, it’s Shrek, and his kiss brings out the ogre in me.

Just like with Crushed I was totally drawn into the story and couldn’t put it down. I’m always rooting for Meda she is remarkably likeable for someone who can kill you at any time. I enjoyed the journey she took in this book. Trust is not something that comes naturally to Meda so her journey to learn to trust herself, her friends and the side she is on is a touching one.

I love the bond she feels to her BFF Jo even when it is strained. But my favorite moments in this book are all with Armand and Meda. They are two little monsters possibly falling into something sorta akin to a demon’s versions of love. It isn’t your typical kind of romance in a book and I totally loved every soul-drunk minute of it.

“Maybe the problem is that demons belong with demons. Because they’re both takers. One takes from the other but she doesn’t miss it because she’s taking just as much from him. Like children with straws in each other’s milkshakes.” He pauses. “They would be as sneaky and mean in love as they are in everything else; but they’d also both be full and happy.”

There is plenty of action and adventure and another trip to the dark side for an impossible mission. People I didn’t think could redeem themselves did or at least tried, while others well….I don’t want to talk about it. Revelations about Meda’s mother come to light as well along with some information about how strong Meda could truly be.

That ENDing…oh the ending left me on the edge of my seat. I see the wheels clicking in my favorite monsters head and I can’t wait to see what her next plan will be. This series has been utterly fantastic so far. One of my favorite YA series to date.

[Dilinna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was me throughout this book



I loved it so much more than the first book...so so much more. Although Meda was so annoying that i wanted to smack her real hard sometimes and sometimes her actions were understandable. I hated that she caused a whole lot of issues for everyone...it annoyed the hell out of me but damn this book was still so damn good.

Oh my ships😍😍😍😍😍 still sailing real good and i honestly want more more more!!!! It was quite emotional but not as much as in the first book. Jst read this book already!!! The author really knocked me off my socks for real!

[Annika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy hell, is it possible that this series has gotten even better?

I am Meda Melange, demon-saint monster girl. I make full-grown men scream in terror. I break bones and drain blood. I turn nightmares into reality.
I am the most powerful creature on earth. I do not wear a leash.

Shunned by her own people, tempted by the enemy.
When taken in by the Crusaders after the shocking revelations in the Acheron, Meda finds herself in a situation where she has to choose between friendship and pride, loyalty and self-preservation, dangerous freedom and captivity for a good cause.

So the Corporates think they want custody, do they? Custody. I’m not some big-eyed orphan begging, “Please sir, may I have some more?” or singing about how the sun will come out tomorrow. I’m not the foster kid who’ll smile on the Christmas card in an ugly sweater matching my new mom’s. Rather, I’m the kid in the back of the orphanage playing with a lighter and the head of the doll that belongs to the sobbing girl next to me – they just need to see it. We’ll see who wants custody then.

There was nothing stereotypical for YA UF about this book:
No self-sacrificing, Mary Sue heroine
No overprotective, selfless hero
No insta-love, and definitely no ordinary romance
No guilt trips and pity parties
No black & white, good vs. evil
No outcome anyone would expect

This installment was a little darker than its predecessor. Oh, don't get me wrong, there were still plenty situations that had me laughing out loud (favorite scene: Kindergarten – I need say no more). Meda's bite and sarcasm and the addition of Armand's morally ambiguous character made for some hilarious dialogues and inner monologues. But Eliza Crewe added quite a bit more edge, angst and gloom to the rather light-hearted fun that was book #1.

You can love a monster. It can even love you back, but that doesn’t change its nature. This isn’t Beauty and the Beast where my kiss would transform the monster to a prince. If anything, it’s Shrek, and his kiss brings out the ogre in me.

It makes me sad to think that there's only one more book left in this unique trilogy.
Funny, gritty, intense, and oh, so worth reading!

[Kaora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meda is back and proving again why she is one of my favorite characters.

This time Meda is doing her best to stay on her path to becoming a Crusader, however she is being kept literally under lock and key, by those who don't trust her. Robbed of her freedom, she jumps at the chance when a hot incubus-in-training comes to help her. Caught in the middle, its up to her to decide which side she is really on.

Why has it taken me SO long to find a character like Meda? She is strong, kicks ass and doesn't instantly fall for the hot bad boy. This book is full of opposites from the majority of generic YA novels out there. And for the life of me I can't understand why, because it is an awesome book.

While I didn't quite like the keeping secrets to protect the other person angle, I felt the rest of the book was witty and intriguing enough to more than make up for it. The romance wasn't over the top, the characters are memorable, and Meda has a sense of humor all her own, catapulting this book onto my favorites shelf.

Venus EYE-traps anyone?

And that ending. It makes me impatient for book 3, and yet I don't feel at all like I've only read half a book here and I'm left dangling off a cliff. The perfect balance.

Read this!!

[h o l l i s · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, yes, I'll admit the rating on this one may be a bit confusing but I'll explain. This one is not quite as satisfyingly all around excellent as book one but nonetheless it's still really good. Which is why it's rounding up. But within the ranking of the series it's worth noting this is not quite on par.

Having said that, Crewe had already shown she was willing to do things differently with this series and she continues that trend and then some. While things in this world are pretty black and white, despite some book one teasing about the good guys willing to lie, cheat, and steal, as long as their intentions were honourable or purposeful to the cause, this one really leans into the extremes for which both sides will go to win. And for Meda, who is half demon and half good, with a third important element within her at play, this is a dangerous place to be; especially when she's chosen the side she's chosen.

Contrary to what you might expect, I don't go on a murderous rampage. A real monster is too clever for that. A real monster shakes the hands of elderly couples as he invests their life's savings in his Ponzi scheme; she kisses babies and runs for political office; he waits until she's in love. A real monster knows that an attack huts; but a betrayal scars.

It's not easy being caught up amongst the stirrings of a war and she learns she doesn't fit anywhere. Worse, her best friend, doesn't seem to be standing with her, either. And that's the final straw. Something's got to give.

I can't be good, but apparently I can't be mad, either. I'm a wasted half of everything.

Honestly, I'll admit, the first half of this book was hard. It was hard seeing Meda stuck where she was and at the mercy of those around her. Specifically there was a possession scene that had me crawling out of my skin. It was just.. wow. Huge kudos. This series, for all its darkness and violence and death, has never felt truly dark or horror-ish but that moment was it for me. Hoo boy.

But, don't worry, the humour was still here too. Meda's voice is a little less cheeky, mostly because of her circumstances, but it's still there. And there's heartbreak, too, that was so beautifully done. Again, this author is really challenging our expectations for the usual plotlines and expectations of how things go, particularly with YA.

Super excited to see how Crewe wraps this in book three because I have a feeling more unexpected excellence is awaiting me but I won't have to wait long because yes I'm diving right in.

3.5 stars

---

This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities.

[Paige Bookdragon · Rating 5 out of 5]

OUR FAVORITE HALF-DEMON BAD ASS IS BACK.

Meda Meda Meda. You define snarky. If ratings of this book is not enough to convince you to pick this one up, then you're bonkers mate.This is the second book of Soul Eater series and Eliza Crewe has done an amazing job to make it better.

This book has it all.

Action.
Drama.
Teenage angst.
Love.
Sarcasm.
Demons.
And Armand...

In case you loopies forgot who Armand is, let me refresh your memory.
Remember the hottest piece of demon ass that was Meda's dungeonmate in the first book? The one who everybody believes will make Meda's girly parts quiver?





Yep. That's him.

Meda was great as ever. In a way, she has become a prisoner of the crusaders and even when she decided to go gonzo, her loyalty to her friends are amazing.







I was grinning from the very first page till the end while reading this book. Even though Meda is entirely an anti-hero material (in a way) I was still cheering for her.



And that ending..

[♛Tash · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tough one to rate and review

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

A word of warning: Now comes a rant.

I don't want to offend anybody, so in case you are totally enamored with this book, better stop reading right here. RIGHT. HERE.



Tell me why do authors come up with ideas that have enormous potential but don't do anything about it? Soul Eater. Do you have the slightest idea how promising that sounded to me? Finally something badass and dark. I had hoped. Why did I do it? Why hoping?

The plot, forgive me this remark, but it was next to nonexistent. The bit that was mentioned at the beginning and in the end of the book was simply not enough to be satisfying and everything in between was most definitely not plot, at least not to me.
Instead of a plot there were countless of Meda's inner dialogues, some superficial struggles with identity, thus the Good and Evil, and a hell lot of problems with priorities and decision-making.
Soul Eater?
Demon?
Beacon?



During half of the book I was inwardly screaming for the author to get to the freaking point, because not only was the lack of a real plot exasperating, but so were the characters.
How about diving deeper into the world of the Crusaders and the demons? How about explaining more about the origins about the history and the methods of fighting, the origins of some none-written agreements? How about some more action between the Crusaders, something real happening? Except what the Crusaders did to Meda, because that was pretty exciting, but happened only at the beginning and in the end. Would it have been too difficult to include some more plot twists and action instead of Meda's inner diagolue? How about some actual, definite decisions instead of the wishy-washy decisions that Meda made? How about some actual soul eating? That would have been really nice!
Yes, indeed, it was refreshing that Meda wasn't a stereotypical Mary Sue or an attempt to imitate Katniss, she was quite "original" and so was her friendship with Jo and the "romance". No love-at-first-sight? Nice, I can't argue with that, that's why I rated the book with 2 stars but that's where my enthusiasm about the novel ends.



Oh my, Meda was so badass. Except she wasn't. Such characters, while refreshing at the beginning, start to annoy me very soon and somewhere in the middle of the novel I usually feel like slapping them, or even better, killing them off. Because they are freaking unnerving. She was oh-so sassy, but couldn't make up her damn mind whether she was good or evil. One minute she said she tried to be good, the next she was all blood-thirsty and "but it is to difficult to be good I need to eat somebody".
Seriously, it shouldn't be that difficult to make up her damn mind and stick to a decision instead of being all "but I am a demon too". You don't say, girl? Sorry to disappoint, but you have to stick to one side in such a conflict, no grey-zone allowed.
And her boldness appeared to me more of an attempt to offend those around her. Meda was a character that screamed at the reader: "Look, aren't I badass and quick-witted?"
No, dearie, you are an annoying immature girl who thinks she can shrug everyone off with her witty (offensive) comments and seem cool after that.



Ever heard of respecting people who try to treat you as kindly as they are capable of and probably have some more life experience? Ever heard of not taking every fucking word on your oh-so-awesome account, because you are not the fucking navel of the world? Ever heard of sacrifice?
No? A pity, really.
After a while I wanted to kill her. Or I wanted the demons to kill her. Or the Crusaders. Anybody.
Character development?



At least Armand and Jo stuck to their sides and decisions. Not so Meda. Armand, though a big douche, was at least where he belonged. I liked him, he was what I had expected of a demon, or half-demon, whatever. Cruel and deceiving and self-centered, but at the same time strangely alluring.
How Meda could have trusted him instead of Jo will remain a mystery to me, but to some it may seem logical. Again, not to me.
Jo trusted Meda. When it mattered she didn't turn her back on her friend, not once. She tried and tried and tried and sacrificed a hell lot of things, and let herself be bullied and laughed at. For fucking Meda, of all people.
But Meda, dramatic little ... that she is, acted like a bitch and bullied her only friend even further and then even betrayed her. Because that's what you do after being the reason why so many Crusaders died and acting like a self-absorbed teenager, right? When you are tested you, of course, fail the test and act on your evil side because fucking control is an alien concept, right?

Character development definitely occured in Jo's case, even in Armand's, but not in Meda's. So, thumbs up for realistic "romance" and some real friendship problems, as well as secondary characters, the Crusaders/Meda conflict at the beginning and the solution to it in the end. But thumbs down for the annoying protagonist, too much humour that wasn't funny, the lack of dark or bitter atmosphere or lack of atmosphere at all, and the slow pace as well as absense of a plot.
I don't know what some people understand under the term dark atmosphere, to me it is more like in On Demons Wings and even Coraline was in many ways darker than this. This was more of an attempt to seem snarky.

So this book was a freaking field flower disguised as something poisonous and lethal. No actual soul eaters, no plot, no truly original characters, instead only bad humour and endless inner conflicts that could have been solved within one single chapter.
Not my cup of tea.

[Erica Ravenclaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

☆☆☆☆

No Spoilers! Definitely colorful language abound!


If you haven't read this series yet, I envy you. Reach for it when you need something to swallow up reality and replace it with something better. It pulled me from a deep-dark funk, and I hope it does the same for you.

I think it's time for some realness. I've had this book for almost an entire year, I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review...11 months ago. Thanks NG?

I could be all upset with myself being that I waited this long to read what has turned out to be, a wonderful series. That wouldn't be the right thing, I think. I've been in a serious book funk lately, I haven't read much and reviewed even less. The blogging, twitter, requests, page views, and drama took the sparkle out of reading. I felt like I wasn't reading to read, I was reading to review and, for me personally, they became very different things.

So, here I was, around midnight when I realized I had this baby on my kindle. I quick bought the first one, and gobbled it up. I was pretty disappointed at first, I just wasn't connecting but it was entertaining enough that I kept going. It's not often that a new series gets a double 5 star rating from some of my more discerning blogger friends, and I had a feeling this was going to be worth it. I was so right.

Crushed was great. Plain and simple. Again, I read this in one sitting, and it felt fantastic.

[Maggie ☘ · Rating 4 out of 5]

“What do you say to your best friend when you stand at the gates of the gates of hell? Nothing. If it’s your best friend, she already knows.”

As much as I liked the first book, this one was fucking awesome! It got so much better than the first one. All the problems I had with Cracked were improved in this sequel – the writing got better, the humour got better and actuall made me laugh. And most of all, as much as I liked Meda for the unusual anti-heroine she was in Cracked, I could finally connect to her 100% here.

There’s also some romance, unlike in book one, and I really like Meda and Armand and their interactions.


“Some might call me a “tease”, but don’t believe it. “Tease” implies that I owe him something, that I should feel guilty. As if my flirtation is forced on him and he merely tolerates it for an eventual pay-out. That’s bullshit. We both have goals in our little game; why should his goal (sex) take priority over mine (to mess with his head)? Is it because he’s a man?
In that case I must object on principle. Superhero Meda establishing gender-equality one almost-kiss at a time!”


The thing is, if this series had a different sort of MC, with much lesser personality than Meda has (which, let's face it, is like 98% of paranormal heroines out there, because Meda is that outstanding and unique for the genre), I probably wouldn’t like him as a love interest for her. The reason why I like them together is because Meda is a badass, she can take care of herself and gives as strong as she gets. Meda’s not some good little girl who falls all over herself every time the (often promiscuous as a contrast to the innocent MC) bad boy love interest looks at her (a trope authors just love to use for some stupid reason, hello: Sweet Evil, you terrible terrible book!).


“Get him! My hormones scream.
Don’t fall for it, my brain cautions.
Pretty! They whine. Stupid hormones.
Calm down, hormones. We are just pumping him – (really brain, you chose the word pumping?) – for information. He is literally evil. We need to keep our distance.”


Sure, she can appreciate the view, but she will not fall for it. That’s why I liked the romance, they are both equally morally ambiguous. Or rather... Scratch that, Meda is the more wicked one!


“You can love a monster, it can even love you back, but that doesn’t change its nature. This isn’t Beauty and the Beast where my kiss would transform the monster to a prince. If anything, it’s Shrek, and his kiss brings out the ogre in me.”


Fortunately, even though this book does have some romance, the friendship between Meda and Jo is still the center of this series and I loved them.
Chi is more of in the backkground in this one, which I don't mind at all becaue I always found him on the bland side, at least in compariston to the two girls.
The plot was also more interesting to me.


“You said you’d cooperate.”
I knew I’d regret my promise, just not quite this soon. “You don’t wear pink!”
“Yeah, well, no one thinks I’m in league with the devil.”
She shoves it into my chest. I narrow my eyes. “I do.”


Recomended if you want to read a different kind of YA paranormal, which you should as paranormals (at least many of the early post Twilight ones) are kinda.. not that good. This series is truly very unique because of the morally grey main character and how much it centeres on the female friendship more than anything else. Once again, it's beyond me how some of the creppiest YA books are so freaking hyped, but the truly good ones still somehow manage to be largely beyond notice. 4.5


P.S:

In my favorite (sketch), we’re both decked out like super-heroes with our chests stuck out and our hands on our hips.
“What do you think?” I hold out the drawing for his inspection.
“Oh, it’s… ah.” He scratches the back of his head. “Nice.”
“Thanks,” I grunt with satisfaction and tape it to the dry wall.
“Um.”
“Yes?”
“Errr, I just…” He doesn’t seem quite sure how to put it. “Don’t you think I look a little… cold?”
“No. See? I gave you a cape.” I point.
“I see. But… why exactly am I in a thong?”
“I wanted a break from the usual gender stereotypes.”
He laughs. “And my…” he clears his throat and points. “It seems unnaturally large.”
“Of course,” I nod, eyeing my drawing with satisfaction. “The male equivalent of quadruple-D’s.”
“Is that a thing?”
“Only in comic books.”
“I see.”
“Improving gender-equality one sketch at a time,” I say piously.

LMAO

[✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed Cracked, the first instalment in this series, but I can’t say I was over-enthusiastic about it. It was fun but not great. Meda is a fantastic character and her inner dialogue was hilarious but the rest of the book was a bit meh. The plot was alright but the whole thing was a bit too YA for me (I know, this is YA, but sometimes YA isn’t that YA – think Daughter of Smoke & Bone). Meda was both the main strength and weakness of Cracked as her character pretty much over-powered everything else. That said, I loved Meda so much I still wanted to read Crushed pretty badly.

I’m afraid things didn’t get off to a great start. I didn’t find Meda that snarky or funny and the high school dramatics were a bit tiring, despite their involving demons and Crusaders. I was actually pretty much bored to death until the possession scene with Graff. And then, hurray! Things actually started happening and I finally found myself enjoying the book. It was pretty much non-stop action after that scene, with Meda back to her old hilarious, cynical self. She definitely is one of my favourite female MC ever. She goes through all sorts of experiences and emotions in this book and it makes for a very interesting journey. She is one freaky badass little monster but such a likeable one! Meda Melange, you ROCK!

The plot was both better structured and better defined in Crushed than it was in Cracked. Another big difference here is that even though the plot still revolves around Meda, the introduction of Armand’s character takes some of the focus off her and gives the story another perspective. In Cracked Meda was the only well-defined character and the other ones felt bland compared to her. Jo’s character is better developed in Crushed but I just can’t seem to like her. Her actions don’t make sense and I just don’t understand her friendship with Meda, much less why Meda considers her her bestfriend. Chi is still Chi, he has no personality whatsoever and adds nothing to the story.

Now Armand is another story altogether! I LOVE him! A sexy, half-demon bad boy who also happens to be… an incubus in training! What’s not to love about that really?! Add that to the fact that his eyes are “a magical combination of sex and puppy” and you get one irresistible spawn from Hell! The best scenes in the book are definitely the ones involving Meda and Armand. I just love the interactions between these two little monsters. Their dialogues together are as fantastic as they are hilarious. These two have a different kind of relationship and you never know what to expect from either one of them. They really are a great little hellish couple. AND I love Armand no matter what. I don’t care that he somehow betrayed Meda, they are perfect for each other and I’m still rooting for him. I really hope we will see more of him in the next instalment!

The book is action-packed with lots of revelations and an epic ending that left me breathless. My personal verdict: I’d choose the demons over the Crusaders any day, they’re much more fun! ;-)

What next?! I can’t wait to find out!

[Brandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't give a full review till closer to release date, but reasons why you should be reading this series:

-badassery by the boatload.
-sophomore book that reads with none of the sophomoric problems.
-an author who is not only gifted as a writer, but also as a storyteller- Eliza Crewe is the real deal, and about as nice a person as I've ever met.
-snark!
-humor.
-intrigue.
- FEELS. So. Many. Feels.
-NEVER KNOWING HOW THINGS WILL TURN OUT! GAH!

If you haven't read Cracked you need to go fix yourself- right now, and then come back and thank me for making sure you weren't living in a pale comparison of a fulfilled life.

[Alexa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meda is back in all her awesome insane glory! We get more quotes, more laughs and even a tear drop or two.

WARNING! There might be some fangirling involved in this review. I can't help it, I just love this series too much.

While I felt the first book was a short study in the ideas of nurture over nature, this one delved more into the old good vs evil problem.

Where exactly do we draw the line of good and evil?

Does the end justifies the means?

I love that we get to see that good and bad are very subjective ideas and that even the people we love the most can be a villain in someone else's story.

This book also gets a romance angle! And it was handled SO WELL that I want to find Mrs. Crewe and give her a hug and thank her from the bottom of my heart.

And that ending! OMG! Kksladfkjal!!! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO WAIT FOR THE NEXT BOOK?! I need to stop reading ongoing series before they start to make a serious impact on my health...

[Tamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sequel that is better than the first one? How is that possible?



.
Will write a review! I promise. Pinky swear. But first, I need to write a review for the first one and I just dont know how without too much fangirling and spoiling anything. I dont want to scare you guys with a very very long review ;)