The Other Inheritance by Rebecca Jaycox ~ #bookreview

January 30, 2017

Title: The Other Inheritance
Series: The Inheritance #1 
Author: Rebecca Jaycox
Publication date: February 1, 2017 (first pub Nov. 2014)
Publisher: Aelurus Publishing
Source: Publisher via Netgalley

My Rating:  

Synopsis

One girl. Two worlds. Hunted in both.

Seventeen-year-old Reggie Lang is used to dealing with her alcoholic mother and fighting school bullies, but fate has thrown her a curve ball.

A biker dude shows up in her dreams, babbling about magic and a world called the Other. As the incidents keep piling up—like bringing a frog back to life in class—Reggie has to confront the mounting evidence that she’s not the normal girl she craves to be.

Reggie's life is changing, and she has no idea why. Or whether she should believe the man in her dreams, who claims she's in danger and that only he can keep her safe. But if there's one thing Reggie will learn, nowhere is safe. 

The Other Inheritance delves into the YA world of fantasy and sci fi with a plot that brings you into the story quickly. One problem I had was that the pacing felt way too fast. I needed time to get to know the characters and what was going on before the action took over.  

I didn't hate this book but didn't love it either. As a main character, 17-year-old Reggie is ok - she's tough as well as vulnerable, yet doesn't speak or think like someone her age, which I'll explain in a minute. She was also too trusting of strangers and was okay almost immediately when she found out there's another realm called "the Other." That would take some time for me to digest, personally.  

I'm no prude. Sexuality and cussing in YA books don't bother me, but in this case they did. Reggie cusses every other sentence, and she can be completely crass. I cringed when she called another girl's breasts "tits" in order to insult her. Granted the girl was a bully; however, I just don't see a young teenage girl saying that to someone to insult them. I also know teenagers cuss, but every other sentence?

Also for a girl who recently lost her virginity, Reggie sure is comfortable talking about it openly, and sometimes sex is mentioned by other characters in a crude manner. I found it unbelievable and unnecessary. Reggie only just met the guy.

The action scenes were well written, and I liked the world building. While I wasn't connected to Reggie, I ended up being connected to one of the characters she meets in the Other.

The ending of The Other Inheritance was abrupt even for being the first book in a series. I was shocked when it ended and felt like it almost ended in the middle of a sentence. I am planning on reading the next novel to see if the loose ends from this novel will be tied up and to find out what happens next.