Out of Time
  • about
  • features
  • book reviews
  • music reviews
  • review policy
  • challenges

announcements!

Guess who's back, back again. Nova's back, tell a friend.


Saturday, January 18, 2014

ARC Review: The Naturals - Jennifer Lynn Barnes

with 4 comments
Title: The Naturals
Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Pub Date: November 5th, 2013
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Page Count: 304

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 have 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.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13597723-the-naturals?ac=1

Buy Links

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository | Chapters Indigo


My Thoughts

The Naturals is a gripping thriller on people and their natural abilities to serve the greater good. The writing was beautiful, the plot intense and the ending: on fire.- Nova @ Out of Time

I read the Naturals shortly after reading another book in the killer's perspective. It's interesting to read this after, because this book deals with the same topic in a different perspective; the perspective of the law. Because of this, I had even more fun and intrigue while reading this.

The cover is so cool. Before reading, you won't get the idea, but you will after. It incorporates elements in the story in a subtle way while still looking visually attractive for new readers. The "present" is directly in the book while the police tape is the general idea.

The writing in The Naturals blew me away. Barnes' writing on how the Naturals program worked was descriptive, interesting and very, very plausible. Her prose was also flowing, very natural and not at all awkward. It took my attention and refused to let go if it.
A concept that Cassie had to learn as a Natural Profiler is to put herself in the shoes of the victim during her cases. Her "partner" who shares the same talent, puts herself in the shoes of the killer. (Which makes him believe he is a monster and makes me feel so bad for him.) Jennifer writes the scenes of the actual killer with such a creepy air that they seem so real. They're descriptive, yet leaves enough to the imagination to make you wonder if there's anything wrong with your head.

The actual plot was the foundation in this book's awesomeness. The idea of this book was original, yet not too out there that it needed explaining. These kinds of people exist in real life and using that information as a program for the Government was a smart idea that held a lot of promise.I think that if the idea were bad, it would've affected the book in a lot of ways. The same can be said if the writing were annoying and boring.

The romance between Cassie and Other was pretty much a subtle love interest. I say this because even at the end of the novel, anything was possible. It was very open ended. And in this book, I really didn't have a "Team" even though there's usually one guy that sticks with me. I loved both characters and Cassie. They were just so distinct with their own personalities and differences.  The characters all showed development, despite there being a bunch of them. They all grew in their own way throughout the book. Oh, and thank you for a book without dominant romance. It goes to show that's actually possible; who knew?

I didn't find a flaw in this book at all. For me, it was pure love and pure interest. Once you read a book in one sitting, it means that you are so completely in it. I had a little moment of sadness after I finished it. It was only then did I really take in the whole story as it impacted me.
Most books have a few noticeable flaws, but in The Naturals, I loved it so much. I'm sure there are flaws, seen by different people. But my perspective told me that it was honestly a perfect and enjoyable novel I will have to read again.


Author Info

Jennifer's Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter | Website |

Jennifer Lynn Barnes (who mostly goes by Jen) was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She has been, in turn, a competitive cheerleader, a volleyball player, a dancer, a debutante, a primate cognition researcher, a teen model, a comic book geek, and a lemur aficionado. She's been writing for as long as she can remember, finished her first full book (which she now refers to as a "practice book" and which none of you will ever see) when she was still in high school, and then wrote Golden the summer after her freshman year in college, when she was nineteen.

Jen graduated high school in 2002, and from Yale University with a degree in cognitive science (the study of the brain and thought) in May of 2006. She'll be spending the 2006-2007 school year abroad, doing autism research at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest
Labels: ARC, Book Review, Five Stars
Newer Post Older Post Home

4 comments:

  1. yaescapefromrealityJanuary 18, 2014 at 1:04 AM

    Glad to hear you liked this book so much, I should be reading it soon! ~Pam

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
      Reply
  2. UnknownJanuary 18, 2014 at 9:28 AM

    I really enjoyed this one as well! I can't wait to read the next installment. :) Happy you enjoyed it as well!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
      Reply
  3. AnonymousJanuary 18, 2014 at 1:03 PM

    Yay for loving this one! I've seen nothing but positive reviews so I may need to check this one out soon. The plot, romance, and characterization sound amazing. I'm such a plot-centric reader so I really rely on the plot propelling me through a book so I'm happy that this is one of those books.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
      Reply
  4. UnknownJanuary 27, 2014 at 6:31 PM

    I've actually haven't put this on my TBR pile because it sounds a lot like the Gallagher Girls series but your review sounds good. Sounds like a much more amped up version of the series. *puts on TBR pile*

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
      Reply
Add comment
Load more...

Share your thoughts! I'm always looking for insight from other readers because hey - your opinion matters! Also, if no one's told you yet, I just want to say that I love your smile and that you should grace all of us with it.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

pageviews

Search This Blog

grab my button

Out of Time

Follow with Feedly

GFC Followers

I Review For...

HarperCollins
Macmillan
Penguin/Random House
Disney Book Group
Scholastic
Raincoast
Abrams
Simon & Schuster
HarlequinTEEN
Bloomsbury
Sourcebooks Fire
Little, Brown

Labels

Book Review ARC Giveaway Musing Four Stars Guest Post 3xA MA Five Stars Song Review Four and a Half Stars Blog Event Three and a Half Stars Blog Tour End of Year Monthly Recap 3xA MA 2015 One and a Half Stars Three Stars Book Tag Rant Waiting on Wednesday Infinity Stars Novel Melodies Random Two Stars Interview Mandatory Rules On Two and a Half Stars Twitter Party Album Review Half a Star One Star Original Work DNF Author Meeting and Signing Recommendation Advice Event Recap Excerpt Playlist Spoken Word

    Copyright © 2012 Out of Time | Powered by Blogger
    Layout by Web2feel | Blogger Template by NewBloggerThemes.com
    Lineal brushes by tutorialeslali
    Subscribe to Posts | Subscribe to Comments Light textures by Sarytah
    Music notes by Coby17
    Galaxy brushes by Sunira