Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Evie is special – she is the only person in the world to see through ‘glamours’ – how every paranormal creature hides their true identify – and so is invaluable to International Paranormal Containment Agency, where she has lived perfectly content since she was eight. But weird things are starting to happen – paranormals are being killed, Evie dreams of frightening prophecies, and she comes to realize that the two are connected, and that is a very bad thing…

Although at times when reading Paranormalcy I felt like I was reading really bad fanfiction, I came to realise that it was more of a ‘fun’ read than anything else, along with a breath of fresh air. Evie, our Mary Sue (beautiful, only one with a certain power, everyone adores her, everything works out fine for her, involved in a love triangle – I could go on…) protagonist is, like the majority of other YA protagonists out there, annoying, but she is also fun and full of wit, though I had to draw the line when I read that she has called her pink rhinestone decorated taser ‘Tasey.’

We don’t get an awful lot of explanation regarding how Evie’s alternate world came about, although we do get a bit of world building and originality with all of the creatures and the whole ‘International Paranormal Containment Agency’ organization. I wish the cover had more to do with the story rather than Evie in a random dress in a random wheat field – it is pretty, but I think a lot more people would be inclined to read Paranormalcy if there was just a hint of paranormal creatures like faeries, mermaids, hags and vampires that are featured.

If you’re looking for a bit of light relief and something a bit different, then although I personally didn’t like it so much, Paranormalcy is for you – it’s fun from beginning to end, with a few nice twists and good storyline, although I warn you now that there is another bloody love triangle which I’m sick to death of by now, but the faerie involved is a very interesting character at leas; what's more, it features a, what I found,  hilariously embarrassing quote from Becca Fitzpatrick.

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[SYNOPSIS: Weird as it is working for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, Evie’s always thought of herself as normal. Sure, her best friend is a mermaid, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she's falling for a shape-shifter, and she's the only person who can see through paranormals' glamours, but still. Normal. 

Only now paranormals are dying, and Evie's dreams are filled with haunting voices and mysterious prophecies. She soon realizes that there may be a link between her abilities and the sudden rash of deaths. Not only that, but she may very well be at the centre of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures. So much for normal.]