Series: The Devouring Gray #1
Release Date: April 16th 2019
Publisher: Titan Books
Pages: 400
Find it on: Goodreads. BookDepository.Waterstones.
Source: The publisher kindly sent me a copy of this book to review
Rating: 5/5 stars

Synopsis

Branches and stones, daggers and bones,
They locked the Beast away.

After the death of her sister, seventeen-year-old Violet Saunders finds herself dragged to Four Paths, New York. Violet may be a newcomer, but she soon learns her mother isn’t: They belong to one of the revered founding families of the town, where stone bells hang above every doorway and danger lurks in the depths of the woods.

Justin Hawthorne’s bloodline has protected Four Paths for generations from the Gray—a lifeless dimension that imprisons a brutal monster. After Justin fails to inherit his family’s powers, his mother is determined to keep this humiliation a secret. But Justin can’t let go of the future he was promised and the town he swore to protect.

Ever since Harper Carlisle lost her hand to an accident that left her stranded in the Gray for days, she has vowed revenge on the person who abandoned her: Justin Hawthorne. There are ripples of dissent in Four Paths, and Harper seizes an opportunity to take down the Hawthornes and change her destiny-to what extent, even she doesn’t yet know.

The Gray is growing stronger every day, and its victims are piling up. When Violet accidentally unleashes the monster, all three must band together with the other Founders to unearth the dark truths behind their families’ abilities—before the Gray devours them all.

Review

The Devouring Gray is the dark and eerie tale of a small town called Four Paths and the founding families that strive to protect it from the mysterious beast known as The Gray. As newcomer Violet moves to town The Gray grows stronger, taking more and more people, but will the bickering families be able to work together to stop it from escaping its prison and destroying the town?

The Devouring Gray has pretty much everything I love in books. It has this gorgeous, atmospheric setting. I loved the quaint little town with this deep dark secret, steeped right into the towns history. The founding families with magical powers is another trope I just love and the whole book gave me serious Riverdale/The Vampire Diaries vibes.

The story is pretty quick paced and Herman has a really lovely writing style which I really enjoyed. She has created a diverse cast of characters that are full of depth and each is dealing with their own complex issues as they strive to safe the town from The Gray.

The story is mysterious and full of reveals that I didn’t see coming, and I definitely found myself turning the pages faster and faster to see how the story was going to end. This is a duology so I’m really looking forward to picking up The Deck of Omens to see what happens next. The Devouring Gray is certainly a book that’s received a lot of buzz, but if you’ve been hesitant about picking it up I’d absolutely recommend giving it a shot.