Possess by Gretchen McNeil

Possess
Author: Gretchen McNeil
Publisher: Balzer and Bray (an imprint of HarperCollins)
Release Date: August 23, 2011
Edition: ARC
* Received for review from publisher.

If you scare easily, do not read this book at night. You have no idea how serious I am about this. I read it in the morning and was still seriously freaked out at times--although Possess was so freaking amazing that I had to keep reading. That's the thing about Possess, it doesn't slow down and you will be glued to the page.

Bridget lives in San Francisco, a city that has been seeing an usually high level of demonic activity lately, and attends St. Michael's Prep--yes, a Catholic school. With her unique gift, she'll learn to kick some demonic butt and banish them to Hell with the help of a certain priest. However, things aren't quite that simple. A cryptic note given to her by demons reveals that someone near her might not be working for the greater good. But demons lie, right? It's what she's been told--one of the supposed rules of banishment--although perhaps it would be best to keep an eye on the persons in question. After all, what if they're right? Someone has been trying to summon one of the kings of Hell into their world and it'll be up to Bridget to put a stop to their plans.

Bridget Liu is half Chinese, half Irish, and really hopes that her ability will go away so that she can be normal again. She hangs out with two guys (occasionally a third) and her best friend, Hector, is gay. There's also Peter Kim, a boy who has been crushing on Bridget forever and it's been reaching stalker levels lately. Part of me feels terrible for Peter, but the other half of me really wanted Bridget to tell him off. Alexa is Bridget's archenemy of sorts at St. Michael's Prep and I hope Bridget goes head to head with sometime in the future--as it didn't happen in Possess. Lastly there's Matt, Bridget's love interest, son of a cop, and all around good guy. She's been avoiding him and he's been worrying about her (as well as trying to talk to her). Favorite characters? Bridget and Hector, hands down. Bridget's younger brother Sammy admittedly wasn't my favorite person in the world--but I'm pretty sure that's because I couldn't imagine dealing with my younger brother at age eight again. But that's family for you; you've got to love them regardless.

I really loved that Possess has a constant pacing to it. Once things pick up, they don't slow down until you get to the ending--at which point, I found myself completely in love with Gretchen McNeil's writing style. I wouldn't call the ending a cliffhanger, but it certainly left off in such a manner that I suspect--and seriously hope--that there will be another book. You have no idea how much I want to gush about Possess and am refraining from saying because they things I want to tell you about are spoilers. Let's just say that the demons are seriously interesting and that Mr. Moppet is more than just a cat with an interesting name.

Possess really is a book that I'd recommend to you. It's a page turner, involves demons and excorsists, and has just the right amount of romance. But again, if you scare easily, consider yourself warned. As much as I want to tell you what freaked me out in Possess, I think it'd be better for you to read it and see. ;)

Overall Rating: ★★★★★