Review: The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

Synopsis:
Mackie Doyle is not one of us. Though he lives in the small town of Gentry, he comes from a world of tunnels and black murky water, a world of living dead girls ruled by a little tattooed princess. He is a Replacement, left in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago. Now, because of fatal allergies to iron, blood, and consecrated ground, Mackie is fighting to survive in the human world.

Mackie would give anything to live among us, to practice on his bass or spend time with his crush, Tate. But when Tate's baby sister goes missing, Mackie is drawn irrevocably into the underworld of Gentry, known as Mayhem. He must face the dark creatures of the Slag Heaps and find his rightful place, in our world, or theirs.

Review:
The Replacement is an unique story. I have never read anything like it. The main character is Mackie, who is a replacement. He was not supposed to survive, but against all odds he did. Unfortunately, living in the human world is killing him because he is allergic to metal and blood. Clearly he lives a hard life, and he is determined to keep on living his life.

When I first started to read The Replacement, I was kind of confused in the beginning. In fact, I am still confused. (here comes a rant) Mackie's parents know that he is not their actual son, but they pretend that he is. Why? Even though a child is abducted once in a while and replaced with a changeling, the town just pretends everything is normal. Why do they do this? Why don't they fight back? I felt I never got the answers to these questions like it was never explained well enough. I just could not wrap my mind around it. (end of rant)

There are many things I did like about this book. Especially the parts in the Underworld of Gentry because they were definitely dark. Some parts of this book were just so creepy! Yovanoff conveyed the antagonists in such a way that they freaked my out a few times. The Cutter is the creepiest character, in my opinion. The description of him and what he does and can do is a little scary.

The Replacement is beautifully written thanks to Brenna Yovanoff's talent. I loved the dark, creepy vibe. The descriptions definitely gave it a Gothic feel. The story was interesting and intriguing. The ending may have been a little too perfect, but I love a happy ending. Besides what I ranted about it previously, I liked it.

Rating: 3.5/5

Swords are for fighting,