This was definitely a wild and weird story to read but it was extremely unique. The intertwining stories between the characters were interesting to read and figure out,

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I felt that the mystery element of the story was awesome, surprising and twisty as well as terrifying and I loved everything about it. The world that the author created was so different from anything I have encountered and secrets kept getting revealed causing me to doubt everything! I had guesses about what was going on, but there was no possible way I could ever have predicted what was really going to happen and I love that about the book! This review is short and to the point so I don't give anything away, just know this was engaging, scary, interesting and addictive.

If you are looking for a scary paranormal mystery that has LGBT representation this is the perfect choice. A large majority of the characters in the story are openly bisexual, which added some relationship drama (in the form of unrequited love and potential love triangles) on top of the spooky problems. 

The ending was not really an ending, but instead opened up a ton more conflicts and questions that I will look forward to delving into in the next book in the series.

I added this book to my TBR list last year when I first heard it described as "Raven Boys + Stranger Things." I want to add that it's really a Disney version of the blend of those two. I enjoyed the plot (mysterious, magical town history + newcomer who needs to learn how she fits in and work with her peers to save everyone else), and the characters had enough development to pull me in (Isaac gives me the same tinglies as Ronan Lynch), but it felt like it was all filtered through some sort of kiddy lens. Some of the twists later in the book upped the danger level, but I still felt like some gut punches were missing. I'll cross my fingers that the next one goes hard, since the premise is great and it's set up for success. 

I received an eGalley of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

This one wrecked me. THE DEVOURING GRAY has some of the rawest and true-to-life teenagers I've ever seen written in a YA book. While not particularly action-heavy despite the premise (though I'm holding onto hope for the sequel), this book draws its strength from its characters. And the way the subject of grief is handled is so perfectly executed that I, myself, felt the loss. Going back to the action scenes, especially involving the creature within The Gray, while yes there weren't as many as I would have liked, those that were there were masterfully crafted. Eerie, spine-chilling atmospheres, the fear of the unknown, of a villain that cannot be seen. There was a great deal of inspiration pulled from both Stranger Things and The Raven Cycle when these scenes were written and it shows. I felt the same level of unease, and greatly look forward to the second installment.

DNF
Thank you for the opportunity to read this title. Unfortunately, presently I have no interest in reading this title as I am in a YA slump. I may come back to it when I am in the mood in the future. I apologize for the convenience.

The Devouring Gray is the first book in a new series set in Four Paths, a town in upstate New York which harbors a monster imprisoned in a parallel dimension called The Gray.  The town's founding families, the Hawthornes, Carlisles, Saunders and Sullivans, are tasked with keeping the Beast at bay.  When teens from each family turn 16, they must perform a ritual to reveal magical abilities, which will allow them to keep the monster contained and protect the town.  Violet Saunders, whose mother returns with her to Four Paths after her sister's death, is thrust into this drama just as her magical abilities are beginning to surface. She meets Justin Hawthorne, Harper Carlisle and Isaac Sullivan, who are at odds after devastating results from performing their rituals.  They each curry Violet's favor, thinking she is the key to defending the town against the beast which is killing townspeople with greater frequency.  The third person narration jumps between characters during simultaneous action and expertly manipulates revelations about the townspeople and their secrets.  Although reminiscent of Netflix's Stranger Things, the complexity of the family histories and the teens' magical abilities used to fight "the Gray" create a unique mystery that will make readers anxious to read the sequel.

I enjoyed the story and I am curious to see where the series go. However, I had a problem with the lack of diversity. ALL four main characters were white.

I've seen this described as Stranger Things meets The Raven Cycle and I wasn't disappointed. This was a moody and dark read that kept me hooked, and I can't wait to see more from Christine Lynn Herman.

PARANORMAL IS COMING BACK, and this time, it’s queer af. I was thrilled to see so many characters younger me would have related to. And the world building! Absolutely wonderful, exactly the kind of creepy I was hoping for. If you’ve been missing STRANGER THINGS, this book is for you.

I received this novel as an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

The Devouring Gray is Christine Lynn Herman's debut novel, and it did not disappoint!

The novel follows four teens living in a town named Four Paths who are protecting their town from the Gray and the Beast that lives within the Gray. We follow the teens as they work through the responsibility of keeping the town safe as well as their personal and family struggles. I quickly loved all of the characters and their unique perspectives and challenges. Christine does an excellent job in representing a diverse population in her writing: bisexuality, heterosexuality, a below the elbow amputee, young, old, female, and male. 

This YA novel combines fantasy and horror, which happens to be my favorite combo when it comes to my book selections. Christine's writing is clean, descriptive, and easy to follow, making this an enjoyable read. Be aware that this is not a stand alone book and we will have to wait until 2020 for the second installment. I'll be pre-ordering my copy as soon as it's available. Awesome read!

This was such a darkly fun story! Violet and her mother move to Four Paths after the death of her sister. She soon makes friends only to find out they are descendants of the town’s founders and so is she. Then magical things begin happening and Violet is pulled into the world of Four Paths and the Devouring Gray, a magical force that lives in the woods and seems to be feeding on the townspeople.

This book has that found family aspect that I adore. Violet is desperately searching for both answers to family secrets and a family. She has lost her father and sister, and her mother is very distant, always working, and shares nothing about her past. Justin and May are siblings with an incredibly controlling mother who is also the town sheriff. Issac is the only member of his family left in Four Paths. And Harper comes from a family with so many kids, it’s easy for her to feel unnoticed. So each of these characters are looking for family and definitely find it in each other.

The story line is fun and interesting, but my favorite part was the friendships.

Thank you so much to Disney-Hyperion and NetGalley for the chance to read and review this book!

After a tragic accident, Violet and her mother did what her mother never wanted and moved back to her mother's childhood home. There Violet's family is one of the founding families and she is treated with guarded and fearful respect. This secretive town is frustrates Violet even more when people begin turning up dead and no one will give her any answers. Violet digs deep into her family's past to find what potentially mystical monster might be overshadowing the town.

This book had an interesting premise, though I never really got into it. I never liked or connected to the characters and the supernatural element was not something I was a fan of. I was a great crack at this story, but it didn't turn into one of my favorite books.

I apologize in advance if this review seems like a whole jumble of words it's because my brain is still not really wrapped around this book. So much happened and so little at the same time and my brain is like mush. Anyway here goes nothing.
Violet Saunders and her mom Juniper move in with Juniper's sister Daria in their hometown after the death of Violet's sister Rosie. She soon discovers that the town has a sinister forest called the Gray where a beast resides and many people have lost their lives. Even more interesting is that she finds out the Saunders name is well known here since one of Violet's ancestors created the town along with three other people from different families. Centuries ago, these four people created the town and bound the beast to the Gray. How they did so? With magic of course. For these four people somehow have special abilities that were passed down through the generations. The Sullivans can control fire, the Hawthornes can wipe a person's memory, the Carlisle's can control earth by transforming their own limbs to rock, and the Saunders can bring back the dead as well as other gifts that some family members possess like May and her gift of accurate reading of tarot cards. With all these gifts of course came consequences with Harper losing her left arm, Isaac not being able to control his fire when angry or afraid, and Daria and Juniper being so dangerous their memories were wiped. The four kids of these families Justin, Isaac, Harpar, and Violet end up working together to figure out why their families locked away the beast and how they can stop it from killing more people. Their is some tension in this with Harper despising Justin for betraying their friendship but they have to ultimately settle their differences to deal with a bigger cause. Chaos insues with Violet briefly losing her memory then being possessed by the beast itself and the bigger more horrible truth of a cult that planned to unleash the beast, being led by Violet's undead uncle who she only knew about through his journals. Of course the beast is banished once again and the cult is dispersed but the ending remains open ended with Isaac's abusive brother returning to Four Paths. 

After that summary to kind of get my brain into gear since it's been some time since I finished this book I will say there are a lot of holes in this novel. The history of Four Paths is not really brushed upon much. It feels like the author only scratched the surface. How did these four people come to this town with these powers and how did this beast come to really be? We don't really know they were just there and the beast someone exists and the four people gave their lives to bind it to this place called the Gray. That forest in itself really doesn't make sense contextually either. Also the rituals every member of these families have to endure to get their powers under control remains super vague. Justin did not pass his ritual but what that ritual was is unknown. Harper's is vague as well until the end of the book and Isaac's is touched upon but not in enough detail. Violet's is really the only well known one since she had to complete it in order to save the town from the beast. As for characters I liked them enough. Justin was nothing to really praise about just a guy with no powers who's pretty much a coward for not standing up to his mom. Isaac I couldn't help but love with his fiery personality and gentle heart. He gave me super hard Ronan Lynch vibes and I love that cinnamon roll so I can't help but love Isaac too. Violet is as fiery as Isaac and I liked her give no fucks personality a lot. It's something seen in female protagonists but Violet is very unabashed about it and I appreciate that. I really thought her and Isaac made a great couple but it's irritating that it's not clear if Isaac has feelings for her or if he only has feelings for Justin. Harper is someone I admired with her strong will after basically being ostracized after her failed ritual and how mature she was for putting revenge aside to help vanquish the beast. As for other characters didn't like Augusta as I'm sure was the point since she aimed to control the town if anyone threatened her authority their memory was wiped. Juniper was not in the novel enough to feel really anything about her but I feel so bad for Daria for trying to help Violet and being murdered for it. I would count Orpheus as a character even though he is a cat and of course I loved his sass and I'm glad that Violet was able to raise him from the dead since I really don't think I would have dealt with this novel well if there was a dead cat since I can't stand animal deaths. Had to knock off a part of the star for that since the author could have found some other way to reveal Violet's power of necromancy. But besides that the concept of this book was really interesting and some of the characters memorable but the execution and back story could have been better.

The first thing that drew me to this book was the cover.  The cover is just gorgeous and creepy.  I then read the synopsis and I knew this was a story I had to read.  I really enjoyed this book.  The story was eerie and compelling, the writing was excellent, and the characters were all very interesting.  The setting, especially the parts in the Gray, made this story extra chilling.  I definitely recommend this book and I look forward to reading more from the author.

I had some mixed feelings about this book.  Overall, the story held my interest, but I wasn't overly fond of it.  The concept is interesting, but it feels like too many characters and too many points of view were crammed into too short of a book.  I recognize that this is only the first book in a series, but it was difficult to get attached to anyone in particular. And the characters that we do get to know don't seem that likable.  Perhaps that will change in future books, but I'm not sure I want to invest the time to keep reading them.

I had really high hopes for this one but for me it just fell flat. 

It's about four families who are the founders of Four Paths and how their ancestors a long time ago bound a beast to the gray and now they have powers. Now the newer generations are still keeping the beast at bay which means they can't leave the town. Though something happened a long time ago allowing the Saunders to leave, but now they are back and Violet has no idea about any of this or her powers till weird things start to happen. It's up to them to save the town but the town is not on their side as much as they use to be. It seems some have their own agenda and it could be dangerous.

So this one sounded really interesting but to be honest I was bored throughout most of it . It wasn't till the last twenty minutes that I found it to be interesting. I really struggled finishing it. Things don't make a lot of sense, like why do these people stay in town, as far as I know they are not bound just the founders, so instead of just staying there and fearing for their lives why not leave?? 

At least it didn't leave you with a cliffhanger like a lot of YA series do. It did leave an opening for the next book but it's not a OMG they left me hanging type of things.

This is one of those books that you know everyone seems to like, but you just can't understand why. I'm not discrediting others; this book surely has potential for someone who isn't me! It was just very slow, very character-focused, not much happens until halfway in, and the whole book seems gray and foggy. The worldbuilding felt askew. The setting threw me off a bit, because it was written almost as if it was supposed to be set in another time, but there are cars and cell phones and such. I saw other reviewers comparing the writing style to The Raven Boys, which I can't speak to because I never made it in far enough to read that series — I got too bored! I think it's just a matter of preference. Sorry, The Devouring Gray!

I loved this Young Adult fantasy that was dark and well described. This world practically jumped of the pages and had my attention from the beginning.

Received a digital ARC of this book via NetGalley.

I found this quite enjoyable. Book was described as “Stranger Things” meets “Riverdale.” The description didn’t disappoint. I would even add a hint of “Vampire Diaries” due to a group of founding families controlling/protecting the town. Gave me my paranormal fix for my fav tv shows during their hiatus.

THE DEVOURING GRAY = DEVOURING READ! I COULD NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN! I loved first off the hints of the side f/f relationships. I'm glad to see more and more book be more accepting and open with gay relationships now! FINALLY! This book is defn Raven Boys meets Stranger things. Two perfect things combined into a perfect book! The plot was well paced and the characters were given a great arc. i loved the world building and how each page brought something new. My only question is....WHERE IS MUH SEQUEL????