Blog Tour Review: True Grime

True Grime by Natasha Deen, 2011. 276 pages. Genre: YA Urban Fantasy/Mystery. Published by Blueberry Hill. Source: Parterners in Crime Tours/Publisher for review.

Grime cop and teen fairy Pepper Powder lives for one thing: protecting the human species from magical zealots who seek to eradicate them with Violent Illness of Unusual Resistance and Strength (humans call them “viruses,” but their mistake is understandable. The very young often get their words wrong.). When a terrorist leader releases a necrophage bomb, it not only decimates Grime headquarters, it turns Pepper into the magical world’s first fairy amputee—but she’s not going to let a little thing like a missing leg stop her. To catch her criminal, and prevent him from unleashing a VIURS in one of the human world’s biggest shopping centers, West Edmonton Mall, she goes undercover as a human. But once Pepper's theories of humanity collide with the reality of bullies, cliques, and environmental destruction, will she still believe humanity's worth saving?

First Sentence:

In The City, crime never slept.

I tend to either love or hate books with faeries, with no room for a middle ground feeling concerning them. True Grime hit the nail on the head with an original take on faeries, having them be protectors of the human race with the bonus of including some pretty funny bantering between Pepper and Harley (partners as Grime cops).
     True Grime is the first book I have read were the faeries are the main focus of the story, and where humans take a very backseat role. Given that, I was definitely impressed with how things played out and with how well the story flowed and the interactions between the characters (like the "relationship" of Pepper and Harley).

One of the things I liked most about True Grime was the build up to the confrontation with Claude, and that the ending of the book was just as good as the beginning and did not fizzle out. By far one of the better fairy books I have read.
I also (really) liked how even the MC weren't spared from being maimed in the line of duty. Why, because it seems like in most books/shows the main characters get hurt but then few minutes later they are all fine-and-dandy again, so I was very impressed with how Ms. Deen added in the very real fact that people (or fairies in the case of True Grime) get hurt. It definitely gave the characters a little more humanity.

Pepper, definitely one interesting and slightly crazy in an orderly way characters I've read about in a while. The one personality trait of hers, that endeared her as a character to me, would have to be that as a Grime cop she did things by the book. I thought that one trait made her interesting since most cop characters in books (or shows) tend to be...unorthodox.
I loved Pepper, she made me laugh and managed to even catch me off guard (see my favorite scene to find out how she shocked me).
      Even though his name, Claude, does not exactly strike fear at the ringing of his name I thought that he made for an interesting adversary for Pepper and Harley. While his deeds and how he planned on accomplishing it, trying to wipe out the human population out, was pretty well thought out and realistic. I thought what truly made him a worthy foe for Pepper and Harley was the fact that there was history between them (the deaths of both of their fathers at his hands) made it all the more absorbing because they were both willing to do anything to put an end to his schemes.

Picking my favorite scene for True Grime was definitely one of the easiest ones I've done in a while. The best scene was when Pepper did something extremely out of character, like, go completely against the rules of a Grime, especially since Pepper always does things by the book. What made this the best scene of True Grime was that it was so very convincing and left me completely agog (I was like did she just do that!!!).
      The one draw back to True Grime that I came across while reading it was that it was just a tad slow on taking off and pulling me into the story. But once it did get going I was absolutely enthralled by the this book

Final Verdict: True Grime a fascinating spin on fairies.

True Grime earns 4 out of 5 pineapples.

About: Natasha Deen-

When I was little, there was only one thing I wanted to be: a superhero. But there came a day when my dreams were broken, and that was the day I realized that being a klutz was not, in fact, a super power, and my super weakness for anything bright and shiny meant a magpie with self-control could easily defeat me in a battle of wills. I turned to writing as a way to sharpen my mental super-hero skills. I don’t get to orbit the earth in a space station (and thank God, because I get sick on merry go round), but I do get to say things like: “Stand aside! This is a job for Writing Girl!!”

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November 15-Just One More Paragraph (Review, Interview, Giveaway)

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