TBB ▲: REVIEW: MORTAL DANGER BY ANN AGUIRRE.

Title: Mortal Danger
Series: Immortal Game #1
Author: Ann Aguirre
Edition: Paperback (international Edition)
Publication: Feiwel and Friends / August 5, 2014
Source: Finished copy sent by the publisher
Pages: 374
Genre: Mystery, Paranormal
Trailer: Not available.

Synopsis:

Revenge is a dish best served cold.

In Ann Aguirre's Mortal Danger, Edie Kramer has a score to settle with the beautiful people at Blackbriar Academy. Their cruelty drove her to the brink of despair, and four months ago, she couldn’t imagine being strong enough to face her senior year. But thanks to a Faustian compact with the enigmatic Kian, she has the power to make the bullies pay. She’s not supposed to think about Kian once the deal is done, but devastating pain burns behind his unearthly beauty, and he’s impossible to forget.

In one short summer, her entire life changes and she sweeps through Blackbriar, prepped to take the beautiful people down from the inside. A whisper here, a look there, and suddenly . . . bad things are happening. It’s a head rush, seeing her tormentors get what they deserve, but things that seem too good to be true usually are, and soon, the pranks and payback turns from delicious to deadly. Edie is alone in a world teeming with secrets and fiends lurking in the shadows. In this murky morass of devil’s bargains, she isn’t sure who—or what—she can trust. Not even her own mind.

This book made me feel like am playing some kind of a single player game. There were moments I absolutely liked it and there were frustrations in between. While reading and disliking Mortal Danger, I was trying really hard to focus on just getting through with it. I avoided thinking about the possible loopholes I can talk about in my review. This way, I get to avoid critique-ing the entire plot and *probably* just enjoy what Aguirre presented.

Erin was bullied until she was broken. She reached a point where checking out was her best option. Her parents couldn't be relied on that much because they were scholarly enough and their expectations of her were high, she didn't have friends and she felt so ugly that the only best thing she thought she has was her grades. She was about to jump off a bridge when Kian stopped her and gave her an alluring option - revenge. She was offered 3 wishes though she's not sure what the catch would be. She took it and let Kian guide her through the game. Her first wish was to be beautiful (ugh). After Kian worked on her using I don't know what (magic? science?), eerie and dangerous things started happening. And I felt like she was about to be broken the second time around.

Mortal Danger started strong. I liked how Aguirre planted the root of every decision Erin would make in my head. In the beginning, I was transported to the life of a bullied high schooler and seeing it from her perspective intrigued me. Erin was supposed to be successful in her attempt to check out but Kian stopped her. The book claimed Kian was no longer human but that I truly didn't understand. But the concept of someone as mysterious as Kian offering you 3 wishes made me hopeful. I used to wish for it when I was little. I pegged that a Genie in a Bottle or something is just out there waiting for me to make my wishes. BUT THEN when Erin wished for her makeover, everything went down the drain for me. YOU COULD HAVE EASILY GONE TO THE GYM, SALON THEN SHOPPED FOR CLOTHES! That wish changed how I looked at Erin and at the book. DO YOU REALLY HAVE TO USE BEAUTY AS A SCALE TO MAKE YOURSELF FEEL BETTER? WORTHY? CONFIDENT? COME ON. Then the second wish absolutely made me hate her but the last wish kind of redeemed her from my impending anger. At least for a bit.

Honestly, I didn't know much about Kian in the book. Only bits and pieces were shared and I wanted to know more about him not just his favorite color or movie. I wanted to understand his relationship with Raoul, how he ended up working for that creepy company and why was he ready to leave everything behind for Erin! I wanted to understand how it all works but my brain couldn't wrap it up.

What really, REALLY threw me off (aside from the fact that the book talked so much about how being beautiful can make life better) was the genre. It started from contemporary to sci-fi then to paranormal to horror to mystery. There's also a little bit of mythology and fantasy. It would have been a very intriguing one but I guess I got confused and I didn't enjoy shifting from one kind of genre to a bunch of others. It would have been a thoroughly enjoyable one if one genre shone brighter than the others. But that's just me, okay?

Mortal Danger can be summed up in one word: dangerous. A game no one knows how to win, Mortal Danger leaves you gambling for answers and striving for survival.

Thank you Pan Macmillan Asia for the review copy!