You're a Daughter of What Now?

Boyfriend from Hell by Jamie Quaid

Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for a review.

Summary: Justine (Tina) Clancy is just an ordinary law student with a faulty arrest record, a part-time job in Baltimore’s radioactive Zone, and a family secret so bizarre even she doesn’t believe it. That is, until in a fit of fury she damns her boyfriend to hell—and it’s exactly where he ends up.

Much to her own surprise, Tina is apparently one of Saturn’s daughters, with the power to wield vigilante justice. But poor Max didn’t deserve to go up in flames, even if he did almost run her over with her own car. Tina’s convinced someone cut the brakes—and now a relentless nemesis is stalking her through the Zone’s back alleys, where buildings glow, statues move, and chemical waste exposure comes with interesting consequences. Tina’s usually a loner, but now she needs a posse like no other: a shape-shifting kitten, an invisible thief, a biker gang, a snake-charming private detective, a well-meaning cop, and her sleazy, sexy boss. But in between freeing Max from hell, saving her own neck, and solving a mystery that threatens the Zone and her newfound friends, how is she ever going to study for finals?

Review: An interesting although quite confusing supernatural story with some weird relationships thrown in for a good measure. 

I was happy to have a main female character who had a physical defect instead of either extremely beautiful or views herself as plain or unattractive, but everyone finds her attractive (but sadly that changes in the book). Tina says she has no issues with self esteem yet says she knows that Max is probably the best she can do for a girl like her. I wanted to smack her then and a number of times in the book. Not everyone is incredibly beautiful or has a killer body. Plenty of people are average. 

The relationships in this book were a bit odd. I couldn't really get a good feel for how she felt about Max and even less for how she felt about Andre, who was sleazy at times yet nice at other times. Even less certain for me was what exactly the Zone was, what exactly Tina was, and what exactly the Zone did to people. If Tina is one of Saturn's daughters, how exactly did that come about? What is because of her heritage or did the Zone help bring it out? And what about everyone else who lives in the Zone and gets unusual powers? More explanation please. 

Rating:

Recommendation: I would recommend this book to fans of supernatural fiction or fantasy stories with main characters with physical defects (at least at first).