Well paced and enjoyable, with plenty of action and an eye for relationships that will appeal to YA girls but might not work for boys. ( )

Bubby says: We said we were sick of Young Adult Paranormal and didn’t want to read or review or even look at it anymore for a while. And we meant it! Except for this book. Because this one is different. No elves. No fairies (or faeries or fae or whatevers). Only a smidgen of magic. No whiny girls who can’t control their feelings for highly inappropriate vampires and/or werewolves. Nope. This is something new and different. Hurrah!
Sissy says: I also am glad we made this exception to our “no nauseating paranormal YA (for a while)” rule. It was so engaging. I zipped through it and can’t wait to read book two, Unbound. (Read full review at www.bubblebathbooks.net )

Read the full review at Witchmag's Boekenplank

Wow! What an amazing book! From the moment I started reading I couldn’t stop till I had read the last word. What a ride ^^ I enjoyed every minute of it ^^ At first I was a little skeptical about this one. Although the blurb sparked my interest, I know I don’t have a very good relationship with male writers. It’s not their fault, but a lot of books written by male writers that I’ve read didn’t turn out that well and gave me a headache reading them. There’s usually less romance (not really a deal breaker, but still important for me ;) ) and I always got the feeling that the characters are a bit more platonic. Besides all that, I just prefer reading from a women’s point of view when reading, instead of a men’s, what’s usually the case when reading something written by a man. I know it’s not fair to tar everyone with the same brush, but in general that’s my experience. Of course there are exceptions and this is one obviously one of them ^^

Okay back to the story. As I said, this book was mind-blowing. The characters are well-considered and the story is rock solid. My only regret is that the Norse mythology wasn’t used that well . The Berserkers in the story, though, don’t have any relation at all to the Norse of yore. Aside from that fact I like the idea: protectors of evil, magical powers, adrenaline rush. This is a much better image than the Berserkers of old times had.

Madison is fantastic. She’s got just the right mix of humor and spunk. She doesn’t hide behind other people, but takes everything right on. What other choice do you have when you’re a Berserker? I really liked the fact that she stayed her little old me, even after the change. In one word: Madison rocks!

Conclusion

4 HEARTS. This was a very good book. I enjoyed every minute of it and look forward to the next one. The story and characters were well thought trough and funny. The protagonist is brilliant with her humor and spunk on just the right moments. My only letdown was the absence of some Norse mythology and the link between Berserkers, plus the lack of romance. But I have high hopes for the next book! ( )

Initially, this book bugged me. Within two chapters it transformed the fat, geeky main character into a stunningly popular Mary Sue. Suddenly, this girl that had been teased and ignored became the talk of the small high school. She soared to popular heights, suddenly developed athletic prowess and almost gave me give it up in disgust.

Thankfully, the author then went on to throw in a fatal flaw (well, almost fatal) and then actually explain why she had suddenly turned from plump and uncoordinated into a sports star.

From then on, it got steadily better. The mythology behind the Bezerkers, the Binders and the Havocs seems to be well considered and well thought out and, once the story got properly started, the plot moved along nicely. Which was good, because I do not know how much more High School teen drama angst I could take. After Madison discovered her new identity, the whole high School theme rather faded into the background, which made the slow build up rather unnecessary, but it does give an insight into how much her life, and priorities, had changed - which is probably the point.

I do feel sorry for her friend Amy though. I hope she gets more of a role in the second book. ( )

Well paced and enjoyable, with plenty of action and an eye for relationships that will appeal to YA girls but might not work for boys. ( )