The Replacement

The Replacement
by Brenna Yovanoff

Mackie Doyle is a replacement - a fairy child left in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago, to replace the baby when it was stolen away by the fey. So though he lives in the small town of Gentry, Mackie's real home is the fey world of tunnels and black, murky water, a world of living dead girls ruled by a little tattooed princess. Now, because his fey blood gives him fatal allergies to iron, blood and consecrated ground, Mackie is slowly dying in the human world. Mackie would give anything just to be normal, to live quietly amongst humans, practice his bass guitar and spend time with his crush, Tate. But when Tate's baby sister goes missing, Mackie is drawn irrevocably back home to the fey underworld of Gentry, known as Mayhem, where he must face down the dark creatures, rescue the child, and find his rightful place - in our world, or theirs. (description taken from Amazon.com)

Oooh. I was salivating over this book for months, and months, and months...ever since I first glimpsed this awesomely creepy cover. (Not a huge fan of the new paperback cover, btw...) I was only slightly disappointed when I finally finished it.

The premise of this book is not wholly original, but the execution is almost flawless. Mackie's hometown of Gentry is a deliciously dark place full of secrets and people more than willing to keep them...

I love dark, creepy faerie stories and this one is amazing. I love the idea that the main character is actually a changeling and the obstacles that Mackie has to face as he gets older and cannot survive in the human world gave this book a clever twist. My only (and I mean only) problem with this book was that I just couldn't really connect with Mackie.

I've read tons of reviews...and almost everyone loves Mackie. He is a very interesting character. His progression from sickly "freak" to reluctant hero is believable and fun to read...but he just didn't...reach out and grab me.

Whereas...many of the other characters practically leapt off the pages at me. For one, Mackie's love interest, Tate. She is one of my new favorite heroines. This is a girl that doesn't buy the local bull...this is a girl that faces down ridicule, stands up to the mean girl, fights (literally) for what she knows is true...she will do ANYTHING to save her sister. She is in a word, awesome!

I also really loved Mackie's best friend, Roswell. His loyalty knows no bounds. He and the twins were awesome comic relief and back up when needed. Not to mention Mackie's sister...

Lastly one cannot ignore the "Old Ones." The Morrigan was unlike I'd ever seen her before and I truly adored the way that Yovanoff wrote her... Her blue girls and Janice and the others from the House of Mayhem struck that perfect balance between dark and dangerous and good. The Lady and her Cutter were the ultimate nemeses and I was creeped out in ways I can't even describe.

Other than feeling a slight disconnect from Mackie, which I actually felt was an advantage...since he's supposed to be "other" and I wouldn't want to be able to wholly relate to him...the writing was amazing...the characters were deep, twisted, and compelling...the setting was phenomenal....

This is definitely going to the top of my personal list for the dark fae/horror genre!