The Naturals, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (BOOK REVIEW)

 

"Cold cases are about to get hot..."

Seventeen-year-old Cassie is a natural at reading people. Piecing together the tiniest details, she can tell you who you are and what you want. But it’s not a skill that she’s ever taken seriously. That is, until the FBI come knocking: they’ve begun a classified program that uses exceptional teenagers to crack infamous cold cases, and they need Cassie.
Soon, it becomes clear that no one in the Naturals program is what they seem. And when a new killer strikes, danger looms closer than Cassie could ever have imagined. Caught in a lethal game of cat and mouse with a killer, the Naturals are going to have to use all of their gifts just to survive.

"'My inner Boy Scout had to try.'

If this guy had an inner Boy Scout, I had an inner flamingo."

I saw this book all over Goodreads and Youtube and I got super interested. This book is like, really hyped. So, what do ya know? I went to Target and got the book. I don't really know what I was expecting. I've never really read young adult mystery or thriller, at all. This was definitely new territory for me. 
First things first, I finished this book quite fast. I binged the entire last half of the book in one day. The writing is really fast-paced and super easy to read. The plot is very engaging which makes it really easy to bing-read. 

I almost stopped reading this book quite a few times just because of some adult-ish jokes and also the entire plot seemed to be going in a questionable direction. If you are going back and forth on reading this, don't worry! The plot does resolve and doesn't get weird. If you're more sensitive to overall graphic depictions of gory stuff, then I would definitely not read this book. This book has the murderers POV which was crazy and very graphic. 

Like I said before, the writing was super easy to read. Barnes's style of writing was also not my favorite, but it's good to read when you're in the mood for something super easy and fast. That being said, this is the perfect book to read if you ever get into a reading slump. 

The love triangle in this book was...interesting to say the least. It was very entertaining, I'll give ya that. The entire romance area of this book was super cringe. All the night swims and stuff was not my favorite. But, like I keep saying, if you're in the mood for something easy and cringy this book is perfect. 

Whenever I think of this book the word that immediately comes to mind is "fun". Yes, it was "trashy" or "fluffy" but those words are in the same family as "fun". Reading this book was like watching a TV show. It was super entertaining and I became invested. Kind of like how I get invested in cringy shows like When Calls the Heart. I keep saying cringy, but the murder area of this book was actually quite intense. The characters were just shallow and distant. 

The plot twist at the end was crazy. The entire ending had me on the edge of my seat and I was audibly reacting as I finished the book. My family was a little concerned (lol). 

Conclusion: Fun, intense, funny, cringy characters and romance. Read it if you're in a reading slump or in the mood for an entertaining and crazy story. 

I give this book a 6 out of 10 and recommend it to ages 14+ (I'm leaning more on the side of 15+ but it depends on the person.)

PRESS HERE to purchase this book.

Happy Reading!

-Ariana :)