Jealousy by Lili St Crow

Target Audience: Teens/Young Adults
Genre: Fantasy/Horror/Romance

What can i say about this book? Firstly, i rated the first two in the series rather differently. The first got a four but the second nearly got a three, only just saved with a four by the ending, needless to say though, i still enjoyed them and eagerly anticipated the release of Jealousy. In my opinion, Jealousy was simply the best of them all and earned the full five stars.

The story picks up not long after Dru and Graves arrive at the main Schola having just narrowly escaped being killed. Christophe has apparently vanished and Ash, the broken Wulf is now chained up as they try to get him to change back to boy form. But things aren't as they seem, and although she should now be safe, there seems to be a traitor in the midst who is hell bent on destroying Dru, the question is who is it that so badly wants Dru dead and why?

I found there was a lot more depth to the plot in this installment and a lot more action to the events and that in some places i was left awestruck with some of things that came to pass and i found myself hooked to the complex and ever evolving story.

As well as the supernatural side, there is also a tense psychological thriller undertone to the procedings as i was left to guess, as the reader, what was happening and try and figure out who was behind some of the disasters as they happen. On their own the clues are intriguing, but as it all comes together i had one of those 'ah ha!' moments, which is great because i love it when a great story comes together and explains itself.

The characters themselves do some major shifting in this book, with alternate sides to Dru, Graves, Christophe and Anna being shown. While mentioning this, i also feel compelled to say that i got introduced to a new level of evil in this book. I just couldn't get over how damn evil some people can be, it takes malice all to a new level and the title of the novel becomes immensely clear. Graves reveals more of his softer side and i even got a glimpse of his past and how he came to be who he is. Christophe is missing from a good proportion of the book and in honesty it worked better that way, as his entrance is damn awesome!

Dru herself certainly undergoes some changes as she nears blooming time and undergoes more training, and i loved the way she handles all the attention from a school full of boys. Also, her confident stance against anna was magnificient, expect some major cat fights and some rather good wars of words.

All this aside, the conclusion at the end of the story allows for a lot of things to be tied up but without completing the series. A lot of the things that were a mystery become clear and the cliffhanger ending has left me longing for the next in the series, i simply can't wait for book four!