The Naturals - Jennifer Lynn Barnes
As a huge fan of profiling and true crime, this book seemed like the absolute perfect choice for a little break from fantasy books. (Please, don't come for me!🫣)
'The Naturals' is a series that has been on my To Be Read-List for a while now and the first book didn't disappoint. It's a Young Adult Crime and Mystery book that revolves around the 17-year-old Cassie Hobbes, who is invited to join an FBI program called "The Naturals", because of her natural ability to profile people.
Intrigued, she accepts and moves to Washington, D.C. to train her skills and become a real profiler. She isn't the only one living in the Safehouse, though. Her roommate Sloane has a talent for numbers and statistics, Lia is a human lie detector, Michael reads people like a book by their body language and Dean is another profiler. While Agent Lacey Locke begins her training, Cassie learns more and more about the other teenagers in the program and unravels one secret after the other. Soon it becomes clear that the serial killer their supervisors try to catch has an interest in her and her new friends participating in the hunt …
Guys, hear me out. To read this book was so refreshing and I bet there were a lot of readers who felt the same. Cassie and the others are smart, efficient and so effortlessly written. Like, you could imagine them living exactly like that in that Safehouse. Five teenagers who are in different stages of their personal development. I loved everything about it and what I loved the most, was that Cassie thinks LOGICALLY!👏
Yes, she has a heart, but her head is stronger than that and I enjoyed that so much. No stupid emotional choices, no heartbroken revenge - all that stuff. Cassie thinks about her feelings and how they affect those around her. She wants to be a comfort place for those she cares about and tries to swallow her trauma every single day. She reminded me so much of a soft version of Katniss Everdeen in another universe.
When I think about Sloane, I have to say that she is such a cute and in many ways relatable character - which is kind of scary, because she is definitely crazy. She is super sweet and adorable with all her quirks. I loved every interaction between Cassie and her.
Lia, on the other hand, is on my To Be Murdered-List. Yes, she has her heartbreaking story about her past and all, but that's no excuse to be shitty. She has her moments, definitely, but if I had been in Cassie's position, at some point I would have slapped her without hesitation. She triggered all my dark and evil desires - like murder🔪.
Moving on to the boys: Dean has my heart entirely! Though I found out way too late his hair is blonde which triggers my entire image of him. To me, he has black hair. Period. That mysterious, self-punishing, dark boy who cannot help himself, but care for the others (except Michael)? 10/10🔥.
And then there is Michael, and I am sorry to everyone out there who crushes on him, but that boy was on my nerves! Immature, annoying and an ego bigger than a skyscraper. And I know, here opinions are divided, he can be sweet and all, but that's still a big 'No!'❌️ from me.
But now what I disliked about the book: While reading, I felt like the story was served half raw. Something about crime books is that the entire thing has to be thought through in the tiniest detail. Whoever investigates follows the traces back to the murderer, because it all already happened. And reading this book felt different. As if the author was still building the entire plot and planned to go into an entirely different direction, before deciding else. Reading the final wasn't that feeling of everything falling into place, but rather: What a convenient explanation ... To me, it didn't truly make sense, so I was disappointed there. Besides the fact that all of this is unrealistic - the FBI seeking the help of five teenagers to catch a serial killer and all - this was the final straw for me to only give four stars. The information about profiling and that entire area of expertise was researched very well and I enjoyed it all. I even read that book in one sitting while my cat underwent surgery, but while I am looking forward to the rest of the series, I feel like the entire plot of Cassie being personally involved in the case would have made more sense in the second or third book.
All in all, this book was great and I definitely am going to recommend reading it. The characters were so well written, including Lia and Michael and I cannot wait to learn how their stories evolve. There was an amazing balance between their personal lives and struggles and the actual case that was going on, which I really enjoyed. I just think that most of my complaints could have been fixed if there would have been more thinking and editing of the final story.
Tropes: The Gifted💫, Love Triangle💞, Secret Government Program, Tragic Past🥀, Elite Training⚔️, Found Family🧡
This is the link to a Spotify playlist, that may make reading this book a whole different experience: 🎵 https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6C0JBHOz5gKoaeC3UWqdQf?si=603c064e21ec4e10 🎵
What do you think? Let me know in the comments if you agree with my review and if you like Dean or Michael better. To everyone who hasn't read this book yet, come back after you did and tell me about your thoughts. I hope you get to enjoy the book as much as I did. Hopefully, I hear from you soon!
kianamaiart
gracieabrams
titsay
discoholicmusic
2087
blakekathryn
gamechangershow
tangentwithtanner