Chosen (Slayer #2) by Kiersten White — hello paranormal sass squad

You know those books that are just here to give you a really good time?

HERE is one. It just makes me nostalgic for my paranormal craze, when all I did was inhale Supernatural episodes and read Shadowhunters and wonder if I would look badass in all-black with epic knives. (Um, the answer to that is very very firmly no?? No, Cait??? Ever heard of coordination?? No you haven’t.) Chosen just fits with that mood perfectly. Sass. Humour. Epic group squad dynamics. DEMONS. Bit o’ betrayal from loved ones. More sass to cover up the pain. It’s perfect.

But first, two confessions: (1) I loved reading Slayer last year but I, um, still haven’t seen any Buffy episodes. I distinctly remember writing my review with “oh I will watch some now!” and proceeded to not do that. (2) I don’t remember Slayer perfectly and didn’t have time to reread. BUT it didn’t affect my enjoyment! I was a little confused at the start, but settled in just fine, ready for popcorn and mysteries and hellgod content.

“”I am! I really am! I’m, like, the only Hufflepuff the Watcher society ever had! Everyone else is pure Ravenclaw or Slytherin. I just want everyone to be so happy! And love each other! And love me! Except lately, I also want to hurt and kill and maim things. But that’s okay too, right? I mean, if you’re good at something it’s important to develop your talents.”

The best part, for me, is definitely the characters.

A good books has to have epic characters that I fall in love with and this has them all! Nina is a sassy Hufflepuff disaster, struggling with grief and confusion. Her “urge to kill” tendencies have indeed risen and she is scared of her own Slayer powers. She can barely control them and she doesn’t know what’s wrong with her. But she’s still SOFT and she’s so loving and protective of her friends, sassy when stressed, and pulls some badass moves. I actually adore Nina.

Then we have the excellent spread of secondary characters: Rhys and Cillian are absolutely the best, my gay nerds. One of my favourite moments was they had a little domestic fight and Cillian stood on a book to make Rhys angry. (THE AUDACITY.)  This is so adorable I can’t 😂 Cillian also has a lot more backstory mysteries to unravel which was excellent. I also loved the teleportation demon, she was cuuute. Jessi aggressively protecting the Littles was adorable. Am HERE for Doug, the absolute nicest demon who gently is cross at Nina’s depth of sadness until she lets him be there for her. It’s just such a solid friendship 🥺 This sequel also has chapters from Artemis’ POV…and honestly I didn’t really get what she was doing and she just felt petulant and annoying. But the book is also such a clash of sisterly war and love — and that kept me riveted to the page.

And the writing is just so good! Fun, easy to read, engaging!

No dull moments, perfect pacing. Honestly that’s what the story is for me: a comfort read. The stakes were still high, but it just followed good ol’ paranormal fantasy patterns so I enjoyed that! And I lived for the cookie-eating-gentle-domestic moments between the badass fighting scenes. The mystery unravelled epically too! (And there is no such thing as eating ONE COOKIE. Nina deserves all the cookies.)

I thoroughly recommend the Slayer books for anyone who loves the sass of paranormal creatures who protect, eat too many cookies, and have messy emotions and the best found-family squad dynamics.

“The darkness isn’t going anywhere. But there’s a difference between walking through it and becoming it. It doesn’t control you. You got more of it than you should? Good. Use it. Use it all.”

Thanks so much to Simon & Schuster for the review copy! Chosen (Slayer #2) by Kiersten White was published February 1, 2020.

Now that Nina has turned the Watcher’s Castle into a utopia for hurt and lonely demons, she’s still waiting for the utopia part to kick in. With her sister Artemis gone and only a few people remaining at the castle—including her still-distant mother—Nina has her hands full. Plus, though she gained back her Slayer powers from Leo, they’re not feeling quite right after being held by the seriously evil succubus Eve, a.k.a. fake Watcher’s Council member and Leo’s mom.
And while Nina is dealing with the darkness inside, there’s also a new threat on the outside, portended by an odd triangle symbol that seems to be popping up everywhere, in connection with Sean’s demon drug ring as well as someone a bit closer to home. Because one near-apocalypse just isn’t enough, right?
The darkness always finds you. And once again, it’s coming for the Slayer.

Goodreads | Simon & Schuster | Book Depository | Booktopia | Review of Slayer (Book 1)

do you like classic-style paranormal books? anyone watch Buffy? (or Supernatural!!!) and tell me if this series is on your TBR!