Pretty in Black

by Rae Hachton

Pretty in Black Series, Book 1

Book Description

Some Things are Pretty. Some Things are Black. Love is both.

[Ellie Piper]

She wanted to die. He arose from the grave. He was sent to kill her. She was trained to kill those of his kind. But fate had other plans. He searched for 119 years to find her. And there’s no way in hell he’s letting her go. Dead or Alive. They’re fated.

[Marcus Marble]

How far would you go to be with the one you love? Would you die for her? Would you kill for her? What if the only reason you’re still alive is because of her? What if the reason you came back from the dead, was to be with her? But what if your job was to kill her, but you fell in love instead? And now you’re being hunted by your own kind? Destroy? Or be Destroyed?

My Thoughts

Ellie Piper wants to die. She even hangs out in graveyards when she tries to kill herself. But one night, she is stopped by a really hot guy, Marcus, who also apparently likes to hang out in graveyards. Marcus talks her out of suicide, and after that, can’t seem to leave her alone. Soon enough, being with Marcus has given Ellie something to live for.

As Ellie is trying to find out where she fits in between her old life as a cheerleader and her new life living in a trailer park, she is given the news that she is a hunter, who must kill those known as the Evermores–unnatural creatures who are resurrected from the dead to walk on Earth. Ellie’s life is about to change in a drastic way…but she will face it, as long as she can be with Marcus.

I have very mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, the plot was fresh and the creatures within unique. But on the other, the characters made some decisions that I just did not understand.

Ellie is likable enough. I don’t understand, however, the urge to go from peppy cheerleader to dark goth girl, because of the loss of her sister. That’s not to say that the things she does aren’t hilarious–they are. Some of the stuff Ellie does on the spur of the moment is just awesome. I also don’t understand how her mom could go from middle class wife to a drunk in a trailer park who doesn’t even speak proper English. But anyway…

When Ellie meets Marcus, yes, I got a little sense of insta-love. It’s even a bit stalker-ish that he follows her everywhere. But their relationship develops over a couple of months, and even though Marcus is head over heels, Ellie doesn’t immediately feel the same.

There were also a couple of things that just didn’t get wrapped up for me…such as, what was the purpose of the blond guy who gave Ellie his number, never to be heard from again? I also didn’t completely understand where Ellie went at the end of the book.

I loved that I got to see events unfold from Marcus’ standpoint as well, and I really like the originality of the Evermores. You can clearly see in the influences on the author in this book–from Poe, to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I’m looking forward to reading the next book, to see if I can gain some insight into the end of this book.