Book Review: Slayer by Kiersten White

Slayer

Author: Kiersten White

Published by: Simon & Schuster Kids on February 1st, 2019

Rating: ★★★★★

Genre: Young Adult // Paranormal // Urban Fantasy

Similar Books I’ve Read: The Coldest Girl In Coldtown, The Rise

Disclosure: I received this book from the Publisher/Author in exchange for an impartial review. This is an unpaid/unsponsored post.

Into every generation a Slayer is born…
Nina and her twin sister, Artemis, are far from normal. It’s hard to be when you grow up at the Watcher’s Academy, which is a bit different from your average boarding school. Here teens are trained as guides for Slayers—girls gifted with supernatural strength to fight the forces of darkness. But while Nina’s mother is a prominent member of the Watcher’s Council, Nina has never embraced the violent Watcher lifestyle. Instead she follows her instincts to heal, carving out a place for herself as the school medic.
Until the day Nina’s life changes forever.
Thanks to Buffy, the famous (and infamous) Slayer that Nina’s father died protecting, Nina is not only the newest Chosen One—she’s the last Slayer, ever. Period.
As Nina hones her skills with her Watcher-in-training, Leo, there’s plenty to keep her occupied: a monster fighting ring, a demon who eats happiness, a shadowy figure that keeps popping up in Nina’s dreams…
But it’s not until bodies start turning up that Nina’s new powers will truly be tested—because someone she loves might be next.
One thing is clear: Being Chosen is easy. Making choices is hard.

First Thoughts

I’ve always been a huge fan of Vampires. Give me one over anything any day. I was such a huge Twilight fan back in the day, and then breezed through the True Blood series and of course, was also such a fan of The Vampire Diaries and The Originals books and shows. But before any of these existed, I was the biggest Buffy fan there is. I watched the show, I even had the video game (and the board game, I know, totally showing my age here). So when Slayer came along, thanks to the lovely S&S team, I knew I had to read it. I owe it to my younger self to delve back into the vamp-tastic world.

My Review

If you have no clue about the Buffy world before you start to read Slayer, it can take you a while to get the type of humour and the backstory that makes the world so enthralling. So “new” readers to the universe might take a hot second to get accustomed to what Slayer is all about, but Kiersten makes this extremely easy. Entering the world with sharp-wit and a heroine that didn’t ask to be chosen, or even want to be a Slayer, we have Nina. Born Athena, twin-sister of Artemis, formerly. Instead of focusing on the Slayer world like the tv show did, Slayer focuses more on the Watchers, which was extremely refreshing and seeing Nina turn from this proposed damsel into a sudden kick-ass woman was character development in it’s peak.

Let me start by saying that Nina didn’t ask to be a Slayer. She has always strayed towards healing and focuses all her energy on that. So when she’s called to a Slayer, it’s a shock for her and all those that surround her. There’s a well-known distaste for Buffy amongst the Watchers (which is explored and pulled apart as the book goes on and we learn how they get to realise the sacrifices a Slayer makes and how their hatred was displaced) because Nina’s father died protecting Buffy. If you were a fan of the history of the Buffyverse, you might remember him as her first Watcher. But now, Nina is the newest Chosen One. And the last Slayer ever. Suddenly she’s thrown into this confusing and monster-filled skill that she never wanted to learn, shadows that fight hard and bodies surrounding her dreams and real life.

Overall, Slayer well surpassed my expectations. I wasn’t sure if I was going to get a Buffy knock-off, but instead, it was like I was reading this new spin-off of the world, the same sharp, on point humour, exceptional main and secondary characters (Rhys and Cillian, 100%), perfect pacing and downright unputdownable story. Kiersten has written something that’s kick-started my reading slump and given me something to sweeten my Vampire-loving collection, the first in a very long time. Huge five stars.