Existence by Abbi Glines

Existence
( Existence Trilogy, Book #1 )

by Abbi Glines 

Genre: Young Adult | Dark Romance | Fantasy

What happens when you're stalked by Death? You fall in love with him, of course. Pagan Moore doesn't cheat Death, but instead, falls in love with him. Seventeen year old Pagan Moore has seen souls her entire life. Once she realized the strangers she often saw walking through walls were not visible to anyone else, she started ignoring them. If she didn't let them know she could see them, then they left her alone. Until she stepped out of her car the first day of school and saw an incredibly sexy guy lounging on a picnic table, watching her with an amused smirk on his face. Problem is, she knows he's dead. Not only does he not go away when she ignores him, but he does something none of the others have ever done. He speaks. Pagan is fascinated by the soul. What she doesn't realize is that her appointed time to die is drawing near and the wickedly beautiful soul she is falling in love with is not a soul at all. He is Death and he's about to break all the rules.

 

In Breeze, Florida, Pagan is not your usual high school student, mostly for the reason that she has been able to see departed souls her whole life. Yet, on the first day that one of these souls actually interacts with her is the same day she meets the mysterious Dank, who happens to be the Grim Reaper in disguise. While Pagan's social life at school begins to improve due to dating the local football star, Leif Montgomery, who is ridiculously smitten with her. Pagan's home life slowly beings to crumble due to her dark obsession with Dank and his haunting music.  And when Dank breaks the rules in regards to Pagan's death, a dire struggle begins for both their lives and the future of any type of relationship between them.

What an interesting read.  The story flowed smoothly and started out with a fun supernatural twist that eventually went all over the place, setting/location wise (in a good way!), before concluding with an astonishing cliff-hanger. And, as entertaining as this book was, it also carried a dark undertone about deep infatuations toward an individual--almost as if that immense fascination could lead to psychological problems.  Lots of enjoyable side-characters that added humor to the story as well as a bit of a love triangle...that I hope will get juicer as the series progresses.

Pagan herself was an intriguing character.  She began the tale as a solid stable student confident in her tutoring abilities at school and mature about her emotions in regards to a previous relationship that ended the year before, but early on she begins this slipper slop into an erratic and almost delusional world that solely revolves around her feelings for Dank.  She beings to frequently abandon her friends, feigns sickness to avoid school, and develops guilty emotions about seeking comfort in the wrong places.  Interestingly enough, Pagan kind of goes from one end of the spectrum to the other throughout Existence--being an untroubled well-balanced individual to someone who accepts being grossly over-diagnosed and  submitted to a psychiatric hospital.  So, expect lots of (distressing) character development!

Predestined ( Existence #2 ) -- out now!

Review: Goodreads | Barnes & Noble | Shelfari | Library Thing | Amazon

Likes: I went back and forth a lot about continuing to read further into this series, but I do have the say, the cliff-hanger really drew me in and made me even more curious about Pagan's world now...so I'll definitely be checking out Book #2 soon.

Dislikes: What kind of name is Dank? All I could think about was someone clammy or soggy...overall, unpleasantly damp. So, not the best visual for a male protagonist.

Chapter One/Paragraph One: "Don't look at him and he'll go away.  I chanted in my head, as I walked toward my locker.  It took an extreme amount of willpower not to glance back over my shoulder.  Not only would alerting him I could see him be pointless but it would also be stupid.  The halls were already full of students.  Although, if he'd followed me inside the school I would have seen him easily enough through the throngs of people.  He would stand out just like they always did, unmoving and watching."

Favorite { Scene, Character or Setting }: Character
Leif Montgomery:  Football star with lots of admiring fans and great athletic abilities. "Intense hotness" with baby blue eyes. Has been going to school with Pagan and her friends since they were eleven.  Moved "from somewhere up north." Thought of as being an arrogant jock/jerk but turned out to be a nervous student with a learning disability due to his dyslexia speech problem. Stubbornly persistent and very passionate in his relationship with Pagan.  Quoted as being the "reigning king" which could be any interesting foreshadowing effect for his character since he becomes a surprisingly pivotal figure at the end of the book.

Online Preview: Read Dank's POV