Gritty, sexual, intense fighting, insta-mate, torture, belittling of women. I have a hard time thinking of this as YA. it was very original, and has intensive world building, that is never boring. Mallory is raised in the human world by witches. She was taken from the Daimon world as an infant to save her life. This Daimon world is run by Caste system and our main hero ? Kaleb is of the lowest rank. There is one way up, fighting in this 'Thunderdome" kind of tournament. Many want up and out, some are just trying to prove themselves. This world treasures powerful violence. Meanwhile he is sent to watch/kill Mallory. There are twists on top of twists, it gets dark and then darker. Mallory, at nearly 17 she training to kill Daimons, she armed, she's fit and she does nothing with all that training. Fairly, she is over protected in this book and I can see her using her training more in the next.Kaleb, forces marriage, has sex with others, sells himself and it's all ok ? Then there is his pack and the devotion to it. He is a hard character to decide if I like or detest. His world is very different, harsh and does not follow humanities rules. He is a survivor.There are several other characters that I can't wait to learn more about. They seem as ruthless as the others, but I have no idea which way this story will go.I was entranced by the world and revolted by some of the actions in the world. Ms. Marr did a wonderful job with this creation, but be warned it is not a feel happy book. It's a dark trial, just beginning to develop. I will read the next book, I have to know how/what happens. Yes, it ends in my favorite of endings A CLIFFHANGER. arguh : (
