Crave is a young adult paranormal romance book by Tracy Wolff, the first in its series. The book follows Grace, a seventeen-year-old girl, who after losing both of her parents, has to move away from the house, state and life she once knew to Katmere Academy. A boarding school in the middle of nowhere, Alaska, that is run by her Uncle and attended by her cousin. She knows next to nothing about her new home and all the fantastical students that attend it or the new world she has stepped into. Will being the only human in the school allow her to fly under the radar, or will it put too huge of a target on her back that no one can remove or ignore?
Crave may be a fantasy novel that includes all kinds of magical beings but it also tackles a lot of real-life situations; grief, pain, love, happiness, family, and friendship, and touches on mental health. Watching Grace try to understand the new world that life has tossed at her when the world she knew was ripped out from under her feet is at times a little heartbreaking. On more than one occasion I wanted to let her know that it would be OK, but in all honesty, she wouldn’t have needed it. Because despite the upheaval, she never seemed to falter; she just kept fighting. At times she reminded me of a quote by Edna St. Vincent Millay “Childhood is not from birth to a certain age and at a certain age. The child is grown and puts away childish things. Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies.” Because it is so easy to forget that Grace is only seventeen years of age when she sees the world, others emotions and reasonings in such a mature way. Do not get me wrong, when she says completely the wrong thing, she shows her age, and I have wanted to take her by the shoulders and shake her as I scream “open your eyes” on more than one occasion. But the way she carries the world on her shoulders and tries to protect the ones she loves even if it means sacrificing a piece (or the entity) of herself makes me wonder what she was like before she lost everything. And it makes me love her even more for it.
It was not just Grace- including the at times too relatable thoughts- that I loved. I enjoyed her interactions with Macy. I enjoyed how in all the chaos there were these moments of humour and touching familial love that Grace so desperately needed. And I adored her completely spot-on thoughts of Jaxon and how she called him out on how overprotective he could be. I loved how they both seemed to bloom because of each other. How, although not easy, quickly things started to change between them and how natural it all felt. Especially when you get to read the three chapters from Jaxon’s perspective at the end, it brings a whole new light to them both.
I do have to say, not enough authors give each chapter a name and Tracy Wolff outdone herself by giving all sixty-nine chapters a somewhat witty name, my favourite being Chapter 48: Is That a Wooden Stake in Your Pocket or Are You Just Happy to See Me?.
I can’t say I have any particular moment or chapter that I could count as a favourite because there is something I love in every one. But there is one line toward the end of Chapter 65 (in particular, it starts on page 526 and ends on page 527), that if I wrote it would give too much away, but it cemented that Grace is a true heroine in every sense of the word.
At one point I thought I knew who the biggest threat was and who had caused everything that has happened to Grace. I even thought I knew the reasoning and was worried that I had completely sussed it when I had so many more chapters to go. I immediately noted that predictability would have dropped a star from my rating. Thankfully, I was mostly wrong, in the best possible way, and the more I read, the more shocked I became at the twists. My note was completely thrown out! Therefore, there was not a single thing I disliked about this book, and I’m more than happy to rate it Five out of Five stars.
Personally, I love young adult books. They are incredibly easy to read and I can happily get lost in one for hours. I know that as you get older you can get a lot of stick for reading a book that technically is not aimed at you. But despite that, I believe anyone that enjoys fantasy and romance of any age would enjoy Crave. It offers humour, pain, twists, romance, and some really embarrassing moments that you cannot help but enjoy.
The new world that Tracy Wolff has made for Grace is so wonderfully exciting to read about. I stayed up until three in the morning most nights because I just did not want to leave; I am incredibly excited to see what Grace will get up to in the next book.
Favourite Quotes
“It’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen, and I don’t even know why. I mean, shouldn’t this be totally creeping me out?”
page 62
“It’s gross, and normally I’d put him in his place. But the fact that he’s all growly like this because he’s worried about me and wanting to make sure I’m okay? I don’t know. Somehow it makes a difference.”
page 164
“And wanting him the way I do… wanting him feels like opening a vein just to watch myself bleed.”
page 224
“In self-defence, I wrap my arms around myself and start to rock, desperate to ease the pain. Even more desperate to hold myself together when everything inside me feels like it’s falling apart.”
page 252
“”I’m not freaked out. I mean, yeah, I’m on the floor and I can’t feel my legs, but other than that, I think I’m handling the whole thing fairly well.””
page 318
Finer Details
Title: Crave
Author: Tracy Wolff
Pages: 571
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Publication: 2020
Language: English
Rating: 5/5