Lila's Lair

I haven't technically finished the book yet, but, I had the sudden urge to review it, so, the story so far (which if I feel the need to update, I'll add updates as posts as well)...

I know I am one of many who are jaded with the Young Adult genre, in general. So when I came to read this book, knowing it was YA, and also surrounded with hype, I admit that I was rather hesitant. Still, I brought myself to read this book and I'm glad I did. I kind of became enamoured with it. At the same time… there was a bit of a rollercoaster journey of me swaying between thinking 'This is going to be brilliant' and 'Hey, maybe I'll just pop this at my local op shop (thrift store) next time I'm out and someone else can enjoy it where I really can't'.

So it kind of went like this…

Young adult + hype = I'm going to need a few drinks to handle this one
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A spirited youth with blue hair and tattoos, creating real life art = Okay, so maybe I could like this protagonist!
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Chimaeras = … Mythology, I love you, but chimaeras are certainly a little… outside of my comfort zone (like animal soup! Or animal Frankensteinian creations)

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Teeth. Wishes. Other realms. Mysteries = Hmmm, this is working out a lot better than I thought! Gah, judging a book by its genre and hype - silly Lila! I even started to grow fond of those freakish little monsters.
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Impending apocalypse = Ugh. Again. How many times can the world end? Really? I mean, seriously?

And then, somewhere between my topsy-turvy opinions on this book… some kind of brilliance (in a dark, emotional, but also beautiful sort of way) seemed to take hold. Making everything kind of work. Making me… well, making me crave more. Somewhere, in all of that spiral of imaginings Taylor has created, mixed with my own feelings and bias'… I fell in love.

It's just...