REVIEW: Undertow by K. R. Conway

Undertow
by K. R. Conway

Official Summary
Seventeen-year-old Eila Walker’s new home has defied the brutal Atlantic for over 160 years. Abandoned since her 4th great grandmother Elizabeth vanished, the town legend declares that she drowned . . . or was struck by lightning. Unbeknownst to the town and Eila, however, is that someone does know what really happened to Elizabeth, and he has returned, determined to protect the last surviving Walker from a history of violence. But what starts out as a quest for redemption, evolves into something more and soon young guardian, Raef, is forced to reveal the truth to Eila. As hidden secrets about their warring families come to light, Eila begins to realize that she may be their best shot at survival, even if it means following in her grandmother’s fearless footsteps to save her killer bodyguard


Summary
Once you start Undertow, you will not be able to put it down.  It starts off with a peek into the past and Eila's grandmother's demise.  Then you drop into Eila's life which has just been turned upside down.  Eila is an orphan and lives with her guardian in Kansas, and like Dorthy, she is taken away on an adventure when an auctioneer appears at their home in Kansas and drops a mysterious family estate on Eila's house.   Eila can't refuse the chance of a lifetime and moves to Cape Cod into a dream home.  Eila isn't the only new person in town, Raef blows in as well.  Raef is mysterious, dark and completely gorgeous.  Eila gets strange vibes from him, but is it butterflies or is there something dangerous about him?

Description

The easiest way to describe Undertow in blatant but non-revealing terms is Twilight (by Stephenie Meyer) meets Lux (series by Jennifer Armentrout).  I compared it to Twilight (I know, it's an insult to Undertow compare the two) because it's the only young adult book I can think of off the top of my head where the heroine is attracted to the bad guy but also gets dangerous vibes and blah blah.  It reminds me of Lux in the light versus dark theme throughout but it's a new and unique type of feud, but with a subject we're familiar with in paranormal fiction (like in Lux it was aliens and in Undertow it's souls).  So if you liked Twilight or Lux you will love Undertow.  I don't normally compare books, but since this is such a unique (at least to me, if there's something like it let me know) paranormal topic, that's the only way I can describe it in general terms.

Review
I enjoyed Undertow, and the new ideas it brought to the table.  The book kept me in suspense and I liked the mystery throughout the story.  Eila was also a strong female character that got nerves once in a while, but stood her ground.  Undertow is a great addition to any young adult paranormal fiction collection.  This book definitely made it into my favorites, up there with Lux, Fallen by Lauren Kate), Wicked Lovely (by Melissa Marr) and some other great young adult paranormal books.