In Shannon Delany's debut novel we're introduced to Jessie, our strong independent protagonist who is trying to deal with life after the horrible accident that took her mother. When Jessie is thrust into the position of becoming a school guide to the new guy named Pietr, she finds herself dealing with the strange feeling of being drawn to him. Even though she knows that something about Pietr isn't normal or safe. Soon she discovers the Pietr is more than your average student and the feelings she has will stir up her life more than she ever respected it to. I really enjoyed all the elements that Delany brought into the story that made it more that just a regular paranormal romance and more about self discovery with the romance an added bonus. We follow Jessie as she tries to understand what she wants to do with her future while trying to be strong for everyone around her. Through out the story Jessie tries to control everything around her, slowly sacrificing her self, little by little and I like how Pietr suddenly comes into the picture and shakes things up for her. The secondary characters really made the story more intruding and interesting to me with their back story from Pietr's family history to the back story between Jessie's friends. Delany made the story more intimate writing in first person and letting us see the world through Jessie's eyes, dealing with the events and people with her. The relationship between Pietr and Jess with their back and forth antagonizing that looks to be slowly developing into something more was great to read. As well as the growing danger that Jessie and Pietr find themselves in with not a lot of solutions. 13 to life turned out to be a great entertaining read that will become an amazing series which I can't wait to continue to read!!
