S’nat Wars by Palmer and Kimbrell

S’nat Wars

By Linda Palmer and Julie Kimbrell

ISBN 13: 978-1466363359, paperback $12.99, Kindle ASIN: B0056N73C4, $6.99

S’nat Wars by Linda Palmer and Julie Kimbrell, is a novella aimed toward the Young Adult audience. It deals with the world as we know it, except “Supernaturals” (aka S’nats) like Vampires and Shapeshifters are real. The narrator in this case is seventeen year old Gabi Daniels, daughter of a lawyer, Garrett Daniels, who defends S’nats, who, despite contributing to the general good of the world, are hated by many humans.

The story begins with Gabi’s family being threatened after her father wins a controversial case, and she winds up being transferred to a new high school, with a Shapeshifter bodyguard in the form of Fray, who can shift into dog form. He works for his family’s security company, WatchDogs. Sparks fly between Gabi and Fray. She doesn’t like having a “babysitter”, as she sees it, but she’s also conscious of the danger she’s in and the necessity of the extra security.

As the story progresses, Gabi is trying to live a normal life while living under the threat of possible Supernatural attack, and dealing with her growing feelings toward Fray. She’s made aware of the existence of other types of S’nats: elementals, angels, demons, sorcerers, and human-hybrids called Immortals. Her father tells her that they are descended from an Angel, making them S’nats as well.

There are several more incidents of magical assault toward her, but so far Fray and the WatchDogs are unable to figure out who or what the threat is. As they try to figure out the mystery of who is after Gabi, she and Fray get closer, complicating the bodyguard/client relationship. The book culminates with a reckoning between the Supernaturals and the WatchDogs, more revelations about Gabi’s ancestry, and a newfound love.

The title and cover art of S’nat Wars are somewhat misleading, I thought the book was more along the lines of a horror or space story and was surprised that it was a teen drama with a bit of monster thrown in. There is no real “War”, and the Supernatural aspect is negligible, with very little back-story about the S’nats. There is a subplot that seems to be unrelated, but winds up being more important at the finale, which took me by surprise, but only because the subplot and the characters involved were minimally introduced, which I felt lessened the impact of the big reveal. Despite that, the book is a decent read. The violence level is minimal, and the romantic interaction between the heroine and her bodyguard is appropriate for the audience the book is aimed at: teen girls.