Virals by Kathy Reichs

Tory Brennan, niece of acclaimed forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan (of the Bones novels and hit TV show), is the leader of a ragtag band of teenage "sci-philes" who live on a secluded island off the coast of South Carolina. When the group rescues a dog caged for medical testing on a nearby island, they are exposed to an experimental strain of canine parvovirus that changes their lives forever.

As the friends discover their heightened senses and animal-quick reflexes, they must combine their scientific curiosity with their newfound physical gifts to solve a cold-case murder that has suddenly become very hot if they can stay alive long enough to catch the killer's scent.

Fortunately, they are now more than friends. They're a pack. They are Virals.






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                                                                                 Rating: 3.5 out of 5

                                                                 Series book: Yes

                                                       Will I read the next book: Maybe
Let's get something straight. I have quite a few.. problems with this book. But that doesn't mean it wasn't good. I'm just really picky, and there are a few things that irritate the bleep out of me. But I wouldn't even be posting a review if wasn't good, I would have quit halfway through. And this is a big book, I had plenty of opportunities. That being said, Virals is a great book. And Cooper(the wolfdog) is adorable. I've always wanted a wolf.

Two things that pissed me off about this book. Did you see that? Did it look like I was starting to list something and does it sound wrong because I didn't? That's problem number one. Sentences or phrases that looked like they were missing the first few words. Wrong and annoying to do that, isn't it? You end up adding words in your head. You should be there on the paper. Okay, mini-rant over. The second not so bad thing that still got on my nerves was the usage of slang. Not just regular slang (If there is such a thing). At least in my world. Words like "wicked" and "yo" are no longer groovy anymore. To be fair, they weren't used that much, and those who used them were the main characters and they were supposed to be really nerdy....maybe they didn't know any better? 

I'm done being negative, promise. There were good parts of Virals. The most important being plot. A plot like this could have gone horribly wrong. Four teenagers break into a secret lab and rescue a puppy with a deadly disease. Then the start to change. The possibilities of that could have been... disastrous. But, thankfully, Virals did not turn into a trashy werewolf book. All of the reasoning for their change was purely scientific. Purely scientific mumbo-jumbo I will not pretend to understand. Something about viruses. And dogs. Overall, it was a well-written and captivating story-line. One other thing I liked about this book was how the characters were well developed but still have room to develop more. I'm looking forward to more development and more depth in the next few books. 

I really want to give this book four stars, but I can't. Every time I type in a four, I cringe a little and can't bring myself to leave it there. Those few things that annoyed the bleep out of me. Stops me every time. But, Virals is still worth the read. It's a good book for someone who just finished a really serious book and doesn't want another super serious read, but also doesn't want a whole lot of fluff. Virals is a big book, but it's worth the time.