If I had to sum up the book in one word: Fun.

Overprotective, highly skilled & orderly big brother Niko just wants his little brother to stay safe and free from the monsters stalking him--the only problem? Cal's half monster himself.

The characters really brought this book to life--a great introduction to what looks to be a fun series. This city's got a bit of everyone from Puck to Trolls, to Vampires and Werewolves--and of course Elves.

Niko's love for his brother borderlines on the obsessive, and is probably a stone's throw away from being flat out yandere (considering this is one of my favorite character archetypes--I was all for it). We'll see if the events at the end of the novel don't lighten him up a bit from his over-controlling nature in future books, though.

Where Niko is orderly, health-conscious and disciplined--Cal is lazy, carefree, sarcastic and easy-going. Childish, is probably the best word. He teases, he plays, and he does his best to put a smile on his dour brother's face. Cal's got his serious moments as well, and he'll knock heads when he has to, but for the most part he's the perfect foil to his big brother. Their interactions are some of the most enjoyable in the book.

Robin, Promise & Darkling are up there too, with their own unique senses of fun. Robin in particular making a nice third player to the brothers; his nature is just the right mix of serious and fun to sober, or lighten up as needed.

The plot itself isn't too big--your sort of standard take over the world plot using a key--which in this case is Cal. There's a good twist though involving a certain Banshee though, that made it fun--but there's really nothing you don't see coming, or is particularly surprising. It wasn't by any means unsatisfying, though, so I wouldn't count it as a negative.

Overall, the book's rather light-hearted with a good sense of dark humor, while still being able to play up the more morose moments when necessary. I enjoyed it quite a bit & I hope the rest of the series measures up.