Review: Tha Naturals (The Naturals #1)

The Naturals (The Naturals #1)
By Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Published By: Little Brown
Publication Date: November 5, 2013
Date Read: December 9, 2023
Genre: YA – Mystery / Thriller
Source: Bought
Format: Paperback
Pages: 352

From Goodreads:
Jennifer Lynn Barnes, #1 bestselling author of  The Inheritance Games , delivers an exhilarating mystery—perfect for fans of Criminal Minds and  A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder

Seventeen-year-old Cassie is a natural at reading people. Piecing together the tiniest details, she can tell you who you are and what you want. But, it’s not a skill that she’s ever taken seriously. That is, until the FBI come they’ve begun a classified program that uses exceptional teenagers to crack infamous cold cases, and they need Cassie.

What Cassie doesn’t realize is that there’s more at risk than a few unsolved homicides—especially when she’s sent to live with a group of teens whose gifts are as unusual as her own. Soon, it becomes clear that no one in the Naturals program is what they seem. And when a new killer strikes, danger looms close. Caught in a lethal game of cat and mouse with a killer, the Naturals are going to have to use all of their gifts just to survive.

The Naturals is another book that I picked up due to it being on my ‘Read 12 Books Recommended by 12 Friends’ 2023 challenge and honestly it was probably one of the ones that I was most excited to read. After falling head over heels in love with Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ writing in her Inheritance Games series, I was really excited to try out one of her other series. This was such a fun, quick read. I devoured it within a couple of days.

The Naturals follows Cassie, a 17-year-old who is gifted at reading people. She just knows everything about someone and what they want. When she is offered a place in the FBI’s ‘Naturals’ programme, a programme for gifted teens to help them solve cold cases, she jumps at the chance. This might be just what she needs to figure out what happened to her mother all those years ago. But not everything is as it seems.

I loved this book. It was fast paced and action packed… pretty much everything I love in a book. I was absolutely hooked right from the start, and a little creeped out by some of the serial killer chapters. If you’ve read it, you’ll know what I mean. I honestly couldn’t put this book down and considering I picked this up in the midst of a book slump that is saying quite a lot! I loved the characters, the plot… I guessed some of the plot twist, but not all of it. Which is a definite plus for me, as I tend to guess everything pretty early in these kinds of books.

My one tiny gripe about the book was that I felt like the romance was a little rushed. It kind of went from Cassie meeting the love interest, to suddenly them making out and I just felt like it was rushed… however I am also aware that it is a YA book and these kinds of things are often rushed in YA. Other than that I loved it, and I can’t wait to continue the series. Jennifer Lynn Barnes is fast becoming a must read author for me. If you loved The Inheritance Games and want to read some more from her, definitely give The Naturals a go. It reads a little younger than The Inheritance Games but it is just as intriguing and addictive. You won’t be disappointed.

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