Friday, June 8, 2012

Spectral Review and Blog Tour!

Welcome to the Spectral Blog Tour!!  Today, I bring you a review of Spectral by Shannon Duffy.  The cover art and banner for Spectral are stunning and spot on!  Shannon and the cover artist did an incredible job of depicting miss Jewel and what I envisioned her to look like.


(book description)
Convinced she’s a part of the witness protection program, sixteen-year-old Jewel Rose is shuffled around the globe with her family like a pack of traveling gypsies. After arriving at lucky home twenty-seven, she stumbles upon a mysterious boy with magical powers claiming to be her guardian . . . and warning of imminent danger. Despite the obvious sparks between them, Jewel discovers a relationship is forbidden, and the more she learns about dark, brooding Roman, she begins to question who she can even believe — the family who raised her, or the supposed sworn protector who claims they’ve been lying to her all along.

As she struggles to uncover who her family has really been running from, she is forced to hide her birthmark that reveals who she is. With new realities surfacing, unexplained powers appearing, and two tempting boys vying for her heart, Jewel battles to learn who she can trust in an ever growing sea of lies, hoping she’ll make it through her.

My Rating: 4 stars

The novel starts off as if it's just going to be about a family in the witness protection program, but being told from the point-of-view of a sixteen year-old girl.  Then, the first twist hits.  Jewel is born a Spectral, but doesn't know it.  Jewel is really the one all the terrible people are after, yet her parents won't tell her that.  When she moves to the newest city, she meets Roman and learns all about her real life, her heritage and what she is truly is meant to be.  When she turns seventeen, her entire life will change...

Spectral is a very well crafted and put together novel.  It flows easily, uses vivid imagery, and believable characters to hook you in.  The overall plot will keep you on your toes, with twists turning up every time you think you know what will happen next.  Shannon created a world that was realistic, yet made me question everything that has ever been said.  I loved the characters, especially Roman, Jewel and Taylor.  Each character was someone I wanted to know, but yet I feared them all at the same time.  This novel has just the right level of suspense, paranormal/witchcraft, and romance mixed together.  It is very well balanced and never feels too unrealistic.  The ending filled left me with mixed emotions, I didn't want the book to end yet I was glad it ended.  The only downfall of this novel is that it is a little bit slow and feels too long.

Shannon Duffy writes young adult and middle grade fiction. She grew up on the beautiful east coast of Canada and now lives in Ontario, Canada. She is the mom of one boy, Gabriel, her angel. She loves writing, reading, working out, soccer, and the sport of champions-shopping. She is the author of the young adult paranormal romance, SPECTRAL. Her upcoming middle grade fantasy novel, GABRIEL STONE AND THE DIVINITY OF VALTA is scheduled for a January 2013 release.

If you would like to purchase a copy of Spectral, you have several options:
Click on any of the links above to be taken to the site to purchase the ebook.  Spectral is only available in ebook format.  Follow Shannon Duffy and Spectral on the Spectral Blog, Spectral on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Shannon's website, Goodreads, and Shannon's blog.  Happy Blog Tour Day!

2 comments:

Tribute Books said...

Hilary, I'm so glad that you enjoyed it! Thanks for the review :)

HilyBee said...

Nicole, Tribute and Shannon - I very much enjoyed it! :D Thank you for the chance to review the book!