Blog Tour Stop : Spectral by Shannon Duffy
Book Summary And Review
Summary (from Goodreads)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 seventeenth birthday alive.
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 seventeenth birthday alive.
Personal Thoughts
I love the colors on the cover of Spectral. It makes it look simply beautiful. When I started Spectral, I wasn't sure of what to expect, but what propelled me to read the book has to be the intriguing book title. Before reading, I didn't know what "Spectral" meant. I even checked the dictionary for it's definition. It actually means "like a ghost". After learning the definition, I immediately dived into the story.
Spectral tells the story of Jewel. Jewel and her family are constantly moving. They never stay in a single location for too long. When Jewel demanded an explanation for this, her parents told her they were running away from criminals. Trusting her parents, she accepts this response wordlessly. However, when she arrives at her 27th home, things change. She overhears a strange conversation between her parents and her aunt. Plus, she meets a mysterious guy who claims that she is in danger and that he is her guardian.
The main character of the book was one that I couldn't relate to for some reason. I simply disliked her mannerisms and mind-set. I wanted her to be someone strong, kick-ass, independent and smart, but I honestly couldn't find these traits in her. She let herself be easily swayed by her emotions and that bothered me a little. However, I did enjoy the protectiveness that she exhibited towards her younger brother. I found that to be really sweet and heart-warming. Overall, Jewel wasn't very easy to connect with and that sometimes annoyed me.
To be honest, I didn't feel much for any of the characters. Whether it was her parents or her love interests or her friends. One character that did manage to extract some emotion from me was her Aunt Eva. She had a disturbing personality. Aunt Eva was the kind of character that you love to hate.
None of the love-interests really had me rooting for them. Both had redeeming qualities, but they were both very different. Chase was the sweet but popular guy at True's school. One thing I liked about his character was that he was supportive of Jewel. He did some really nice things for her and I found that to be really cute. Roman, on the other hand, was mysterious and broody. He had the bad-boy thing going for him, but yet I didn't feel much for him either.
I think that the characters in this book were not to my liking.
What really bothered me in the book was the romance. There was too much of an instant love in this book and I'm not a fan of it. Mere weeks after meeting Roman, Jewel falls for him. I just found that to be odd because she knew next to nothing about the guy. There was also a love triangle in this book, which I also strongly dislike. After a misunderstanding, Jewel jumps into a short-lived relationship with Chase right after telling Roman that she was falling for him. I didn't like that because according to me, it means that you don't truly love the first guy. People who are fans of love triangles will probably like this book.
On a positive note, what glued be to this book has to be the plot. I found it to be intriguing, but highly interesting. Slowly learning about the Spectral and the truth about Jewel was truly entertaining. The story line was somewhat unique and I liked what the author did with it.
In my opinion, Shannon Duffy is a great writer. Her world-building skills are incredible because she makes sure that you're not left with many unanswered questions after reading. She ensures that everything is cleared up and I loved that about her writing. I think with more practice, she'll write some wonderful and original books, in the future and I look forward to reading more from her.
Although I might have had an issue relating to the characters, Spectral was an enjoyable read with plot twists you won't see coming. It will certainly appeal to numerous fans of the YA genre. So, if you have some free time, do give Spectral a shot!
Rating
Cover : 5/5
Plot : 4/5
Characters : 2/5
Writing : 3/5
I love the colors on the cover of Spectral. It makes it look simply beautiful. When I started Spectral, I wasn't sure of what to expect, but what propelled me to read the book has to be the intriguing book title. Before reading, I didn't know what "Spectral" meant. I even checked the dictionary for it's definition. It actually means "like a ghost". After learning the definition, I immediately dived into the story.
Spectral tells the story of Jewel. Jewel and her family are constantly moving. They never stay in a single location for too long. When Jewel demanded an explanation for this, her parents told her they were running away from criminals. Trusting her parents, she accepts this response wordlessly. However, when she arrives at her 27th home, things change. She overhears a strange conversation between her parents and her aunt. Plus, she meets a mysterious guy who claims that she is in danger and that he is her guardian.
The main character of the book was one that I couldn't relate to for some reason. I simply disliked her mannerisms and mind-set. I wanted her to be someone strong, kick-ass, independent and smart, but I honestly couldn't find these traits in her. She let herself be easily swayed by her emotions and that bothered me a little. However, I did enjoy the protectiveness that she exhibited towards her younger brother. I found that to be really sweet and heart-warming. Overall, Jewel wasn't very easy to connect with and that sometimes annoyed me.
To be honest, I didn't feel much for any of the characters. Whether it was her parents or her love interests or her friends. One character that did manage to extract some emotion from me was her Aunt Eva. She had a disturbing personality. Aunt Eva was the kind of character that you love to hate.
None of the love-interests really had me rooting for them. Both had redeeming qualities, but they were both very different. Chase was the sweet but popular guy at True's school. One thing I liked about his character was that he was supportive of Jewel. He did some really nice things for her and I found that to be really cute. Roman, on the other hand, was mysterious and broody. He had the bad-boy thing going for him, but yet I didn't feel much for him either.
I think that the characters in this book were not to my liking.
What really bothered me in the book was the romance. There was too much of an instant love in this book and I'm not a fan of it. Mere weeks after meeting Roman, Jewel falls for him. I just found that to be odd because she knew next to nothing about the guy. There was also a love triangle in this book, which I also strongly dislike. After a misunderstanding, Jewel jumps into a short-lived relationship with Chase right after telling Roman that she was falling for him. I didn't like that because according to me, it means that you don't truly love the first guy. People who are fans of love triangles will probably like this book.
On a positive note, what glued be to this book has to be the plot. I found it to be intriguing, but highly interesting. Slowly learning about the Spectral and the truth about Jewel was truly entertaining. The story line was somewhat unique and I liked what the author did with it.
In my opinion, Shannon Duffy is a great writer. Her world-building skills are incredible because she makes sure that you're not left with many unanswered questions after reading. She ensures that everything is cleared up and I loved that about her writing. I think with more practice, she'll write some wonderful and original books, in the future and I look forward to reading more from her.
Although I might have had an issue relating to the characters, Spectral was an enjoyable read with plot twists you won't see coming. It will certainly appeal to numerous fans of the YA genre. So, if you have some free time, do give Spectral a shot!
Rating
Cover : 5/5
Plot : 4/5
Characters : 2/5
Writing : 3/5
Author Biography
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.
Where You Can Find Shannon Duffy And Her Books
Spectral web site:
http://spectralwitch.blogspot.
Spectral Twitter hashtag:
#Spectral
Spectral GoodReads page:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/
Shannon Duffy's Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/
Shannon Duffy's Twitter:
http://twitter.com/#!/
Shannon Duffy's Website:
http://www.shannonduffylit.
Shannon Duffy's Blog:
http://1fantasyfairy.blogspot.
Shannon Duffy's GoodReads:
http://www.goodreads.com/
Tribute Books website:
http://www.tribute-books.com
Tribute Books Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/
Tribute Books Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/
Tribute Books Blog Tours Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/
http://spectralwitch.blogspot.
Spectral Twitter hashtag:
#Spectral
Spectral GoodReads page:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/
Shannon Duffy's Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/
Shannon Duffy's Twitter:
http://twitter.com/#!/
Shannon Duffy's Website:
http://www.shannonduffylit.
Shannon Duffy's Blog:
http://1fantasyfairy.blogspot.
Shannon Duffy's GoodReads:
http://www.goodreads.com/
Tribute Books website:
http://www.tribute-books.com
Tribute Books Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/
Tribute Books Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/
Tribute Books Blog Tours Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/
eBook
ISBN: 9780983741879
ISBN: 9781476293585
Pages: 334
Release: April 10, 2012
Kindle buy link - $2.99
http://www.amazon.com/dp/
Nook buy link - $4.95
http://click.linksynergy.com/
iBookstore buy link - $4.99
Coming Soon
Google buy link - $3.79
http://books.google.com/books?
Smashwords buy link - $4.99
https://www.smashwords.com/
PDF buy link - $4.95
https://www.payloadz.com/go/
ISBN: 9780983741879
ISBN: 9781476293585
Pages: 334
Release: April 10, 2012
Kindle buy link - $2.99
http://www.amazon.com/dp/
Nook buy link - $4.95
http://click.linksynergy.com/
iBookstore buy link - $4.99
Coming Soon
Google buy link - $3.79
http://books.google.com/books?
Smashwords buy link - $4.99
https://www.smashwords.com/
PDF buy link - $4.95
https://www.payloadz.com/go/
Nick, thank you for taking the time to read and review Shannon's book. I'm glad you enjoyed her writing style and thanks for recommending it to YA fans.
ReplyDeleteGreat review, I will be sharing mine in May ;)
ReplyDeleteNon-kickass heroine, instalove, love triange?? Cringe! Good writing and the whole "like a ghost" meaning thing sound good to me though. I'll have to mull this one over. Thanks for the review! :)
ReplyDelete@Tribute Books
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome. :)
@kimba88
Thank you kimba ! I look forward to reading your review :D
@Linny
Ah yes! So, I'm not the only one who cringes at those! :)
You should give it a shot though :)
I love the cover and it sounds like it would be an interesting story. It is too bad you didn't really like any of the characters but I am glad you enjoyed the book overall. Thanks for the review :)
ReplyDelete@Alex
ReplyDeleteThanks :)
@Bianca
Yeah, it's a pity I didn't like the characters because the story line was interesting :(