Spectral by Shannon Blog Tour: Review & Giveaway

Book Summary:

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. ~Goodreads Blurb

Review:

Wow where to begin on this review, Jewel is not your average teenage girl, unfortunately due to being in the “witness protection" or at least that is what she has been told, she has moved quite often, each time a new place and new identity.  Finally they arrive at their new home and things start to change, as her seventeenth birthday nears closer and closer Jewel starts to uncover secrets about her family, if they really are her family that is…This is when we mean hot and mysterious Roman, now ladies let me just emphasize on HOTTIE. Shannon Duffy portrays Roman in a way that will have you wanting to trade places with Jewel, or at least I felt that way! But if one “hottie” isn’t enough, we also get to meet the sweet and charming Chase. Two very tempting boys and only one Jewel. Wouldn’t you want to be in her place? Poor Jewel is left with so many questions when she is told that Roman is her guardian and she is in danger, all because her birthday is around the corner and her birthmark is a sign that she is someone very special, someone that a lot of people either want for themselves or want dead…

When I first came across Spectral I was in awe of the cover, like I have stated before a cover is really a main seller for me besides the blurb. Having graduated with a degree in graphic design I know how important it is to come up with a design and color scheme that will draw in the readers attention. Spectral accomplished this for me. Looking at the cover now though, you could NEVER have guessed what the book was about, I loved that because it adds a bit of mystery and makes you want to read the book to find out more about the girl on the cover. After reading the book I now understand the significance of the butterfly, if you want to know, you have to read it as well.

It has been a while since I have read a book that focuses solely on witches, honestly I liked the change and this book has sparked my interest to look for other “witch” books once again. I do hope that Shannon Duffy continues this as a series as this book left me wanting more! I mean there just has to be more to the story of Spectral? One thing I did notice, for those that like their books to have a fairly decent amount of romantic scenes, their weren’t as many in this book, it didn’t bother me as much, actually to be quite honest I didn’t mind it at all, I was captivated by the story unraveling in front of me that my attention wasn’t focused as much on the romance part, though when those parts did come up I loved it! My mind was racing with questions such as who, when, where, what, how and why?

Though a bit slow at the start for me the rest of the book carried a nice pace. The suspense that was throughout the book kept my interest the whole way through. Shannon has created a new world for us to dive into, and I cant wait to see what she plans to do for future books.

This is definitely a book to pick up when you are looking for a read that will deliver suspense, mystery, action, a few hot guys with a bit of romance and of course the paranormal. 4/5 Bats

You can also find the review at the following link > Goodreads

~Marie

Shannon Duffy's Bio:

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.

For More Information about Shannon Duffy or Tribute Books:

Spectral web site:

http://spectralwitch.blogspot.com/

Shannon Duffy's Twitter:
http://twitter.com/#!/ShannonDuffyLit

Shannon Duffy's Website:
http://www.shannonduffylit.com/

Tribute Books website:
http://www.tribute-books.com

Tribute Books Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Archbald-PA/Tribute-Books/171628704176

Tribute Books Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/TributeBooks

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