Official Review: Vision of Shadows by Vincent Morrone

gali · Post by **gali** » 08 Jan 2014, 09:03

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Vision of Shadows" by Vincent Morrone.]

This book is a well written young adult paranormal book and a first in a series. The book is written in the first person perspective and it grabs the reader's attention right from the start. This is a Romeo and Juliet's kind of a love story with a paranormal twist thrown in.

In Spirit, things aren't always what they seem, thus learned our heroin in the flesh. This is the story of Bristol Blackburn, a 17 year old spirited young lady and a psychic to boot. The story is told from her point of view, thus allowing one to sympathize with her. Our Bristol is a loner, an outsider if you wish, who finds it easier to speak with the dead than with the living. From an early age, Bristol is able to see ghosts and speak with the dead and she has visions that tend to come true. She also has reoccurring dreams about a boy she has never met. This boy will either be her "great love or the death of her". A little melodramatic I know, but bear with me.

Bristol thinks she is a freak till she moves from Manhattan to Spirit, her parent's old hometown, and finds out she isn't that unique after all. But let's not run ahead of ourselves. After the death of her parents in a car accident, Bristol moves back to Spirit to live with her uncle Mark (her dad's brother), his 2 charming sons and her grumpy grandfather. She didn't meet them before, but she clicks with them right from the start. Her uncle is the local sheriff of Spirit, no less, and he cares about her much more than her own parents ever did.

Bristol starts the local high school with a bang. On her very first day she makes her first best friend (Maggie), her first enemy (Pricilla) and meets her first ghosts (Jack and Jay). At her parents' funeral, she encounters the boy of her dreams, Payne, and falls for him line, hooks and sinker. Payne goes to the same school she goes, but he is out of limits. Apparently Payne is from the dreadful McKnight family, the sworn enemy of Bristol's family. There is a long and bloody feud between the two families that has started a few generations ago. The two families founded the city and neither family can have peace as long as the other one is around. The families don't trust each other and don't like the budding romance. Bristol is warned to stay away from Payne, but her heart doesn't let her. The two protagonists are connected and can't be kept apart.

As time goes on, Bristol find out she isn't the only one with special talents, so to speak, and there is a strong connection between 2 families and the city itself. The plot thickens when Bristol is hunted by a jealous and harmful ghost. To make matter worse, strange shadows want her dead from unclear reason. It is up to Bristol to reconcile the two warring families in order to fight the common enemy and keep her loved one, and herself, safe from harm.

It is a light hearted story and very good for its genre. I really enjoy reading the book and pretty quick found myself glued to the story. The dialogues were humorous and I chuckled to myself throughout the book. The characters were well drawn (though a bit clichéd) and easy to relate to. The writer really did a good job of entering into the head of a teenage girl and at one point I had to recheck the gender of the author. The romance between the two main characters was too smooth and predictable to my taste (I prefer a less smooth road in my romances), but it didn't bother me that much.

I have especially liked the eccentric grandfather who supplied a comic relief. I would like to know more about the strange shadows, but no doubt all will be made clear in the next book. I would rate this book 4 out of 4 since I really enjoyed it and found it a quick and engaging read. The book is geared toward the young adults, but lovers of the genre will enjoy it as well.

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