Vision of Shadows by Vincent Morrone Series: Vision #1
Published by Entranced Publishing on 30 December 2013
Genres: Paranormal Romance, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 168
Format: eARC
Source: ARC Publisher
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Is Bristol Blackburn about to meet the love of her life...or her killer?
After the death of her parents, Bristol Blackburn's life is thrown into chaos and she's forced to move to Spirit, a small town where shadows are stirring. As she learns to navigate her new school and figures out how to keep her psychic abilities secret from her family, Bristol comes face to face with the boy who makes a regular appearance in her dreams: the gorgeous, possibly deadly, Payne McKnight. Soon she’ll find out if Payne will be the love of her life, or the end of it — and she has no idea which possibility scares her more.
And that's not even the worst of it. Strange shadows are haunting her dreams, and they're up to something that could put Bristol and the lives of everyone she loves in jeopardy.
*I received a free ARC of Vision of Shadow from Entranced Publishing in exchange of an honest review*
Vision of Shadows is a different kind of YA paranormal romance, where the supernatural comes from two main families in Spirit, and the feud that has separated them and kept them at each other’s throat for as long as anyone can remember. And I have to say I’m very happy to have started out 2014 with a read that is original, nicely paced with believable teens and adults. Yes, a big plus in Vision of Shadows is that there is family present, adults to help the teens, listen to them, and guide them! That is so sadly lacking in a lot of YA novels lately that I think it’s important to point that out.
Bristol is a shy 17-year-old girl, who can talk to ghosts, and has dreams that are like visions. Always feeling like a freak, and also very lonely, Bristol is waiting for her parents to meet her at an outdoor café when they are both ran down and killed by a car. Vision of Shadows is not a sweet, light story, it is filled with darkness, sadness and fear – but there is also hope, love, friendship and family. Balanced between these different feelings, Bristol finally feels that she belongs somewhere, and that she is loved, when her uncle Mark brings her home to Spirit after her parents deaths. Getting to know her family, having a true friend – and a true enemy as well – and actually fitting in for once changes Bristol a little bit, but she is still the strong, kind of outcast girl, and it’s not all easy for her to trust the people around her.
Payne is from the family she has been told to stay away from, but he is also the boy she has had visions of ever since she was very young. Vision of Shadows is all about what can’t truly be seen by the naked eye, it has to be felt, and it has to be strong so that it is possible to trust in it. Bristol has a lot of demons to fight, both real and perceived as such, and the thing she has the most trouble with at the beginning is the fact that her parents haven’t come to her – the one person they could have visited as ghosts and they never bothered to show up and finally tell her they loved her.
Struggling with her budding relationship with Payne, and a very jealous ghost who seems to both love and hate her, Bristol sure has more than enough on her plate, and the way she deals with it all is very accurate in my opinion. She slowly opens up to her friends, then also to her family as she realizes she isn’t alone anymore, and that there are people she can trust with her deepest, darkest secrets.
The writing is very good, the flow is excellent, the pace becoming faster when the excitement is at its highest, and slowing down in other places to permit the readers to catch their breath. There is a very dry humor I really enjoyed as well, Bristol has a dry wit, and her grandfather even more so. Written in first person, it manages to show a lot of Bristol’s facets, and it’s great to see both her external interactions, how she deals with the ghosts, and what goes on inside her mind. Vision of Shadow is a promising start to this new series, and I, for one, can’t wait to read more. I want to understand what those shadows are, and what they want, and I also want to see Bristol continue to grow.
You can enter the giveaway below to win some pretty cool prizes, so go for it – and good luck!
Here are some of my favorite quotes from Vision of Shadows:
So any day now, I’m about to meet the boy of my dreams – literally. Then I get to see if he’s gong to be the love of my life or the end of it.
If you’re wondering, I’ve done a lot of the things you’d expect psychics to do, including talking to ghosts. Some people might think the idea of talking to the dead is scary. Nothing could be further from the truth. I’ve never been afraid of ghosts. If anything, I’ve found it easier to talk to the dead than the living.
I didn’t know what was worse, the idea of saying goodbye, or the realization that my mother and father couldn’t e bothered with me even now.
“It’ll do,” Uncle Mark said. “Payne, you said you wanted to talk with Bristol. Well, here she is. I assume you want to see Payne?” “Yes, I do.” “Feel free to invite Payne to dinner,” Uncle Mark said with a smile. “No being alone in your bedroom. I’ll just be in the other room. I’ve been putting off cleaning my service revolver for a while now.” I hid my smile.
Thanks for stopping by today, don’t forget to check out the other tour stops for Vision of Shadows as well.
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About Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms
Linda is an English as foreign language teacher and has a Master's degree in English Language and Literature. She's an avid reader, blogger, compulsive one-clicker and a genre omnivore. Ever since she learnt how to read she has been seen with a book or two in her hands everywhere she goes.
Happy New Year (again), Lexxie! 😉
I can’t read your review because I’m reading this for review as well. But I am happy to see you gave it 4 stars. 😉 I’m glad you liked it and now I can’t wait to finish it so we can discuss! 😛
I hope 2014 has begun well. I had a great day with my family. 🙂 *hugs*
YAY, Brandee! I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did. Hurry up and read, so we can chat 🙂
*hugs*
I am a fan of books with shadows and ghosts. I will have to give this book a look.
Oh you’re going to enjoy this, Pamela 🙂 Thanks for stopping by today!
This on sounds Fab! And very intriguing. Glad you enjoyed this one so much Lexxie <3
It is really good, Gabby 🙂 thanks for stopping by.
Oh a ghost story! I always like them. I didn’t know this one and I confess with such a cover I wouldn’t have thought it could be a YA book.
It is YA, but the characters are 17, so they’re not as young as those in certain YA books. You should try this one out, Melliane, it’s good!
I beta read Vision of Shadows and I really enjoyed it. Great review Lexxie! I agree with you on most points, it’s an original story and I really liked the fact that adults where present in this book. Although I do understand why they are missing in some YA book, it’s great so read a book where they are there for a change.
Yes, I, too understand why the adults aren’t really there in YA books, but it is really refreshing when there are responsible adults that can be weaved into the story, I think.
Thanks for stopping by Lola 🙂
Thanks so much for having me on!
Thanks for letting me participate, Vincent 🙂 I really enjoyed Bristol!
Twitter: bmreviewsohmy
Sounds like a good one! One more for the TBR pile! 🙂
Oh don’t even talk about TBR piles, please, Stormi :O I just went through my kindle, and the number of books I already have on there are more than I can read in one year :O I have no idea how this happened!
Thanks for stopping by, Stormi.
Twitter: talksupeblog
My first read of the year is awesomesauce too so yay to us for starting 2014 right! I’m still picky about my YA reads but I do love the sound of this and how unique it is. Plus I also love ghost stories even if they frighten me like no other so overall I think I’d be willing to sample this.
I have added your first 2014 read to my TBR shelf, even if I have to resist for a while!
I’m pretty sure you’ll enjoy Vision of Shadows. It isn’t all that scary, just a little bit 😉
Thanks for stopping by, Braine 🙂
Wonderful Review Lex! Dreams have always fascinated me, and the fact that hers are like visions sounds very intriguing. I agree that many YA books are missing adults/parents, and I like that this author decided to change things up. I’m glad that the pacing was perfect, and that you really enjoyed this story 🙂
Yeah, this was a very pleasant surprise for the new year, Lindy 🙂 Thanks for stopping by.
A YA paranormal novel with parents present – I love that. I totally agree with you that it’s rare. I think I’ll have to check this book out!
I hope you’ll enjoy it, Nicole 🙂
I had to come read the review now that I’ve finished the book. 🙂 Yes, yes, yes, I agree with you wholeheartedly! 🙂 Very nice review, my dear. And thanks for chatting with me about it. *hugs*