Review: Silver by Talia Vance

Title: Silver
Author: Talia Vance
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Flux
Length: 374
Original Publishing Date: September 8th, 2012
Series: Bandia #1
Where I got it: E-library
Links: Goodreads Amazon Author's Website

Synopsis from Goodreads:  
"As I step into the room, a silver flash blurs my vision. Before I can take a breath, the world falls away."

Brianna has always felt invisible. People stare right past her, including the one boy she can't resist, Blake Williams. But everything changes at a house party where Brianna's charm bracelet slips off and time stands still. In that one frozen, silver moment, Blake not only sees her, he recognizes something deep inside her she's been hiding even from herself.

Discovering she is descended from Danu, the legendary Bandia of Celtic myth, Brianna finds herself questioning the truth of who she is. And when she accidentally binds her soul to Blake, their mutual attraction becomes undeniable.

But Blake has his own secret, one that could prove deadly for them both.

Bound together by forbidden magic, Brianna and Blake find themselves at the heart of an ancient feud that threatens to destroy their lives and their love.
 
Main characters: 3.5/5
Brianna at the beginning of the novel was very insecure about herself in comparison to her best friend, Haley. Obviously this could be a little frustrating to read at first and I wanted to bash her head in, but it also created a good base level for change. Brianna felt well developed to me and I loved the connection to her horse, Dart, and her relationship with her parents and friends. I wish I had gotten to known Blake better. Don't get me wrong, I liked him and I felt he had a good mix of likable and mysterious, but I wanted to know his background, his motivations, his family, etc. I liked Brianna and Blake together because they had what I could imagine was a normal relationship: lust, emotional attraction, and then love. The fact that the lust happened first isn't something that is limited to paranormal novels! Blake was a little hot and cold for a while but I could imagine what was going through his head and it didn't end up bothering me too much. 

Secondary characters: 3/5
Well, unlike the last few books I've read recently, Silver had a vast array of secondary characters and they were surprisingly well characterized. I felt like I knew at least the basics for nearly all of them, however, which can be a pretty impressive feat when you're juggling this many sidekicks and villains. I wish that a couple characters had a more positive portrayal in the novel though: Brianna's two best friends, Joe, and Jonah to name a few. I think that a couple more positive, deep tidbits about them would make them more personable and humanize them. 

Writing style: 4/5
Vance's writing was witty, clever and subtly funny. She often threw in little allusions or quips into the writing that the reader might miss if they weren't paying attention. It was easy to hear Brianna's voice coming straight through the writing, which was fantastic. There were a couple points where the descriptions crossed the line into cheesy and made me groan, but they were few and far between. The pacing was also superb- I finished this book in one day!

Plot: 3/5 
The plot was unique. There were certainly aspects that were overdone, stereotypical or cheesy, but I had never read anything particularly like this and the story drew me in. The mystery intrigued me from the beginning and kept me reading voraciously. The negatives were the complexity of the plot (there was a lot of backstory and it became a little overwhelming) and the fact that I saw the twists coming from a mile away.

Ending: 2.5/5
There will definitely be a sequel (and there was a good deal of set up for the next book), but there was closure to Silver that left me satisfied with how the first one ended. Because Vance was preparing the readers for the next conflict, the ending started to drag out a little. There was a lot of post-conflict information and scenes that kept pulling the ending out farther and farther. There were also a lot of mini-conflicts after the climax and I didn't necessarily like that. I like my one main conflict to be solved and then the book to wrap itself up relatively quickly.

Best scene: The one where Brianna gives Matt dating advice

Reminded Me Of: The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

Positives: Brianna's character development, the unique plot points/background, the writing style

Negatives: Some cheesy aspects, the fact that Blake was a little underdeveloped, some slut-shaming of female characters

Cover: The cover looks a little fake and photo-shopped and there's a lot going on. Not my favorite.

Verdict: The unique mythology and quick-paced writing style made this novel a fast read!

Rating:  6.4 / 10 (4 stars)

Your Thoughts: Have you read it? What did you think? If you haven't, will you be adding it to your TBR list? Let me know!