Review: Reveal by Brina Courtney

Shay could be the key to ending a war that humans don't know exist. Of a race of beings that aren't real, or are they?

Shay Tafford's childhood has been fatherless, filled instead with memories of speaking to the dead. She is forced to hide her unique ability from those living around her. That's why it's been comforting to have Jeremy, a child ghost, as her confidante. But recently he's been absent, perhaps lost as her father is. When Shay meets Hugh, the guy she's had a crush on for weeks, and finds he can speak to ghosts too she's just starting to find a normalcy in her life.
But as Hugh reveals the truth to Shay, about who she really is and about what it is she can do, he erases all chances she had at a normal existence. Turns out talking to ghosts is just scratching the surface of her genetically engineered gifts. Shay learns she may be part of an age old prophecy that could save the entire race of cryptids. But can she?

Paperback, 220 pages

Published December 16th 2011 (first published December 15th 2011)            

Genre:  Paranormal, Young Adult, Fantasy

Terri's Review

I downloaded this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I will begin with the good points of this story. 

• I really enjoyed the fact that the main character Shay was a believable teenager.  She was an everyday kind of girl with everyday teenage sort of issues.  Best of all was that there was no screechy obnoxious best friend that I have found typical in these genres.
• I enjoyed the flow that Courtney had in her writing.  It was easy to follow the story and I believe I may have finished this in close to an hour.
• There was a good family dynamic with Shay and her mother and brother.  There seemed to be a tighter (without suffocating) relationship with them due to the absence of her father.
• The concept that Shay could see and talk to ghost's was a nice one. In particular Jeremy whom you know has a story of his own. Who doesn't enjoy a good ghost story?

Now on to the parts that didn't quite work for me.

• The relationship between Shay and Hugh did not seem natural.  One minute they were strangers and the next soul mates deeply in love.  There was no natural progression or even a condensed progression for the sake of the story.  Although time goes by in the book it happens off of the page and the reader never truly sees it.
• Although this was of the paranormal genre there was not a believable quality to how Shay discovered who and what she is.  (SPOILER)  What teenage girl would take off with a brand new boyfriend, find out she was only part-human, be ok with that after one night of moping, and not get in trouble by her mother upon her return?
• The story lacked a "bad guy" until the last 25% of the read.  We really didn't know too much about him other than his existence and then he just shows up and then is gone again just like that.  Although I find a lot of books in this genre spend too much time with the "battle" scenes this one was the opposite.

Back to the really good

• The story ended with a massive cliff-hanger!  As a sucker for punishment I loved that.  Not just the type of cliff-hanger that leads you to think there will be another book but the type that leads you to say there better be another book!

Although it may sound as if I have been a little critical the story was still interesting and a nice read.  I can sense that the next books in this series will pick up and be even better.  There is so much potential with this plot.

About the Author

Brina Courtney is a young adult author obsessed with chocolate, crime shows, and fantasy movies. She's spent the last few years as an elementary teacher and a high school cheering coach. She lives in a small town in Pennsylvania with her husband and two very loud, small dogs.

Connect with Brina

Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/BrinaCourtney    

Website: 

http://brinacourtney.blogspot.com/

Twitter:    

brinacourtney