Review: Paranormal Paradise!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 13, 2012
Review:First-off, I must acknowledge Spectral's amazing cover art - the color palette is ethereal and alluring to the senses! It is one of my favorite covers of 2012, as is the story-line. This paranormal romance is anything but ordinary, with more page-turning thrills and hunky heart-throbs then the usual offerings of the supernatural genre. Chase, Stefano and Roman can "guard" me any day! Speaking of the characters, Jewel is one of my favorites, her devotion to family and her inner strengths really spoke to me. I felt like I related to her and Roman the most, particularly when they were at their most vulnerable points. Every character has a distinct personality, which is sometimes hard to pull off, but Shannon Duffy does a tremendous job with character development - there were only two characters I didn't like, and it was more about the "annoyance" factor. The dialogue is spot on, high-school with a little bit of "grown-up" thrown in; however I wish certain words wouldn't have be used so often to describe "the guys". Plot-wise, I loved the unexpected twists and turns - especially towards the end, (no spoilers!), and I thought that the characters acted realistically when faced with certain dilemmas. The level of romance was medium, I would have liked to see a lot more build up to Jewel's relationships, not just high school "crush" material, but overall it worked. I enjoyed the ending, but I hope that Shannon Duffy is not done  with these characters yet. Sometimes I like when authors tie all the loose ends, and other times I just want MORE! This is one of those times. My only reading regret is not taking more time to savor it. Recommended to teens through adults with a penchant for the paranormal; and a little romance too!Rating: On the Run (4/5)*** I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.