Review: Great YA read :)
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 6, 2012
(I was given this book for free on a read-to-review basis as part of the Spectral blog tour.)16 year old jewel is sick of moving from place to place. But that's exactly what her family have been doing for as long as she can remember. She thinks that it's because they're in the witness protection programme, but really it's because Jewel is a `spectral' - a child born during a total lunar eclipse, which coincides with the full moon of the summer solstice.What Jewel doesn't realise is that she's being hunted. On the day of her 17 birthday she will go through a `quickening' and receive her full witch powers, and massively strengthen her coven. For this reason everyone is after her - either to get her into their coven instead, or kill her so that no one else will get the power. But now that she knows, Jewel doesn't know who to trust - the gorgeous guy she just met who claims to be her guardian? Her parents who have kept her safe for so long? Her grandmother?Time is running out for Jewel as her 17th birthday approaches, and she desperately needs to find a dagger that is vital for her quickening. Can she find it in time though, can she evade the people who want to kill her, and who is her real family and coven?I enjoyed this book. Jewel is so real and I love the way that she isn't a stereotypical girl. She really struggles to work out who she can rely on in this book, and at every opportunity there is a new twist which makes her doubt herself.I loved the idea that Jewel was a spectral - we've all read stories about great witches and such but this was a slightly different premise, and I've never heard the world spectral used in that way before!The love interests were both nice in totally different ways, and thankfully there was no love triangle, although the main love in Jewel's life was really her baby brother who she fought so hard to protect, and really did care about. Roman - the mysterious bad boy who claimed to be Jewel's protector was just yummy, although she found it really difficult to know whether she should really trust him or not. The other love interest Chase was also pretty dreamy.The story was nicely paced, and at times I could not put this book down!Overall, an entertaining Young Adult witch story.7 out of 10.(Book length: 4793 kindle locations)