I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Shattered Blue by Lauren Bird Horowitz Published by Skyscape on September 15th 2015
Pages: 336
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
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For Noa and Callum, being together is dangerous, even deadly. From the start, sixteen-year-old Noa senses that the mysterious transfer student to her Monterey boarding school is different. Callum unnerves and intrigues her, and even as she struggles through family tragedy, she’s irresistibly drawn to him. Soon they are bound by his deepest secret: Callum is Fae, banished from another world after a loss hauntingly similar to her own.
But in Noa’s world, Callum needs a special human energy, Light, to survive; his body steals it through touch—or a kiss. And Callum’s not the only Fae on the hunt. When Callum is taken, Noa must decide: Will she sacrifice everything to save him? Even if it means learning their love may not be what she thought?
I’m not usually one for novels about Fae because faeries have never really interested me. I took a risk reading Shattered Blue and I was pleasantly surprised! Horowitz is an extremely lyrical writer with a gift for beautiful poetry. Noa’s poems are actually my favourite part of this book because they are so well written. Horowitz’s poems actually reminded of the poems I was taught to memorize in grade school: simple, colorful and concise with deep meaning through imagery.
Nomad girls are Lost Ones too,
with leaves at foot and crown;
they too seek shelter in the trees,
drink Red and Gold and Brown.
their circlets made of steam and rain,
their lashes powdered ash,
they’re firelight, they’re fox’s kill,
they’re blood and sweat and scratch.
Shattered Blue was a well written, beautiful story about Noa: the girl with the dead sister, the living twin, the survivor. While struggling to come to grips with the death of her twin sister, Noa falls for the mysterious Callum; a fae who needs human Light to survive. Callum’s secrets overflow into Noa’s life causing her understanding of reality to change forever. Shattered Blue is a masterpiece of well written young adult literature with gorgeous poetry and strong familial bonds.
Horowitz takes fae lore and makes it her own with war, elected royalty and familial betrayal. She creates types of fae powers that are identified by color codes which was really interesting. Red fae can read minds, Blue can heal and alter elements, Green alter emotions and Clear fae are a unique and exciting plot twist I can’t discuss without giving away some of the fun of reading Shattered Blue. I loved how faes all had their own abilities, but also how each type of fae can be born to any family regardless of their parent’s color!
The lore of the Fae realm was incredibly exciting and well thought out.
I think the only part of the novel that I really disliked was the love triangle. I hate novels with love triangles and they often ruin what are otherwise amazing novels. I mean, if the main character can’t decide they should let go of both love interests instead of hurting those they “love”. I have quit series or avoided reading certain novels because of love triangles. Unfortunately, Shattered Blue is sneaky about developing the love triangle so I didn’t see it coming until I was well invested. Although Noa fights her feelings, there is the inevitable “I love them both!” scene that makes me want to punch things or throw my e-reader. The love triangle involves brothers which makes it somehow worse than a regular love triangle. To be fair, if you enjoy or don’t mind love triangles then you’ll be pleased by how well it’s executed. I just hate love triangles.
I really enjoyed Shattered Blue because of the flowing writing style, strong characters (other than the deplorable love triangle) and the use of poetry to further develop the plot. The cliffhanger ending has me intrigued for book two. Seriously, this could actually become a new bestselling young adult romance novel.
This book will appeal to readers who enjoy young adult romance novels, books featuring the fae, brother love triangles and paranormal. Be ready for some cliche relationships and some insta-love with some really unique fae lore.
This book is part of the BookSpark Fall Reading Challenge of 2015.
About Lauren Bird Horowitz
Lauren – or ‘Bird’ as she is often known – is a screenwriter and novelist lucky enough to call both Los Angeles and Kauai home. Bird also counts herself lucky that writing exists as a profession—how else could she share the crazy, fantastic worlds in her head? Bird studied writing at Harvard University with novelist Jamaica Kincaid, where she won several prizes including the Edward Eager Memorial Prize for fiction. She’s a proud member of the Writers Guild of America.
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