Review: Scintillate
21:36
By Tracy Clark
Source: Free copy from publisher in exchange for honest review, e-book
Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal, Fantasy, Romance
Goodreads Synopsis:
A mighty flame follows a tiny spark.
Cora Sandoval’s mother disappeared when she was five and they were living in Ireland. Since then, her dad has been more than overprotective and Cora is beginning to chafe under his confines. But even more troubling is the colorful light she suddenly sees around people. Everyone, that is, except herself—instead, she glows a brilliant, sparkling silver.
As she realizes the danger associated with these strange auras, Cora is inexplicably drawn to Finn, a gorgeous Irish exchange student who makes her feel safe. Their attraction is instant, magnetic, and primal—but her father disapproves, and Finn’s mother orders him home to Ireland upon hearing he’s fallen in love. After a fight with her father, Cora flees to Ireland, both to follow Finn and to look for her missing mother.
There she meets another silver-haloed person and discovers the meaning of her newfound powers and their role in a conspiracy spanning centuries—one that could change mankind forever…and end her life.
My review:
**The publishers send me a free e-copy of this book. This in no way affects my opinion of the book**
I have really mixed opinions on this book. I really liked the concept and main idea of the book, and the writing style was beautiful; yet I disliked the characters, and how the book mainly focused on the romance instead of the potential sci-fi parts. I enjoyed it, but it definitely could have been improved (in my opinion).
My favourite part of the book was definitely the writing style. If it hadn’t been as fascinating, I definitely wouldn’t have enjoyed the book as much. Tracy Clark manages to load information in a magical way (I know, ironic!) so we know what’s happening, yet we aren’t bored. I thought this was really clever and made me really like the book.
The thing I disliked most about the book was the romance. It was centered around romance rather than people who can see auras, but I found the romance to be cringey. I didn’t ship them at all,so when their relationship was rough I didn’t care at all. There was really annoying insta-love, which at the time irritated me and made me bored.
Although, this was explained. At the end of the book, we learnt why Finn was so attracted to Cora, so I half didn’t mind how quickly they ‘fell in love’. This was a really original idea which I thought was really clever, but I just wish that we had some hints (or maybe we did and I just didn’t pick up on them) as to why they were so instantly attracted to each other. I know that if I figured there was some paranormal explanation behind it, I wouldn’t have minded as much.
Something else I liked was the paranormal and mystery elements. These are two of my favourite genres, so obviously they were going to be my favourite parts. I wish these had been extended, and the romance could have just been shortened - if it was more of a mystery (that wasn’t predictable) I would have enjoyed the book more.
Another thing I didn’t enjoy was the characters. Cora, the protagonist, was annoying - she moaned too much, and made stupid decisions. At many points, she was missing the obvious and was too clouded by ‘love’. She was realistic and believable as a 17 year-old, but I wish her personality could have been more special and memorable.
The second half was much better than the first. I found the beginning a bit hard to get into, and nothing really happened - it was obviously setting up for the last half. I wasn’t disappointed - there was lots of action in the end half, and lots more unpredictable plot-twists. Everything was explained more, and we met more interesting characters too. I was much more invested in the story, and it moved more quickly.
Overall, this book did drag a bit. Some bits could have been shortened - or cut out all together! - because I got a bit bored. This book was still a fun and easy read though, which I enjoyed. I would recommend this to fans of A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray because they both focus on romance instead of the sci-fi, both have mushy family reunions, and the protagonists really remind me of each-other.
My reaction:
Rating:
Hello! I'm D - a dog-loving feminist from the UK. You'll probably find me with my nose in a book or playing my clarinet
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