I think that's the first time I've liked the 2nd guy introduced over the 1st. ( )

Noa Sullivan and her family are coping with the sudden death of her sister Isla in an accident some months back. The new school year is starting, and Noa will now be a commuter at Harlow, the prestigious boarding school she and Isla had both attended, and roomed together at. Because her mother is so shattered that she can't be relied on to care for youngest daughter, Sasha, Sasha will also be attending Harlow, even though she's a year too young to enroll normally.

At Harlow, she meets a new student, Callum Forsythe. There's something different about Callum--literal sparks fly when they collide going through a door. It takes a while before she finds out what's really going on with him. Callum is Fae, banished from the Fae realm of Aurora for a crime he says he's innocent of. It was his brother's prank that went horribly wrong, and caused the death of their little sister, Lily. Callum took the blame to protect his brother Judah.

But in this realm, Fae lose their Light, their magic, and are gradually hollowed out--unless they can take Light from humans. Yet doing so causes real harm to the humans, draining them of the hope of future happiness.

The last thing Callum wants to do is drain Noa, after they've become friends.

Unfortunately, Callum is telling a lot of lies, and when his brother Judah comes through the Portal on his own, with mixed motives that include but aren't limited to rescuing Callum, the lies start to unravel. Meanwhile, Judah has stolen something that he thinks is just a keepsake, but in reality is a powerful magical talisman. Otec Darius, the boys' hated father and king of the Fae realm, has sent a Hunter after him to retrieve it--although the Hunter has his own agenda.

The magical system here is interesting. The Fae have different "colors" of magic. Callum is a Blue Fae; he can manipulate matter. Judah is Red; he manipulates thoughts. Green Fae manipulate feelings. Clear Fae have no powers of their own, but can Channel the powers of any of the other Fae.

Doing so is very, very painful for the Fae whose power gets Channeled. Darius doesn't care; neither does the Hunter.

Noa, Callum, and Judah are all struggling to do what they think is the right thing, and figure out what lies the others are telling, and whether they can trust each other at all. Trust gets ever more difficult as Noa discovers how Callum has meddled in her family long before they met, Judah steals Light from Noa's friends, Callum learns what Judah has stolen from their mother, and Judah learns of Callum's web of lies.

But if they don't find a way to work together, the Hunter is going to kill them all, in pursuit not of the mission Darius gave him, but his own goal of being the ruler of this realm.

This is an extremely well-done young adult fantasy adventure that adult fantasy readers won't regret picking up. It is the first of a trilogy, but it stands on its own with a satisfying ending to this part.

Recommended.

I received a free electronic galley of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. ( )

Final thought upon ending: Wow.

Shattered Blue is a wonderful and mild fantasy story about Noa, a sixteen-year-old who lost her older sister, now living with a wounded family. The only light in her life is her younger sister, Sasha. Now, don't think too negative on my usage of "mild fantasy," as I say it in a way that means it balances between fantasy and "normal world" aka reality. DON'T QUESTION ME, IT MAKES SENSE IN MY HEAD. If done right, like in this story, you get the perfect amount of fantasy-action (shut your mouth), and the perfect amount of downtime to process and slow down from the rush... (more via website) ( )

Read my full review of the book at seriesousbookreviews.com as of September 11th! Spoiler Free!
**I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.**

I don't think this book was for me. It was very slow for the first half, focusing a little too much on character development.

I wanted to see the romance developed a bit more. It was a little too instant for me though I understand why it happened like that (the explanation of the world and faerie powers was great and very intriguing). I just didn't fall in love with these characters which made reading a little tedious.

But WOW, the last 50 or so pages were great! So many great twists and revelations and I wish these great developments happened earlier.

Overall, very well done, it just wasn't for me.
Check out more spoiler-free book and series reviews on my blog SERIESousBookReviews.com as well as read book series recaps!

Full Review: http://wp.me/p3txrs-14D

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Originally published on my blog: The Worn Bookmark
I had been seeing this book around and it sounded really good. When I started reading it it was a little bit slow but the build up of Noa’s character was perfect. She writes beautiful poetry, fills journals of it but keeps it a secret from everyone. She lost her older sister Isla in an accident a few months ago that she feels was her fault. Her little sister Sasha follows her every move and they even sleep in the same bed to be close to each other. Noa’s world completely changes when she meets Callum. The sparks between them are undeniable and literally, Noa sees a flash of light when they first touch.

One of my favorite things about this book is the originality of the fae lore. I haven’t read a lot about fae and faeries but the characteristics and realm of the fae in this book are something I’ve never seen. There are Blue, Red, Green and Clear fae. Blue fae can manipulate the elemental structure of living things. Red fae can read minds. Green fae can manipulate people’s thoughts and emotions. Clear fae don’t have any powers unless they can channel a blue, red or green fae. Things are getting really interesting and then Judah enters. Judah is Callum’s younger brother. Everything is up in the air now that he is here. There are so many twists involving all of the main characters. This book is thrilling and fascinating. I love Noa, Callum and Judah. I really can’t wait to see what happens next in book 2 because there was quite a cliffhanger at the end. ( )