Review: Shattered Blue (The Light Trilogy #1) by Lauren Bird Horowitz

Release date: September 15th 2015
Publisher: Skyscape
Purchase: Amazon

Synopsis via Goodreads:

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?

*Publisher approved request via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

It's quite unfortunate that I haven't thoroughly enjoyed the last few books that I've read. I just haven't felt fireworks in a while, and that has a lot to do with the fact that I couldn't connect with the main characters or the stories seemed like they were missing something. This is the case with Shattered Blue. 

I haven't read about fae before so I was really intrigued and so ready for something fresh. Going into the story, I sympathized with Noa over losing her twin sister and the fact that she had to deal with so much, including a mother who was engulfed in grief and wasn't more mindful of her other children. Noa had to endure with being in her sister's shadow, even though she was dead. To make it worse, the mom mistook Noa's poems to be written by Isla. Like seriously, I wanted to shake Noa for letting her believe otherwise. She was always saying how people basically didn't see her, but she never really made a stand about that and honestly expressed her feelings.

In the first few chapters, I was interested. I tried to understand the story and the characters. Noa didn't grab me right away but I kept going because I wanted to give her a chance. I wanted to see if things would turn around for her, and I wanted to know what was going on with Callum. In spite of the instant attraction, I held tight and tried to make sense of the weirdness Noa was experiencing. 

As the story progressed, I found some things confusing and I was constantly feeling annoyed with Noa and her friends, especially Miles. I know showing concern is what true friends do, but I just wanted to slap him sometimes for butting in. No wonder he ended up in that situation. 

Shattered Blue wasn't a bad read, the premise and the writing is good, and there were twists. But the thing is, the twists were... too much, and I often didn't understand them. I think it all went downhill for me when Callum's brother came into the story and she started developing feelings for him. I must admit, at first I liked him and I overlooked their growing feelings, but it bugged me how quickly Noa could fall for these guys when they've only been in her life a few days. 

Sadly, for the first book in the series, it didn't hold my interest enough for me to anticipate the sequel. It only left me feeling confused and a bit put off by some of the things that happened in the end.

About the Author

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.

www.laurenbirdhorowitz.com | @birdaileen