Book Review: Silver

Silver (Bandia #1)

By: Talia Vance

Published By: Flux

Publication Date: September 8, 2012

Page Count: 384

Buy it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or IndieBound

Source: ARC Kindly Provided by Publisher via NetGalley

Audience: Young Adult - Paranormal, Celtic Mythology

There are so many books hitting the YA market that draw heavily upon Greek mythology and I LOVE them, but it was so nice to see an author use a different mythology source. Off the top of my head, I can't think of another Celtic mythology book I have read recently. I had really high hopes going into Silver and Talia Vance did not disappoint.

In Silver, the main character, Brianna, knows that she is different than her peers. She is virtually invisible to many of them and longs for someone other than her BFF's to notice that she exists. What hurts the most is when Blake, her crush, never even glances in her direction. I just wanted to shake everyone around her since Brianna is such an interesting girl. As the story unfolds, you do find out the purpose of Brianna's blending. My mouth fell open in surprise when I began to piece everything together.

The beginning was a little rocky for me, but as soon as I settled into Vance's writing style and Brianna's world, I was enthralled. I devoured this one in largely one sitting. The mythology and characters were addicting. Brianna's story has inspired me to do research and learn more about Ireland's fascinating legends and mythology. Some of the elements reminded me a lot of Greek myths, but there were also many components that were new and different. I was on the edge of my seat from the 20% mark on my Kindle.

There is no shortage of romance in this one, but I do feel like I need to mention that this might be a bit much for younger teens. There are some pretty explicit scenes. I really loved Brianna's relationship in this one - in spite of its difficulties. I hope that we will get to see more of that pairing in the next book. I am dying to say more about it, but don't want to ruin anything for anyone.

My major complaint (the beginning slowness aside) in this one is the behavior of some of the female characters. They were all about having a boyfriend and this drive to be in a couple caused them to make some pretty dumb decisions. I also disliked how Brianna's friends treated her from time to time. The petty nature of high school girls reared its ugly head on more than one occasion during this novel.

All in all, I really liked this one and I'm looking forward to the next book. I found it to be a creative, fresh narrative in a world that I haven't explored in depth in my reading. The descriptions are gorgeous, the characters are real and raw, and the intense action bubbles off the page. This is the type of story I love to live in during my spare time - it made me laugh, cry, and bite my lower lip in anxious anticipation. Silver is a passionate, intense story filled with the perfect amount of romance and thrills. The ending came far too soon for my liking.

One Last Gripe: The beginning really took a lot of effort on my part - I had trouble liking Brianna at first

My Favorite Thing About This Book: the Celtic Mythology

First Sentence: Beauty is pointless when no one's looking.

Favorite Character: Brianna

Least Favorite Character: Haley

Summary:

An Irish heritage, Celtic myth, and deadly beauty

In eighth grade, Brianna did something so dreadful she was suspended and homeschooled. No one could explain what happened that night . . . except Brianna's Irish grandmother, who gave her a silver charm bracelet and told her to wear it until she turned seventeen. Ever since she slipped it on, Brianna has felt like she's invisible. People stare right past her as if she doesn't exist. And that includes Blake Williams, the one boy she can't resist.

But everything changes in one frozen, silver moment when Blake sees her--and recognizes what she's been hiding. Brianna is descended from Danu, the legendary Bandia of Celtic myth. Yet before she can fully understand who or what she is, Brianna accidentally binds her soul to Blake--whose tribe has spent the last thousand years hunting Danu's descendants to protect humanity.