Sleight by Jennifer Sommersby

Release Date: March 23, 2011
Publisher: Accendo Press
Pages: 328
Series: AVRA-K #1
Review Source: eBook for review from author

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
Her mom is dead.
Ghosts follow her around.
Her best friend is an elephant.
And she’s about to meet the biggest game changer of all: a boy. With a secret.

When circus-dwelling Gemma Flannery learns she will be attending public school for the first time in her seventeen years, little does she know that fitting in with her 12th-grade classmates will be the least of her concerns. A pro at hiding her knack for seeing the dead (“shades”), Gemma is grieving the recent suicide of her mentally ill mother, a process eased by the introduction of her first real love interest, the charming and painfully handsome Henry Dmitri, who is harboring his own collection of dangerous secrets. Together, they will be presented with a frightening challenge: to assume their roles as heirs to a 3000-year-old magical text, the AVRAKEDAVRA, a book the über-rich, sleight-of-being master Lucian Dmitri would do anything to get his hands on. As each terrifying layer in her new reality melts away, Gemma unearths truths that her quiet, nomadic life with the Cinzio Traveling Players is not at all what she’d always cherished. Gemma and Henry must rely on each other to stop Lucian’s diabolical plotting that will bring the world to its tired, scab-riddled knees, and are sent on the flight of their young lives, to save themselves, their families, and the world from the darkest kind of destruction.

Let the chase begin.

My Thoughts:
The first thing that sticks out in my mind about this book is the circus element. A girl who has grown up as part of a circus? How awesome! It's incredibly unique, so I almost wish there had been more stuff occurring on the circus grounds. The abilities element of this story is very interesting, and I thought it was well done. Though at the beginning the reader is thrown into it, more and more is revealed as secrets come out and different parts of the abilities are studied.

The whole idea of the AVKRA-K, this ancient magical text, is incredibly appealing, and I loved the cult-ish element of all these people following a book. The influence of one person to turn all these people toward something bad, but also the power of the individual rooted in money, was quite realistic.

This book contains a base good versus evil fight, some paranormal elements, and a romance. I thought the love relationship was a bit too fast and convenient, but it was still better done than other books I've read. The writing style is quite strong, though there were a few parts that I felt were almost duplicated. What I mean by this is there were a couple of scenes where it felt like the reader was receiving the same information as they had just been told by another character, which meant that things were dragged out a bit at times.

I was quite enthralled and impressed with this book up until the end. The ending just seemed so rushed, and I thought the actions of one character went way too far based on the motivations he was given. It just seemed a bit unrealistic. And then the very ending was just a bit disappointing in that there really wasn't an ending. You need to keep reading to the next book (out this fall) for any type of conclusion. So overall I was a bit disappointed with how everything turned out, but that doesn't mean that getting to that point wasn't entertaining, because it was. If you're looking for a book full of magic, powers, romance, and adventure, then perhaps 'Sleight' is the book for you.

Rating:
[3/5]

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