Girl in the Shadows by Gwenda Bond- Book Review

Here are two things I didn't know before reading Girl in the Shadows by Gwenda Bond*-
1. It is part 2 of a series.
2. It is a Young Adult book

If I had known these two things ahead of time, I think it would have changed my view of this book.

Moria is a magician attempting to break out of her father's shadow. Her father is one of the most respected magicians in the world and Moria has been told by her father not to follow in his footsteps. She is really good though and wants to try out her magic in front of people. She happens across a mysterious envelope with an invitation to the most prestigious magic group.

While she is auditioning in front of this group, her hands all of a sudden feel like they are on fire! Things she wishes in her head become a bit of reality- cards transform, water appears from no where, etc. It turns out Moria is a real magic user, but she must keep that a secret.

In the meantime, there is Dez, the circus knife thrower. Dez is kind of a bad boy who Moria knows she must stay away from, but will she fall for his antics? Hint: yes.

As Moria learns more about her magic, her mother's link, and a mysterious coin in the circus, something is out there- will Moria find her place, create an incredible trick, and learn how to control her magic?

I included what I didn't know because when I started this book, I started it on a train trip to NYC. The trip is about 2-2.5hrs long and by the end of the first trip, I had finished just shy of 40% of the book. I had the book finished by the ride back. It started off well, but the relationships kept bothering me. Dez and Moria's relationship takes off too quickly, Moria is trusted by the magic group very quickly, and the plot moves forward, yet the characters aren't developed too well. The writing is also very simple and some of the sentences had me scratching my head. Knowing that it was geared toward a YA crowd, I might have read the book a bit differently. There are also characters who appear and seem to have some kind of significance, but we aren't told why. It turns out they are part of the first book.

If I had to classify this book, I would classify it as summer reading for a YA crowd. It was a light and quick read, but it simply wasn't for me, even though I love magic.  Even on a YA scale, it wasn't a great book. It was good, but not great.

I rated this one a 2 star on the YA scale.

Here is your Amazon link- Girl in the Shadow by Gwenda Bond

*I received this book for review from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review