BOOK REVIEW: Grey by Christi J. Whitney

Rating: 5/5

Sebastian seems to be just a normal teenage boy; hanging out with friends, getting on with school work, living with his tattoo artist brother in their studio. But deep inside, he knows something is different. He can’t remember the majority of his past, and he is beginning to have recurring dreams of a gypsy girl dancing by a camp-fire. He pushes the dreams aside, until one day, the very same gypsy girl, Josephine Romany, enrols at his school. Sebastian tries to push his dreams aside, but his feelings around her become so painfully strong, that he begins to suspect that certain secrets are being kept from him, and knowledge of his past and purpose have been concealed. As answers are slowly revealed, Sebastian realises a more dangerous world than he thought he knew, and he must work out who he can trust in amongst it all.

First of all, thank you to the author for sending me a copy of Grey in exchange for an honest review!

Unique, refreshing, engrossing, intriguing, different, fun. All the words that come to mind when I think of Grey.

What a fantastic book! From the outset, the story sets out an atmosphere different to that of any YA book I have read. Questions plague the reader and protagonist alike from the beginning, and I found myself so enthralled and gripped by the mysteries that I just had to know what was going on! This book takes such an interesting turn, and had me flying through the pages, from about half way in. Even when I had to put the story down, it was playing through my mind!

The characters were strong, especially the main protagonist: Sebastian Grey. His character actually reminded me a little of a John Green character, in his speech and mannerisms (obviously if you read the book you will see where that comparison ends!). And I really appreciated a YA fantasy from a male POV – in a big YA fantasy sea of female perspectives! I also thought the friendships and relationships built up in the story had just the perfect mix of being relatable and realistic, as well as the right amount of the unbelievable and different, which made this book so unique and interesting.

And the writing style is great. It makes me so happy when character dialogue sounds like real people talking, and teenagers sound like actual teenagers! The descriptions are beautifully crafted too…

“The moon cast a silvery sheen on the water, capping the rapids in halos of white. A soft breeze whispered through the trees and swirled across the bridge. It caressed my face and chest.”

Overall it was such a fun read, and I’m very intrigued to see where the story will go next. And I’m secretly hoping for more of the Circe de Romany, because I want to read more about that setting and those characters!