Book review: Fading by Cindy Cipriano
#bookreview Fading
#author Cindy Cipriano
Published by Clean Teen Publishing
Leath Elliott is a seventeen-year-old competitive shooter living with her mother in Woodvine, North Carolina. Leath's father was killed in a tragic accident when she was fourteen, and her friend Victor Santana has been there for her every step of the way ever since. But the friendship starts to change when Victor develops deeper feelings for her. If that wasn't complicated enough, newcomer James Turner, an emancipated minor with a dark past, wanders into her sights. Leath is captivated by him and wonders if he might be the boy of her dreams - literally.
Fading is the first book in an exciting new fantasy romance series by award-winning author Cindy Cipriano. Take a look at the book trailer below:
I haven’t read a lot from the young adult category in a few years. It was a challenge to jump into the mindset of unfamiliar young adult characters and a pleasant surprise to find that it wasn’t at all difficult and I believe that’s down to the storytelling skills of author, Cindy Cipriano.
The main character is Leath, a 17 year old doing her best to recover from the loss of her dad a few years prior. And she’s doing okay. Studying hard so she can move on from her small town, attend college, and get on with her life, which is on track to do exactly that when James Turner arrives in town. The new kid is gorgeous, in some of Leath's classes, and seems strangely familiar. The pair certainly seem to have a strong, instant connection much to the dismay of Leath’s best friend, Victor.
I was a little concerned the author was going to take us into the strange “Twilight” world of obsessive stalker-like behaviour but Cipriano manages to avoid that with characters that know their own minds as well as each others. At least, they think they do because James is from a race of people who have one or two special abilities (I’m not going to give it away) and if he seems familiar to Leath, that’s because he most certainly is (in an eerie dreamlike kind of way).
Fading is a story that brings paranormal, fantasy, and romance genres together with a strength of style and narrative that should see the momentum grow from book to book. There is a high degree of emotional intensity around Leath, particularly around her struggle to balance her enduring love for Victor with the all consuming emotion she is experiencing with James.
Leath’s relationships are not restricted to those of a romantic nature. She also has strong connections with her best friend and her mother. These female relationships develop at a slower pace and seem to balance the frenetic pattern of her romantic relationships.
All the characters develop well and the whole cast has a believability that is expertly supported through their backstories, relationships, inner talk, body language, action and dialogue (or as I like to call it, the whole shebang). The story is well balanced and it is this balance that draws the read in to Leath's world until you are feeling and experiencing her ups and downs, her anger and her confusion, and her passions.
Cipriano is a talented writer and I'm sure you'll enjoy this tale of young love with a few complicated twists. Book two of the series is Searching (book trailer below). All of Cindy's books are available for purchase at all the usual places. Visit her website to order your copy today
