REVIEW: Glimmer by Stacey Wallace Benefiel

Title: Glimmer (Amazon)
Series: Zellie Wells, #2
Author: Stacey Wallace Benefiel
Genre: Paranormal YA
Source: review copy from author
Published: November 1, 2010  (self-published)

Zellie Wells’ life is changing. Her relationship with Avery is growing stronger every day, but their parents are still giving them ultimatums and trying to keep them apart. Her newly discovered powers have all but disappeared. Benjamin, another young Retroact, is back and has brought with him a painful shared vision and a troubled past. While working together to figure out what the vision means, Zellie discovers that Benjamin is a worthy friend and mentor. If only he could keep his hands off of her - if only she wanted him to...

Why I Read this Book: I read Glimpse, the first book in this series, and I really enjoyed the story. This series carries a very unique paranormal story that just grabs you. I definitely wanted to read more about Zellie and the complications that surround her. If you’ve read Glimpse, you’ll definitely want to read Glimmer.

What I Liked: In Glimpse, we didn’t really get to know Benjamin, we just got to meet him. He was a very intriguing character and in Glimmer, he’s one of the characters that takes center stage. I like Benjamin; he’s cocky, funny and smart. I like that he makes Avery feel uncomfortable and keeps him on his toes.

There is a character in this book that at first seems like a new addition to the group. However, that is not the case. This character was in Glimpse a little bit, even had a few lines of dialogue. I just didn’t know that he was going to have a bigger role in Glimmer. This move was very well played by the author. There were also some interesting twists and turns to the storyline that I didn’t see coming. Just like with Glimpse, there’s no cliffhanger ending but there are some loose ends that need attention. Glimmer ends well considering there is another book in this series; you know there’s more to come, the door is not closed yet.

What I Didn’t Like: There were a couple of moments in this book that I feel could use a bit of clarity. One thing in particular that I needed clarity on involves the circumstances surrounding Rachel. If you would like to know specifics, click on the SPOILER button below. But be warned, it could be considered a SPOILER, which is why I wanted to hide it away. You have been warned.

Rachel’s demise wasn’t clear to me; I feel like I missed something. It was like one minute she’s alive, the next she’s telling Christopher that she’s dead. Even Christopher didn’t know she was dead!

I’m also a bit confused about the “loophole”. I’m not sure if that’s been solved with the certain turn of events towards the end of the book or if it still remains an issue. Perhaps it will be addressed in the next book in the series…

Glimmer had lots of characters to keep track of. Also the POV bounced around a lot, unlike the simplistic POVs in Glimpse.

Overall Impression: Glimmer has a bit more mature content than Glimpse did. Profanity was definitely more prominent in Glimmer than it was in Glimpse. It doesn’t bother me a bit but since this is a YA novel, it should be mentioned. Also, Zellie and Avery’s relationship…shall we say, progresses, in Glimmer. I enjoyed reading Glimmer but I enjoyed Glimpse a bit more. I look forward to the release of Glow, the next installment in the Zellie Wells series, which is set to be released sometime in 2011.

 

The Book Vixen’s Rating: