Silver (A Bandia Novel) [Paperback]

Talia Vance (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 8, 2012 | Series: A Bandia Novel (Book 1)

“As I step into the room, a silver flash blurs my vision.  Before I can take a breath, the world falls away.”

Brianna has always felt invisible. People stare right past her, including the one boy she can’t resist, Blake Williams. But everything changes at a house party when Brianna’s charm bracelet slips off and time stands still. In that one frozen, silver moment, Blake not only sees her, he recognizes something deep inside her that she’s been hiding even from herself.

Discovering she is descended from Danu, the legendary Bandia of Celtic myth, Brianna finds herself questioning the truth of who she is. And when she accidentally binds her soul to Blake, their mutual attraction becomes undeniable.

But Blake has his own secret, one that could prove deadly for them both.

Bound together by forbidden magic, Brianna and Blake find themselves at the heart of an ancient feud that threatens to destroy their lives and their love.

 

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Brianna Paxton feels invisible. Guys look right through her, especially when compared to her beautiful best friend, Haley. Settled firmly into her sidekick niche, she consoles herself with horseback riding, math, and science. But when Brie’s heirloom bracelet breaks and falls off, her true beauty is unveiled and her crush, Blake, finally sees her. They discover that their ancestors were ancient enemies; Brie is a descendant of the Irish goddess Danu, who holds the power of fire in the palm of her hand, while Blake is a son of Killian, destined to kill any daughter of Danu. The two are magically soul-bound and battle to rise above their destinies and become more than star-crossed lovers. Vance’s debut contrasts a contemporary California setting with Celtic mythology, adding dimension to Brie’s struggle to come to terms with her growing supernatural powers. A large cast of gorgeous, yet underdeveloped, male characters pave the way for further books in a projected series where demigods vacillate between extreme desires to love and kill. Grades 7-12. --Charli Osborne

About the Author

Talia Vance (Northern California) has worked as a horse trainer, a freelance writer, and an attorney. Her YA novel Spies and Prejudice is being published by Egmont in 2013.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Flux; Original edition (September 8, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738733032
• ISBN-13: 978-0738733036
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #422,398 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully Sexy!!! Don't miss out! August 25, 2012

By Jennifer McCoy

Format:Paperback

Silver by Talia Vance
ARC received from Flux Books via Netgalley
Release Date: 9-8-2012
Reviewed by: Middle Sis Jenn
The Sisters Say: Sizzling, Surreptitious, and Spellbinding
Originally on YA Sisterhood Blog

"My life is a series of cruel ironies. The pretty girl no one sees. The horse I have to sell. The kiss I can't keep." -ARC, Location 205-206

From the moment I read the blurb of Silver, I had been waiting (impatiently) to read it! Then Talia told me it was on Netgalley and I have to admit...I did my happy dance--the dance that makes my toddler laugh, that makes my dogs start jumping up and down, and that makes my husband roll his eyes and mumble something about books being more important than oxygen for me. And in that moment--I might have given up a few breaths to be one of the first to read this book!

The idea of Brianna binding her soul to her mortal enemy just mesmerized me, and I will say that Talia did not let me down! One of the best things about this book is there isn't chapter after chapter of set-up that you have to wade through to understand the world. The action starts in Chapter 1, and I have to say one of the best scenes of the book occurs in this chapter--the scene where Blake discovers who Brianna truly is. It's sinister, but in a sexy way, and you can just feel the magic in the way Talia describes the scene. I felt like time froze and I was swept into their world to watch as both of their destinies crossed. AND I love the duplicitous dialogue here. My fave you ask? Said by Blake: "'Where have you been hiding?' His smile is lethal." Ohhhh...goose bumps!

I always enjoy seeing different mythology in a book, too. I absolutely love when mythology interwoven into the plot, but usually, all we see is Greek mythology. Every once in a while you see Norse mythology, but I have never read a YA book that has Celtic mythology in it; and it was intriguing to see something new and different. You don't need to know much about the culture either because what you need to know is explained briefly without dragging down the action or dialogue.

One of the great things about this book is it keeps you guessing--which is something I really like. It may drive some people crazy that they are never able to tell who they can trust, but I think it adds to the suspense. I will say that I am still a little on edge because I don't know who to trust!!! I mean, they're mortal enemies; so who you can trust and who is good and who is bad is always going to be muddled in the shadows! I bet Talia is smiling mischievously knowing the torment she is putting us through...shame on you Talia! Keep it up!

The best character in this book is Jonah--a Son of Killian who has his death grip aiming for Brianna. He was such a jerk that I wanted to find someone that looks like him and give them a good old-fashioned you're-an-a** rant. I have a feelings we'll be seeing more of his jerkiness in the next book. Yay!

Brianna is your typical heroine who is struggling with the realization that she is something more than human. I liked her, although I will admit that I was not blown away by her. I wanted her to have more of a memorable personality--an aura that would strike you as someone with a great destiny awaiting. But, really, she just felt like a normal girl--which many people will like because they can relate to her. I, on the other hand, tend to like my heroines with a little more flare and a little more self-esteem (even if it only comes after gaining their powers). I'm hoping we will see her character develop into a don't-mess-with-me-unless-you-want- to-be-called-"Eyepatch"-for-the-rest-of-your-life type of heroine. But, that's just me--I tend to like the overbearing, kick your butt gals.

Now for Blake--the eye candy (or is it mind candy since it's a book?). He's the mortal enemy of Brianna, a Son of Killian who has pledged to do away with any daughter of Danu; yet, when their souls are bound together, it awakens something within him that makes him see Brianna as something other than a threat. I really liked Blake's passion, but at times it felt unrealistic. I mean, he's been trained his entire life to hate anyone like Brianna, yet his feelings for her change so quickly. I totally believe this is possible, but I wish we would have seen more scenes with him so we could see him struggle with his decision and then eventually fold. Plus--we would have gotten more scenes with him which I'm sure all the girls would love! Blake is mysterious and stealthy and protective of Brianna. He is definitely swoon-worthy. I'm hoping we will see A LOT more of him in Gold (the sequel)--and hopefully we can see a deeper, more personal side to him.

I enjoyed the romance in the novel, but I wish there was more! I definitely still wanted to trade places with Brianna at times, but I'd categorize the romance as a spark. I want to see a full out blaze! And the scene where their souls are bound--I wanted more! There was already one mature conversation in the book, so it would have been great for her to keep with the mature theme and given us a few more details!
What a debut for Talia Vance! Full of mystery and intrigue, betrayal and romance; Silver is a definite Must Read for lovers of paranormal romance!

Content Warning: I would rate this Mature YA for one scene near the beginning. I was kind of surprised by this scene because to me, the only reason it was there was to show how much of a jerk Jonah is, but I would have rather seen another way to show that he's jerk and kept that scene out so more teenagers could read it.

I'll leave you with one more of my favorite quotes from the book!

"The truth has never seemed clearer to me than it does right now. We cannot change the past. We cannot change our future. The ending was written the moment Blake kissed me on the beach." ARC, location 2652-2653

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Too much focus on beauty and not enough on realistic characters. January 8, 2013

By Nico

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

From the start you're supposed to believe that the main character is madly in love with a boy who has never spoken to her, and who doesn't notice her until she loses her silver charm bracelet. It was a really frustrating novel because it had so many opportunities to move past the forced love story - and I never really got to know this boy who she loves. He annoyed me most of the book, was never really fleshed out, and I found myself liking the 'bad' guy until the end when he shows how bad he really is (but he was so much more interesting!!!).

It was just frustrating and I wanted to fall in love with the story and just couldn't.

4.0 out of 5 stars Perfect balance between action and romance March 16, 2013

By Gretchen @ My Life is a Notebook

Format:Paperback

I don't even know where to start with this book. I went into it a little apprehensively, because the blurb made it sound like Brie might be another one of those girls who goes on and on about how she's not pretty and then whoops there would be this insta-love thing and I would be left knocking my head against my desk.

That didn't happen.

First off, Brie is totally relatable. She's geeky, but not in the overpowering, stereotype way. She doesn't think she's pretty, she thinks she's invisible BUT she doesn't spend hours whining about it. She accepts it, she's chill about it and she let's that make her stronger. Especially after dealing with the character of America in The Selection, that was fantastic to read. Add in some snappy dialogue and I was hooked.

The book started off with a rocky beginning, and that was when I realized this book was going to go severely either way with me. The reason for the half star dock is that there were a few logical inconsistencies that made me flip back a few pages and say WHAT JUST HAPPENED HERE? or HOW DOES THAT WORK? and I got no explanation. For me, though, they were small (okay, one was not so small and that's the biggest reason for the docked 1/2 star but I can't tell you what it is without spoiling!) and I forgot them in the fast pace of the novel. I just enjoyed the ride.

And it is a fantastic ride. There are few books that make me actually laugh out loud, and this is one of them. I was not a fan of Blake at first, but then all the sudden Brie is being all stupidly into insta-love and Blake takes a step back and goes INSTA-LOVE? EW! We became good friends after that point.

The mythology-as you might have seen hinted at and that's probably the reason why you thought this book was cool-doesn't disappoint. Vance doesn't spend an inordinate amount of time explaining it either, which is nice. We know what we need to know as we need to know it. Then, of course, there is all the supernatural powers being flung around. In my book, that is always awesome. Despite not knowing anything about these Irish myths, I was instantly at home in the world and the legend, which isn't always easy to do.

A big thing with me is always a book's pacing, and there Silver didn't disappoint either. There was certainly time set about for "normal" life and romance, but there was plenty of action too-at almost the perfect intervals, actually. Nothing was squashed together or rushed, for the most part. The book kept moving and I was unable to find many places to stop and catch my breath. I know I'm into a book when I have to force myself to literally get up and take a breather for a second.

Overall, Silver is one of my new favorites of 2012. It makes me genuinely sad you guys can't share this with me until September 8. The characters were relatable and cute, the dialogue was snappy and the mythology was excellent. All the action and romance didn't help either. If you're in for a refreshing read with a great storyline, fast action and sexy romance, definitely give this one a try!