Review of Minutes Before Sunset by Shannon A. Thompson

So here we all are... awaiting my review for the book by Shannon A. Thompson. It has been a while since I last wrote a review, so if I do something wrong, please do me the justice, have the mercy, of telling me. No... I am not kidding. But here I am ready to review this book. It was definitely something worth reading, definitely something original. And that is why I liked it.

Minutes Before Sunset by Shannon A. Thompson

She was undoubtedly a shade, but I didn’t know her.

Eric Welborn isn’t completely human, but he isn’t the only shade in the small Midwest town of Hayworth. With one year left before his eighteenth birthday, Eric is destined to win a long-raging war for his kind. But then she happens. In the middle of the night, Eric meets a nameless shade, and she’s powerful—too powerful—and his beliefs are altered. The Dark has lied to him, and he’s determined to figure out exactly what lies were told, even if the secrets protect his survival.

…

He had gotten so close to me—and I couldn’t move—I couldn’t get away.

Jessica Taylor moves to Hayworth, and her only goal is to find more information on her deceased biological family. Her adoptive parents agree to help on one condition: perfect grades. And Jessica is distraught when she’s assigned as Eric’s class partner. He won’t help, let alone talk to her, but she’s determined to change him—even if it means revealing everything he’s strived to hide.

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Our prophecy was in the making, and the only thing the Light had to do to gain power was prevent the rest from happening. Seemed simple enough until everyone realized only the descendants held the power. In turn, only the descendants could fight the battle, and killing one of them would define who won.

No worries. No pressure at all. I shook my head as I stomped through the only forest in our small Midwest town. I only had to save my kind or die myself. At least I was aware.

I was raised with three simple rules:

1. Fight defensively and offensively.

2. Under no circumstances is it safe to reveal your identity. (Unless it’s Urte, Pierce, Camille, or anyone else the elders deemed an exception.)

3. Win.

The last rule is my favorite, because of the dishonesty. Win didn’t mean win. It meant murder. It meant I had to kill the second descendant, the power of the Light, and I had no choice. I would get blood on my hands.

There comes a time in every reader's life when they decide that they want to read something original. Something different from the standard vampire, werewolf, zombie, or teenage romance theme that seems to be the "thing" for young readers nowadays. And I am not going to lie, I like them just as much as the next person. I do. No lie. BUT! I also crave the need for reading something that is not the same as the other teen paranormal crap that gets published.

In Minutes before Sunset, I was both rewarded and disappointed. I was rewarded because the book is not the same vampire, werewolf, or zombie theme that everyone seems to love. It has its own little thing that is not quite known. If I were to guess, I would say that it's closer to the Fey. That is not my point though. The point I am trying to make is that it is not something anyone would easily come up with. It has its own little theme to it, its own little originality that makes it something definitely worth reading.

As I mentioned before, I was also disappointed. When I first picked up the book, my interest was sparked. I truly believed that there would be ALL new interesting points that would make me gape and gasp and cheer over the sheer ingeniousness of it. I was sadly mistaken. What I truly despise about young adult books being published today is that the authors all seem to find a way to incorporate a romance theme into it somehow. Why can there not be a book published without any romance?!! Why in H-E-Double Hockey-sticks can there not be a book with a kick a@# plot, such as Minutes before Sunset, without a romantic interference?

In my personal opinion, there is no problem with a little romance between the characters, but when that is ALL that is being referred to, and you start to wonder if it's a paranormal book or a teen romance one, you know there is a problem. I have absolutely no problem with a stolen kiss in the garden without parental consent; I have no problem with thinking about the significant other while in class working on an assignment. What I DO have a problem with is when you lose track of what the book is about because all there seems to be is ROMANCE!!!

Another thing that disappointed me was the timing of some of the events. One thing that I utterly despise is when I am confused while reading a book. There were some areas where the characters jumped into or were placed in a situation, and I had absolutely no clue what was going on. Why? Because things were not being explained. It's like knowing nothing about vampires, reading a book about them, and then not being explained that vampires drink blood and only come out at night. You would be confused. That is precisely how I felt while reading this. It wasn't until the middle of the book, almost the end, that I felt like I was truly understanding who the characters were and what was going on.

All in all, it was still a good book. It could have been better, could have been a bit more straightforward instead of beating around the bush. I love suspense just as much as the audience in Maury when they are about to find out if he is the father or not, but there is a time when enough is enough. There is a difference in keeping someone in suspense and making them annoyed because you don't know when to stop holding off with the details. I know that this review may be one of my harshest, most detailed, and most criticizing. However, I say this to try and encourage the author to step outside the norm and be someone original.

My Rating:

At sixteen, Shannon A. Thompson became the young-adult author of November Snow. Since then, Shannon has had poetry, a short-story, and more novels published. Her latest trilogy released by AEC Stellar Publishing, and the first novel in this young adult, paranormal romance was awarded Goodreads Book of the month in July 2003. The second book, Seconds Before Sunsrise, released on March 27, 2013.

Shannon has recently graduated from the University of Kansas with a bachelor's degree in English with an emphasis on creative writing. Afer working as an author and then a Social Media Marketer, Thompson became the C.O.O of AEC Stellar Publishing, Inc.

Shannon spends her free time writing, but she loves spending time with her father and brother. She also ha one black cat named after her favorite actor, Humphrey Bogart.

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