Shade Me (Nikki Kill, #1) by Jennifer Brown

I received an advanced readers copy of Shade Me (Nikki Kill, #1) by Jennifer Brown for FREE through the Goodreads Giveaway program. Below is my honest, unbiased review for Shade Me (Nikki Kill, #1) by Jennifer Brown.

First off, I am drawn to the cover for Shade Me (Nikki Kill, #1) by Jennifer Brown. It's definitely attention grabbing for sure and well done. I like reading mysteries/thrillers and also I enjoy reading novels from the young adult genre as well... Shade Me (Nikki Kill, #1) by Jennifer Brown falls into both categories nicely.

Jennifer Brown is a new to me author. Her novel Shade Me is the first book in the Nikki Kill series. Nikki Kill has a phenomenon called synesthesia, which gives her certain abilities to see things other people are unable to see or sense. Nikki is also 18 years old, a senior in high school, and on the verge of flunking out of school at the start of Shade Me. Nikki is contacted by a local hospital to come and identify an unconscious girl in the emergency room on the verge of dying. The girl in question has no form of identification on her and Nikki is the only contact in the girl's cell phone... And so the mystery begins!

Overall, I liked reading Shade Me (Nikki Kill, #1) by Jennifer Brown, but it wasn't perfect. I enjoyed all of the characters for the most part... Luna (minor character) was a bit over the top evil for someone her age, so her character seemed unrealistic. Plus, Nikki's dad seemed too hands off in that he gave her too much free rein to do whatever she wanted. If my daughter was on academic probation, I wouldn't be letting her run around day and night not knowing what she was doing or where she was going without question and ditching school... and that's if Nikki's dad knew what she was doing in the first place.

Nikki solving the mystery was cool in some aspects due to her synesthesia and ability to decipher clues left behind by the victim... But MANY other plot details seemed really unrealistic. Like the fact that the police let Nikki slide on not cooperating with them in what she knew when it was very apparent that she knew more about the case than she was willing to divulge to them... And how does an 18 year old really solve a case all on her own? Additionally, Nikki finds herself in some truly sticky situations that she gets herself out of, which made the storyline a bit unrealistic at times. However, if you can get past these things, you're in for a good read.

Below is the plot summary for Shade Me (Nikki Kill, #1) by Jennifer Brown from Goodreads:

Nikki Kill does not see the world like everyone else. In her eyes, happiness is pink, sadness is a mixture of brown and green, and lies are gray.

Thanks to a phenomenon called synesthesia, Nikki’s senses overlap, in a way that both comforts and overwhelms her.

Always an outsider, just one D shy of flunking out, Nikki’s life is on the fast track to nowhere until the night a mysterious call lights her phone up bright orange—the color of emergencies.

It’s the local hospital. They need Nikki to identify a Jane Doe who is barely hanging on to life after a horrible attack.

The victim is Peyton Hollis, a popular girl from Nikki’s school who Nikki hardly knows. One thing is clear: Someone wants Peyton dead. But why? And why was Nikki’s cell the only number in Peyton’s phone?

As she tries to decipher the strange kaleidoscope of clues, Nikki finds herself thrust into the dark, glittering world of the ultrarich Hollis family and drawn towards Peyton’s handsome, ne’er-do-well older brother, Dru.

While Nikki’s colors seem to help her unravel the puzzle, what she can’t see is that she may be falling into a trap. The only truth she can be sure of is that death is a deep, pulsing crimson.

I'm giving Shade Me (Nikki Kill, #1) by Jennifer Brown a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!