Token of Darkness by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

Amelia Atwater-Rhodes can be a little iffy. And by iffy, I don't mean that her books are inconsistent in quality of dialogue or tone. Rather, sometimes plot lines and character development are completed more choppily or pieced together in a way that seems more amateur than others.

Unfortunately, this was one book that, while on a detail level was well-constructed and intricate, as a whole was a bit unfocused and immature.

A teen football player had a mysterious car accident and is now followed around by a specter who can't color coordinate to save her life. He's trying to deal with his injuries--both physical and mental--but also has to deal with her drama and her pathetic desire to be a living, solid human being.

Luckily, he bumps into a telepath at his local library who takes him to a warlock (or two), and they discover that this specter is not all she seems. It takes some magic, deadly weather, and a bit of body-swapping, but they finally put things as right as they can, giving the being the body she wanted and repairing their own flawed relationships.

All this crammed into this tiny book? That's because it was written for NaNoWriMo. You can tell. If you're an AAR fan like me, I think it's just about worth reading, if only so you can ponder the differences between this and her vampire books and shapeshifter series. The premise really isn't bad; she just rushed through it all too fast. This would have made a much better 300-350 pager.

~6/10~