REVIEW: Glow: Book 1 Potency

Glow: Book 1, Potency
Author: Audrey Hadley

The Syndrome -- a strange sleeping sickness -- has been killing people. A lot of people. It kills....then disappears....only to pop up somewhere else. The signs are always the same...strange behavior followed by a compulsion to sleep. Those afflicted are dead within 24 hours. This time, The Syndrome has hit New York. An entire homeless shelter filled with people....gone. Dead. At the same time far away in Nevada, a young girl named Harper sees a strange glowing being. She begins to think the glowing human-like creature has something to do with The Syndrome....but she isn't sure how. Or Why. Harper is determined to find the answers....no matter what the cost.

I normally enjoy YA science fiction....but I never really connected with this story or the characters. The plot is a bit disjointed and never really gelled for me. At one point, things totally change for Harper (I'm trying to be careful and not spoil the plot so I'm not going to go into detail about what this change entails) and it's a shocking change/revelation....but instead of being exciting, suspenseful and compelling at that point, the writing and plot just fell flat. The character was too accepting of the new circumstances. Other side characters and events were never fully developed. I think this book is a wonderful premise.....it just needs some more tweaking and strengthening prior to publication. With some editing, I think this could be a much stronger story. I will add that the cover art is phenomenal!

This review is written based on the advanced readers copy I received from the publisher. I'm going to limit this review to my blog and Goodreads for that reason. If further edits are made, I will gladly re-read, amend this review, and share the review more widely. The premise and bones of the story have great potential. It just needs a bit more work. And, as always, this is just my opinion. Other readers may feel differently. Not every story is for every reader.

**I voluntarily read an advance readers copy of this book from Ruby & Topaz Publishing via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**