{Review} Grey (The Romany Outcasts #1) by Christi J. Whitney

Posted by Melanie
Release Date: April 30th, 2015
Finished Date: August 1st, 2015
Publishers: Harper Voyager

Genre: YA, Fantasy
Source: For Review
Format: eBook

Pages: 400
Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US / The Book Depo

Sebastian Grey dreams of a girl. But when she turns up at school, Sebastian realises that this isn’t your average teenage fantasy.

Sebastian Grey always thought he was a fairly normal teenager – good friends, decent grades, and a pretty sweet job in his foster brother’s tattoo shop.

But when strangers arrive in town, Sebastian soon realizes that his world is nothing at all what it seemed. Secretive gypsies surround him, shadowy figures stalk him, and the girl he’s been dreaming about turns up at school.

Now Sebastian must protect this girl at all costs, even if it means he will never be normal again.

The Review: Grey is the first book in The Romany Outcasts series and what a mystery it turned out to be.
The blurb doesn’t really give anything away in this book so I’m going to have to try really hard not to because the book is based upon the knowledge that you will find out throughout the story.
So, Sebastian is in his final year of school with no worries, he has a good bunch of friends, a job in the tattoo shop run by his foster brother which will become an apprenticeship on leaving school and a surrogate family in the other tattooists that work there. Apart from his massive appetite – things are pretty sweet….. Until a mysterious green eyed girl enrols at school. This isn’t just any girl though, this is the girls of his dreams – literally – and he’s never felt more drawn to a person in his whole life. BUT, just as the girl turns up, Sebastian starts to get sick, his body aches with unimaginable pain, his hair changes colour overnight, his first tattoo heals superfast…. What is going on?
When more strangers arrive in their usually quiet town and a sense of foreboding comes over Sebastian, he is forced to search for answers which lead him straight into the world of the Roma or Gypsies, a world he knows nothing about but is about to take a crash course in. whatever is happening is still not telling him what’s happening with him and it’s definitely not telling him why he has an innate need to protect the green eyed girl with his life.
I really enjoyed this book, it was different, it was unique and it was mysterious. Sebastian was a very relatable character that I found very easy to read about, he had a great personality, good attitude to life and was well rounded which was a credit to his foster brother. You get the feeling pretty much straight away that the guys at the shop aren’t really telling him everything but you maybe assume that they’re up to something illegal. Changes start happening to his health pretty much straight away too which gets the curiosity flowing but when Josephine arrives, it really speeds up and affects him which also amped up the curiosity again. His brother Hugo isn’t really forthcoming with the information he needs other than to let him in on Gypsy secret which leaves him frustrated and searching for answers. As he gets sicker, his relationships with his friends start to suffer as does his school work but the need to protect Josephine becomes consuming. Sebastian also becomes more withdrawn as his appearance is affected by his ill health. A lot hinges on what is happening to Sebastian, it’s a huge chunk of the plot and believe me – you will wrack your brains trying to work out what is going on.
The story majorly revolves around what is happening with Sebastian, some people are in on the secret and want to manipulate him, some people don’t want him around their people, some are jealous, some are trying to help, some want him to do their bidding and more than one set of people want his allegiance – but who will he give it to? There are also hints of unrest among the Roma, with different clans and different families there will always be strife but you get the feeling that something big is coming and sides are being drawn with Sebastian stuck in the middle and being pulled in all directions. It was a great start to the series but very much a ‘setting the scene’ book that introduces the players, gives the hint of war and also a feel of forbidden love…. It remains to be seen what will happen next but I’d read it without a doubt. 

Thank you to Christi J. Whitney for giving me the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest review.