My take on: A Lighter Shade of Gray

Mental illness. Friendship. Love. Murder. I like those elements...in books. A Lighter Shade of Gray by Devon Pearse has all three. And it's semi-autobiographical, which is why our main character is also named Devon. Throughout the book, I was wondering what was fact and what was fiction?

Devon gave up on love 10 years ago. Her mother has long battled mental illness, and Devon will do anything to avoid that path. I thought she sacrificed her own happiness out of fear. Yes mental illness is inherited, but I'm not a firm believer in acting on what might happen. Rather than take a chance on happiness and love, Devon is just waiting for the shoe to drop. Not everything is gloomy for Devon, she has a close group of friends, including her best friend Cassandra (a.k.a. Cass) Sloane.

At times, Devon and Cass seemed more like family than friends. In the beginning, Devon attends a birthday party with Cass' family. She just seemed like another member of the family. They were quick to point out Devon's lack of cooking skills. She's included on the family banter. There is no hiding problems in the family from Devon, especially, Marcus, the abusive boyfriend of Cass' sister Monique. That part really grabbed my attention. The rest of the Sloane family is ready to pounce on him at any moment, but Monique is too afraid to stand up for herself. I was right there with the rest of the family. "Hit him! Hit him! Hit him!" Character-wise it was no big loss when he was murdered. Not that I'm an advocate of murder, but there is just no attachment to abusive characters. There was an attachment to Cass, who is accused of his murder. Devon wants anything to prove her friend's innocence, but it forces her to face her fears. Her fear of ending up like her mother.

In theory, all of that made for a good plot. But as the book progressed I got a little confused. Her mother's roommate claims to know something about Marcus' murder. I just thought, why even go there? There's too much going here. Devon's fears of mental illness alone could have been enough. Adding Cass and her family to the mix makes things a little more complicated, and then you add her mother's roommate. It was also a little long for my taste. It's not a bad book, but it just wasn't my cup of tea.

Rating: Give it a try


Note: I received an e-copy as part of a tour with TLC Book Tours