I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Nikki Kill has always been an outsider. Born with rare synesthesia, she sees the world differently. In Nikki’s eyes, happiness is pink, sadness is a mixture of brown and green, and lies are gray.

To Nikki, Peyton Hollis, the ultrarich it-girl at school, was seemingly untouchable. That is, until Peyton is violently attacked and the only phone number the hospital finds in Peyton’s cell is Nikki’s. Suddenly Nikki is pulled into Peyton’s glittering, fast-paced world as she tries to unravel an unfolding conspiracy.

As Nikki gets closer to the dark truth—and to Peyton’s gorgeous older brother—the only thing she can be sure of is death is a deep, pulsing crimson.

Shade Me is a captivating mystery. The suspense starts from the very first page and only increases until you reach the dramatic ending. There are fights, clues, scary scenes, a whole host of suspicious characters and a fierce, independent main character who can hold her own.

I really enjoyed this mystery novel. It read like a crime show, but it had more depth and twists. Nikki Kill is dragged into a criminal investigation when she receives a mysterious phone call, which is followed by a call from the hospital asking her to come and identify a girl who has been severely beaten. It seems that Nikki is the only one who can start untangling the complicated web of deceit surrounding Peyton Hollis. But why and how is Nikki involved in all of this?

Nikki is one strong character. Brash, harsh, independent, and more. She keeps to herself, is almost failing her final year of high school, and has no idea why Peyton, daughter of a famous movie executive and queen of the school, would call her just before being left for dead. Nikki has synesthesia. She sees colors for numbers, words or letters. It makes school nearly impossible and it never helped her solve her own mother’s murder. But her ability to see more than is there, make connections others might miss is surprisingly helpful when she tries to piece together what happened to Peyton.

Nikki is a mixed-marshal arts fighter and knows how to take care of herself, so she has no trouble getting mixed up in dangerous situations. The tension runs high through most of the book, particularly picking up towards the end. And while Nikki is no dumb girl, she manages to find herself in some alarming situations. I couldn’t help but think that she should ask detective Martinez for help, tell someone what she knows or not go to meet the person who could be the culprit all by herself. But Nikki’s independence and lack of trust only works to build the suspense, and surprisingly I didn’t get annoyed with Nikki. Despite her rough edges she is a likeable character. As for romance, I would say there is less of that and more of lust. Again, this too works to develop the storyline rather than becoming one of its own and holds true to Nikki’s character.

I love that this is going to be a series. While the storyline, the mystery is solved by the end of this book. There’s not a cliffhanger but there is plenty of room for more adventures, more to follow up with this story and more uses for Nikki’s intriguing skills at piecing clues together.

I would highly recommend this book! This is now one of my favorite books. Shade Me was captivating, original, and exciting!