Book Review: The House of Grey Vol. 3

The House of Grey Volume 3

By:  Collin Earl

Published By:  SilverStone Books

Publish Date:  May 2, 2012

Format:  eNovella, 150pgs

Genre:  YA Modern Fantasy Thriller

Series:  3rd in series of The House of Grey; 1st Volume, 2nd Volume

Recommendation:  Yep! If you've come this far in this magical tale, you'll want to keep going.  You're curious just as much as me about what happened on that bridge.  You start to get that information here.

Book Synopsis:
Fantasy, friendship, and fate await you in Collin Earl's The House of Grey, based on the popular audio fiction by the same name.

14-year-old Monson Grey faces the same challenges that any freshman high school kid would: difficult classes, weird teachers, food fights...girls.  Except, Monson Grey is not Monson Grey.  At least, when he looks at himself in the mirror, the scarred face staring back is not someone he recognizes.

Now he finds himself attending an extraordinary school, the recipient of an incredible scholarship, among ridiculously rich classmates, all with no memory of how he got there or what to expect.

All he has from his former life are the flashes of haunting images that plague his dreams and the echoing voices that he hears, but cannot see.

Luckily, Monson finds fast friendship in two of his classmates, Casey and Artorius.  Little does Monson know, they too carry their own skeletons.  Yet, as bizarre events start to unfold around them, Monson wonders what secrets lay buried in his mind or if he will ever be able to share his true fears with his newfound friends.

Join our three heroes as they roam the halls of the most prestigious high school in the country, finding love, mystery, and answers to their algebra homework - all while peeling away the layers of Monson's shadowy past.

First Sentence:
The locker room was alive with energy.

Purchase At:

Amazon   /   Barnes & Nobles

*Note: You can start this series with the first book as it's free in all formats:  Amazon, Barnes & Nobles, and Smashwords

My Thoughts and Summary:
The above synopsis is a wonderful overview of the whole serialized series.  In this volume we touch on the man in the mirror, looking back at Monson.  We see of what happened at the Bridge accident and how relates to his haunting images.  Monson starts to wonder if what's buried in his mind could be something someone doesn't want out.  But what is it?

The homecoming football game is a hit!  They won and Monson found himself, unexpectedly, with a catch and touchdown that wins the game.  Monson doesn't play football, yet magically he played like he had for years.  When leaving the stadium Monson is saved by one of his best friends, Arturious, who takes his place.  Monson has lived through another 'near-death' moment, making him wonder if someone is after him.  However, there is another who doesn't make it.  Monson then takes on title of cursed...  Monson remembers nothing of his past, let alone that dreadful day that he solely survived and left him scarred, but pieces about and videos are starting to surface, showing parts of what did happen.

This volume felt as the story was slower at the beginning as Monson is learning things with action packed happenings, making him wonder about himself.  Along with making you curious too.  In the end, it picks up steam and brings all you've learned together.

Monson is seriously starting to wonder what he knows of that sad day that stole his memories and so much more.  Could there be something there that some one would kill him for, to keep him quiet?  However, he remembers nothing.  But can there be someone out there not willing to take a chance of his memory returning?

These are questions posed and make me wonder as well.  Poor Monson feels he's going crazy with these thoughts and those of a mirror Monson that appears to be evil.  Monson's inner self seems ready to surface and have Monson question who he was before the bridge accident.

We start to learn pieces of what happened on the bridge and in the world around what the bridge meant.

There is one thing with this volume that I want to warn you about.  There are editing errors present with words and punctuation.  They might be fixed now, maybe some of it is from formatting, I don't know.  But in all I still loved the story told and the boys.  They make me relax with their humor.

I have to say I continue to enjoy Monson, Cassius, and Arturious.  They are a great crew and make me smile.  I do enjoyed their good humor and jokes with each other.  We've even added a few girls visiting more.  Who add to the banter splendidly.  We start to see the deeper connections all these kids have in the adult world as well.  However, Monson still seems to be a blank, like his memory.

So many new hints dropped here.  More mystery and questions.  Yet as the end comes Collin feeds us a few answers.  I'm looking forward to learning about Monson as things unfold in the last three books.  And I'm glad they are all out and available now.



*I read this volume for an honest review from the author.