Finding Esta by Shah Wharton

Synopsis: 

As an empath, Luna yearns for love and acceptance, for an end to her chronic isolation. Unable to touch, she settles for the lower's caress of a stranger who visits her dreams, and her only friends in the world are Shadows--spirits who reside within her fragile mind, seeking refuge from the Shadow Lands. 

Always desperate to earn parental respect, and to solve a twenty-year-old child abduction case, she travels to Cornwall to Esta's family home, situated on an abandoned cul-de-sac. Searching for clues to her tragic fate, she finds much more than she bargained for. A whole new reality is revealed, one where her accursed abnormalities are clarified, but her only friends vanish. 

More alone than ever and desperate for answers, Luna struggles to retain a sense of identity, and the light grip on reality she's been used to. Will she find Esta, and if so, will she live to tell her story? More terrifyingly, who will care enough to listen, and who will ever enough about Luna?

Review:

Finding Esta was an interesting read. I thought there were some elements that made the book unique and enjoyable and some elements that I personally thought needed a bit of work. 

Luna as a character has a rather disturbing history, and you can't help but to feel sorry for her and what she has gone through. But it is her history that makes her who she is and provides some sense to why she is the way she is and why she does the things she does. However, I do have to say Luna, while complex, is sometimes a little bit unbelievable for me, but never so much so that it detracts from the plot.

The writing in the book is pretty solid. The author is really good with descriptions and is good at setting a scene for the reader. There is a lot to be said for painting a picture with words. On the other hand there is a lot going on in the book at all times. There is not a lot of downtime for either the readers or the characters. While this is good, in that it is never boring, I could easily see how some readers might find everything hard to follow, or that the is just to much going on for it to be a truly enjoyable read from start to finish. 

The book ends in a cliff hanger, and I know that a lot of people don't like reading books with cliff hangers, so I put that out there for those of you who hate it. But for those of you who like series, the cliff-hanger will probably leave you wanting the next book in the series, and this is going to be a series, so you are in luck. Overall I think for the first book in a series it was a decent effort, and I think a lot of urban fantasy readers will enjoy the book. I hope to see the authors writing progress as the series continues.