Shades of Green by Rhonda Parrish

Shades of Green
Note: I received this book through Goodreads First Reads Programme

Synopsis: Z’thandra, the last swamp elf in Aphanasia, lives with the Reptar, a fierce race of lizard-people, most of whom resent her presence and want her gone from their village. When she discovers a human in the swamp and falls in love with him she must face the most difficult decision of her life. Will she pursue a life of happiness with the man she loves and in doing so condemn the Reptar to extinction, or will she chose to sacrifice her future to offer them hope? In the end the choice she makes will affect the Reptar for generations.

Opinion: Shades of Green is a small book, that promised to be quick – and since it was won through Goodreads I wasn't exactly sure of what to expect.

The story is simple, in the way that follows only one character, but there still a fair amount of background history to keep me interested. However, I wished there was a bit more on the book about History of the Curse, there is something good there that could have be expanded.

The races that are presented are all humanoids, but all different in culture and looks. The ones we get to know a lot about are the Reptar, and I have to admit Reptelian humanoids are not my kind of thing (well, animal-based humanoids are not my kind of thing – always found it a bit silly), but they grew on me as I was learning more about them.

The main character, however, is a swamp elf, the last of her kind, and we learn about the resentment the Reptar in her village towards her, and how she learns to endure it. She is faced with some tough choices and it was nice to see how she came to terms with her decisions.

As I was closing in on the end, I was predicting the regular ending of this kind of stories. How wrong I was. The ending was unexpected, different, and yet suitable to the story. Things might have happen a tad too fast for my liking but it was a good ending.

One thing I have to point out is that the book could have benefited from better editing. There weren't any major flaws in it, but I did find some errors.

I liked this story, it was quick and to the point, and didn't really need to be any longer. And it was nice to be surprised by the ending.

(3.5/5)