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Normal is the Watchword is the first book in a new series from Jasmine Tru called the Watchword series. Right off the bat I was drawn to the beautiful and vivid cover. The story started off pretty interesting. We are dropped into the life of Juniper, or Juni who is trying to complete her senior photography project to win a scholarship to college. I really liked the start of the story. It was very every day life writing. It helped me get to know the characters well and get a feel for their friendships and relationships. The book took a while to get going into the main storyline, but once that part of the book got started, everything seemed to happen at lightning speed.

Juni is out taking pictures for her project one day, and she witnesses as murder. Throw in a mysterious guy at school, with lots of secrets of his own and a kidnapped best friend and you have quite the exciting story on your hands. I enjoyed Normal is the Watchword. I liked Juni a lot and I liked Darius enough. I wish that the interaction and relationship between the two of them was a bit more fleshed out. It all happened kind of quickly because of the pace of the events, but Juni seemed to accept some pretty crazy explanations from him very easily. I guess there was "crazy" happening all around her, which made the explanations easier to swallow.

The plot of Normal is the Watchword was interesting and very fast paced. If you like books that have lots of action, intrigue and suspense. I thought it was a good start to the series, and I am interested in seeing what will happen next. I wish there was a little bit more detail woven into the characters and storyline. At parts, it felt a bit rushed to me, but I think that fast pace will appeal to some of the younger YA audience looking for a faster read. If you like angel and paranormal reads with lots of action, The Normal series is worth checking out.

 This review was originally posted on Book Briefs